Page:The spirit of the Hebrew poetry 1861.djvu/52

 medium of an ancient people, that are liable to the ordinary conditions of written language; for further than this it must be granted, that, as the metrical structure of the Ode is highly artificial, those rules of construction to which it conforms itself may be said to over-ride the pure conveyance of the thought;—metre ruling words and syllables. It was by these artificial adaptations to the ear and memory of the people to whom, at the first, the composition was confided, it was rendered available, in the best manner, for the purposes of the religious life. Yet this is not all that needs to be said in taking this view of the instance before us. Every phrase and allusion in this ode is metaphoric—nothing is literal; the Lord is—the Shepherd of souls;—and there are the green pastures—the still waters—the paths of righteousness—the valley of the shadow of death—the rod and the staff—the table prepared—the anointing oil—the overfull cup—and that House of the Lord which is an everlasting abode. But figures and symbols are incidents of the human mind—they are adaptations to its limits—they are the best that can be done, in regard to the things of the spiritual life. Let us speak with reverence— is not conditioned in any manner; certainly not by metaphor or symbol.

There is yet a step further that should be taken in considering this Psalm as a human composition—and it is so with other Psalms, still more decisively than with this, for it gives expression to religious