V. Completion of the Psalter.  The reign of Simon probably witnessed the completion of the Psalter.  Many of the psalms, especially those in the latter half of the book, bear the unmistakable marks of the Maccabean struggle.  In Psalms 74 and 89, for example, there are clear references to the desecration of the temple and the bitter persecutions of Antiochus.  They voice the wails of despair which then rose from the lips of many Jews.  Many other psalms, as, for example, the one hundred and eighteenth, express that intense love and devotion to the law which was from this time on in many ways the most prominent characteristic of Judaism.  The prevailingly prominent liturgical element that characterizes the concluding psalms of the Psalter suggest their original adaptation to the song services of the temple.  Under the reign of Simon the temple choir was probably extended and greater prominence given to this form of the temple service.  The peace and prosperity in the days of Simon gave the opportunity and the incentive to put in final form the earlier collections of psalms and probably to add the introduction found in Psalms 1-2 and the concluding doxology in Psalm 150.  The Psalter appears to have been the last to be completed of all the Old Testament books, so that probably before the close of Simon’s reign all of the present Old Testament books were written.  Discussions regarding the value of such books as Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and Esther continued until nearly the close of the first Christian century, when at last the canon of the Old Testament was completed.

VI.  The Religious Life Reflected in the Later Psalms.  The prevailing note in the psalms found in the latter part of the Psalter is joyous.  A deep sense of gratitude to Jehovah for deliverance pervades them.  The Jews felt that Jehovah had indeed delivered them “as a bird from the snare of the fowler” (Psalm 124).  In the near background were the dark days of persecution.  Hostile foes still encircled Israel, but trust in Jehovah’s power and willingness to deliver triumphed over all fear.

Oh, give thanks to Jehovah for he is good,
For his mercy endureth forever. 
He hath delivered us from our enemies;
Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven,
For his mercy endureth forever,

was the oft-repeated refrain that was sung in the temple service by the warriors when they returned victorious from battle and by the people as they went about their tasks.  The sense of constant danger and of great achievement bound together the Jews of this period as perhaps never before since the days of the exile.  The same experiences developed a powerful religious consciousness.  Jehovah had repeatedly and signally demonstrated that he was in their midst.  Without his strong hand they were helpless against their foes.  The apostates had been expelled, and the classes that remained were bound closely together by their desire to preserve their hard-won liberties, by their devotion to the