Psalm 80:13

Verse 13. The boar.

Verse 13. The wood. Or rather marsh; that is, a moist marshy piece of ground, where trees and plants flourish, and which wild beasts delight in. Such is the neighbourhood of the river Jordan, thus described by Maundrell: "After having descended to the outermost banks, you go about a furlong upon a level strand, before you come to the immediate bank of the river. The second bank is so beset with bushes and trees, such as tamarisks, willows, oleanders, and the like, that you can see no water till you have made your way through them. In this thicket anciently (and the same is reported of it to this day), several sorts of wild beasts were wont to harbour themselves." ... In these places, according to the same author, live many wild boars. Bp. Pococke in particular observed very large herds of them on the other side of Jordan, where it flows out of the Sea of Tiberias; and several of them on the same side on which he was, lying among the reeds by the sea. Richard Mant.

Verse 13. According to the Talmud, the middle letter of the word rendered wood, in this verse, is the middle letter of the Hebrew Psalter. Daniel Cresswell.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

Verse 8-15. Parallel between the Church and a vine.

Verse 13. What are the greatest enemies of the Church? Where do they come from? How shall we defeat them?