/A i. S/u^ I FROM THE LIBRARY OF REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON, D. D. BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO THE LIBRARY OF PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Sect'.- 3 '7/4' r Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2011 witii funding from Princeton Tineological Seminary Library http://www.archive.org/details/bookofpsalmsinenOOmant THE BOOK OF PSALMS, ENGLISH METRICAL VERSION. I rn i: BOOK OF PSALMS, ENGLISH METRICAL VERSION. Founded on the basis of the authorised BIBLE TRANSLATION, COMPARED WITH THE ORIGINAL HEBREW; WITH NOTES CRITICAL AND ILLUSTRATIVE. BY THB/ - RIGHT REV. RICHARD MANT, D.D. M.R.LA. LORD BISHOP OF DOM'N AND CONNOR. Enimvero quid est, cur Homeri, Pindari, Horatii scriptis celebrandis omnique laude cumulandis totics immoramur; Mosem interea, Davidem, Isaiam, silentio prseterimus' Oe Sac. Poes. ileb. Privl. ii. Compare the Book of Psalms with the odes of Horace and Anacreon, with the hymns of Callimachus, the golden verses of Pythagoras, the chorusses of the Greek tragedians, * * *, and you will quickly see how greatly it surpasses them all, in piety of sentiment, in sublimity of expression, in purity of morality, and in rational theology. Apology for the Bthle. There are no songs comparable to the songs of Zion. Milton. OXFORD, PRINTED BY W. BAXTER, FOR J. PARKER; AND C. AND J. RIVINGTON, ST. PAULS CHURCH YARD, AND WATERLOO PLACE, LONDON. 1824. "~ 48130 INTRODUCTION. Highly as the Psalms are generally esteemed in the character of devotional exercises, it may be doubted whether they hold that rank in the cha- racter of poetical compositions to which they are intitled. Yet their excellence in this respect is unquestionable : so that of the Psalms in particular may that be affirmed, which the greatest of our poets hath affirmed generally concerning " those frequent songs throughout the Law and the Prophets," that " not in their divine argument alone, but in the very critical art of composition, they may be easily made appear over all the kinds of lyrick poesy to be incomparable.'' At the same time I am per- suaded, that a due perception and feeling of such excellence is signally conducive to their effect in the higher department of religious and moral improve- ment, for which after all they were composed, and without which they are no better than " sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal." With these impres- sions I undertook, and with the same impressions continually more and more deeply and firmly fixed, I have prosecuted and completed the following ver- sion, which I beg leave to introduce to the reader with a few expository observations. a 3 > vi INTRODUCTION. Of the poetical character of the Psalms there can I apprehend be entertained no reasonable doubt : the sentiments, the imagery, the diction, the struc- ture, in a word all the constituents of poetical com- position, meet us at every turn. Whether or not they were composed in metre, has been a question amongst the most distinguished Biblical criticks. However this question may be decided, a metrical form is so closely associated with our ideas of poetry, that, except in such a form, the Psalms are not in a condition to assert their full claim to poetical excel- lence. For this reason the form of the present work has been chosen. But in speaking of the Psalms as poems, it should not be forgotten, that under that general denomina- tion a great variety of species is comprehended. The word " Psalms" is derived to us from the Greek translators, who thus rendered the Hebrew title, Q"'Vnn, which, according to a remark of Bishop Lowth in his 29th Praelection on Hebrew poetry, might with much greater fitness have been rendered by the Greek word w/avoi or " hymns." No single term however could have adequately expressed the miscellaneous character of this collection, in which odes, elegies, idylls, and ethical and dramatical pieces, are comprised ; most plainly distinguished from each other, as compositions ; and having, as compositions, no common bond of connexion, ex- cept the general character of poetry which belongs to each. " The Psalms," observes Bishop Horsley, " ure all poems of the lyrick kind ; that is, adaj)ted INTllODUCTION. vii to niusick ; but with great variety in the style of composition. Some are simply Odes. An Ode is a dignified sort of song, narrative of the facts, either of publick history or private life, in a highly adorned and figured style. Some are of the sort called Elegiack, which are pathetick compositions upon mournful subjects. Some are Ethick, delivering grave maxims of life, or the precepts of religion, in solemn, but for the most part simple, strains. Some are ^Enigmatick, delivering the doctrines of religion in ^Enigmata, contrived to strike the imagination forcibly, and yet easy to be understood. In all these the Author delivers the whole matter in his own person. But a very great, I believe the tar greater part are a sort of Dramatick Ode, consisting of dialogues between persons sustaining certain cha- racters." This variety in the sorts of composition appears to call for a variety in their several forms. Indeed it is the opinion of some learned writers, that such variety exists in the Hebrew Psalms themselves. For Rabbi Azarias, a learned Jew of the l6th cen- tury, quoted with approbation by Bishop Lowth in his Preliminary Dissertation on Isaiah, observes, that "all the verses that are found in the sacred writings, such as the Song at the Red Sea, of the Well, of Moses, of Deborah, of David, of the Book of Job, the Psalms, and the Proverbs, all of them have an established order and measure, different in different places, or even sometimes different in one and the same Poem : as we may perceive in reading them an admirable propriety and fitness, though wc a 4- viii INTRODUCTION. cannot arrive at the true method of measurinor or scanning them." And then, adverting to the grounds of this difference, he proceeds, " It is not to be wondered, that the same song should consist of dif- ferent measures : for the case is the same in the poetry of the Greeks and Romans ; they suited their measures to the nature of the subject, and the argu- ment : and the variations, which they admitted, were accommodated to the motions of the body and the affections of the soul. Every kind of measure is not proper for every subject : and an ode, a pane- gyrick, or a prayer, should not be composed in the same measure with an elegy." Upon this principle 1 have acted in the following version : and accord- ingly, as well for the purpose of suiting the style to the sentiment, as for avoiding monotony and intro- ducing an agreeable interchange, I have judged a considerable variety of metres to be requisite ; and have diversified my stanza, according as the nature of the Poem seemed to indicate the adoption of a sedate and equable, a loftier or more animated, a more solemn, tenderer, or more plaintive strain. I have just observed, that it has been a question amongst the learned, whether or not the Psalms were originally composed in metre. Supposing the question to be decided in the negative, it by no means follows that they were composed in a style, which, according to our usage of the term, should be denominated prose. Unquestionably their form is far removed from a prosaick style, and their con- struction is palpably and strictly poetical. Their INTRODUCTION. ix characteristick is denoted by the term " parallelism," which is thus explained by Bishop Lovvth in his Preliminary Dissertation on Isaiah. " When a proposition is delivered, and a second is subjoined to it, or drawn under it, equivalent, or contrasted with it, in sense ; or similar to it in the form of grammatical construction ; these 1 call parallel lines ; and the words or phrases, answering one to another in the corresponding lines, parallel terms." Parallel hnes, thus defined, the same illustrious critick reduces to three sorts. | 1, Parallel lines synonymous ; that is, which correspond one to an- other by expressing the same sense in different, but equivalent terms ; when a proposition is delivered, and is immediately repeated, in the whole or in part, the expression being varied, but the sense in- tirely or nearly the same; of this the 1st and 2d verses of the 21st Psalm are an example, j 2, Parallels antithetick ; when two lines correspond with one another by an opposition of terms and sentiments ; when the second is contrasted with the first, some- times in expressions, sometimes in sense only ; as in Psalm xx. 7, 8 ; xxx. 5. \ 3, Parallels synthetick or constructive ; where the parallelism consists only in the similar form of construction ; in which word does not answer to word, and sentence to sen- tence, as equivalent or opposite ; but there is a cor- respondence and equality between different proposi- tions, in respect of the shape and turn of the whole sentence, and of the constructive parts ; such as noun answering to noun, verb to verb, member to X INTRODUCTION. member, negative to negative, interrogative to inter- rogative ; as in Psalm cxlviii. 7 — l*^. This characteristick, as belonging not merely to the Psalms, but generally to the Poetical Books of the Old Testament, was laid down, applied, and illustrated with admirable judgment and taste by Bishop Lowth in his Praelections on the sacred Poetry of the Hebrews, and in the Preliminary Dis- sertation prefixed to his translation of Isaiah ; whi- ther the reader is referred for further observations, especially on the arrangement of parallelisms in couplets, triplets, and stanzas. Meanwhile as to the general principle itself I would observe, that it has been subsequently adopted and acted upon by several of our most distinguished Biblical scholars in their translations of different parts of the Old Testament, such as Dr. Blayney, Archbishop New- come, and Bishop Horsley ; the last in his transla- tion of the Psalms : and it has recently undergone a full investigation and discussion in Bishop Jebb's able work on sacred Literature ; who contends with great ingenuity and erudition for the first sort of parallels being denominated " cognate" rather than " synonymous," as better expressing the relation borne to each other by the parallel clauses. This general principle ought always to be borne in mind, even by a metrical translator of the poeti- cal parts of the Old Testament. I do not mean, that every parallelism should in such a translation be literally and punctually marked : but, whilst in many cases a high desrree of precision in this respect INTRODUCTION. xi is necessary, in all so much regard should be main- tained for the principle, that a feature, which is really the characteristich of the original, may not be de- sired or sought in vain in the copy : if it be, to whatever other excellence such a copy may have pretensions, it has none to that peculiar praise, by which it ought, as a translation, to be distinguished ; the praise, I mean, of exhibiting in some sort a fair representation and likeness of its original. Dr. Bentley's answer to Pope, in reference to his trans- lation of the Iliad, is in every one's memory : and the grounds of it are sound and good. The reader, who has recourse to a translated work, has a right to expect that he shall be enabled to form an ac- quaintance, so far as through the medium of an- other language an acquaintance can be formed, not with the translator merely, nor with any indifferent person whose manner the translator may capriciously choose to imitate, but with the original author him- self. " It is incumbent on every translator," as Bishop Lowth has admirably observed, " to study the manner of his author ; to mark the peculiarities of his style, to imitate his features, his air, his ges- ture, and, as far as the diflference of language will permit, even his voice ; in a word, to give a just and expressive resemblance of the original. If he does not carefully attend to this, he will sometimes fail of entering into his meaning ; he will always ex- hibit him unlike himself; in a dress, that will ap- pear strange and unbecoming to all that are in any degree acquainted with him. Sebastian Castellio stands in the first rank for critical abilities and theo- xii INTRODUCTION. Io2:ical learnino- amon" the modern translators of Scripture : but by endeavouring to give the whole composition of his translation a new cast, to throw it out of the Hebrew idiom, and to make it adopt the Latin phrase and structure in its stead, he has given us something that is neither Hebrew nor Latin : the Hebrew manner is destroyed, and the Latin manner is not perfectly acquired ; we regret the loss of the Hebrew simplicity, and we are dis- gusted with the perpetual affectation of Latin ele- gance. This is in general the case ; but chiefly in the poetical parts." And, after confirming this judgment by a specimen, the same discriminating and elegant critick adds, " Flatness and insipidity will generally be the consequence of a deviation from the native manner of an original, which has a real merit, and a peculiar force of its own ; for it will be very difficult to compensate the loss of this by any adventitious ornaments. To express fully and exactly the sense of the author is indeed the principal, but not the whole, duty of the translator. In a work of elegance and genius he is not only to inform : he must endeavour to please ; and to please by the same means, if possible, by which his author pleases. If this pleasure arises in a great measure from the shape of the composition, and the form of the construction, as it does in the Hebrew poetry beyond any other example whatsoever, the trans- lator's eye ought to be always intent upon this : to neglect this is to give up all chance of success, and all pretension to it. The importance of the subject, and the consequent necessity of keeping closely to INTRODUCTION. xiii the letter of the original, has confined the translators of Scripture within such narrow limits, that they have been forced, whether they designed it or not, and even sometimes contrary to their design, as in the case of Castellio, to retain much of the Hebrew manner. This is remarkably the case in our Vulgar Translation : the constant use of which has rendered this manner familiar and agreeable to us. We have adopted the Hebrew taste: and what is with judg- ment, and upon proper occasion, well expressed in that taste, hardly ever fails to suggest the ideas of beauty, solemnity, and elevation." To these judi- cious remarks of our great Hebrew critick I shall add no more upon this point than the bare state- ment of the fact, that with sentiments, such as are here expressed, the following version has been framed : so that, although I do not pretend to have given a close rendering in each and all of its paral- lels ; for such would hardly be consistent with any other principle of translation than that of a literal version, and a literal version 1 do not hold necessary to fidehty of interpretation ; yet thus much I have endeavoured to effect, that the mind of the reader may be possessed by the impression, that the gene- ral characteristick of the Hebrew style is maintained, and that he is perusing " one of the songs of Sion" rather than an effusion of the Grecian or Latian muse. For the same purpose I have had regard to that remarkable brevity and terseness of expression, which, although not strictly a characteristick, as is xiv INTRODUCTION. the case with parallehsm, is a striking feature of Hebrew poetry. Different considerations some- times render it necessary for a metrical translator to spread the idea of his author over a larger space than it occupies in the original. But whatever other benefit may accrue from this proceeding, I fear it cannot be attained without some sacrifice of simplicity, energy, and spirit. 1 have endeavoured therefore to express myself with as much concise- ness, as I have found consistent with the idioms of the two languages, and with the peculiar circum- stances of a metrical Version. Happily the English translator enjoys a rich resource in " the sterling bullion*' of his national tongue ; at the same time that use has naturalized to his language many of the peculiarities of the Hebrew phraseology. " The Hebrew idioms," as Addison has observed, and the observation has been adopted by Archbishop New- come in the Preface to his Version of the twelve Minor Prophets, " The Hebrew idioms run into the English tongue with a particular grace and beauty. Our language has received innumerable elegancies and improvements from that infusion of Hebraisms, which are derived to it out of the poeti- cal passages in holy writ. They give a force and energy to our expressions, warm and animate our language, and convey our thoughts in more ardent and intense phrases, than any that are to be met with in our own tongue. There is something so pathetick in this kind of diction, that it often sets the mind in a flame, and makes our hearts burn within us.'* And Bishop Lowth has acknowledged INTKODUCTION. xv the great advantage, which he derived in his trans- lation of Tsaiah from " the habit, which our lan- guage has acquired, of expressing with ease, and not without elegance, Hebrew ideas and Hebrew forms of speaking, from our constant use of a close verbal translation of both the Old and New Testa- ment ; which has by degrees moulded our language into such a conformity with that of the original Scriptures, that it can upon occasion assume the Hebrew character without appearing altogether forced and unnatural.'^ I would add, that, where expansion has been deemed necessary, I have still adhered, as far as possible, to the purport of the original ; and have not unfrequently derived valuable assistance from referring to the primitive import of the Hebrew term. Thus in the 17th Psalm I have expressed the v^erb " tried" with reference to the trying or re- fining of metals by fire, which is the proper signifi- cation of the Hebrew verb : in the 8th Psalm the radical idea of the original noun supplied me with a periphrasis for the " stars:" and in the S2d Psalm, where 1 had occasion to designate the horse by an epithet, (a sort of embellishment, by the way, by no m^ans frequent in Hebrew poetry,) I was guided in my selection by the philological signification of the name, which is indicative of the quality, of that species of animal. After the like manner a senti- ment is expressed at the close of the 9th Psalm, which, although not distinctly expressed, was pro- bably intimated, by the original phrase. Of this practice the reader will find other instances occa- xvi INTRODUCTION. sionally specified in the notes : and in the use of it I hope it will be judged, that, though I may have deviated from the simphcity of my author in point of expression, I have adhered in substance and spirit to his idea. Indeed I consider it the chief part of a translator's duty, to be substantially faithful in the representa- tion of his author's ideas ; to exhibit fully and ex- actly those which he finds in his original, and not to exhibit those which his original does not contain. Whilst therefore I hold a certain latitude of phrase allowable, provided it fall within this limit, no phraseology appears to me fairly admissible in a translated work, whereby an author would be repre- sented as entertaining ideas, which are not suggested by his own language in the very passage itself, or which at least are not agreeable to his known senti- ments and customary style. Upon the former prin- ciple I have not scrupled, in the 89th Psalm, to render the Hebrew word ^an, which our translators render " the world," by the periphrasis " this mingled mass of earth and sea," in correspondence with the etymology assigned to it by Parkhurst : but I ques- tion the propriety of rendering it by the term " the globe," or " the ball," or any equivalent phrase, usual with the classical as well as with modern poets ; because I am not aware that there is any indication in the Hebrew poets of such being the received figure of the earth, according to die ideas of their age and country. For the same reason I have preferred the term " expanse" or " vault" in speaking of " the heavens," the former idea being INTRODUCTION. x^ii distinctly expressed by the Psalmist in the 19th Psalm, and the latter obviously offering itself to every beholder, to that of " the pole," which pre- supposes the knowledge of a philosophical system, that does not appear to have been known to the Hebrews at the times in question. In Hebrew poetry generally, and in the Psalms amongst other departments of it, there is no more striking feature than the perpetual fondness dis- played for metaphorical language. Of many ex- amples, indeed of the great majority, the beauty is unquestionable : in others, this taste for figurative decoration may appear to have been indulged in a degree, hardly consistent with our occidental notions of poetical grace and fitness, and verging sometimes upon the very bounds of impropriety. Still to con- vey the image, intended by the original poet, ap- pears to be the duty of the translator : who must rely upon the discernment of the reader for recon- ciling the excessive boldness and seeming extrava- gance of the imagery with notions such as may be supposed familiar with the mind of the author and of the contemporaneous reader, although less suited to the circumstances of the existing state of things. An instance of this may be found in the second verse of the 27th Psalm. In the great majority of ei:amples however the figurative language of the Psalms is as unexceptionable and as exquisite, as.it is energetick and impressive : and here the business of the translator is no less pleasing than it is plain. Where the figure is of that more delicate and re- c xviii INTRODUCTION. tiring kind, which is conveyed by a certain secret connexion and relation between particular Hebrew terms and things, rather than distinctly expressed, the translator must acquiesce in the necessity, which the want of such connexion in his own language imposes ; and be content to exhibit the general sen- timent of the original writer, at the loss of the peculiar force and excellence of his diction. More than this, as Bishop Lowth has observed in his 8th Praelec- tion, is not to be required of the fidelity of any, even the most accurate version : much less is it to be expected of Poetry, when she undertakes to be the interpreter, or rather the imitator, of the sacred With respect to the general sense of the sacred text as conveyed in the following version, I beg that I may be distinctly understood as not pretending to offer a version of the Psalms nen: in any other signi- fication, than in that of the form wherein it is offered. The basis of my version is the authorized Bible translation, which has been chosen, both on account of its general accuracy, and as being more punctually correct than the more ancient one in the Common Prayer book ; to the latter however recourse has continually been had, as well as to the metrical version of Sternhold and Hopkins, to the general exactness and fidelity of which, as an original trans- lation of the Hebrew text, honourable testimony has been borne by the high authorities of Bishops Beveridge and Horsley. At the same time I have reg\ilarly compared these translations with the ori- INTRODUCTION. xix spinal ; and have thus occasionally introduced an alteration, or rather more frequently a modification, of the sense, of which due notice is taken in the notes. For the other assistance, of which I have availed myself, I am chiefly indebted to Bishop Lowth's Praelections on Hebrew poetry, Bishop Home's Commentar}^ on the Psalms, and Bishop Horsley's Translation and Notes, tog-ether with the Lexicons of Parkhurst and Simonis. Where any special use has been made of these, affecting the signification of a passage, acknowledgment has been for the most part made in the notes. For the omission of such acknowledgment on any particular occasion, I hope that this general avowal will be esteemed a sufficient substitute. With the same view, namely, that of ascertaining the just sense of my author, I have occasionally consulted Merrick's Translation, or, more properly speaking, Paraphrase of the Psalms ; though for an obvious reason 1 avoided having fre- quent recourse to his Version. His annotations I am sorry that I was not able to procure. This has been the object of some of the notes. Of others, as indeed generally of the Introductions to the several Psalms, it has been the object to point out the poetical excellence of the composition, con- formably to the desire, which actuated me to the work itself, of exhibitins: these son2:s of Sion in a manner, if it might be, not altogether unworthy of their high poetical pretensions. Various remarks for this purpose have been contributed by the au- c i? XX - INTRODUCTION. thors just enumerated ; but most especially by Bishop Lowth in his learned, judicious, and most elegant Praelections on the sacred poetry of the Hebrews. For illustrating his general principles, and for exemplifying the several sorts of Hebrew poetry, that accomplished critick has drawn largely from the Book of Psalms. His remarks have been extracted from the body of his work ; and prefixed, as occasion served, in the form of an Introduction, or annexed as annotations, to the several Psalms to which they apply. I am well aware that injury has been thus done to the illustrious author, by detach- ing his observations from their context, and exhibit- ing them without the benefit of the beautiful rela- tion that they bear to the general course of observa- tion, out of which they arise, and which they are designed to explain and illustrate. In apology I can only plead the necessity of the case ; at the same time requesting my readers, who are not hi- therto acquainted with the Praelections, to bestow an attentive perusal on the work itself: which for extent of erudition, for soundness of judgment, for elegance of taste, for beauty and energy of expres- sion, and especially for the penetration with which it has dived into the mines of Hebrew Poetry, and for the discrimination with which it has disclosed them to the publick eye, is of unrivalled and inimi- table excellence. He who would fully enjoy, and duly appreciate, the beauties of the sacred Scrip- tures, must be deeply conversant with the Praelec- tions of Bishop Lowth. To observations on the poetical character of the INTRODUCTION. xxi several compositions I iiave added others illustrative of the local or temporary allusions, with which the Psalms, in common with the other parts of holy Scripture, abound. The difficulties, incident to all writings of a distant age and foreign country, belong in a signal degree to the oriental poets, and of these to none more than to the Hebrews. I have intro- duced notes calculated to illustrate such obscurities, and thus to make the allusions in the Psalms more obvious and intelligible : at the same time I am willing to hope that the reader may find a pleasing- variety in the elucidation of national customs and of the local peculiarities of natural history. In this respect, as in others, Parkhurst's Lexicon is a va- luable and entertaining work, and has contributed numerous annotations. It may be proper to intimate, that it has not been my object in the notes to go largely into inquiries relative to the author or occasion of the different Psalms, or to discuss them in a theological point of view. A brief notice however of the former kind is generally prefixed : and an occasional reference has been made to the doctrinal argument of the composition. But this has been done rather inci- dentally, than in compliance with the chief purpose of my annotations : for matters of this kind I would refer to the commentators, particularly to the excel- lent work of Bishop Home. Thus much it may be useful to have premised in explanation of the plan and the conduct of the fol- lowing work. I will not detain the reader any more xxii INTRODUCTION. than by an expression of my hope, that some por- tion of the comfort and pleasure, which I have en- joyed in the construction of the work, may be de- rived from the perusal of it ; and that it may thus contribute, if it please the Fountain of all good, to recommend the excellencies of a Book, concerning which, as a composition, no higher nor more appro- priate commendation can be given, than that it is a body worthy of the divine Spirit wherewith it is inspired. A conviction of its excellencies, in point of manner as well as of matter, induced me to en- gage in my undertaking : and it would be my high- est delight to believe, that in the opinion of those, whose piety, taste, and learning quahfy them to be judges, I have not materially disgraced my original. RD- D. AND C. Knocknagoney, Belfast, Dec. 25, 1823. A NEW VERSION OP THE PSALMS. A NEW VERSION OF THE PSALMS. PSALM I. Introduction. The first Psalm is generally supposed to have been written by Ezra, as a preface to the Book of Psalms, when he collected them into one volume on the return of the Jews from the Babylonish Captivity. It describes the blessedness of the righteous, and the misery of the ungodly, which it represents with much beauty and liveliness under images borrowed from vegetation and from the agricultural practices of the Jews. 1 JlxOW blest is he, who shuns the road, By impious men perversely trod ; Nor his to stand, where sinners meet ; Nor his the graceless scorner^s seat. 2 But still Jehovah ^s sacred roll Detains with fresh delight his soul : Nor morn nor dewy eve can draw His musings from Jehovah's law. PSALM I. 3 He like a tree shall flourish wide, Fast set the living streams beside : Uninjur'd springs its vernal shoot, And Autumn views the ripen'd fruit. 4 O, blest is he ! But other meed See for the foes of God decreed 1 3. Fftst set'] The original word gives the idea of planting, or rather settling, as a tree or shoot thereof. It is more than simply to plant or set. — the living streams beside:] In the hotter parts of the Eastern countries, says Bishop Lowth, a constant supply of water is so absolutely necessary for the cultivation, and even for the preservation and existence, of a garden, that, should it want water even for a few days, evei'y thing in it would be burnt up with heat and totally destroj'^ed. There is therefore no garden whatever in those countries, without such a cer- tain supply, either from some neighbouring river, or from a reservoir of water collected from springs, or filled with rain water in the proper season, in sufficient quantity to afford am- ple provision for the rest of the year. Kcempser's description of the royal gardens at Ispahan, and Maundrell'sof the gardens at Damascus, give clear ac- counts of the oriental manage- ment in this respect. In the latter place Maundrell observes, " there is not a garden but has a fine quick stream running through it." And he thus describes the orange garden of the Emir of Beroot, anciently Berytus. " It contains a large quadrangular plat of ground, divided into sixteen lesser squares, four in a row, with walks between them. The walks are shaded with orange trees of a large spreading size. Every one of these sixteen lesser squares in the garden was bor- dered with stone: and in the stone-work were troughs, very artificially contrived, for con- veying the water all over the garden ; there being little out- lets cut at every tree, for the stream, as it passes by, to flow out and water it." This, ob- serves Bp. Lowth, gives us a clear idea of the CD'D uVd men- tioned in this Psalm, and in other places of Scripture : " the divisions of water," the water distributed in artificial canals, for so the phrase properly sig- nifies. The prophet Jeremiah, xvii. 8, has an elegant amplifi- cation of the image in the text. 4. — the foes of God] Lite- rally, the rebels, that is, the rebels against God ; the un- godhj, as in our authorized translation. The original word conveys the idea of that turbu- lence ;uid restless agitation. I PSALM I. Like chaff, no place of rest they find, Dispersed before the whirling wind. 5 Afar the impious fly, unmeet To stand before the judgment-seat : Nor shall their face the sinners dare Amid th' assembled just to rear. 6 For He, the Lord of all, surveys- With aspect bland the good man's ways : But on the rebels' course shall cast The fury of his vengeful blast. PSALM IL Introduction. The Author of this sublime Ode was David. The proximate occasion of it was his establishment in the king- dom of Israel : the ulterior object the establishment of Messiah's kingdom ; to which indeed the general style and character of the composition, as well as several expressions in it, are much more applicable, than to that of David. which characterise a rebellious spirit. (See Simonis's Lexicon on yiy-).) 4. Like chaff', no place of rest they find, Dispers'd before the whirling wind.l The force and beauty of this passage will appear from recol- lecting, that the threshing-floors among the ancient Jews and other eastern nations were, as they still are in those countries, level plots of ground in the open air, and frequently on emi- nences, where the corn, being trodden out by oxen, was easily separated from the chaff by the action of the wind upon the latter. Thus Hesiod gives in- structions to his husbandman to thresh his corn " in a place well-exposed to the wind." The image of threshing is accord- ingly often used by the Hebrew poets with great energy and ele- gance, to express the trial of the good, and the punishment of the wicked : or, as in this place, more particularly the utter dispersion and destruction of God's enemies. 6. surveijs with aspect bland'] Literally, knoweth. We have in general the most concern for those of whom we have the most knowledge. Hence, in the sacred books, knowing or owning any person signifies having a regard for him : and denying or disowning any one has the contrary signification. B 2 4 PSALM II. The structure of the poem is as noble, as the prophecy con- tained in it is clear and important. It may be considered as spoken intirely by Messiah ; or as consisting of three parts, •which may be thus distinguished from each other in the follow- ing version. The first part, spoken by the Psalmist himself, comprises the six first verses, or the two first stanzas. It foretells in a very animated strain, and with a high poetical spirit, the opposition raised by Jew and Gentile against Messiah : his vic- tory, and their confusion. In the second part, which is con- tained in the third stanza, and reaches through the seventh, eighth, and ninth verses, Messiah himself is introduced, an- nouncing his appointment by Jehovah to sovereign power at his resurrection, and the result of that appointment. In the third and concluding part, the Psalmist appears to speak again in his own person; calling upon the Kings and Judges of the earth to pay due homage both to Jehovah and to his Anointed Son, and apprizing them of the tremendous consequence of their dis- obedience, and the blessedness of their compliance with the exhortation. PART I. 1 What thoughts the banded heathen fill ? What madness prompts the people's will ? 2 Behold, the earth's proud sovereigns bring Their marshalFd hosts ; in conclave dire The rulers 'gainst the Lord conspire, And 'gainst the Lord's Anointed King. 3 " Break we their bonds ; renounce their sway ; And cast their twisted cords avva3\" 2. — brins; their maishnll'd 3 Break ivc their bonds, &c.] hosts] " Set themselves." Bible These v/ords are supposed to Tronsiation. " Set themselves be spoken by the confederate in array." Bp. Horslcij. I un- powers against Jehovah and derstand the word in a military his Messiah ; or tuf; Lord and sense, as contradistinguished his Anointed. Theabruptman- from " taking counsel" in the ner of their introduction is ex- next clause. tremelj' animated and expres- 1 PSALM II. 4 But God, who sits above the sky, Shall laugh to scorn THE Lord Most High Shall all their vain emprize deride : 5 Then in his anger shall he speak, And on his foes his vengeance wreak, And crush them in their impious pride. 6 " Yet have I girt with royal might My King on Zion's holy height." PART II. 7 Hear in my cause the Lord's decree: " This day have I begotten thee ; Thou art my heir, my first-born Son. 8 Ask and receive thy just domain : The heathen lands shall feel thy reign. Earth's utmost bounds thy empire own. sive. Twisted cords gives the exact idea of the original. 4. But (iod, who sits above the sky, Shall laugh to scorn, &c.J By these and such like expres- sion?, says Bishop Home, which frequently occur in Scripture, we are taught in a language which we understand, because borrowed from ourselves and our manner of shewing con- tempt, how the schemes of worldly politicians appear to him, who, sitting upon his heavenly throne, surveys at a glance whatever men are doing or contriving to do upon earth. This is the idea intended to be conveyed ; and from it we are to separate all notions of levity, or whatever else may offend when applied to the Godhead, though adhering to the phrases as in use among the sons of Adam. The same is to be said with regard to words, which seem to attribute many other human passions and affections to the Deity, as for instance those which follow in the next verse. Milton has adopted this fi- gure, and introduced it with fine effect in the following noble passage : What can force or guile With him, or who deceive his mind, whose eye Views all things at one view ? He from heaven's height All these our motions vain sees, and derides ; Not more Almighty to resist our might. Than wise to frustrate all our plots and wiles. Paradise Lost, li. b3 PSALM II. 9 Thou with thine iron rod shalt bruise, And break them like an earthen cruise." PART III. 10 Now learn, ye rulers of mankind ; Be wise, ye kings : with duteous mind And holy joy the Lord obey. 1 1 The Son with signs of worship hail, Lest, by his anger whelm'd, ye fail. And perish from the blissful way. 9- Thou with thineiruii rud&c] The rod here is the sceptre or ensign of royal authority. The irresistible power and inflexible justice of Christ's kingdom are signified by his ruling with a rod of iron : the impotence of those who presume to oppose him is admirably compared to that of a potter's vessel, Avhich must fly in pieces at the first stroke of the iron rod. The passage might be otherwise rendered thus : Thou shalt thine iron sceptre raise. And break them like a potter's vase. Ill Abdiel's speech to Satan there is a beautiful allusion to this passage of the Psalmist, of which it is an excellent illustration : henceforth No more be troubled how to quit the yoke Of God's Messiah: those indulgent laws Will not be now rouchsafed; other decrees Against thee arc jjonc fortli without recall. That golden sceptre, which thou didst reject. Is now an iron rod to bruise and break Thy disobedience. Paradise Lost, v. Milton has the same image and opposition again, though with less evident allusion to the Psalmist, in the second book ; where Beelzebub says, speaking of the King of heaven, he will .. over hell extend His empire, and with iron sceptre rule Us here, as with his ^^olden those in heaven. 1 1 . The Son with signs of worship hail,^ Literally, as in our authorized versions. Kiss the Son : the kiss being a mark of worship or adoration, an allusion to which we find in 1 Kings xix. 18, and Hosea xiii. 2 ; as to a practice well known among- the heathen idolaters, who are accordingly here called upon to avert the wrath, and conciliate the fa- vour, of the Son of God, God PSALM HI. 12 If once his wrath be kindled, blest Are they, who flee to Him for rest. PSALM III. Introduction. This affecting Psalm is a pleasing inter- mixture of complaint and petitions for relief and help, "with expressions of praise and thanksgiving for former mercies, pro- fessions of secure reliance on God's protection, and of joy in the expectation of a final deliverance. It is intitled, " A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son." But, as Bishop Horsley observes, nothing in the Psalm has any particular re- ference to that event. 1 How great, O Lord, the number grows, How deep the rancour of my foes ! In troops around they stand. 9 " Behold him," this their haughty boast ; " Behold the wretch, whose soul hath lost His God^s protecting hand." 3 But, O my God, my shield art thou : Thy hand with glory decks my brow, Thy hand protects me still. 4 I to the Lord my pray'r preferred ; My pray'r the Lord propitious heard, Ev'n from his holy hill. manifett in the Jlesh. by an ac- his worshippers " The kiss of knowledgment of his divinity, adoration is still practised by At Agrigentum in Sicily was the Siamese Pagans : and some- a brazen image of the Tyrian thing of the same kind appears Hercules, whose mouth and also to be yet in use with the chin, as described by Cicero, Greek Church in Russia. (See " were worn by the kisses of Parkhurst on pti'i.) B 4 8 PSALM IV. 6 In peace I laid me down, and slept ; I rose, for He his vigil kept. And He my slumber blest. 6 Tho' hostile myriads round me rise. My soul the circling hosts defies, Nor terror shakes my breast. 7 Rise, Lord ; and help me, O my God ! To thee belongs th^ avenging rod. Which smote my foemen's face, And brake their lawless teeth of old ; 8 Again thy saving might unfold, And bless thy Israel's race. PSALM IV. Introduction. This Psalm was probably composed by David about the same time as the preceding: and it breathes similar sentiments of piety and trust in God. 1 GrOD of my right, to Thee I pray! Thy hand my galling chain Brake, when with sorrow bound I lay. Have mercy. Lord, again ! 2 My name how long will ye persist. Ye sons of men, to wrong ? 7. Which smote viy foemen's Hebrew poets to speak of cruel face.~\ The word here trans- and remorseless tyrants under lated face, may, says Park- the image of wild beasts : and hurst, when spoken of man. that, not so much in the way be sometimes rendered cheek; of similitude, as of metaphor, but in those passages it seems A practice this, which, whilst strictly to denote the yaw- io«e. it gives great vigour to their — and brake their lawless style, is attended by no loss of teeth'] It is usual with the elegance or perspicuity. 1 PSALM IV. 9 How long shall falsehood charm your breast, And slander point your tongue ? 3 Know that the Lord his favour shows To him, the Lord who fears. When I to God my grief disclose, The Lord my sorrow hears. 4 Plant in your soul Jehovah's dread ; Abstain from deeds of ill ; And with your heart, and on your bed, Hold converse, and be still. 6 With offerings of a will, subdued To God, approach his shrine : And on the Lord, the source of good, With stedfast trust recline. 6 " Ah ! who our sorrows shall requite ?'' The crowd mistrustful say. 7 Lord, upon us thy radiance bright, Thy heahng face display. 8 More joy to me thy presence yields. Than to the owners' hearts The prospect of their waving fields And bending vines imparts. 7. Lord, upon us thy radiance are pleased, in opposition to bright, the gloomy forbidding mien of Thy healing face display .1 those who are displeased. So The light of the coujitenance, we commonly speak of joy or which is literally the phrase in pleasure lighting up the counte- this place, denotes the cheerful nance. agreeable look of persons who 10 PSALM V. 9 In peace 1 lay my body down. In peace I sink to rest : PreservM in life by Thee alone, By Thee with safety blest. PSALM V. Introduction. This Psalm is of the same general character with the two former ; and was composed by David, probably under the same circumstances. It is as remarkable for its ele- gance, as for its devotion ; and abounds with poetical imagery. 1 Mark, O Lord, the thoughts that rise From my soul in deep-drawn sighs ! 2 Hear the voice of my complaint, Pour'd, O Lord, in accents faint ; When to Thee my griefs I bring. Thee, my God, and Thee, my King ! 3 Thou, O Lord, my voice shalt hear. Ere the opening dawn appear. Ere the opening morning break, Thee, O Lord, in pray'r I seek : And to Thee, inthron'd on high, Lift the supplicating eye. 4 Sin, O Lord, delights not Thee ; Evil from thy house shall flee : 5 Ne'er with Thee shall folly rest ; Lawless deeds thine eyes detest : 6 Falsehood is abhorr'd by God ; Fraud and murder feel his rod. PSALM V. 11 7 But in thine abundant grace I will seek thy dwelling-place ; And my hands with godly fear In thy holy temple rear. 8 Fierce my foes : O, guide me right ; Smooth thy way before my sight. 9 To their lips is truth unknown : Wickedness and they are one. As the mansions of the dead, Wide their ravening throat is spread : Smooth and soft their tongues are seen, Foul corruption lurks within. 10 Rising in thy puissant might, Thou the impious band shalt smite. 9. Wickedness and they are one] Their inward parts are very wickedness, as in our au- thorized translations. The word rendered inward- parts signifies the inmost or most intimate part of any thing, that which, to borrow the expression of the Latin proverb, (Proximus sum egomet mihi,) is nearest itself; the midst, inwards, or entrails. (See Parkhurst on 3")p, V.) It seems to be the intention of the Psalmist to identify, as it were, the per- sons spoken of with wicked- ness. -—smooth and soft their tongues are seen,] They flatter with their tongues, our translators say: but the phrase is meta- phorical ; it properly denotes smoothing the tongue, and refers to the glibness as well as the agreeableness of one's speech. (Parkhurst on pbn, ii.) 10. Thou the impious band shalt smite.] The passage is rendered in our translations in the imperative mood. Destroy thou them, O God: on which Bp. Home has the following excellent remarks. " Concern- ing passages of this imprecatory kind in the book of Psalms it is to be observed, that they are not spoken of private and personal enemies, but of the opposers of God and his A- nointed; nor of any among these, but the irreclaimable and finally impenitent j and this by way of prediction, rather than of imprecation : which would appear, if the original words were translated uni- 12 PSALM VI. Victims of their own conceit, They thy slighted wrath shall meet ; And their righteous doom fulfil, Rebels to thy holy will. 1 1 Those who love and trust thy name, Lord, thy praises shall proclaim, Chaunting in their joyous mood. 12 For thy blessing's ample flood Thou to glad the just shalt yield, And inclose him, as a shield. PSALM VL Introduction. Whatever may have been the particular occasion of this Psalm of David, it was evidently composed under a sense of the most acute sufFei'ing ; which it expresses in the most plaintive and affecting supplications, finely con- trasted with the abrupt apostrophe of triumph and exultation in Jehovah's mercy, with which the Psalm concludes, 1 O LORD, aside thine anger turn : Nor let, O Lord, against me burn Thy fury, fierce and strong. formly in the future tense, as the infatuation, rejection, and they miijht be, and indeed, to destruction of such, as should cut off all occasion from them obstinately persevere in their which desire it, should be trans- opposition to the counsels of lated. The verse before us heaven, whether relating to would then run thus : ' Thou David, to Christ, or to the wilt destroy them, O God ; Church." they shall perish by their own 12. /ind inclose him, as a counsels: thou wilt cast them shield.] The word denotes a out in the multitude of their large kind of shield, such as transgressions, for they have was used to cover the whole rebelled against thee.' The man. words, when rendered in this 1. Nor lei, 0 Lord, against form, contain a prophecy of mc burn Thy furij,] Literally, I PSALM VI, 13 '2 Spare, heal me, for I faint perplexM ; 3 My bones are rack'd, my soul is vex^d But thou, O Lord, how long ? 4 Turn Thee, O Lord, my soul release ! With Thee for libert}'- and peace I plead thy gracious name. 5 For who of Thee in death shall tell ? And who within the gates of hell Thy glorious works proclaim ? neither chasten me in thy heat, that is, thy wrath or rage, which is but too well known to quicken the pulse, and heat the body : "in thy hot dis- pleasure," as it is in our Bible version. 3. My bones are rack'd^ That is, every part of my body is agitated and made to tremble : it being an ordinary figure with the Hebrews to express a thing by the names of its parts. See Ps. XXXV. 10. — But thou, O Lord, how long?^ I retain the abrupt and incomplete sentence of the original, which conveys more expressively than any language the intense feeling of the com- plainant. " Consternation and anxiety in his troubled mind," says Bp. Home, " cause him to fly for refuge to the hope set before him. But hope de- ferred maketh the heart sick ! He is therefiore beautifully re- presented as crying out, with a fond and longing impatience. ' But thou, O Lord, how long.^' His strength is supposed to fail him, and the sentence is left imperfect. ' 5. Hell.2 That is, the invi- sible state of the dead. In this view the Hebrew word b)HW seems nearly to answer to the Greek " Hades," by Avhich the Seventy almost con- stantly render it, namely, the invisible place; and to our English word, " Hell," which, though now scarcely used but for the place of torment, yet being a derivative from the Saxon hillan or helan, to hide, or from holl, a cavern, anciently denoted the concealed, or unseen place of the dead in general, as is manifest from the version of Psal. xlix. 14; Iv. 16; Ixxxviii. 9; Ixxxix. 44 J in King Henry the Eighth's Great Bible, which is retained in our Liturgy ; and so it ought to be understood in other places of that Translation. (Parkhurst, on VlXti*.) 14 PSALM VI. 6 I pant with groans : all night I weep : My couch the tears incessant steep, And o'er my bedding- roll. 7 Mine eye, with premature decay. Sinks, through my foes, and wastes away. For anguish of my soul. 6. I pant with groans :] Our translations render the phrase, / am weary of, or with, my groaning. The version above seems to give more fully the sense of the original. " Pro- prie, hiare, hiascere, hianle ore fatisci." (Simonis on yjiv) — my couch — my bedding — ] Of the two words, thus ren- dered, the former appears to signify the bed, divan, or place of repose ; the latter, the bed- ding or divan furniture. The following remarks of Parkhurst will probably be acceptable to the reader. The word HDD is often ren- dered " a bed;" but we shall be much mistaken, if we sup- pose it ever signifies such beds as are in use in this part of the world : " for in the East, and particularly in Persia and Tur- key, beds are not raised from the ground, with bed-posts, a canopy, and curtains ^ people lie on the floor," says Sir John Chardin: so Mr. Hanway, speaking of the reception he met with at Lahijan in the province of Ghilan in Persia, says, " Soon after supper the company retired, and beds were taken out of the niches made in the walls for the purpose, and laid on the carpets. They consisted only of two thick cotton quilts, one of which was folded double and served as a mattress, and the other as a covering, with a large flat pillow for the head." And Dr. Russell describes the beds at Aleppo, " as consisting of a mattress laid on the floor, and over this a sheet, in winter a carpet or some such woollen covering; a divan cushion often serving them for a pillow or bolster." And on the word W^V he says, this word is rendered "a couch, bed, bedstead:" but it seems more agreeably to the oriental customs to denote the furniture of an oriental riDO or divan; that is, a carpet or mattress, of which latter I sup- pose the eastern beds consisted anciently, as they do in our times. In this passage it is plainly applied to the bedding or bed- furniture. 7- Mine eye, with premature decay, Sinks — a7id wastes away,] The image is as correct, as it is beautifully and affectingly ex- pressed. " Grief," as Bp. Home well observes, " exhausts the PSALM VII. 16 8 Workers of ill, my presence fly ! Jehovah hears my sorrow *s cry; 9 Jehovah hears my pray'r : Jehovah shall accept my vows ; 10 Shall clothe with swift disgrace my foes, And whelm them in despair. PSALM VII. Introduction. David is said to have composed this Psahn, concerning the words, or the matter, of Cush the Benjamite. Whoever may be intended by this description, for no person under that appellation is mentioned in Scripture, the expressions in the second verse, and in some other parts of the Psalm, ap- pear to point at some distinguished enemy and persecutor. It is called, in the Hebrew title, " Shiggaion of David." This is sometimes interpreted to mean a wandering song, a song of wanderings : and as such is thought to have been composed by David in his ^panderings, when persecuted by Saul and his ad- herents. (See Parkhurst on T\W, iii-) Bp. Horsley says, " Shiggaion is a wandering Ode, in different parts taking up different subjects, in different styles of composition. The first part of this Ode is complaint : the second, supplication and prediction mixed ; the third, commination ; the fourth, crimi- nation, commination, and thanksgiving mixed." At all events this is a good account of the structure of the Psalm. The first part, as thus described, contains the five first verses: the second, from the sixth to the tenth ; the third part reaches through the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth verses -, and the fourth from thence to the end. This is one of the Psalms, of which Milton made a metrical version ; which is in a singular and pleasing metre, and is by no means wanting in poeti(!al spirit. animal spirits, dims the eyes, cites Dry den's description of and brings on old age before its Arcite, time." In illustration of the His eye-balls in their hollow sockets eye's change of position, in con- sink. sequence of grief, Parkhurst 16 PSALM VII. PART I. 1 My God, on Thee my hopes depend : Lord, when my foes my peace invade, Do thou preserve me and defend, 2 Lest, Hon-hke, my soul he rend, He tear, and there be none to aid. 3 My God, if I this deed have wrought, Lord, if my hand injustice know ; 4 If evil on my friend I brought, Nor, when unharmed my life he sought, With acts of love repaid my foe : 5 Then let my foe, with malice dread. Pursue and overtake my soul ; Low on the ground my spirit tread. Low on the ground with shame outspread, And in the dust my glory roll. PART II. 6 Rise in thy wrath, Jehovah, rise ! Exalt thine hand, thy might display ! To Thee for help my soul applies. For help from ruthless man she flies ; O, rouse Thee for thy judgment-day. 7 So shall the nations gather round, For their sakes then thy seat resume : 2. Lesi, lion-like, my soul he by the sacred and by the rend, He tear,] This is ex- heathen writers. " When the actly adapted to the habits of lion," says BufFon, " leaps on the lion ; whose name, as it his prey, he gives a spring of occurs here in the original, is ten or fifteen feet, falls on, probably derived from the re- seizes it with his fore-paws, markable manner in which he tears it with his claws, and after- tears his prey to pieces : a cir- wards devours it with his teeth." cumstance, particularly noticed (See Parkhiu'st, on niN, iii.) PSALM vir. 17 S Bid thro' the world thy judgment sound ; And, as my innocence is found, So be, O Lord, thy servant's doom ! 9 Lay thou the sinner in the dust, Raise thou the good ! The heart and reins Are tried by Thee ; the wise, the just ! 10 Thou art my buckler and my trust, Thy hand the true of heart sustains. 11 12 All-righteous Judge ! — yet day by day Is God to indignation stung. If sinners will not quit their way, But still from Him perversely stray. His sword he whets, his bow is strung. 9- The heart and reins are tried by Thee,'] As common ex- perience shews, that the work- ings of the mind, particularly the passions of joy, grief, and fear, have a very remarkable effect on the reins or kidneys; (See Prov. xxiii. 16; Ps.lxxiii. 21 ]) so from their retired situation in the body, and their being hid in fat, they are often used to denote the most secret workings and affections of the soul. See Ps. xvi. 7; Jer. xii. 2 ; Lam. iii. 13. And to " see or examine the reins" is to see or examine those iTiost secret thoughts or desires of the soul. See, besides the text, Ps. xxvi. 2; Jer. xx. 12 3 and other places. (Parkhiirst.) 11. Is God to indignation stung'] The original expression here is very forcible. The true idea of it appears to be, to froth ov foam at the mouth with indignation. 12. His sword he whets, Jiis bow is strung] Nothing can be more lively and expressive than this image of the Al- mighty, described in language suited to our capacities, in the act of whetting and sharpen- ing his sword for tl>e destruc- tion of his enemies, and fitting to the bowstring his arrow which cannot err. Milton has furnished the " Filial God- head" with the same weapons of vengeance: Go then, thou Mightiest, in thy Father's might; Ascend my chariot, guide the rapid wheels, That shake heav'u's basis; bring forth all my war. My bow and thunder; my almighty arms Gird on, and sword upon thy puis- sant thigh. Paradise Lost, vi. C 18 PSALM VII. 13 To do his will, with ready aim The instruments of death are trainM ; The tyrant^s burning rage to tame, Behold, his bolts of arrowy flame, His forked shafts hath God ordain'd. 14 And see the wretch, who teems with woe, Who mischief breeds, and falsehood bears ! \5 He digs a pit, he delves it low. For others bids the ruin grow, And fills the grave himself prepares. And - beside him hung his bow, quiver with three-bolted thunder stored. Ibid. IS. The tyrant's burning rage to tame'] English translation, "Against the persecutors j" literally, " against the ardent persecutors ;" the idea, con- veyed by the word, appearing to be taken from the action ot fire, which is continually press- ing upon, and, as it were, pur- suing the fuel on which it feeds. (See Parkhurst, on — his bolts of arrowy flame. His forked shafts] " His ar- rows," English trans. The original word, signifying " ar- rows," and sometimes " the shaft or wooden part of a spear," seems to have reference to the divided or separated pieces or slips of wood, of which such instruments are made. Being used for " ar- rows," the word is also figura- tively applied to lightnings, which are God's arrows. See Ps, xviii. 15; cxliv. 6; Hab. iii. 11. (Parkhurst on ^n. ii) Above I have expanded the phrase, adopting the notion suggested by Parkhurst's ety- mological remark. 14 ^nd see the wretch, who teems ivith woe, Who mischief breeds, and falsehood hears /] This Hjctaphor forcibly de- scribes the deep design, the continued course, and vigorous endeavours of the wicked for the doing of mischief, and his restlessness and pain, till he have accomplished it. 15. He digs a pit, he delves it low] The former verb, agree- ably to the distinction intended in the original, denotes the action of digging or cutting with a spade ; the latter, the sinking or deepening of the hole. The image is taken from one of the methods of hunting wild beasts anciently in use ; namely, by means of a pit or pit-fall, digged deep in the ground, and covered 1 PSALM VIII. 19 16 His mischief on himself shall light ; On his own head descends his wrong. 17 Thy arm is strong, thy ways are right, Great God ! — PU sing Jehovah's might, Jehovah's truth shall prompt my song. PSALM VIII. Introduction. Of this most beautiful hymn of praise and gratitude neither the date nor the occasion is well known. It is a thankful commemoration of God's greatness and of his love to man : the Psalmist, as he is interpreted by the apostle to the Hebrews, looking forward to the exaltation of human nature by the incarnation of our blessed Lord. 1 xlOW great, Jehovah, sovereign Lord, Thy name, through all thy works ador'd ! Thou who hast set thy glory high Above the vastness of the sky ! 2 The infant's mouth, the suckling's tongue, By thee to notes of praise are strung ; Offeree to bend the hostile will. And bid the ven2:eful heart be still. over with boughs of trees, reeds, turf, and the like, in order to deceive tiiem, and cause them to fall in una- wares. 2. The infant's mouth, the suckling's tongue, By thee to notes of praise are strung ;] Literally, as in our authorized versions, " Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained, founded, or constituted, strength." " This verse," says Bp. Home, " is cited by our Lord," Matt. xxi. 16 ; and applied to ' little chil- dren in the temple, crying, Hosannah to the Son of David !' which vexed and con- founded his malignant adver- saries. The import of the words therefore plainly is, that the praises of Messiah, cele- brated in the church by his children, have in them a strength and power, which nothing can withstand^: they can abash infidelity, when at its greatest height ; and strike C 2 20 PSALM VIII. 3 When yon blue vault of peerless light, Thy fingers' wofk, employs my sight ; When that fair moon, ordainM by thee, Those orbs of radiant flame I see ; 4 Lord, what is man, that he should prove The object of thy watchful love ? Or son of man, that he should share The presence of thy fostering care ? 5 FormM by thy will a little space Below thy hosts, thy angel race ; By Thee with might, with glory, crown'd. Lord of creation's ample round : 6 He hears Thee bid thy works obey In him thy delegated sway ; ControU'd by Thee, he sees them meet. And crouch submissive at his feet : 7 Flocks, and all herds ; the desert brood ; What wings the air ; what cleaves the flood. 8 How great, Jehovah, sovereign Lord, Th}'" name, through all thy works ador'd ! hell itself dumb. In the cita- S. Those orbs of radiant lion, made by our Lord, which fiame] Parkhurst describes the the Evangelist gives from the original word as denoting Greek of the LXX, we read, " any glittering thing, but " Thuu hast perfected praise," generally a round one:" thence, which seems to be rather a "a star, that is, the orb or paraphrase, than a transla- body of a fixed star or planet;" tion, of the Hebrew ; literally and " most generally a star, rendered by our transla- that is, the stream or flux of tors, " Thou hast ordained light from the orb of a fixed strength." In the above ver- star or planet." (See his sion regard has been had to Lexicon on 3DD0 the para|)hrastiral, as well as the literal, sense. PSALM IX. 21 PSALM IX. Introduction. Upon what particular occasion this Psalm was composed is not known. It consists of two parts : a thanksgiving', which reaches through the first twelve verses, corresponding with the first five stanzas of the following ver- sion ; and a prayer, which occupies the remaining portion. It is properly characterised by Bishop Home, as " an animated and exalted hymn." PART I. 1 JMY heart, great God, shall raise To Thee the hymn of praise, My answering tongue thy wond'rous works proclaim : 2 My beating heart shall bound, With joy my tongue resound, And, O most Highest, chaunt thy sovereign name. 3 For, lo ! my foes, compelFd to flight, Before thy face are falPn, and perish from thy sight ! 4. To Thee my cause was known. By Thee my right was shewn : Thy throne supreme, thy judgment, Lord, was just. 2. Ml/ beatitig heart shall verse; and translate accord- hound,'] English translation, ingly. " I will be glad." But the — 0 most Highest'] I re- phrase is here rendered with tain the double superlative a view to Parkhurst's interpre- of our old Common Prayer tation ; "To move briskly Book translation, where, as and alternately, to move to Bishop Lowth very pertinently and fro, or vibrate with a remarks, it acquires a singular quick motion, as the heart in propriety from the subject to joy." I suppose a reference which it is applied, the Su- therefore to the " heart," prerne Being, who is higher mentioned in the former than the highest. c 3 22 PSALM IX. 5 Thy stern rebuking word AbashM the heathen heard ; Thy force the impious felt, and sank in dust. By Thee overwhehn'd, no more to rise, Their name in endless shade of dark oblivion lies. 6 Destruction, sent from Thee To work thy high decree, Pour'd on the foe its desolating flood : And sheer with sweepy sway Their cities bore away ; No memory tells the place where once they stood. 7 But with Jehovah age is none : His judgment seat is set ; and who shall shake his throne ? 8 Their sentence all mankind Shall hear by Him assigned ; The world shall bow, and own his judgment right. 6. Destruction, sent from Thee — And sheer with sweepy To work thy high decree, stvay Pour'd on the foe its deso- Their cities bore away ;] lating flood^ I have endeavoured to express This verse is thus rendered by the idea of total and perma- Bishop Lowth, and the render- nent desolation intended by ing is approved by Bishops the Hebrew verb, which de- Home and Horsley. " Deso- 'notes " plucking up by the lations have consumed the roots/' or, as in the case of enemy for ever; and as to buildings, " rooting up, raz- the cities which thou, 0 God, ing, destroying from the foun- hast destroyed, their memory dations." (See Parkhurst on is perished with them." Wm) PSALM IX. 2:3 9 And still in misery's hour Is He the poor man's tow'r ; The outcast's refuge in affliction's night. 10 Who know thy name, to Thee will cleave ! For them who seek the Lord, the Lord will never leave. 1 1 Sing praises, praises sing To heav'n's Eternal King, Who deigns his seat to fix on Zion's hill. To all the nations round His righteous acts resound ; 12 He marks the harmless blood which tyrants spill ; In mind he bears the sufferer's cry, Nor on his servant's woes looks with unpitying eye. PART II. 13 On me thy mercy shew. Regard, O Lord, my woe, View me the object of relentless hate ! Hard by the gates of death I lie ; do thou my breath 14 Revive, that I may stand in Zion's gate ; 13. — the gates of deatli] cious as to be supported by The Hebrew poets abound in pillars. On all sides were cut imagery, taken from the mode receptacles for the coffins, of burying in use among them, which occupied each its sepa- For the sepulchres of the rate cell. No light was ad- Israelites, at least of those of mitted into the cave ; the the higher ranks, were large entrance to which was narrow, caverns under ground, hewn and closed by a stone rolled out of the solid rock, with a against it. Many repositories vaulted roof, and some so spa- of this kind are still to be seen C4 24 PSALM IX, And Zion's daughter hear my voice, Whilst 1 thy praises chaunt, and in thy strength rejoice, \6 And see ! the toils they wound The heathens' feet surround ; The pit they digg'd, behold ! their steps hath caught. in Judea. The popular notion of the stiite of the dead on their leaving this world seems to have been connected with this mode of disposing of their bodies ; and ugreeable to tiiis notion is the language of the sacred poets, who frequently derive their imagery, when speaking of the dead, from the sensible objects continually present to their eyes. Hence such phrases as " the gates of death" or " of hell ;" " the mouth of hell ;" " going down into the pit 3" " the pit shut- ting her mouth on" those who have entered it; and others of the like kind, both in the Psalms, and in other parts of the Old Testament. (See Bp. Lowth's Seventh Preelection, for more upon tliis subject.) 14. — in Zion's gate] That is, in the most frequented place of the city. For among the Israelites, as probably among the other ancient na- tions of the East, the " gate" of the city was the forum or place of publick concourse. Tliere was the court of judica- ture held for trying all causes, and deciding all affairs. And there also was the market, where corn and provision was sold. Bp. Home observes, that there is a beautiful con- trast between " the gates of death" in the preceding verse, and " the gates of the daughter of Zion" in this. — Zion's daughter'] The word " daughter" applied to places, as the daughter of Zion, of Jerusalem, of Tyre, denotes the city, community, or state of Zion, Jerusalem, or Tyre. 15. — the toils they wound The heathens' feet surround'] U'his is an image taken from one of the ancient methods of huntingand taking wild beasts: namely, the snare or toils, which consisted of a series of nets, inclosing at first a great space of ground, in which the wild beasts were known to be ; and then drawn in by degrees into a narrower compass, till they were at last closely shut up, and intangled in them. Concerning the pit, another method here alluded to, see the note on Ps. vii. 15. PSALM X. 25 16 By acts of justice done Jehovah's arm is shewn : Snar'd is the wicked by the work he wrought. 17 To hell's sepulchral gloom they go ; Rebels, who God despise, nor choose his will to know. 18 For misery's meek lament Shall not in vain be spent, Nor patience still in fruitless hope consume. 19 Rise, Lord, thy pow'r display ; On man's presumption lay Thy hand ; pronounce aloud the heathen's doom. 20 Plant in them dread of Thee ; and then They shall their weakness feel, and know them- selves but men. PSALM X. Introduction. "Expositors/' says Bishop Horsley, "have to little purpose racked their invention, to discover some par- ticular occasion of this admirable hymn." It is for the most part a mixture of supplication and complaint, descriptive of some powerful enemy, who, renouncing all fear of God and regard of men, uses both force and deceit as the means of op- pression. The descriptions are lively, introducing much iUus- trative embellishment of comparison and metaphor. The Psalm concludes with a sudden change from its former plaintive 20. They shall their weakness which he fell by sin. It is by feel, and know themselves but this naine that the species is vienl The Hebrew word, used most commonly called in Scrip- in this place for " men," has turej and the use of the term infirmity or illness for its radical has evident propriety in the idea; and is used to denote passage before us. (See Park- " man," with reference to the hurst on li^DN, vi.) infirm, wretched state, into 26 PSALM X. strain to notes of the highest exultation, celebrating Jehovah's sovereignty, manifested in the protection of the helpless, anil the destruction of tyrannical oppression. 1 vV HY, Lord, wilt thou at distance stay, When times of danger press ? Why wilt thou turn thy face away In seasons of distress ? 2 In full blown pride the impious strives To snare the poor in thought : But in the schemes, himself contrives, Shall he himself be caught. 3 Behold, he vaunts with speech profane His heart's impure delights ; With triumph hails his lawless gain. And Thee, Jehovah, slights. 4 With eye of scorn, and heart of pride, " There is no God," he says : 3. With triumph hails his have given this root the sense lawless gain, of covetonsness ; but in many And Thee, Jehovah, slights} of the passages, where it is Bible marginal translation, supposed to have this sense, " The covetous blesseth him- it literally signifies the break- self, he abhorreth the Lord." ing or cutting off" pieces of Bishop Horsley renders, "He metal, as, for instance, of silver: blesseth gain, despising Je- for in the times of Abraham hovah." In either case, and Moses, and long after, much the same idea is con- they used to weigh their silver, veyed, as expressed above, and, no doubt, to cut or clip Parkhurst takes the question- off pieces of it, to make weight able word in the sense of " a in their dealings with each covetous man," that is, " a other, as is practised by some clipper;" and illustrates the nations, particularly the Chi- phrasc by the following cu- nese, to this day. (See on rious remark : " The Lexicons yK3, iii.) PSALM X. 27 His thoughts are all thy truth beside, 6 And crooked all his ways. Above his sight thy judgments lie, Nor man he heeds, nor Thee : 6 All change his hearths proud boasts defy, " Affliction knows not me.^' 7 His mouth of curses deep is full. Of falsehood, fraud, and wrong : Ungodliness and foul misrule Are bred beneath his tongue. 8 Near village folds in wait he lies, In dark and secret ways : There tracks the faint with peering eyes, And there the harmless slays. 5. j^nd crooked all his ways.l Simon is renders the phrase, " Via in orbem it, h. e. curva, distorta, dolosa est." (Sim. Lex. bin.) 5. Nor man he heeds'] The Hebrew expression is very forcible, signifying " to puff or snuff at, in contempt or dis- dain." (Parkhurst on nD3> ii) 7. Ungodliness and foul mis- rule Are bred beneath his tongue'] There seems to be an allusion in this place to serpents, whose poison is hidden under their tongue, or within their teeth. 8. Near village folds in wait he lies] Upon the word, ren- dered " villages" in our Bible translation, Parkhurst remarks, that the proper and original signification of it appears to be such moveable villages of tents, as those of the ancient Nomades, and modern Bedo- weens, so called from the round form in which they were placed : and that the word is probably so applied in this place. Bp. Horsley says, that the image is that of a beast of prey of the lesser order, a fox or a wolf, lying upon the watch about the farm -yard in the evening. — There tracks the faint with peering eyes] Concerning the word, which I have rendered " peering," Parkhurst says, that it is applied to winking or half-closing the eyes, in order to see more distinctly. The Septuagint and Vulgate trans- lations, which mean look at, behold, give the general sense, but not the beautiful image expressed in the Hebrew. 28 PSALM X. 9 In secret place he spreads his toils, Like lion in his lair, To spoil the weak : the weak he spoils. Entangled in his snare. 10 He bows, he fawns, with fraudful art. Low crouching on the ground : Prompt on his helpless prey to start. And close his victim round. 11" God sees it not," with heart consigned To vile conceits he cries : " Oblivion clouds Jehovah's mind, And distance veils his eyes." 12 Arise, Jehovah : God of might. Thy lifted hand display : Nor from the meek withdraw thy sight, Nor lurn thy thoughts away ! 10. He lows, he farons, with fraudful art, Low crouching on the ground] " He croucheth, he humbleth himself/' Bib. trans. I un- derstand the words, as carrying on very beautifully by meta- phor the image instituted by comparison to the lion in the preceding verse. — Prompt on his helpless prey to start, ^nd close his victim rotind^ " That the poor may fall by his strong ones," Bib. trans- lation. But what is meant by " his strong ones/' is doubtful. Whether " his captains/' as in our old translation, dropping the metaphor ; or " his whel ps/' retaining the metaphor, as ap- proved by Simon is, after Schroederus : or whether it may not be simply " by his strengtii," robora ejus, as is also noticed by Simonis. See on nnyy, and mj^y.) Stern - hold seems to have preferred the last rendering, for he gives the verse. With cunning craft and subtilty He croucheth down ahvayj So are great heaps of poor men uiade By his strong power a prey. PSALM XI. 29 13 Why should the rebel heart o'erflow With pride ? why God despise ? And say, " Nor eye of thine shall know, Nor hand of thine chastise?" 14 But, Lord, thy eyes th' oppressor see : The proud thy hand shall pay : In Thee the poor confide ; in Thee The orphan finds his stay. 1 5 The scorner's might, O Lord, subdue ; The spoiler's pow'r confound : His sin with just revenge pursue, Till sin no more be found. 16 For aye, and while the world shall stand, The Lord the sceptre wields ; He drives the faithless from his land, And he the faithful shields. 17 Father of all ! thy watchful care Prepares the humble breast. Bends to its plaint a willing ear, And grants the meek request. 18 'Tis thine the arm of pride to break, And make the tyrant bow : Thou art the Saviour of the weak. The orphan's Father Thou ! PSALM XI. Introduction, This short but admirable ode was probably composed, in consequence of advice given to David by his friends to fly to some place of refuge from the assaults of his 30 PSALM XI. enemies. Their advice is recited, with the motives of it. In the first stanza, comprising the three first verses. David's answer, expressing his confidence in Jehovah, and the grounds of that confidence, occupies the remainder of the poem, in which senti- ments of the most sublime piety are expressed with correspond- ing majesty and awfulness. 1 ]\i.Y shelter is Jehovah's name : Then wherefore to my soul exclaim, " Fly like a sparrow to your hill : 2 Behold, their bow the impious try. Their arrow to the string apply, By stealth the true of heart to kill. 3 The firm foundations are o'erthrown, And what can by the just be done?" 1. My shelter is Jehovah's tiame'] Bib. trans. " In the Lord put I my trust." For the verb, which properly signi- fies " I shelter myself," is fre- quently rendered " to hope or trust in," which is taking refuge or shelter mentaWy. (See Parkhurst on nDfl-) But the proper signification seems re- quired here, at least it has pe- culiar expression from what follows in the context. — Fly like a sparrow to your hilt] Or, as the line might run, " Away, ye sparrows, to your hill." Bishop Horsley renders, " flee sparrows to your hill :" and observes, that this word, "lIDJf, like most names of animals in the Hebrew language, signifies either the individual or the species. And, as the name of the species, it may he used in the sinsrular number for raanv individuals; and thus used, it may be connected with plural verbs, adjectives, and pro- nouns, as here. The expres- sion, he continues, " I take to be proverbial, denoting a situation of great helplessness and danger, in which there was no hope of safety but in flight," 3. The firm foundations are o'erthrown, And what can by the just he done ?] The former words seem to be those of David's friends, repre- senting the extreme danger he was in from the arrows of the enemy, already, as it were, fitted to the string, and pointed at him in secret. Tliese seem to be the words of the same persons, dissuading him from further resistance by the con- sideration that all was over : the " foundations" of religion PSALM XI. 31 Jehovah sits in heaven on high, The temple of his sanctity, The throne of his supreme command. His eyes survey mankind below, The sons of men his eyelids know, He tries the just with aspect bland ; But him, who fraud and strife affects, His heart abhors, his soul rejects. 6 Jehovah from above shall rain In judgment upon guilty men and law were subverted ; and what could a man, engaged in the most righteous designs, hope to do, when that was the case ? 4. The temple of his sanctity'] The word " temple" is not unfrequently applied by the sacred poets to that high and holy place, where Jehovah pe- culiarly dwellcth ; otherwise called " the holy heavens" or " heavens of holiness," and Jehovah's "dwelling or resting place." See Ps. xviii. 7 3 Hab. ii. 20: Ps. xx. 6"; 1 Kings viii. SO, 39, 43, 49. The expres- sion is also applied to heaven by heathen authors, such as Ennius, Terence, and Lucre- tius 3 especially the last, who seems fond of this application of the term. Milton, in his sublime description of the re- turn of the Son from the con- quest of the rebel angels, uses the same phrase; he, celebrated, rode And temple of his Mighty Father, thron'd On hich : who into glory him re- ceiv'd, Where now he sits at the right hand of bliss. Paradise Last, vi. And in another place, denomi- nating heaven "this high tem- ple," he assigns the proper rea- son for its being called so, by adding that it is the place which its inhabitar.ts frequent Triumphant through mid heaven, into the courts With ministeries due, and solemn rites. Paradi.ie Lost, vii. .5. He tries the just] As metals are tried, for such is the meaning of the verb. Upon which Bp. Home re- marks. As to the afflictions which persons may suffer, who are embarked in a righteous cause, they are intended to purge a way the dross, and to refine them for the Master's use. " Gold," saith the Son of Sirach, " is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity." Ecclus. ii. 5. 32 PSALM XI, Intangling- snares, and coals that glow : Brimstone, and fire, and fiery blast, The scorching terror of the waste, The portion of their cup of woe. 7 Thou only Good ! ^tis sweet to Thee Thy image in thy works to see ! 6. Intangling snares, and coals that glow} The C. P. B. trans- lation renders the word Q*nD "snares;" the Bib. transla- tion does the same^ adding in the margin, " or quick burn- ing coals:" in which, says Parkliurst with reference to the etymological sense, the fire is still blowing up. Bp. Lowth explains it by halls of fire, or simply lightnings ; and observes that this interpreta- tion corresponds with what follows much better than " snares." I have however judged it not improper to adopt both significations of the word. — Brimstone, and Jire\ With evident allusion to the horrible destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha ; the images, taken from which, are trans- ferred to the vengeance of the last day. — andjiery hlast'\ Our Bible marginal translation renders the word " a burning tem- pest;" more specifick and more appropriate than the textual rendering " an horrible tem- pest," I'arkhurst explains the word to mean " a scorching blasting wind ;" and explains it, after Michaelis, of that pestilential destructive wind, well known to the eastern nations, and by the Arabs called Smum, Simoom, Samiel, and the like, according to their various pronunciations. This wind, when it lights upon a multitude, destroys great num- bers of them in a moment, as frequently happens to the cara- vans in those deserts. Niebuhr remarks, speaking of the Simoom, that " during an ex- cessive heat there sometimes comes a breath of air still more burning; and that tlien, both men and beasts being already overpowered and faint, this small increase of heat intirely deprives them of respiration." — The portion of their cup of woe'] From the ancient custom of the master of the feast ap- pointing to each guest liis cup, that is, his kind and measure of liquor, " cup" is a frequent exi)ression in Scripture for that portion of happiness or misery, which God allots to men. See also Ps, xvi. 5; xxiii. 5. PSALM XII. 33 PSALM Xll. Introduction. The occasion of this short poem is un- known, but David was its author. It is of the elegiack cha- racter; and is a pathetick and pleasing effusion of complaint mingled with recollection of Jehovah's promises, and reliance on his truth. 1 Help, O Jehovah, help ! The godly dies; Fails of the sons of men the faithful part. 2 Man with his fellow utters glosing lies ; Smooth are their Hps,and double is their heart. 3 But their smooth lips, their proud and boastful tongue, Shall God extirpate. Hear their babblings vam 4 " Our tongue shall rule : to us our lips belong : And who is he shall circumscribe our reign ?" 5 Now for the sufferer's heav'n directed sighs. The patient moanings of the meek opprest, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah : " I will rise. Quell the proud heart, and give the humble rest." "2. — glosing lies'] So Bp. 4. Our tongue shall rule: to Horsley renders, and explains us our lips belong: it by " ensnaring eloquence. And who is he shall circum- and specious argument :" The scribe our reign ?'] phrase is from Milton : Milton has put very similar For man will hearken to his glosing sentiments into the mouth of lies. Satan : Paradise Lost, iii. — double is their heart.'] Oat puissance is our own : our Literally, "a heart and a ^, own right hand heart ;" Aat is, a double heart, ^^'^\'',^f\^ "Jy '""''''' ^''^'' ' •' or, as it were, two different who is our equal. hearts. Paradise Los', v. D 34 PSALM XII. 6 Pure are the words that speak Jehovah's mind I Pure as the silver, all its dross removed ; Or gold in crucible of earth refinM, And seven times in the searching furnace proved. 7 Thy words wilt thou establish, O my God ! Spite of this impious race, thy saving hand 8 We trust ; though now the wicked walk abroad, While prosperous vileness lords it o'er the land. 6. Pure are the words that speak Jehovah's mind] " Not like those of deceitful and fallible man, but true and righteous altogether. Often have they been put to the test, in the trials of the faithful, like silver committed to the furnace in an earthen crucible; but like silver in its most re- fined and exalted purity, found to contain no dross of imper- fection, no alloy of fallibility in them," This is Bp. Home s remark, illustrative of the comparison in the text ; a comparison, w^hich I suppose no person can consider, with- out being struck by its perti- nency and its elegance. — Or gold} Bishop Horsley has introduced the word into his translation, though I am not aware that there is autho- rity for it ; unless it be in the supposed signification of the verb ppN which Parkhurst in- terprets as denoting " to fuse thoroughly, thoroughly purify by fusing, as gold." The fre- quent introduction however of these two precious metals into the same comparison by the sacred writers, as well as the evident propriety of the double comparison, will I presume sufficiently justify me in inen- tioning both in this place. — in crucible of earth rejind~\ Or, according to the radical sense of the word, a sublima- tory, or vessel wherein the impurities or dross of metal, being separated by the action of fire, are made to ascend. Refinei's' " crucibles," so called because they were formerly marked with a cross, are to this day made of earth. 8. While prosperous vileness lords it o'er the lancQ " Vile- ness" personified ; for so it appears to be in the original. PSALM XIII. 35 PSALM XIII. Intuoduction, Of this very beautiful and affecting little hymn, there is no certain information, concerning the author or the cause. The plaintive strain of the body of it will pro- bably find an echo in the feelings of those who are weighed down by distress. Happy they, who can also adopt the trium- phant tone of the conclusion ! 1 Lord, my God, how long- by Thee Shall I quite forgotten be } Lord, how long ? for ever, say. Wilt thou turn thy face away ? 2 Ceaseless thoughts my soul perplex : Daily griefs my spirit vex : O'er me, lo ! my foes bear swa}^ : Lord, how long ? for ever, say ? 3 Lord, my God, at length arise, Mark my sorrows, hear my cries : Lighten thou my eyes that weep, Lest the sleep of death I sleep. 4 Lest my foe exulting rail, " See, against him I prevail !" And the persecuting crew Triumph, as my fall they view. 3. Lighten thou my eyes that in darkness. On the other weep'] In time of sickness and hand, health and joy render grief the eyes are dull and the organs of vision bright and heavy ; and they grow more sparkling, seeming, as it were, and more so as death ap- to impart light to them from proaches, which closes them within. Bp. Home. D 2 36 PSALM XIV. .5 On thy mercy I repose : Thee my heart her Saviour knows ; Leaps for joy ; and hymns thee, Lord, Thee her shield and great reward. PSALM XIV. Introduction. David is by most writers supposed to be the author, and the revolt of Israel in Absalom's rebellion the oc- casion, of this Psalm. It describes the depraved condition of human nature, when not in a state of grace ; and with particu- lar reference to the immediate occasion of the Psalm, which then concludes with a lively apostrophe expressive of an earnest desire for the deliverance and salvation of Israel. 1 " There is no God," the worthless says, All in his senseless mood : Corrupt they are, and foul their ways ; Not one that doeth good. 2 The Lord looked down from heaven, and view'd The sons of men below ; 5. Leaps JbrjoT/'] The verb, marked out by a word, which thus rendered, signifies, accord- Parkhurst explains to mean ing to Parkhurst, " to exult, " vile, refuse, contemptible, a leap or jump up and down, villain.' According to Siraonis, turn this way and that, for it means " a fool, one weak in joy." It is a word of gesture; understanding, one dead to all and denotes the outward ex- wise or virtuous exertion ;" or pression of joy by the motions " an impious, wicked wretch," of the body. It is spoken as opposed to a man of under- of the Jvyoiis motion of the heart standing, wickedness and folly in this place; as of the tongue being in Hebrew correlative inPs. xvi. 9 3 and of the bones terms, as are wisdom and in Ps. li. 8. (See on Vj, vii.) virtue. 1. There is no God, the worth- 2. The Lord look' d down from less says, heaven, and xnew'd All in his senseless vioodl The sons of men belowl The person here described i? " Like a watchman on the top PSALM XIV. 37 If some the ways of truth pursued, And sought their God to know. 3 Together all are gone astray, And filthy all are grown : Not one, that keeps the rightful way ; That doeth good, not one. 4" Have they no sense, that thus they tread The paths of guilt abhorr'd ? My people they devour like bread, And call not on the Lord. of some lofty tower, God is represented as surveying from his heavenly throne the sons of Adam and their proceedings upon earth : he scrutinizes, and, as it were, searches dili- gently, to find among them a man of true wisdom, one whose heai't was turned towards the Lord his God, one who was inquiring the way to salvation and glory, that he might walk therein." {Bp. Home.) All this is of course said after the manner of men, and is incapa- ble of being misapprehended : at the same time it expresses a most important truth in the most animated and vivid man- ner. Milton has copied the figure in the following pas- sage: Now had the Almighty Father from above, From the pure empyrean where he sits High throned above all heiizht, bent down his eyr, His o« n works and their works at once to view. Par II (Use Lost, iii. 4. My people they devour like br<;ad2 That is, like their ordi- nary food. For bread, which was and is the principal part of the food of men in all coun- tries, is particularly so among the eastern nations ; who, as Dr. Shaw observes, " are great eaters of bread : it being com- puted that three persons in four live intirely upon it, or else upon such compositions as are made of barley and wheat flour. Frequent mention is made of this simple diet in the holy Scriptures." So Niebuhr tells us, that " the principal nourishment of the Orientals in general is fresh baked bread ; and that therefore they take especial care not to want for meal, when they travel in the desert." D 3 38 PSALM XIV. 6 Ah ! there with groundless fears they shook, For God protects the just. 6 But ye — the poor's designs ye mock, Who place on God their trust. 7 O ! who shall stretch from Zion's hill His hberating hand } Who thence the eager hope fulfil Of Israel's captive band ? When thou, O Lord, shalt once again Thy people's bonds destroy, 5. Ah ! there with grouiuUesi; fears they ahook. For God protects the just] Literally, " there they feared a fear," or " they were in great fear:" and so the sen- tence ends. P.ut in the Gi*eek version of the LXX, as in the parallel passage in the fifty- third Psalm, ver. 5, are added the words, " where no fear was:" which, as Bp. Home observes, certainly connect better with what follows, " for God is in the generation of the righteous." " David," he re- marks, " is supposed to be speaking primarily of Israel's defection fi'om him to Absa- lom ; and here to be assigning the motive of that defection in many J namely, fear of the rebel's growing power, and distrust of his ability to pro- tect them : which fear, the Psalmist observes, was ground- less ; because his cause was the cause of God, who would not fail to appear in its sup- port and vindication. The latter part of the verse, ' but ye &o.' is plainly addressed to the adversaries, and charges them with reproaching and scoffing at the confidence, ex- pressed by the afflicted righte- ous in the Lord." 7. When thou, O Lord, shalt once again Thy people's bonds destroy"] Literally, as in our translations, " When the Lord turneth," or " bringeth back the captivity of his people:" namely, those who had been carried away captive. I have expressed this by a periphrasis. The Hebrew phrase however sometimes means no more than a figura- tive bringing back of the cap- tivity; or a restoration from great affliction and misery to- a happy state. The literal sense is most acrrecable to the PSALM XV. 59 Jacob shall swell th' exulting strain, And Israel kap for joy. PSALM XV. Introduction. This Psalm contains the character of the person, who should be fit to ascend into the hill, and dwell in the temple, of Jehovah. But neither the author, aor the occasion, of it is well known. The interrogatory in the first verse, and the answer in the following verses^ give it a lively dramatick effect. 1 AVHO, O Lord, a welcome guest, In thy dwelling place shall rest ? Who, O Lord, inhabit still On thy own most hoi}' hill ? 5 He who walks where virtue leads ; He who acts as justice bids ; He who speaks, and speaks alone, What his conscious heart will own. 3 He from mahce guards his tongue ; He withholds his hand from wrong ; Nor aoainst another's fame Dares the slanderous tale proclaim. 4 All are hateful in his sight, Who in deeds of guilt delight : Precious in his sight and dear, All who their Creator fear. opinion of those who suppose ?• And Israel leap for joy"] the Psalm to have been written The Hebrew verb is the same during the Babylonish cap- as in Ps. xiii. 5. See the note tivity. there. D 4; 4.0 PSALM XVI His the meek and lowly mind. Ever courteous, ever kind : Tho' his own mischance ensue. His the heart, to promise true. 5 Him nor gain can tempt astray On a brother's need to prey ; Nor th^ profFerM bribe allure To oppress the guiltless poor. He, whom thus his actions prove Studious of Jehovah's love, May unmov'd inhabit still On Jehovah's holy hill. PSALM XVL Introduction. Of this delightful hymn there is no doubt, that it was composed by David, and that it is prophetical of our blessed Lord's resurrection. It is described in the Hebrew title by a word, the signification of which is differently given by commentators; but which in various ways is applicable to the composition. As " a sepulchral inscription/' it might have been written on our Redeemer's tomb : as " a triumphal monument," 4. His the meek and lowly mind. Ever courteous, ever kind.'] It must be obvious to every one that our C. P. B. transla- tion has rendered a portion of this verse very differently from the Bib. Translation: I allude to that, which runs in the latter, " In whose eyes a vile person is contemned ;" and in the former, " He that setteth not by himself, but is lowly in his own eyes." I suppose there is no doubt that the Bib. ver- sion of the clause is correct. At the same time, the qualities noticed in the C. P. B. version of it are so essential to a reli- gious character, and are so distinctly noticed as such in other parts of Scripture, that upon the above authority I have ventured to give them admission, in addition to that recommended by the correcter version, and ■which stands at the beginning of this verse. PSALM XVI. 41 it might have been sung by him in the region of departed spi- rits : and in either, or in any sense, it may well be considered as a "■ golden" composition : as " apples of gold in network of silver;" invaluable in its subject, most pleasing in its struc- ture. 1 Guard me, O God, I trust thine aid : 2 To Thee my supphant soul hath said, Thou, O Jehovah, art my King ; The source whence all my blessings spring. No good of mine can Thee requite, 3 Yet in thy saints I take delight ; And most, of all the sons of earth. In those of most exalted worth. 4 Who haste another god to know. Theirs is accumulated woe. Their bloody rites my soul disclaims ; My lips renounce their hated names. 6, 6 My heritage art thou, O Lord ; Thou filPst my cup, and spread'st my board. 2. The source whence all my blood :" that is, I will not par- blesdngs spring] One rendering take in their religious ceremo- of this obscure passage is, ''My nies, of which the pouring out goodness is from thee." An- of libations to their false gods other is that of our C. P. B. constituted with the heathens version, "My goods are no- a principal part j as"theliba- thing unto thee." I have com- tions of blood" probably allude bined the two senses in this to those human sacrifices, in line, and in the first line of the which many of the heathen next stanza. nations indulged. 4. Their bloody rites my soul 5. Thou Jill'st my cup and disclaims'] Literally, " I will spread'sl my board] See the not pour out their libations of last note on Ps. xi. 42 PSALM XVI, My portion is a pleasant spot, And large and goodly is m\' lot. 7 Blest be the Lord, who guides me right, And prompts my secret thoughts by night. 8 On him my eyes are planted still. My advocate, and guard from ill. 9 My heart exults ; my tongue replies My flesh shall rest in hope to rise. Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, Nor let me with corruption dwell : C. My portion is a pleasant spot'] Literally, as in our Bib. version, " The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places :" for it was the practice of the Israelites to measure their land by a line, rope, or cord, as we use a chain for the same pur- pose ; and hence the space or portion of land belonging to an individual was denominated by a word properly signifying the measuring instrument itself. By the like metonymy, the Hebrew word for " lot," mean- ing the portion decided by lot, properly signified the stone or mark put into the urn or vessel ; by the leaping out of which, when the vessel was shaken, before another of a similar kind, the affair was decided. — Afid large and goodly is my lot'] Literally, " Thou shalt enlarge my lot." See Park- hurst on "lOV " Dilatas, dilata- bis." (Simonis.) 7- — my secret thoughts'] Literally, " my reins." See the note on Ps. vii. 9. " The latter part of this verse, says Bp. Home, intimates the mode of those gracious and spiritual communications, which in the dark seasons of adversity were conveyed to the inmost thoughts and affections of the mind, thereby to instruct, to comfort, and to strengthen the sufferer, until his passion should be ac- complished, and the morning of the resurrection should dawn ." 9. — my tongue] Literally, " my glory :" the tongue being so called, because it is that member, by which man ex- cels all creatures here below, and by which he is no less dis- criminated from them than by his reason ; that member, by which we unite with the blessed spirits above, in utter- ing the praises and celebrating the glory of our Creator. 10. Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell] See the note on PSALM XVII 43 10 But to thine Holy One disclose The path, to endless life that goes ; Fulness of joy, while heaven shall stand ; And pleasures at thine own right hand. PSALM X\ IL Introduction. This Psalm is an earnest aj)peal to the jus- tice, wisdom, and lovingkindness of Jehovah, from the malice of unjust persecutors, by whom the Psalmist was oppressed. The persecutors were probably Saul and his followers: the Psalmist, David. 1 The right, Jehovah, hear ; Attend my cause to know ; And to my loud complaints give ear. From no feigned lips that flow. Ps. vi. 5, Milton has thus imi- tated this beautiful passage in a speech of the Son of God : Though now to death I yield, and am bis due All that of me can die ; yet, that debt paid. Thou wilt not leave me in the loathsome grave His prey, nor suffer ra,y unspotted soul For ever with coiniption there to dwell : But I shall rise victorious. Paradise Lust, iii. 10. But to thine Holy One disclose The path, to endless life that goei\ The return of Christ from the grave, says Bp. Home, is beau- tifully described, by Jehovah " shewing" or discovering to him a " path of life," leading through the valley of the sha- dow of death, and from that valley to the summit of the hill of Zion, or to the mount of God in heaven, on which he now sits inthroned. — Fubiess of joy] That is, " thou wilt sliew me fulness of joy and pleasures." (^Bp. Horsley.) 1. — 7ny loud complaints'^ The Hebrew word is used to denote sounds both of com- plaint and of exultation: but loudness or intenseness of sound appears always to form part of the idea. 44 PSALM XVII 2 Forth from thy judgment seat My sentence, Lord, be told : And may thine eyes observe my feet The hne of justice hold. 3 Thine ej'^es my soul explore : Thou read'st my nightly thought, And to the fire's assaying pow'r My inmost heart hast brought : But naught thou find'st therein Of faithlessness and wrong ; For firmly Pm resolved that sin Shall not mislead my tongue. Mankind perversely run : But by the precepts led Of thy pure lips the paths I shun Where ruthless murderers tread. Lest from thy paths I fall, Do thou my steps maintain ; 3. And to the fire's assaying power My inmost heart hast brought :] The word, rendered in our translations " thou hast tried me," signifies properly " to refine, as metals, by fire." — Offailldessiiess and wrong] The insertion of some such words as these, which are not in the original, seems necessary to make the sense clear. Our C. P. B. translators have made the like insertion. 4. — the paths I shun Where ruthless murderers tread'] That is, I have not been tempted to follow the example of those who practised for- bidden means for my destruc- tion, and to retaliate on them by similar machinations. 5. Lest from thy paths I fall, Do thou my steps maintain] The image here, says Bp. Home, which is very expres- sive and appropriate, is taken from one walking in a slippery path, for such is that of human life by reason of temptations : so that the believer, especially if he be young, feeble, and in- experienced, has great need of PSALM XVII. 45 6 Thine ear, which wont to hear me call, My voice implores again. 7 Thy love do thou disclose, Who dost the Saviour stand Of them in troubles who repose Their trust on thy right hand. 8 As th' apple of the «ye, A fence around me spread, And let me in thy safeguard lie, Thy wings' protecting shade. 9 My foes to waste my soul. Their toils around me throw : a divine supporter in every step he takes. There is an elegant opposition here be- tween the paths of wickedness in the former verse, and the paths of God in this. 8. As th' apple of the eye, A fence around me spread^ No more beautiful or satisfac- tory illustration of the care of Providence over his faithful servants could be suggested than this instance of the care, if we may so say, which he has taken in securing the eye. Of this care a heathen writer has given us the following detailed exemplification. " Does it not appear to thee to be a work of Providence, that, considering the weakness of the eye, he has protected it with eyelids, as with doors, which, when- ever there is occasion to use it, are opened, and are again closed in sleep ? and that it may not receive injury from the winds, he has planted on it eye-lashes, like a strainer ; and over the eyes has disposed the eyebrows, like a pent- house, so that the sweat from the head may do no mischief." (Socrates in Xe?iophon.) — Thy wings' protecting shade.'] Wings for shelter are attributed to the true God, either agreeably to that most beautiful and affecting simili- tude of our blessed Lord, Matt xxiii. 7 ; or rather, adds Parkhurst, " in allusion to the wings of the cherubim." But the former appears the more obvious and natural interpi'e- tation : and it is not unworthy of remark, that the comparison to " the apple of his eye" is followed by one to the protect- ing^ care of the parent bird in Deut. xxxii. 10, 11. 46 PSALM XVII. 10 Inclos'd with tat their eyeballs roll, Their lips with pride overflow : 1 1 They compass round my way, Low-couch'd the}^ watch for blood : 12 Like lion, thirsting for his prey, Or lion's lurking brood. 13 Jehovah, rise, prevent. In dust the spoilers roll ; Against their face thy sword be bent, And save thy suppliant's soul. 14 Thy hand, Jehovah, bare, O save my soul from those. The worldly men, whose only share Of joy this life bestows. 12. Like lion, thirsting for his prey'] The similitude of a lion, either roaring abroad in quest of his prey, or couching in secret, ready to spring upon it the moment it comes within his reach, is often employed by David to express the power and malice of his enemies. Milton has employed the like similitude with reference to Satan, lying in wait for our first parents : about them round A lion now he stalks with fiery glare : Then as a tj'ger, who by chance hath spied In some purlieu two -gentle fawns at play, straight couches close, then, rising, changes oft His couchaiit watch, as one who chose his ground, Whence rushing, he might surest seize them both, CJriped in each paw. — Or lion's lurkitig brood] The Hebrew word, rendered in our translation " a young lion" and " a lion's whelp," de- notes the animal when he first begins to hunt and shift for himself: so called probably, either from his frequently hiding himself, and lurking in dens and coverts, whence he might be called " a covert lion ;" or from the shaggy hair with which he is now covered. (See Parkhurst and Simonis on IDD ) iS. Against their face thij sword be bent.] Bible marginal translation, " by thy sword;" and next verse, "by thy hand." The expressions " sword and hand of Jehovah," being fre- quently used, as Bp, Home observes on the passage, to denote his power and venge- ance. PSALM XVllI. 47 Thou from thy hidden store Their bellies, Lord, hast filPd ; Their sons are gorg'd, and what is o'er To their sons' sons they yield. 15 But I thy presence seek In righteousness to see ; And with thy likeness when I wake I satisfied shall be. PSALM XVIIL Introduction. This magnificent triumphal hymn was composed by David in celebration of liis deliverance from his enemies. But the sublimity of the figures used in it, and the consent of ancient commentators, even Jewish as well as Christian, but, above all, the citations made from it in the New Testament, evince that the kingdom of Messiah is here pointed at under that of David. It is thus divided into five parts by Bishop Horsley. Part I. Consisting of the first three verses, is the proem of the song. This, in the following version, occupies the first stanza, or series of eight lines. Part II. Celebrates miraculous deliverances from a state of affliction and distress. This part consists of sixteen verses, extending from the fourth to the nineteenth inclusive; or six stanzas. Part III. Thanksgiving 5 five verses, from the twentieth to the twenty- fourth J or two stanzas. Part IV. Celebrates success in warj eighteen verses, from the twenty-fifth to the forty-second; or four stanzas. Part V. The establishment of the Messiah's kingdom ; eight verses, from the forty-third to the fiftieth ; or three stanzas. 14. — their sons' sons] This lias given much the same I take to be the best sense of sense: the word rendered "babes" Their diildren have eno.i^'h and leave in our two versions. Sternhold The rest to their, behind. 48 PSALM XVIil, PART I. 1 In Thee, Jehovah, I dehght. 2 Jehovah is my rock, my might. My Saviour, buckler, and my tower. My horn of safety, seat of power. My God, on him my hopes rely : 3 Theme of my praise, to him I fly : Jehovah, God, I call on Thee, My foes to quell, my life to free. PART II. 4 Around the cords of death were spread, And floods of darkness o'er my head : 2. Jehovah is my rock, my might, &c.] In other words, says Bp. Home, explanatory of the figures here made use of. Through Jehovah it is that I have stood immovable amidst a sea of temptations and af- flictions j he has supported me under my troubles, and deli- vered me out of them ; his protection has secured me ; his power has broken and scat- tered mine enemies i and by his mercy and truth am I now set up on high above them all. — my horn of safety'] " Horns" are the well known emblems of strength and power, both in the sacred and profane writers i by a metaphor taken from horned animals, which are frequently made subjects of comparison by poetical writers, and the strength of which, whether for offence or defence, consists principally in their horns. Bruce speaks of a remarkable head dress worn by the go- vernours of provinces in Abys- sinia; consisting of a large broad fillet, bound upon their foreheads, and tied behind their heads ; and having in the middle of it a horn, or a coni- cal piece of silver, gilt, about four inches long, much in the shape of our common candle extinguishers. It is called kirn or horn ; and is only worn on reviews or parades after victory. He supposes this, like other Abyssinian usages, to be taken from the Hebrews : and is of opinion that there are many allusions to the prac- tice in Scripture in the expres- sions " lifting up the horn," " exalting the horn," and the like. 4. Around the cords of death ivere spread] " The cords of tieath" in this verse, and " the cords of hell" in the next, for PSALM XVIII. 49 About the cords of hell were wound, And snares of death my footsteps bound : Distress'd I sought Jehovah's aid, Afflicted to my God I prayM : My sorrows reached his dread abode, And my cry pierc'd the ear of God. tlie Hebrew word in each case is the same ; as also " the snares of death" in the latter clause of the fifth verse ; al- lude to the ancient manner of hunting, which is still prac- tised in some countries, and was performed by surrounding a considerable tract of ground by a circle of nets, and after- wards contracting the circle by degrees, till they had forced all the beasts of that quarter together into a narrow com- pass ; and then it was that the slaughter began. This manner of hunting was used in Italy of old, as well as over all the eastern parts of the world ; and it was from this custom that the poets sometimes repre- sent death, as surrounding persons with her nets, and as encompassing them on every side. — And floods of darkness oer my head'] Literally, " the floods of Belial ;" or, as Bp. Home paraphrases the clause, " the powers of darkness and ungodliness, like an over- whelming torrent breaking forth from the bottomless pit. ' There is no metaphor of more frequent occurrence with the sacred poets, than that which represents dreadful and unexpected calamities under the image of overwhelming waters. This image seems to have been especially familiar with the Hebrews, inasmuch as it was derived from the peculiar habit and nature of their own country. They had continually before their eves the river Jordan, annually overflowing its banks, when at the af)proach of summer the snows of Libanus and the neighbouring mountains melted;, and, suddenly pouring down in torrents, swelled the current of the river. Besides, the whole country of Palestine, although it was not watered by many perennial streams, was, from the mountainous character of the greater part of it, liable to numerous tor- rents, which precipitated them- selves through the narrow valleys after the periodical rainy seasons. This image therefore, however known and adopted by other poets, may be considered as particularly familiar and, as it were, do- mestick with the Hebrews ^ who accordingly introduce it with greater frequency and freedom. The preceding remarks are from Bishop Lowth's sixth Prse- 50 PSALM XVllI. 7 Then shook and quaked the solid ground : The mountains, from their roots unbound, Mov'd and were shaken : wrath was gone Forth from incens'd Jehovah's throne. lection. And in correspondence with them it may be noted, that the passage in the text is an exemplification of his posi- tion. For the word, rendered " floods," signifies, first a vale, valley, or low ground between mountains or hills ; and then, a torrent or rapid stream, passing through such a valley; generally denoting those tor- rents or temporary streams, formed by the rain or snow from the mountains, such as have been just described. 7. Then shook and quaked the solid ground^ The Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, the parting of the Red sea and the river Jordan, and the descent of God upon mount Sinai, are favourite topicks of allusion with the Hebrew bards : and metaphors derived from those sources frequently occur, when the object is to describe the interposition of the Almighty and the exercise of divine power, for the pro- tection and preservation of God's people, or the destruc- tion of his enemies. The al- lusion is sometimes confined to one or other of these oc- currences, as the occasion may require : sometimes also, when there is such a cor- respondence between the dif- ferent images, as to allow of an apt accommodation to one and the same subject, several are brought together and blended into one description, in order to increase the gran- deur of some particular event. Thus, in the passage before us, extending from the seventh to the fifteenth verse, the wrath and majesty of the avenging Deity are described in the first place under imagery, taken from the awful and tre- mendous descent of God upon mount Sinai : and then, in the concluding verse, the fifteenth, the images are derived from the dividing of the Red sea and the river Jordan. The force, magnificence, and sub- limity of the description are self- evident : but, as Bp. Lowth remarks, the images from this their adaptation to foreign topicks acquire a degree of grandeur, even superior to that which they possess, when described, with whatever mag- nificence, independently and in their own place : because, besides the magnificence which is inherent in the ideas them- selves, the contemplation of the resemblance between the different things creates asto- nishment and delight. (The reader may see more on this subject in Bishop Lowth's Ninth Prelection.) PSALM XVllI. .51 8 Smoke from his heated nostrils came, And from his mouth devouring flame : Hot burning coals announced his ire, And flashes of careering fire. 9 He bovv'd the heavens, and came down ; Thick vapour at his feet was strown : 10 On cherub forms he flew, he rode ; And soar'd on wings of winds abroad. 8. Smoke from his heated nostrils came'] The Hebrew language, which, 1 ike a striking picture, generally describes the passions bj'the effects they have on the body, expresses anger, or its absence, by dif- ferent phrases referring to the nose or nostrils, whence con- stantly issues a warm steam, which in anger is quite hot. After the same manner both the Greek and Latin poets represent the nose as the ?eat of anger. Thus Th.-ocritus : Id. i. 18. Kai ei ail d^if/,iia, y^tXa, von ^ivi y,a,i- rifou. And bitter choler on his nose re- sides. Ae« «gy(?i«j £?■« : " He is always passionate;" says the Scho- liast. And Persius, Sat. v. 91 : Ira cadat naso — From your nose let an^er cease. (See Parkhurst on f]X. v.) This description denotes by a poetical figure the severity of God's anger and indigna- tion. See the note on Ps. ii. 4. — Hot burning coals an- nounced his ire, And Jlashes of ca reering ^fire] The word, rendered in our Translations " coals," and which properly signifies "live, burning coals," also signifies " fiery meteors, flashes of fire, lightning." 1 have adopted both significations, and thus expanded the idea of the Psalmist. 10. On cherub forms he flew, he rode] Milton felt the gran- deur of this imagery, and imi- tated it : He on the wings of cherub rode sublime, Om the crystalline sky. Paradise Lost, vi. And ng;un, -r on the wings of cherubim Uplifted, in paternal glory rode Far into chaos. Paradise Lost, vii. — And soar'd on wings of winds abroad] Our Transla- tions repeat the verb " fly" from the former clause. But the term here is different ; and appears intended to denote majesty and pomp of motion, such as characterises the eagle flying with the full expanse of E 2 52 PSALM XVIII. 1 1 PavilionM in impervious shade, Darkness his secret place he made : Darkness of waters gathering nigh, And cloudy blackness of the sky. 12 Pierc'd by the brightness of his ray, The shrouding blackness passed away : Kindled the clouds in tempest dire Of hail-stones and of flakes of fire. 13 Jehovah thunder'd from the sky. Gave forth his voice the Lord most High his wings. (See Parkhurst, on HNl-) I have wished to express this idea by the word " soared j" which, says Dr. Johnson, signifies " properly to fly without any visible ac- tion of the wings." 11. Pavilioji'd in impervious shade, &c.] " Storms and tem- pests in the element of air are instruments of the divine dis- pleasure; and are therefore selected as figures of it. When God descends from above, the clouds of heaven compose an awful and gloomy tabernacle, in the midst of which he is supposed to reside : the reins of whirlwinds are in his hand, and he directs their impetuous course through the world: the whole artillery of the aerial regions is at his com- mand, to be by him employed against his enemies in the day of battle and war." Bp. Home. 12. Kindled the clouds'] Parkhurst says, that the word rendered in the former verse " cloudy blackness," and in this " tiie clouds," means the condensed thunderclouds, con- sisting of gross air, and of watery and sulphureous ex- halations from the earth. These, through the brightness of Jehovah's presence, were kindled, and passed aivay in a storm of hail and lightning. (See on "isy. iv.) The dis- charge of the celestial artillery vipon the adverse powers, in this and the two following verses, is magnificently de- scribed. Milton has made a noble use of the same imagery in the following passage; How oft amidst Thick clouds and dark doth hea- ven's all-ruliu(^ Mre Choose to reside, his glory unob- sciired. And with the majesty of darkness round Covers his throne ; from whence deep thunders rear Mustering their rage, and heaven resembles hell ? Paradise LosI, ii. PSALM XVIII. 53 And keener still the tempest came Of hail-stones, and of lightning flame. 14 His forked arrows forth he threw, And scatter'd wide the godless crew : He hiirPd his ghttering hghtnings out. And put them to tumultuous rout. 15 The sea disclos'd his streams conceaPd ; The world's foundations were reveal'd ; As thy rebuke, Jehovah, past, The breathing of thy angry blast. 16 Jehovah sent from heav'n ; he stood, And drew me from th^ o'erwhelmins^ flood. 17 When flushed with hate and pride they rose, He savM me from my mightier foes. 18 They snar'd me in affliction's day. But then Jehovah was my stay : 19 Released, at large he bade me dwell, And rescued, for he lov'd me well. PART III. 20 Jehovah's cares my soul requite. According as my steps are right : And, as my hands are pure from spot, Jehovah's love appoints my lot. 21 The ways Jehovah sets in view My thoughts with stedfast aim pursue : Nor from the paths my God definM Perversely have my steps declin'd, 22 His judgments all before me lay, His laws I have not cast away : E 3 54- PSALM XVIII. 2.3 With ])ertect heart my God I served, And still from guilt my soul preserved. 24 And so Jehovah's love repays, As just and upright are my ways : And so Jehovah's cares requite, As pure my hands are in his sight. PART IV. 2o Lord, to the kind thou kind wilt be ; The just shall justice meet in thee ; 26 Pure with the pure thyself thou'lt show ; Who dare thy wrath, thy wrath shall know. 27 The proud man's foe, the meek man's stay; 28 My lamp, that makes my darkness day ; 28. My lamp, that makes my darkness day.l Light is often in Scripture expressive of joy or comfort : for " truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to be- hold the sun," Eccl. xi. 7- See, amongst other places^ Ps. xcvii. 11; cxii. 4. We some- times meet with this image in the heathen poets, and even in their prose writers : but the sacred writers are much more frequent and free in the appli- cation of it ; scarcely ever ab- staining, where the subject matter requires, or even allows, the use of it ; and introducing it with wonderful boldness and effect. (See this illustrated at length by Bishop Lowth, Prselect. vi.) By a natural opposition, as light is expres- sive of joy and comfort, so is darkness, of sorrow and misery : of which Ps. cxii. 4, quoted above, is an instance : as well as the passage before us. The Psalmist howeverspeaks in this place of artificial light ; " a candle," or " lamp :" which has been supposed to be illus- trated by the custom prevail- ing in Egypt, of never suffer- ing their liouses to be without lights, but burning lamps even through the night, so that the poorest people would rather retrench part of their food than neglect it. Supposing this to have been the ancient cus- tom not only in Egypt, but in the neighbouring countries of Arabia and Judea, " the light- ing of the lamp" in this pas- sage may have had a special al- lusion. Jn the parallel passage 2 Sam. xxii. 29- Jehovah is figuratively styled the " lamp" of the Psalmist, as above. PSALM XVlll. 66 29 By thee I causM a host to fall, By thee I leap'd the hostile wall. 30 God's way is tried ; his word is pure : Who trust him, find a buckler sure : 31 For who can wield Jehovah's rod ? Who grant protection like our God ? 32 God girds with strength, directs my course ; 33 Gives to my feet the roebuck's force ; 31. Who grant protection like our God ?] Literally, as in the Bib. translation, " Who is a rock, save our God ?" For a rock, from its durableness and stability, is a scriptural de- signation of the Deity. 32. God girds with strength'] Because, from the length and looseness of the ancient gar- ments, it was p^cessary to bind them close with a girdle, when they wanted to exert strength and activity, hence to " bind or gird up the loins" is to prepare one's self for ac- tion. And because this was especially the miliary habit, " girding" is used to denote warlike strength and fortitude, as in this place: and to un- loose the girdle is to deprive of strength, to render unfit for action J thus God promises to unloose the loins of kings be- fore Cyrus^ Is. xlv. 1. The girdle was so essential a part of a soldier's accoutrement, being the last that he put on to make himself ready for ac- tion, that to be " girded," with the ancient Greeks, as well as with the Hebrews, means to be completely armed and ready for battle. 33. Gives to my feet the roe- buck's force; Sets me on high;~\ The Bib. translation says " hind's feet ;" the C P. B. translation " hart's feet :" but it is not material : for the animal's speed, whether male or female, seems the point of comparison. The Hebrew name, both masculine and feminine, is rendered in the Greek version of the LXX by the same word, j;i<»^>tos : of which metal the ancient Greeks made their armour, as appears from Ho- mer, Hesiod, and the other classical authors : not their defensive armour only, but their weapons of offence, such as swords, battle-axes, and spear and arrow heads; though I do not remember any in- stance of a bow made of that material, they being mostly of wood, or sometimes of horn, not unfrequently beautified with gold or silver, whence the expressions golden or sil- ver bow. With respect to bows made of metal, Roger Ascham says, that " Scripture makes men- tion of brass bows, and that iron bows and steel bows have been of long time, and also were in his time, used among the Turks : but that they must needs be unprofitable. For if brass, iron, or steel have their own strength and power, they are far above man's strength ; and if they are made equal to man's strength, their power to shoot is gone." Of course this does not apply to the steel cross-boiv, which was so power- ful and efficacious a weapon in the hands of our ancestors. Long boics of steel have been made in England by way of experiment, some of which are said still to exist. One of them was, not many years ago, tried at Lord Aylesford's ground in Warwickshire: its power was computed to be about sixty pounds, but it could not be used with ease or PSALM XVIII. 57 36 And, lest my straiten'd feet should slide, Thou madest my path more plain and wide. 37 I chased, I caught the factious train, Nor back returned till all were slain : 38 I smote them, till, their fall complete. They bowM, they sank, beneath my feet. 39 Thou girdedst me for battle-field : Thou mad'st my vaunting foemen yield : 40 Thy hands their neck beneath me laid, And pierc'd them with my conquering blade. 4 1 They cried ; but there was none to save : To God ; but he no answer gave. 42 As dust before the wind, I beat. And trod them, as the miry street. PART V. 43 Against me when the people strove, Thy succour sav'd me from above : Thou mak^st me rule the gentiles o'er, Lord of a race unknown before. 44 They hear the summons, and obey : The stranger's sons allow my sway : 45 The stranger's sons submissive cower, And tremble from their inmost tower. 46 Jehovah lives. My rock be blest ! Prais'd be the God, who gives me rest ! good effect. I add on the years ago a gentleman received same authority, that the use a severe bruise, by the break- of steel bows is attended with ing of one when drawn, considerable danger : some 58 PSALM XIX. 47 The God, that hath aveng'd my cause ; Reduced the people to my laws ; 48 And raisM me high above the foes, Who banded for my ruin rose. Thou hast the factious crew subdued : Thou sav^st me from the man of blood ! 49 So 'mongst the Gentiles will I raise, My God, an anthem to thy praise ; And to the heathen world proclaim, Jehovah, thy all-glorious name. 60 His king with safety hath he blest ; He gives to his Anointed rest : And endless mercy hath decreed To David and to David's seed. PSALM XIX. Introduction. In this most beautiful Ode, the occasion of which is not known, David celebrates the glory of God, as manifested by his works of nature and of grace, having therein a prospective view to the publication of the Gospel, and the manifestation of the Light of Life, the Sun of righteousness. Commencing with a most splendid and elevated exordium, it gradually descends to a gentler and more chastised strain, and the sweetest expressions of a devotional and pious feeling, accompanied with the greatest variety of ideas, images, and sentiments. The grandeur of the opening description of the finest natural objects; the solemn commemoration of the ex- cellences of the divine law, to which the poem then passes; and the humble petition for assisting grace with which it closes; are in their several ways equally admirable : and of the whole it may be said in its own words, for more appropriate ones cannot be devised, that it is " more to be desired than gold, yea, than much fine gold : sweeter also than honey, and the honey-comb." PSALM XIX. 59 PART I. 1 J HE heav'ns the pow'r of God display, His glory by th^ expanse is shown. 2 Day utters ceaseless speech to day, And night to night makes wisdom known. 3 No human words, no living speech, No voice articulate they send : 4 Yet throuoh the world their lessons reach, Their signs to earth's remotest end. 1. The heav'ns the poio'r of God display'] Under the name of heaven or the heavens, says Bp. Home, is comprehended that fluid mixture of light and air which is every where dif- fused about us ; and to the in- fluence of which are owing all the beauty and fruitfulness of the earth, all vegetable and animal life, and the various kinds of motion throughout the system of nature. By their manifold and beneficial opera- tions, therefore, as well as by their beauty and magnificence, " the heavens declare the glory of God." How beautifully has our great poet imitated this passage, combined with the opening of the eighth Psalm ! These are thy glorious works, Pa- rent of good, Almighty ! Thine this universal frame. Thus wondrous fair : Thyself how wondrous then I Unspeakable, who sitt'st above these heavens To us invisible, or dimly seen In these thy lowest works: y«t these declare Thy goodness beyond thought, and power divine. Paradise Lost, v. — His glory by th' expanse is showti] Which is more correct than " the firmament." The latter word is adopted from the Greek version : but the Hebrew word is derived from a verb, signifying to spread abroad, stretch forth, extend, expand. The proper render- ing therefore is "expanse:" agreeably to other passages of Scripture, which speak of the Creator, as " stretching out the heavens as a curtain, and spreading them out as a tent to dwell in." See Ps. civ. 2 ; Is. xl. 22. " The expanse of heaven" is a frequent phrase with Milton, as with other poets. 4. — their lessotis — their signs] Commentators find some difficulty in explaining with precision the two words thus rendered : but their general purport is obvious. The mean- ing of this and the preceding verse is thus satisfactorily 60 PSALM XIX. 6 In them he pitchM, apart from earth, A bright pavihon for the Sun : Who goes in bridegroom splendour forth, And joys his giant course to run. 6 Forth issuing he from heav'n's wide bound, To heav'n's wide bound revolving speeds And still throughout the ample round On all his genial radiance sheds. PART II. 7 Jehovah's law is perfect, pure ; And bids the sickly frame be whole : given by Bp. Home: " Al- though the heavens are thus appointed to teach, yet it is not by articulate sounds that they do it; they are not en- dowed like man with the faculty of speech ; but they address themselves to the mind of the intelligent be- holder in another way, and that, when understood, a no less forcible way, the way of picture or representation." 5. Who goes in bridegroom splendour for til] As the bride- groonn from his " chamber," a kind of alcove, which was separated from the larger chambers in the Eastern houses by a veil^ and in which their beds were placed. The nuptials of the Jews, as of other Eastern nations, were celebrated with great magnifi- cence and splendour; and in the procession, which formed a part of the solemnity, the bridegroom in particular was distinguished by the brilliancy of his apparel. — Aiid joys his giant course to ru7i] Milton, with a true poetical perception of the beauty of this passage, has made the following fine use of it, in his description of the creation : First in bis East the glorious lamp was seen. Regent of day, and all the horizon round Invested with bright rays, jocund to run His longitude through heaven's high road. In which passage we appear to have a comment on the en- suing part of the Psalmist's description. Forth issuing he from heaven's wide bound To heaven's wide bound returning speeds : the " bounds," or, as in our translations, the "ends" or ex- tremities of the heavens, being, as Parkhurst notes, " the op- posite points of the rational horizon." 7. Jehovah's law is perfect, pure"] The structure of this PSALM XIX. 61 Jehovah's covenant is sure, And renders wise the simple soul. 8 Jehovah's statutes all are right, And gladness to the heart supply : Jehovah's ordinance is bright. And lightens the dim-sighted eye. 9 Unsullied is Jehovah's fear, And doth from age to age remain : Jehovah's judgments are sincere, On justice fram'd, and free from stain. 10 More precious they than golden ore, Or gold from the refiner's flame : and the two following verses is remarkable, as an instance of that sort of parallelism, ■which Bp. Lowth terms ''syn- thetical parallels}" where the sentences answer to each other, not by a repetition of the same idea, or by the opposition of different ideas, but by the form of construction only. In my version I have endeavoured to preserve the peculiarity of the original. As to the pur- port of these verses, B(i. Home has well observed 5 that " what follows is a fine encomium upon the Gospel, written with all the simplicity peculiar to the sacred language, and in a strain far surpassing the ut- most efforts of human elo- quence." 10. More precious they than golden ore, Or gold from the refiner's flame] Our translations say, " than gold, yea, than much fine gold ;" where the words " fine gold" are one word in the original. The word rendered " gold" seems to mean that metal generally : the ideal meaning of it is " clear, bright, resplendent;" and it is used to denote " gold" as being the purest and most resplendent of all metals. The word, ren- dered " fine-gold," means the metal in its state of greatest purity, or, according to the ideal signification of the term, in its most " consolidated" state : for, as gold is the most solid or compact of all metals, yea, of all known material sub- stances, so, the purer any mass of it is, the more solid it must be. (See Parkhurst on 3nt and ID.) 62 PSALM XIX. And sweeter than the honey'd store, Or from the comb the honeyM stream. PART III. 1 1 By them thy servant, Lord, is taught : How great the bhss to walk therein ! 12 But who can tell each devious thought ? O cleanse me thou from secret sin ! 13 And from presumption keep me clear, That fain would sway my better sense : So may I uncorrupt appear, And guiltless of the great offence. 14 O may each word my lips recite, Each thought within my bosom stor'd. Still find acceptance in thy sight. My Rock, my Saviour, and my Lord ! — ^■^nd sweeter than the denotes " virgin honey;" or, honey'd store, according to the etymological Or from the comb the honey'd sense, " honey which parts stream'] and distils from the comb of "Sweeter also than honey and its own accord without press- the honey-comb," as in our ing." This " honey from the translations 5 or "the dropping combs," or "dropping of of honey-combs," as in the honey-combs," then is here Bib. marginal rendering. The noticed as superior to honey in same distinction is evidently general : and accordingly Ho- intended here between the two mer mentions "honey spon- descriptionsof honey, as in the taneously distilling," as pecu- former clause between the two liarly sweet ; and Pliny says, descriptions of gold. "Honey," " In all kinds of honey, that in general, is intended by the which flows of itself, as wine first word ; which name ap- and oil, and is called acaeton, pears to be given to it, be- (that is, without sediment,) cause " honey, like other is most commended." (See sweet juices, is apt to adhere Parkhurston JID. iv.) in lumps or bunches, as it 14. My Rock,~\ See the note were." (See Parkhurst on on Ps. xviii. 31. Will.) But the ■ other word PSALM XX. 63 PSALM XX. Introduction. This very pleasing little Ode is divided into three parts, distinguished by the stanzas in the following version. The first is a benedictory prayer, uttered by the people, or rather the priests of the tettiple, on the king's coming to offer sacrifice, before he entered on some expedition. The second is an anticipation of the success of the prayer, testified by the king's victory : w^hich is celebrated by a sort of trium- phal chorus in the concluding part. The whole composition is terse and spirited, consisting of a quick succession of short and lively sentences. PART I. 1 (jrOD in trouble hear thee cry ! Jacob's Lord exalt thee high ! 2 Help thee from his holy fane, And from Zion^s hill sustain ; 3 Give thy sacrifice success, And thy burnt oblation bless ; 4 Grant according to thy will, And thy heart's desire fulfil ! PART II. .5 We thy victory will proclaim ; And in God our Saviour's name Firm the banner'd standard plant : All thy pray'r Jehovah grant ! 2. Help thee from his holy blessi Literally, " turn to fane] Or "sanctuary." The ashes," as in the margin of our word is particularly used for Bib. translation : that being the sanctuary or holy place, the way, whereby the divine that is, the outer division, of acceptance or blessing was the tabernacle or temple. usually testified to the offerings 3. j4nd thy burnt oblation under the law. 64 PSALM XXI. 6 God will his Anointed bless From his heav'n of holiness ; Prosper him, and bid him stand With the strength of his right hand. PART III. 7 Some their warrior horses boast, Some their chariots marshall'd host ; But our trust will we proclaim In our God Jehovah's name. 8 Down they sank, and fell subdued ; We arose, and upright stood. 9 Save, Jehovah ! King of all, Hear us wher> to Thee we call ! PSALM XXI. Introduction. This " Psalm of triumph," as Bp. Patrick calls it, may be regarded as a continuation of the subject of the last. They were both written by David ; and both cele- brate his victories, and in them the victories of the Son and the Lord of David. This however appears to commemorate, as having been actually brought to pass^ the conquests which the preceding Ode celebrates by anticipation. This comme- moration occupies the first seven verses, or the first Part, in a fine strain of triumphant and grateful exultation : followed in the second Part, by an impressive prediction of still further victorious achievements ; and finally by a precatory wish for Jehovah's complete manifestation and establishment of his Power. The particular topicks of this noble Ode, as well as its general character of joyousness and triumph, admirably adapt it to the celebration of our Lord's Ascension, for which the Church has selected it. Bp. Horsley supposes the first Part to be a thanksgiving to God for his protection of a certain King : the second to be ad- dressed to that King, assuring him of success and triumph over PSALM XXI. 65 liis enemies. But the fact, which he also notices, of no previous interpreter having attended to this circumstance, of itself makes the supposition questionable. PART I. 1 Thy strength shall be the King's dehght ! His triumph, Lord, thy saving might ! 2 Thou hast his heart's desire fulfill'd, Nor what his hps besought withheld. 3 Thou didst his rising wish prevent With blessings from thy goodness sent : Thou didst his temples round infold With diadem of purest gold. 4 For hfe he ask'd : thou him didst give Perpetual length of days to live : 5 Didst shield ; and high in glory place, With splendour crown, with beauty grace. 6 The source of endless blessings, he Shall dwell in blessedness with Thee : 7 For the King's trust is God above, And his support Jehovah's love. PART II. 8 Smit by thy hand thy foes shall reel, Who hate thee shall thy right hand feel : .■?. — purest goW] The same or majesty resulting from that word as in Ps. xx. 10, where glory, see the note. 6. The source of endless bless- 5. — splendour — beauty.'\ Ings.'] Literally, as in the Bible Parkhurst observes, that the marginal translation, " Thou two words thus translated are hast set him to be blessings for often joined in Scripture, ever." Most truly said of the The former seems to denote King, in whom all the na- the splendour or glory itself; tions of the earth Avere to be the latter, the ornament, beauty, blessed. F 66 PSALM XXI, 9 When thou appearing in thine ire Shalt make them hke a vault of fire. Jehovah in his wrathful hour Shall blast them, and the fire devour: 10 Forth from mankind their fruit be reft, Nor seed of theirs on earth be left. 1 1 'Gainst thee they bent their impious plot : They fram'd it, but accomplish'd not : 12 Turn'd backward they thy prey became, Thy bowstring's mark, thine arrow's aim. 13 Jehovah, take thy sovereign throne ! Let thine almighty strength be shown ! So will we swell th' exulting cry. And hymn thy power, O Thou Most High ! g. Shalt make them, like a vault of fire'] Literally, " an oven," as in our translations, or " furnace of fire." Bp. Horsley remarks, " It de- scribes the smoke of the Mes- siah's enemies perishing by fire, ascending like the smoke of a furnace. ' The smoke of their torment shall ascend for ever and ever.' " How awfully grand is that description of the rains of the cities of the plain, as the prospect struck on Abraham's eye on the fatal morning of their destruction : " And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and to- ward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace." The phrase in the text is adopted from Milton : ■ overhead the dismal hiss Of fiery darts in flaming volleys flew. And flying vaulted either host luith fire. Paradise Lost, vi. J 2. Turn'd backward theij thy prerj became. Thy boivstring's mark'] The Bible translation gives two renderings of this passage. " Thou shalt make them turn their back;" and " Thou shalt set them as a butt." In the version above regard has been had to both senses. PSALM XXII. 67 PSALM XXIL Inthoduction. In this most affecting and wonderful com- position, we may doubt whether more to admire the deep pathos with which the sufferings of the Psalmist are described^ or the accuracy with which that description corresponds to the passion of our blessed Redeemer. Indeed with whatever minuteness the sorrows of David may be here delineated, there is no doubt but the representation is more punctually fulfilled in those of " the man of sorrows." The Psalm consists of two Parts : the former, which reaches to the end of the twenty-first verse, being prophetical of the passion of Christ ; the latter, which occupies the remainder of the Poem, announcing his resurrec- tion, and the preaching and propagation of the Gospel among mankind. PART I. 1 My God, my God, ah ! wherefore, say, Forsake a wretch forlorn ? Turn from my loud lament away, And leave me thus to mourn ? 2 My God, by day I call, I weep. Unnoticed, unredrest : And in the silent hour of sleep Nor respite find nor rest. 3 But Thou, O Lord, abidest still In holiness supreme : Thou who in radiant light dost dwell, Of Israel's praise the theme. 1. — my loud laments] Bib. 3. Thou who in radiant light trans. " the words of my roar- dost dwell, ing." The original word pro- Of Isi-ael's praise the theme.] perly denotes the roaring of a In the C. P. B. translation the lionj and is often applied to clause is rendered, "O thou the deep groaning of men in worship of Israel :" in the Bib. sicknesses. See among other trans. " O thou that inhabitest places Ps. xxxii. S ; xxxviii. 9- the praises of Israel." Bp. f2 68 PSALM XXII. 4 To Thee our fathers pray'd ; they pray'd, And Thou didst hear their cry : 5 They hoped, and they obtained thy aid ; They sought, and found thee nigh. 6 But I — a worm am I forlorn, Not one of human birth : The scoff of men, the people^s scorn, The refuse of the earth. 7 All they, who see me thus bested. Deride my state distrest : They curl the lip, they shake the head, They point the taunting jest. Lowth suggests, and Bp. Home is inclined to adopt the sug- gestion, "Thou that iiihabitest the irradiations, the glory of Israel." The word, says Park- hurst, refers to the glorious manifestations of Jehovah for his people Israel in light and fire, as at Sinai, Exod. xix. 18 ; Deut. iv. 11: in the pillar of cloud and fire through the wilderness, Exod. xiii. 20, 21. Numb. ix. 15, &c: and espe- cially in the glory over the cherubim. See Lev. xvi. 2 ; Ezek. i. 26, 27, 28. So Hab. iii. 3, " His glory covei-ed the heavens, and the earth was full of his splendour," where the word is the same as here. (See Parkhurst on ^n iv.) I have given this idea in the former of the two lines : add- ing " of Israel's praise the theme" in the latter, corre- sponding to the C. P. B trans- lation, as above noticed. Thug Bp. Horsley renders " the praise of Israeli" that is, the theme of Israel's praise, as he explains it. 7. They curl the lip,'\ Our translations say " They shoot out the lip ;" Bib. marg. trans- lation, " open." " They make an opening with their lip :" that is, they open and distort their lips, they make mows as in mocking. (See Parkhurst on "IDD.) Wliere I would no- tice by the way, that our modern edititions of tlie C. P. B. have changed the word " mows," which used to stand in our version of Ps. xxxv. 15; and have substituted "mouths." The distinctness and colour- ing of the prophetical picture here are as striking to the imagination, as the subject is> painful to the heart. PSALM XXII. 69 8 " In God," they cry, " his hope was sure. His trust Jehovah's might : Let God protect him and secure, For he was God's dehoht." 9 Yet from the womb by Thee released I saw the hght of day : On Thee my infant trust was plac'd, When on the breast I lay. 10 Yea, from my helpless hour of birth My hopes on Thee abode : Thou from the womb didst bring me forth, And Thou wast still my God. 11 O do not then, my God, forbear To spread thy sheltering shade : For see ! distress approaches near, And none to save or aid ! 12 Huge bulls in crowds about me stand, The strength of Bashan's brood ; 13 On me their lion-jaws expand. And rao-e and roar for food. 3 12. Huge bulls in crowds duced, were actually in their about me stand, own forms engaged in the per- The strength of Bashan's secution. No more lively re- brood'] presentation of the brutal noise It is under this sort of figure and violence of our Lord's that the Hebrew poets are enemies can be conceived, than fond of representing haughty, such as is conveyed under this fierce, and relentless tyrants : imagery. Bashan was remark- not by comparison, but as if able for the richness of its pas- the animals themselves, which ture, and the size of its breed are thus metaphorically intro- of cattle. F 3 70 PSALM XXII, 14 Pour'd forth like water sinks my frame ; My bones asunder start ; As wax that feels the searching flame, Within me melts my heart. \5 My withered sinews shrink unstrung, Like potsherd dried and dead : Cleaves to my jaws my burning tongue. The dust of death my bed. 16 Fierce dogs insulting round me meet, Ungodly crowds infold : 14. Pour'd forth, like water, sinks my frame'] The verb ']DWi, says Bp. Horsley, " I apprehend, describes the state of fluidity, which is an image for that state of extreme debih'ty, in which the frame has no power to support it- self." For our sakes Christ yielded himself, " like water," with- out resistance, to the violence of his enemies : suffering his " bones," in which consisteth the strength of the frame, to be distended and dislocated upon the cross ; while by rea- son of the fire from above, to the burning heat of which this paschal Lamb was exposed, his heart dissolved and melted away. The intenseness of his passion, drying up all the fluids, brought on a thirst, tor- menting beyond expression ,• and at last laid him low in the grave. Never, blessed Lord, was love, like unto thy love! Never was sorrow, like unto thy sorrow! {Bp. Home.) 15. My wither' d sinezvs shrink unstrung. Like potsherd dried and dead] Literally, " my strength is dried up like a potsherd." Parkhurst says, that the word^ which properly signifies " strength, vigour, firmness," seems to be here used for the body itself, considered as vigo- rous and abounding in mois- ture. Corpus solidum et succi plenum. (See on rjD ) \6. Fierce dogs itisulling round me meet'] Our Loi*d, who compared himself above to a lamb, in the midst of bulls and lions, here setteth himself forth again under the image of a hart or hind, roused early in the morning of his mortal life, hunted and chased all the day, and ni the evening pulled down to the ground by those who " compassed" and " in- closed" him, thirsting and clamouring for his blood. PSALM XXII. 71 They pierce my hands, they pierce my feet ; 17 My bones may all be told. They gaze, they stare, they mark my woe. Intent ni}^ end to see : 1 8 They part my cloak, and lots they throw Whose shall my vesture be. 19 Then do not Thou, my God, forbear To spread thy sheltering shade ; Thou art my strength ; Jehovah, hear ; O hasten Thou, and aid. 20 Let not the sword my soul devour With keen remorseless sway ! Let not the dog's malignant pow'r On my beloved prey ! The next step was, the " pierc- ing his hands and his feet," by nailing them to the cross. (5p. Home.) 17. My bones may all be told] The skin and flesh were dis- tended by the posture of the body on the cross, that the bones, as thi'ough a thin veil, became visible, and might be counted. 18. — my cloak — my i^es- ture] The former of these words denotes the large, loose, outward garment, worn by the eastern nations, as a covering over the rest of their raiment in the day ; and frequently used to sleep under at night. (See Simonis, nj3.) The latter appears to denote the inner garment, tunick, or vest, worn close to the body, 20. — vjij beloved'] Agree- ably to our authorized versions, " my darling." " Praestans, q. d. in suo genere unicus." (Simonis Lex.) But Calvin says, " Quod animam unicam pro chara et pretiosi quidam accipiunt, non convenit : quia potius significat inter tot mortes nihil sibi opis in toto mundo ofFerri. Sicut eodem sensu, Ps. XXXV. 17, unica anima ponitur pro solitaria. Vide etiam xxv. 1 6." Bp. Horsley notices this remark, and leans to the sense of " helpless," " friendless :" which idea is adopted at the end of the next verse, '' their friendless vic- tim." F 4f 72 PSALM XXII. 21 O save me, save me, lest my blood The ravening lion spill ; Or horned monsters of the wood Their friendless victim kill. PART II. 22 So to my listening brethren round Thy name shall prompt my lays ; And circling crowds admire the sound That spreads Jehovah's praise. 2:3 " O 3'e Jehovah's praises sing. Ye who Jehovah dread : 21. — horned monsters of the icood.'\ Literally, " the horns of the unicorns;" which name is derived to lis from the Greek translation of the LXX, who in this place, as well as in others where the Hebrew word occurs, render it by " inono- ceros," or unicorn. The ani- mal intended appears to be the rhinoceros, which has sometimes but a single horn, and then is, as the Greek translators and ours render it, an unicorn ; and sometimes has two horns, in which case it is applicable to those pas- sages, which speak of the reem, as thus furnished. The rhinoceros is said to be called reem by the Arabs. A recent traveller describes a species of rhinoceros which fell under his notice in Africa, having a straight horn projecting three feet from the forehead, about ten inches above the tip of the nose. " The projection of this great horn very much re- sembles that of the fancifiil unicorn in the British arms. It has a small thick horny sub- stance, eight inches long, im- mediately behind it, which can hardly be observed on the ani- mal at the distance of a hun- dred yards : so that this species of rhinoceros must appear really like an unicorn when running in the field. It ap- pears capable of overcoming any creature hitherto known. (Quoted in the British Critic for January 1822.) 22. So to my listeni?ig bre- thren round &c.] The former part of the Psalm was pro- phetical of the passion : the strain now changes to a hymn of triumph in the mouth of the Redeemer, celebrating his vic- tory and its happy conse- quences. 23. O ye Jehovah's praises sing &c.] Bishop Lowth is of opinion, that this verse and the following are the " song" of praise, which in the verse PSALM XXII. 73 O Jacob's sons, extol your King ; Fear him, O Israel's seed. 24 Jehovah nor abhors, nor spurns Affliction's plaintive sigh ; Nor from the meek his presence turns, But heeds the sufferer's cry." ^5 Before the great assembled throng Theme of my praise art Thou : Who fear Thee, shall attest the song, The tribute of my vow. . 26 Fed to the full from thy rich store, To Thee the meek shall bow : Th}^ presence seek ; thy name adore ; Thy quickening Spirit know. ^7 The earth from each remotest bound Reclaim'd shall turn to Thee ; The kindreds of the nations round Shall bend the adoring knee. 28 For thine, Jehovah, is the throne, Creative pow'r affords ; Thee King of kings the world shall own, And Thee the Lord of lords. 29 All by the fruits of earth sustain'd Thy love shall taste and bless ; preceding the speaker says he and is highly poetical. (Bp. will utter " in the congrega- Home.) tion." The introduction of it, 29. j^ll by the fruits of earth as his lordship justly observes, sustain'd.'] I adopt the inter- gives a variety to the whole, pretationofBps.Lowth,Horne, 74 PSALM XXII. And all, that to the dust descend, Thy royalty confess. 30 To Thee shall live my quickened soul ; Thy courts my seed shall grace ; Recorded in thy deathless roll Thine own peculiar race. 3 1 Behold, they come, they join to raise For future sons the strain ; The justice of Jehovah^s ways. The triumphs of his reign. Horsley, and others, as inti- mating the universality of the Gospel, which, the Apostle says, " was preached to every creature :" a phrase of similar import. The rendering of the clause is thus : " All who are fattened," fed or sustained, " by or from the earlh." In the same manner Homer de- scribes mankind, as " mortals, who feed on earthly fruits :" and Horace, " All we who on earth's bounty feed." (See Parkhurst on \tvn.) 30. To Thee shall live my quickened soul.] Bp. Lowth, and after him Bp. Home, ob- serve, that all the ancient versions seem to iiave read the clause in this sense : indicating, in conjunction with the follow- ing verse, as Bp. Horsley says. Both I and my posterity will serve the Lord. The follow- ing passage from Pope's Mes- siah is cited by Bp. Home, as illustrating this portion of our Psalm : Rise, crown'd with light, imperial Salem, rise ! Exalt thy towery head, and lift thy eyes ! See a long race thy spacious courts adorn ; See future sons, and daughters yet unborn, In crowding ranks on every tide arise, Demanding life, impatient for the skies ! See barbarous nations at ihy gates attend. Walk in thy light, and in thy temple bend ! PSALM XXIII. 75 PSALM XXIIL Introduction. Nothing can be more soothing and delight- ful in sentiment than the strain of pious confidence which per- vades this Psalm, or in composition than the allegorical form under which it is expressed, Bp. Lowth has selected it, amongst certain others, as a specimen of that sweetness of character, which distinguishes some, of the Hebrew Odes ; and which consists of a gentleness and tenderness of feeling, of agreeable and lively imagery, and of pleasing, elegant, calm, and agreeable language. What, he asks, can be conceived more sweet and beautiful, than the introductory description of the Deity under the character of a shepherd ? 1 JMY Shepherd is the Lord most high ; His care shall all my wants supply ; 2 Lay me in pastures green to feed, And to the tranquil streamlet lead. 3 He shall my erring soul reclaim, In honour of his holy name: And teach me, when my steps would stray, To keep the straight and even way. 2, Lay me in pastures green to feed. And to the tranquil streamlet lead] The verb, rendered " lead," has an appropriate force j and particularly signifies to lead on, or guide gently, as a good shep- herd does his flock. It is the same word, which occurs in Is. xl. 11; where it contributes to the composition of a very beautiful image. As to the scenery represented in this place, it is of the most pleasing kind which can be offered to the imagination. A flock, gently led forth by a careful shepherd, feeding in verdant meadows, and reposing in safety and peace by rivers of water, running calmly by, is at all times one of the most lovely images afforded by the natural world : but it has especial beauty, when contemplated with reference to the eastern countries, where the heat is sometimes so oppressive, and an abundant supply of water so valuable an acquisition. The reader will find an oriental pastoral scene of this kind in the beginning of the twenty-ninth chapter of Genesis. 76 PSALM XXIII. 4 Though through the gloomy vale I tread Of death, no evil shall I dread : For Thou art ever at my side, Thy staff to guard, thy rod to guide. 6 My plenteous board shalt Thou dispose In sight of my reluctant foes : With oil shalt Thou anoint my brow, And make my brimmed cup overflow. 4, Though through the gloomy vale I tread Of death'] Literally, " the vale of the shadow of death ;" that is, of extreme darkness, such as be- longs to the state of death. The image appears to have been borrowed from those dusky ca- verns and holes in the rocks, usually chosen by the Jews for their burying places, where death seemed, as it were, to hover continually, casting over them his black shadow. The image appears sometimes in- tended to convey no more than an idea of extreme dreariness and desolation, like that which reigns in those dismal man- sions : but in others, as in this, it has respect to the peril and dangers of the situation. See above, note on Ps, ix. 13. — For Thou art ever at my side'] The change of person in this place is very impressive^ and worthy of notice. Hither- to the Psalmist has spoken of Jehovah his shepherd in the third person ; here he turns and addresses himself to Him in a fine apostrophe, which conveys in a more lively form his feel- ings of grateful reliance on his almighty and bountiful Pro- tector. — Thy staff to guard, thy rod to guide.'] Of the words thus rendered, one means a " staff," prop, or support, on which a person leans, whether it be greater, or less ; the other, a longish " rod" or staff, which the herdsman or shepherd car- ried in his hand, and with which he kept his cattle in order. 5. My plenteous board shalt thou dispose] Another set of images, borrowed from a feast, is here introduced, to give us ideas of those cordials and com- forts prepared to cheer and invigorate the fainting soul, while, surrounded by enemies, it is accomplishing its pilgrim- age through life. (Bp. Home.) — With oil shalt Thou anoint my brow, And make my brimmed cup o'erflow] Oil or ointment poured upon ihe head was one of the signs of joy among the Jews, and in particular an accompaniment PSALM XXIV. 77 Abundant goodness, deathless love, Shall on my steps attendant move : Nor length of days my fix'd abode Shall sever from the house of God. PSALM XXIV. Introduction. The occasion of this subline Ode was the removal of the ark of God by David to Mount Zion. This event was attended by the largest possible assembly of the people, and accompanied with every circunistance of magnifi- cence and splendour, as a consecration of the place of publick worship selected by God himself, and of the residence where God chose specially to manifest his presence ; and as the con- veyance and solenm inauguration, as it were, of their sovereign Jehovah on his throne. The Israelitish nation at large ac- companied the ark: the tribe of Levi led the procession, with vocal and instrumental musick of various kinds. When they had arrived at the top of the mount, they appear to have then sung this Ode l)efore the people. The exordium sets forth the supreme and unbounded dominion of God, foiinded on the right of creation : it occupies the two first verses, or the first stanza of the following version. How vast then was the favour, what a wonderful token of loving-kindness, that amidst this universal and common empire over the world, he should select for himself a peculiar residence and people? And what fruits of holiness, justice, and in a word of every virtue, ought to be rendered by a nation, bound by so singular a blessing? This is the sentiment of the four next verses, or the second and third stanzas. We may suppose the procession to have now reached the doors of the tabernacle : whilst the Ark is carried in, the Levites, divided into two Semi-chorusses, sing alternately the of a feast. See Ruth iii, 3; blem of festivity: and they Is. Ixi. 3 j Ezek. xvi. 9. Jud. together form a very natural, X. 3. Accordingly the being as M^ell as a pleasing and anointed with sweet smelling poetical, image of plenty and oils no less than the overflow- prosperity. ing of a cup, is an usual em- 78 PSALM XXIV. remain^r of the Ode. Indeed this alternate or responsive singing may have been practised throughout the poem : at all events in the concluding part, namely, the four last verses, or the two last stanzas, the marks of it are manifest. And whe- ther we regard the subject itself, or the language, imagery, and figures, of this interlocutory singing, it is distinguished by a simple and easy, and therefore a true and most wonderful sublimity. Such is Bishop Lowth's account of the subject and structure of this noble Ode in his 27th Praelection. To which he justly adds, that the beauty and sublimity of the Psalm are so in- timately connected with the incidents that occasioned it, the time of its composition, and the whole distribution and scenery of the solemnity to which it was adapted, that, unless it be alto- gether referred to those particulars, not only its chief force and elegance are lost, but there is no way of understanding its senti- ments, language, or arrangement. 1 Lord of the world Jehovah reigns, Of earth, and all that it contains, And all that on its surface dwell. 2 For he its deep foundations cast, And on the billows fix'd it fast. And caus'd it from the floods to swell. 3 Who shall Jehovah's hill ascend, Who in Jehovah's courts attend. And worship at his holy seat ? 4 The clean of hand and pure in heart : Nor idol in his soul hath part. Nor from his tongue is heard deceit. 4. Nor idol in his souljiatk soul," signifies to lift up t/ic parf] Literally, as in our Bib. desires and affections of the translation, "Who hath not soulj as in Deut. xxiv. 15, lifted up his soul unto vanity." where our translators render. The phrase, to " lift up the " sets his heart upon." (See PSALM XXIV. 79 5 On him Jehovah shall bestow His grace ; on him shall blessings flow, Sent from his Saviour and his God. 6 Such be the race, who seek to dwell, Who seek, O God of Israel, To see Thee in thy dread abode. 7 Lift up, ye Hving gates, your head ; Your valves, eternal portals, spread ; The King of Glory comes along. 8 The King of Glory : who is he ? Jehovah, girt with majesty, Jehovah, in the battle strong. 9 Lift up, ye living gates, your head ; Your valves, eternal portals, spread ; And in the King of Glory bring. 10 Who is this King of Glory, say ! Parkhurst on iWi, xxv.) And 7- Lift up, ye living gales, the word, which signifies gene- your head'] It has been re- rally " a vain thing, vanity, marked on this passage, that falsehood," frequently means " the lifting up of the head is specifically, as here, " a vain an image adapted to a port- idol, a vain false Gqd." (See cullis,- the head of which, as on Nlty) it is lifted, rises conspicuous 6. Who seek, O God of Israel, above the gate." Agreeably To see Thee in thy dread to which Milton, in his de- abode] scription of Sin at the gates of " Who seek thy face, O God of hell, says, that she Jacob." Literally, as in the Bib. marg. translation. The holy ^^3?' ^'"' ^*'' '°"'"^ ^*' Ark and the Shecinah, that Forthwfth'theTgc portcullis high symbol of the chvme presence, up drew, resting upon it, is called " the face of God:" and to " seek But I am not aware, whether the face of God" is to appear cities were provided with any before the Ark, to worship God such means of defence at the in his sanctuary ; which the time of the composition of this Israelites were required to do Psalm, three times every year. 80 PSALiM XXIV. Jehovah, Lord of heav'n's array, Jehovah is of Glory King. 10. Jehovah, Lord of heav'n's arratj'] Literally, " Jehovah of hosts;" the word mX32f ren- dered "hosts/' being derived from a vei'b, N3Jf, signifying to assemble or meet together in orderly troops, as soldiers. " The host of heaven," says Parkhurst, "sometimes denotes the sun, moon, and stars in- clusively ; sometimes the stars, as distinguished from the sun and moon. This celestial host was worshipped by the liea- then and apostate Israelites And probably from this wor- ship, which very generally prevailed among the Gentiles, a great part of the l*agan world was denominated Zabians or Sabians. Hence the formation of the host of heaven is often reclaimed in Scripture for Je- hovah ^ and they are called his hosts. And hence DINDK Hin* " Jehovah of hosts," and niNDJf *nVN " Aleim of hosts," are frequently used as titles of the true God, and import that from Him " the host of the hea- vens" derive their existence and amazing powers, and con- sequently imply his own eternal and almighty power. Accord- ingly the LXX frequently in- terpret niN32f in this connexion by UxvTXK^xTu^ "Almighty:" though they often also retain the original Hebrew word, 2«€««;^, Sabaoth." (See Park- hurst's Heb. Lex. on X32f, or Gr. Lex. on 'Z.uZxu^.) 10. Jehovah is of Glory King] I have giyen in the Introduc- tion to this Psalm Bishop Lowth's account of it, which I apprehend to be a correct re- presentation of its literal pur- port and its original use. At the same time it should be no- ticed, that the carrying up of the Ark was emblematical of our blessed Lord's ascension into heaven, to which these four concluding verses are espe- cially apj)licable. For satis- faction and entertain !i)ent on this point, I have great plea- sure in referring the reader to Bishop Home's beautiful com- mentary on the Psalm. At the lame time I must not re- frain from noticing the use m.ide of it by our own Poet in his description of the Son of GoJ, first going forth to crea- tion, and again returning from the completion of his work. Heaven opened wide Her erer-during gates, harmonious sound On golden hinges moving, to let forih The Kill:; of Glory, in his powerful Word And Spirit, coming to create new worlds. And. on his return : Up he rode Followed with acclamation, and the sound Syraphonious of ten thousand harps, thai tuned Angelick harmonies. Open, ye everlasting gates ! they sung, Open, ye Heavens! your living doors ; let in PSALM XXV. 81 PSALM XXV. Introduction. This Psalm is a passionate appeal to the mercy and other perfections of God : but whether written by David, or by some other supplicant, is not certainly known. This is the first instance, which occurs in the Book of Psalms, of those compositions known by the name of Acrostick or Alphabetical Poems : of which Bp. Lowth gives the follow- ing description. The nature, or rather the form, of these Poems is this : the Poem consists of twenty-two lines, or of twenty-two systems of lines, or periods, or stanzas, according to the number of letters in the Hebrew Alphabet : and every line, or every stanza, begins with each letter in its order, as it stands in the Alphabet: that is, the first line, or first stanza, begins with K, the second with D, and so on. This was cer- tainly intended for the assistance of the memory; and was chiefly employed in subjects of common use, as maxims of morality, and forms of devotion j which being expressed in detached sentences, or aphorisms, (the form in which the sages of the most ancient times delivered their instructions,) the inconvenience arising from the subject, the want of con- nexion in the parts, and of a regular train of thought carried through the whole, was remedied by this artificial contrivance in the form. There are still extant in the Books of the Old Testament twelve of these Poems : of these, seven are in the Book of Psalms ; being, besides the present, the 34th, 37tb, 111th, 112th, 119th, and 145th. 1 JuORD, to Thee my hopes arise : 2 God, on Thee my soul relies : Leave me not to shame forlorn ; Shield me from th' oppressor's scorn. The great Creator from bis work That open'd wide her blazing por- return'd tals, ltd Magnificent, hit six days' work, a To God's eternal house direct the world. way. So sung Paradise Lost, vii. Tha glorious train ascending. He through heaven, 82 PSALM XXV. ' 3 Shame shall never them befal, Who on Thee expectant call : Shame shall seize with vengeance due The profane perfidious crew. 4 Me thy ways, Jehovah, show ; Tutor me thy paths to know : 5 Teach me in thy truth to tread, And my faltering footsteps lead : Author of m};^ safety thou, Object of my faithful vow ; Thee I seek the livelong day. And to Thee expectant pray. 6 To thy mind, Eternal King, Thy overflowing mercies bring. And thy deeds of love inrolPd In the chronicles of old. 7 But the sins, my youth that blot, And my faults remember not : O ! of me in mercy deem, For thy goodness. Lord supreme I 8 Good and just, the Lord his way Will disclose to them that stray ; 9 Lead the humble in his law. And the meek will gently draw. 10 They who keep his statutes prove All his paths are truth and love. 1 1 Pardon thou my guilt abhorr'd, For thy name's sake, Sovereign Lord! PSALM XXVI. 83 12 Who is he, the man whose breast Is with fear of God imprest ? God the better path shall show, And direct him how to go. 13 In delight his soul shall rest, And his seed on earth be blest. 14 Whoso fear the Lord shall still Learn his counsel, know his will. 15 Lord, on Thee mine eyes are set, Thou canst break the tanghng net. 16 Turn, and view my piteous state, , Destitute and desolate. 17 Countless griefs my heart oppress ; Bring me from my deep distress : 18 See my trouble, mark my pain, And forgive each sinful stain ! 1 9 Lo ! my foes, (the throng how great ! ) Hate me with relentless hate. 20 Let them not my soul molest : Shame me not, on Thee I rest. 21 Thee I trust for my defence. Strong in conscious innocence : 22 Free me then : and. Lord, with me Set afflicted Israel free ! PSALM XXVI. Introduction. This Psalm is supposed to have been com- posed by David, as an appeal to God, in vindication of his in- tegrity from the persecutions of his enemies. The composition is marked by an affecting strain of sincerity and simplicity ; G 2 84 PSALM XXVI. and in particular the 6th, 7th, and 8th verses, which describe the Author's attachment to the house of God, and his attendance upon its solemn services, have much beauty. 1 Judge me, O Lord, for I the way Of innocence have trod : My footsteps falter not nor stray, Because I trust in God. 2 Try me, O Lord ; my bosom prove ; Assay my reins and heart : 3 Before mine eyes I set thy love. Nor from thy truth depart, 4 With falsehood's sons I have not sat, I shun the spoiler's den : 6 Th' assembly of the proud I hate, Nor herd with godless men. 6 1 wash my hands in innocence. And round thy altar go ; 4. / ifhun the spoiler's den] liiterally, " I go not in with those who hide themselves." " Those who hide themselves," who shun the light and seek privacy, to contrive or practise their nefarious machinations. " I go not in with them," I never enter their secret haunts. 6. / wash my hands in inno- cence'] To wash the hands was common among the Jews in any solemn protestation of in- nocence ; an instance of this occurs in Deut. xxi. 6; and the practice is recognized by the action of Pilate in Matt. xxvii. 24. Generally, however, external oblations were the symbols of that internal purity and cleanness, which God re- quires of those who approach to holy things, and those who serve him. And it was accord- ingly a common usage among the Jews, always to wash be- fore prayers,- and the priests in particular were not to per- form any office in the sanctuary, till they had poured water from the laver, and washed in it. — And round thine altar go] Among other ceremonies con- PSALM XXVII. 85 7 Pour the glad hymn of triumph thence, And thence thy wonders show. 8 Thy house is ever my dehght, Thy dwelHng, O my God ! The place, where shrinM in radiance bright Thy glory makes abode. 9 Rank not with men of blood my soul, My life with impious tribes, 10 Whose hands of dark designs are full, Whose right hands teem with bribes, 111 walk in purity and truth ; Save, Lord, and pity me : 12 My foot securely stands, my mouth Shall sing aloud of Thee. ^ PSALM XXVII. Inthoduction. This Psalm, which was composed by David in some season of persecution, breathes a very pleasing strain of confidence in God. It consists of two parts, divided from each other between the 6th and 7th verses ; the former part being in a more triumphant, and the latter in a more precatory strain. Bp. Horsley supposes the former part to have been improperly detached from the preceding Psalm : and regards the latter as composing by itself one intire Poem, which he rightly designates " an elegant supplicatory ode." Indeed the epithet is equally applicable to both parts of the Psalm. PART I. 1 Jehovah is my light, my fort : Shall man alarm my breast ? nected with the feast of taber- compass the altar seven times, nacles, it was usual on the carrying branches in their seventh day for the people to hands, and singing Hosannas. G 3 86 PSALM XXVII. Jehovah is my life's support : Shall man my peace molest ? 2 When impious bands about me prest, My hated life to quell, And revel in their bloody feast, They stumbled and they fell. 2. /Ind revel in their bloody feast] Literally, " to eat my flesh." We have here an in- stance of that boldness of figu- rative language, in which the Hebrew poets not infrequently indulge. Plainly it is not to be supposed, that the enemies of the Psalmist had any such purpose, as the literal phrase attributes to them. But hav- ing in his mind the idea of those ravening beasts of prey, under the image of which he was wont to contemplate and describe them, and that not only by way of similitude, but of metaphor also ; he speaks of his enemies in language appli- cable only to the animals them- selves, attributing without qua- lification properties to the one, which actually belong only to the other. The fact is, that this sort of thing perpetually occurs in the use of metapho- rical language; though fre- quently it escapes observation, where the borrowed imagery is familiar to the mind of the hearer or reader. Thus in the last Psalm but one it is said, ver. 15, " He shall pluck my feet out of the netj" where the language proceeds on the supposition of a comparison previously instituted between the Psalmist, and a bird or beast intangled in a snare. But this idea being familiar to our minds, we admit the language founded upon it without hesita- tion, hardly pausing perhaps to regard it as a figurative phrase. And probably as little was felt by a Hebrew reader in respect to the expression in this Psalm: although it may at first sight appear to our minds as somewhat harsh and extravagant. In order to per- ceive and enjoy the beauties of poetical language, we ought to place ourselves as much as pos- sible in the situation of the poet, and to keep before our minds the same natural objects and scenery, which were ac- tually present to his sight. — they stumbled and they fell] This is in all probability spoken in anticipation of a future event. But nothing is more usual with the Hebrew pro- phets than to use the past time for the future to indicate the certainty of the occurrence. At the same time, in a poetical point of view, this gives great animation to the sentiment. PSALM XXVII. 87 3 Though tented hosts against me spread, No fear my bosom knows : Though war against me lift the head, On Him my hopes repose. 4 One blessing is my souPs request, One boon from God she prays, That in his dwelling I may rest The remnant of my days : The beauteous presence to survey Of Him the Pow^r divine, Within his spacious temple stray, And gaze upon his shrine. 5 He shall around, when dangers press, His sheltering tent extend ; Shroud in his holv courts recess. And on a rock defend. 5. He shall around, when ii. 28. There appears to be a dangers press, &c.] There ap- third allusion to those rocks or pear to be three distinct modes fastnesses, which offered a na- of protection alluded to in this tural refuge to those who were verse. The first is that of a desirous of escaping from their pavilion or tent, under cover enemies, and secured them by of which, particularly if re- their elevation and consequent garded as the tent of a king or difficulty of access. Palestine, chief commander, it would be being a mountainous region, obvious to seek refuge from had many rocks ; which were the pursuit of enemies. For part of the strength of the the protection, which would country j for in times of danger be thus afforded, see the note the people retired to them, and on Ps. xxxiv. 7- The second found security against sudden is that of God's tabernacle, or irruptions of their enemies, altar, to which it was the usual Several of these had large practice for offenders to flee, cavities, or clefts, which were as a place where they esteemed very convenient places of re- themselves safe ; see 1 Kings treat. Before the invention of G 4 88 PSALM XXVII. 6 And now my head aloft he'll raise, Whilst I his courts among Present the sacrifice of praise, And chaunt the grateful song. PART II. 7 A listening ear, Jehovah, lend, 0 God, to Thee I cry : With mercy to my voice attend, With gentleness reply. 8 Hark ! to my heart opprest with care 1 hear Thee softly speak, " Seek ye my face :" in duteous pray Y Thy face, O Lord, I seek. 9 Turn not in wrath thy face away, Let not my footsteps slide : Thou still hast been my strength and stay. Be still my God and guide. 10 Fail, quit me not ! my father's aid May fail, my mother's care : But then my limbs at random laid Thy fost'ring arms shall bear. 1 1 Teach me, O Lord, thy perfect way, Lest foes my soul inthral. Make plain my passage, lest I stray ; And lead me, lest I fall. gunpowder, fastnesses of this sustained by individuals, and kind were nearly impregnable: their families or adherents, and accordingly Bruce gives upon rocks, and terminated at accounts of very long sieges, last by capitulation. PSALM XXVII. 89 12 Dark schemes of ill my foes devise : O be their schemes withstood ! False witnesses against me rise, And men who pant for blood. 13 My soul had sunk their wiles beneath, But that I trust to prove Jehovah^s animating breath, And taste his saving love. 14 Abide supreme Jehovah's hour, Be patient, and confide : 12. And men who pant for blood] Literally, " Such as breathe out cruelty." Park- hurst illustrates the phrase by a reference to Homer, who says the Greeks were f^ivix yrnittTii, " breathing rage," as Pope renders it, or rather " breathing courage :" to Mil- ton, who says of the rebel an- gels, that they "deliberate va- lour breathed :" and to Cicero, who describes Cataline, scelus anhelantem, " breathing out wickedness :" and elsewhere uses the expression, still more nearly corresponding with the passage in the Psalmist, anhe- lans ex intimo pectore crudeli- tatera, " from the bottom of his breast breathing cruelty." The same ingenious writer also adverts to the description of Saul in the Acts, though with a different construction, " breathing out threatenings and slaughter." Which, he observes, beautifully describes Saul as being so full of threat- enings, and so desirous of slaughter, against the disciples of the Lord, that the violence of his passions even affected his breath, and made him draw it quicker and stronger, as persons in vehement anger and eager desire usually do. (See Parkhurst, Heb. Lex. on riDS and Gr. Lex. on tfiTrnu.) 14. Abide supreme Jehovah's hour, Be patient"] Our Bib. translation renders, " Wait on the Lord." The C. P. B. " O tarry thou the Lord's leisure." The Hebrew word is an exti'emely expressive, and, if I may so say, picturesque term. It signifies literally, " to stretch, or tend forwards:" and is a word of gesture, of like import with St. Paul's etTOKci^tnioK.tic, Rom. viii. 19 ; Phil. i. 20 ; rendered by our translators, •' earnest expecta- tion:" which is properly the " stretching forth of the head and neck" with earnest inten- 90 PSALM XXVIII. He shall endue thy heart with pow*r ; Jehovah's hour abide ! PSALM XXVIIL Introduction. This Psalm, like the twenty-second, and many others, consists of two parts. The former, a prayer for the Psalmist's deliverance, and a prophecy of the destruction of his enemies : the latter, a hymn of triumph and intercession for his people. The latter is indeed, as Bp. Home terms it, " a sweet, though short, hymn." PART I. 1 1^0 RD, to Thee I make my vow ; Saviour, be not silent Thou : Lest, neglected, I become Like the tenants of the tomb. 2 Hear my supplicating cry, When to Thee for help I fly, And with lifted hands intreat At thy holy mercy-seat. tion and observation, to see belief. Hopkins seems to have when a person or thing ex- been not insensible of this: pected shall appear. So our and he has accordingly ren- Hebrew verb may be translated dered the verse, by no means " to expect earnestly, anxious- amiss, thus: ly, or eagerly ." (See Parkhurst, ™ . ..,, • ^ , . , , V mi 1 • Trust still in God, whose whole on n)\).) Ine clause is re- thou art peated at the end of the verse. His will abide thou must ; which unfortunately is not He will support and ease thy heart, preserved in our C. P. B. trans- I*" »''<'" ■" "'"^ '^^ *■■"'*• lation, I say unfortunately ; 2. And with lifted ha/ids in- for the repetition appears to treat'] Literally, •* When I lift me to give additional beauty up my hands towards." The to the striking and elegant stretching out of the hands apostrophe, with which the towards an object of devotion. Poet, having just stated his or an holy place, was an an- belief in the goodness of Je- cient usage both amongst Jews hovah, encourages himself to and heathens, and it continues a stedfast perseverance in that in the East at this time. For PSALM XXVllI. 91 3 With the godless number not, Nor with men of fraud, my lot : Peaceful speech is theirs, and kind ; Mischief harbours in their mind. 4 Thou their dealings shalt reward ; Thou shalt quit their deeds abhorred ; Grant them, what their hands ensue ; Pay them retribution due. 5 They Jehovah's actions slight. And his hands creative might : So shall he with ruin bare Smite them, nor the waste repair. the ancient usage, see Ps. xliv, 20, 21 ; Ixviii. 31 ; See also 1 Tim. ii. 8, as well as several places in the Gospels, where our blessed Redeemer is de- scribed praying in that atti- tude. And it is related of the modern Mohammedans, that on quitting the Beet, or holy house at Mecca, to which they make devout pilgrimages, they hold up their hands towards the Beet, making earnest peti- tions ; and, as they retreat backwards, continue petition- ing, holding up their hands with their eyes fixed on the Beet, till they are out of sight of it. The same attitude they use in begging blessings of their saints, or marabbots : and in offering prayers at their graves, over which is generally built a neat little room, re- sembling the mosques in figure. which many of the Mohamme- dan s will scarcely pass, with- out lifting up their hands and praying. — At thy holy inercy-seat'\ Bib. translation, " Towards thy holy oracle." The " ora- cle," or speaking-place, was that part of the temple, whence Jehovah spake, and issued his orders and directions; other- wise called the Holy of holies. The " mercy-seat" was the same. 5. So shall he with ruin bare Smite them'] The admirer of Milton will hardly need to be reminded of the conclusion of his Sonnet, when the assault was intended to the city : ' And the repeated air Of sad Electra's poet had the power To save the Athenian walls from ruitl bare. 92 PSALM XXVIIL PART II. 6 Blessed be the Lord most Hish ! When I raisM the suppHant cry, Timely succour did he yield ; He my sword, and he my shield. 7 On the Lord my heart relied ; Needful help the Lord supplied. Leaps with joy my raptur'd heart, Prompt the grateful numbers start. 8 To Jehovah swell the song, He can make the feeble strong : He his saving strength will spread O'er his own Anointed's head. 9 Save thy people, God ador'd ! Bless thine heritage, O Lord ! Guard their pasture, guide their ways, And to deathless glory raise ! 9. Guard their pasture, guide their ways,'] I have combined the two translations of the clause, as found in our author- ized versions of the Psalms, and in the Te Deum : in the former " Feed them," in the latter " Govern them." Either translation suits the pastoral notion conveyed by the ori- ginal word J which signifies to " feed, lead to, or supply with, food," as shepherds do their flock; and thence, by that beautiful analogy which repre- sents the great God under the image of the good Shepherd, to " feed, nourish, take care of, tend," as Jehovah doth his people. (See Parkhurst on ny"), iii. iv.) PSALM XXIX. 93 PSALM XXIX. Introduction. Bisliop Lowth in his 27th Praelection ob- serves, that brevity of diction is one of the greatest conducives to sublimity: and that a diffuse and exuberant style detracts from the weight of the matter^ as the addition of flesh and fat- ness to a healthy body is, in the same ratio, a diminution of its strength and vigour. The HebreTrs, he says, if regard be had to their compositions as wholes, are full, copious, and abundant : if examined in detail, they are sparing, confined, and compressed. They amplify their matter by variations, repetitions, and occa- sional additions : thus whilst the intire subject is largely han- dled, it is by means of short and nervous sentences, often re- sumed, and following each other in rapid succession : so that there may be no want either of copiousness or of strength. This brevity is owing, as well to the genius of the language, as to the nature of Hebrew poetry : and accordingly, as no ver- sions whatever give a satisfactory view of it in this particular, so least of all do any metrical versions. This distinguished critic then adduces the 29th Psalm as a conspicuous example of such brevity of diction united with copiousness of matter; and as an example at the same time of the subhmity that arises from the above cause. The subject of it, he says, is a demonstration of the supreme dominion and infinite power of God, from the tremendous sound and wonder- ful operation of thunder, which the Hebrews call the voice of God, and the effects of which are most magnificently described. And he then gives a version of the Psalm in Latin Anapaestick verses, answering in number to the lines of the Hebrew, with a view to preserving the brevity of the original. In rendering this noble Poem, I selected the following metre, as being adapted to one of the grandest of our old Psalm tunes, namely, the old lOlth : which, as it happens, runs in stanzas of four Anapaestick verses. In consequence however of the neces- sity of the whole number of lines being a multiple of four, and for the purpose of a more convenient arrangement, a little expansion has here and there been admitted ; so that the ver- sion contains 28 lines, instead of 23 as in the Hebrew. 94 PSALM XXIX. 1 O GIVE to the Lord, ye kings of mankind, Give praise to the Lord and worship di- vine: 2 Due praise to Jehovah's great name be assigned. Adore his bright presence and bend at his shrine. 3 The voice of the Lord the waters controls ; Of glory the God, the thunder he forms : As willeth Jehovah, the mighty sea rolls ; He speaks, and the billows are blacken 'd with storms. 4 The voice of the Lord, how potent its sway ! The voice of the Lord in majesty speaks. 5 The voice of Jehovah the cedars obey ; Jehovah the cedars of Lebanon breaks. 1, — Fe kings of mankind'] Bib. trans, " O ye mighty." Margin, " Ye sons of the mighty." Literally, " Sons of Alim." Parkhurst supposes an allusion to the " gods" of the heathens, whose " sons" many of the heathen princes, such as Alexander, Romulus, &c. notoriously affected to be reckoned. (See on bH. iii) 5. Jehovah the cedars of Lebanon breaks'] The force of lightning is known to rend in pieces the tallest and strongest trees in a moment. The cedars of Lebanon are much cele- brated in Scripture ; and there must have been in former times a great abundance of them, to supply the wood re- quisite for the many great buildings on which they were employed. There are a few still standing on Mount Le- banon, above Byblos and Tri- poli, of great age and of a pro- digious bulk: being some of them from thirty-five to forty feet in girth j and, at about five or six yards from the ground, throwing out branches, each of which is equal to a great tree. Maundrell measured one of the largest, the dimensions of which were as above men- tioned ; and the spread of its boughs was thirty-seven yards. PSALM XXIX. 95 6 Uptorn from their roots deep sunk in the ground, Like young of the herd move the chiefs of the wood : Disturbed with his forests, see Lebanon bound, And Sirion leap hke the unicorn's brood. Lebanon, called by the Latins Libanus, is a famous mountain, or rather ridge of mountains, separating Syria from Pales- tine. The name is derived from a Hebrew verb, signify- ing to whiten, or make white: and was in all probability given to it by reason of the snow, with which it is covered, according to many writers, at all seasons, or, by universal agreement, for seven or ciglit months of the year; as the Alps seem to have received their denomination from the like cause. " Among the mountains of Palestine," says Bp. Lowth, " the two most remarkable, and therefore the most celebrated in the sacred poems, are Lebanon and Car- mel. The one, distinguished at the same time for its own height, and for the loftiness, size, and number of the cedars that grow on its summits ; and thus exhibiting a just and noble image of strength and majesty: the other rich and fertile, planted with vines, olives, and all ether kinds of fruit-trees, and most flourish- ing as well from the richness of its soil as from its cultiva- tion; and thus presenting a lovely appearance of fer- tility, and of more exqui- site beauty and grace. The difference in form and appear- ance between these two is ac- curately defined by Solomon, when he compai'es manly dig- nity to Lebanon, to Carmel feminine elegance." 6. Disturb' d with his forests, see Lebanon bouncC] Thunder not only demolisheth the cedars, but shaketh the moun- tains on which they grow. The combined objects are brought together in a fine similitude by Milton : As if on earth Winds under ground, or waters forcing way. Sidelong had push'd a mountain from his seat, Half sunk with all his pines. Paradise Lost, vi. Certainly the figures in this passage of our Psalm are of the boldest kind ; and the comparison contained in it may be judged by some per- sons to approach the limits of hyperbolical description. Not only however are such com- parisons agreeable to the bold and energetick character of Hebrew poetry: but he who considers what is the actual effect of that tremendous in- 96 PSALM XXIX. 7 The voice of the Lord the darkness divides, And deals forth his fire in arrowy flakes : 8 The voice of Jehovah the wilderness chides, Jehovah of Kadesh the wilderness shakes. strument of the God of nature, called here by a magniHcent figure " the voice of Jehovah," will probably be of opinion, that hardly any imagery can be too strong to describe it. It is recorded in the Phi- losophical Transactions, that during the terrible earth- quake at Jamaica, 1692, the mountains were split, they opened, they closed again, they leaped, they fell in heaps. The same prodigious motions attended the earthquakes dur- ing an eruption of Vesuvius. — And Sirio7i leap like the unicorn's brood'] The north east part of Lebanon, adjoining to the Holy Land, is in Scripture commonly distinguished by the name of Hermon. But in Deut. iii. 9. we are told, that this Hermon went under dif- ferent names among different people : one of these names was Sirion. Concerning the unicorn, see the note on Ps. xxii. 21. 7. The voice of the Lord the darkness divides. And deals forth his ^re in arrowy Jlakesr\ Our translations render, " The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of firei" and the Bib. marginal trans, notices the meaning of the Hebrew vei*b to be " cutteth out." The ap- plication of the verb is made differently : namely, to the di- vision of the flame into flashes of lightning, or to the division of the clouds to open a passage for it. Bp. Lowth appears to prefer the latter sense : for he turns the sentence, Buptit rutilant nubibus ignes. Each interpretation gives a lively and poetical image. In the version above they are combined. 8. Jehovah of Kadesh the wilderness shakes'] The wilder- ness of Kadesh was a part of that wilderness, through which the Israelites passed in their way to Canaan. See Numb, xiii. 26. Thunder shaketh those wide extended deserts, as well as Libanon and Sirion, mountains of Palestine. Thus the extent of God's power is illustrated : mean while the specification of these places, Libanon, Sirion, Kadesh, has a fine poetical effect, and is greatly more animated, and brings the subject more imme- diately before the mind of the reader, than if the Poet had limited himself to a general statement. It is the same sort of beauty as is felt in that cele- brated passage of Virgil, ' lUc flagranti Aut Atho, aut Rhodopen, aut alta Ceraunia telo Dejicit. PSALM XXX. ;>7 9 The voice of the Lord speeds the hind to her throes ; The voice of the Lord smites the oak to the ground : The forest dismantled his majesty shows, And all in his temple his praises resound, 10 Jehovah is set o'er the waterflood high : Jehovah is King till existence shall cease. 1 1 Jehovah his people with strength shall supply ; Jehovah shall visit his people with peace. PSALM XXX. Introduction. This is a very beautiful and affecting hymn of thanksgiving, composed probably by David on his revisiting the sanctuary, after a joyful recovery from some dangerous sickness. The sentiments are well suited to the occasion : and in particular the contrast and transition of feeliugs.. which the Psalmist describes, are managed with great skill and very pleasing effect. 1 jLHOU, Jehovah, art my praise: Thou didst sink me, Thou didst raise ; Athos he with flaming bolt, dread of thunder. But the in- OrRhodope,orthehighCerauniaa terpretation of Bp. Lowth, gmjjgj ' " makes the oaks to tremble," agreeable as it is to the ori- — speeds the hind to her ginal text, as well as the other throes, interpretation, is both more — smites the oak to the at harmony with the conti- ground'] guous imagery, and more grand Bib. trans. " The voice of the and dignified in itself. I have Lord maketh the hinds to however given both interpreta- calve:" and accordingly it is tions : as the joint mention of alleged on the authority of dif- them furnishes an accumulated ferent naturalists, Aristotle, proofof the power of Jehovah s Pliny, and Plutarch, that cattle voice, will cast their young through H 98 PSALM XXX Raise, nor leave me faint and low, To the mockery of my foe. 2 Thee I calPd my God, my Lord ! Thou to health hast me restored. S Thou from hell my life didst save, And defeat the yawning grave. 4 Objects of Jehovah's love, Praise, ye saints, the Lord above : Loud the name of God confess, Mindful of his holiness. 5 For his wrath a moment stays ; Length of life his grace conveys : Weeping may endure a night. Shouts of gladness hail the light. 6 In my hour of wealth I cried, " Never shall my footsteps slide : 7 Lord, by thy all-gracious hands Firmly fix'd my mountain stands." 3. Thou from hell my life didst save'] " From hell," from " sheol," the hidden place, the abode of the dead. See the notes on Ps. vi. 5; ix. 13. " My life," or my breathing, or ani- mal, frame ; the body, which by breathing is sustained in life. (See Parkhurst on WD1- iii.) 5. Shouts of gladness'] The Hebrew word means more than mere " joy" or " gladness:" it is gladness declaring itself by outward demonstrations, by motions quick and free, by leaping of the body, or excla- mations of the tongue: (See Parkhurst on p. iii. iv.) and so it is properly and elegantly opposed to " weeping" in the parallel clause. Our Bible mar- gin renders the Vfordi " sing- ing." The whole of this verse indeed is most beautiful. 7. Firmly fx'd my mountain stands'^ The Psalmist appears to represent his imagined se- curity and prosperity under the figure of a strong moun- tain, under which denomina- tion he metaphorically de- scribes his own condition. To have compared his state to a mountain, by a similitude. PSALM XXX. 99 Thou thy face didst turn away, Trouble seizM me, and disma^^ 8 Then to Thee my grief I brought, And Jehovah's mercy sought. 9 " From my blood what gain Can come. Buried in the lonely tomb ? Shall corruption praise thy name ? Shall the dust thy truth proclaim ? 10 Hear, Jehovah, hear me now, And thy timely mercy show : Ere I fill the silent grave. Hear, Jehovah, hear and save !" 1 1 And Thou heard^st : and Thou my moans Didst convert to mirthful tones ; would have been the more usual course according to the practice of poets in general : the phraseology, which he actually employs, is bolder, and more agreeable to the ge- nius of Hebrew poetry. 11, — Thon my moans Didst convert to mirthful tones'] " My moans," for such is the proper signification of the word : which Parkhurst, by a reference to Mic. i. 8. proves to signify a mournful noise, and not, as the Lexicons in general make it, a gesture of grief (See on HDD.) And so with respect to the word, which I have rendered " mirthful tones." It means " some fistular wind instrument of musick with holes, as a flute, pipe, or fife," Exod. XV. 20,- Jer. xxxi. 4, 13. It is joined with the ^r\, or tabor, Exod. xv. 20 ; Jud. xi. 343 and with that and other instruments of musick, Ps. cxlix. 3 ; cl. 4. It is often, says Parkhurst, in our transla- tion rendered " dance;" but this is rather implied than ex- pressed in the word. (See on ^n. iii ) Bishop Horsley ren- ders the word in this place " merry piping." The same sort of elegant antithesis is in- tended here, as before noticed in the fifth verse: and the idea is pursued, under a dif- ferent image, but with equal propriety and beauty, in the remainder of this verse. All this is in the style and spirit of true poetical feeling. H 2 100 PSALM XXXI. Cast my sackcloth garb away, And in robes of joy array. 12 So for Thee my glory wakes, And the bonds of silence breaks : Whilst unceasing hymns record Thee, my God, and Thee, my Lord, PSALM XXXL Introduction, The following Ode, written by David, and recited in part by our blessed Redeemer on the cross, is an in- teresting mixture of supplication and joy} of complaint} of petition again } of confidence in God, and final triumph and exultation. It may be not inconveniently divided into four parts, according to these topicks : of which the first will be comprised in three Stanzas, to the end of the 8th verse ; the second in three more Stanzas, to the end of the 14th verse } and the third in two Stanzas, to the end of the 18th verse} and the fourth, the remainder of the Poem. PART I. 1 Jehovah, Thee I trust alone : O let not shame my gteps attend. Send rescue from thy righteous throne ; 2 Inchne thine ear ; swift rescue send. Be Thou my strength : be Thou my rock : My fortress from oppression's shock. 1 1 . Cast my sackcloth garb the ancient custom of wearing away'} The usual dress of sackcloth in times of religious mourning and humiliation, as humiliation. And it appears appears from numerous in- from Plutarch, that the same stances in the Bible. The cus- was sometimes practised among torn was not confined to the the Greeks. Israelites, Menander takes 12. — my glory} My tongue, notice of the Syrians observing See the note on Ps. xvi. 9. PSALM XXXI. 101 3 My fort, my rock I hail in Thee : Assert thy name ; display thy might. 4 From hidden net, Lord, set me free : Lead, guide me, God of truth, aright. 5 My spirit to thy hands I yield ; My Saviour Thou, and Thou my shield. 6 I hate the treacherous crowd profane : Lord, on thy love my hopes repose. 7 Pll leap, Pll sing : Thou mark'st my pain ; Thou know'st my soul mid all her woes. 8 Thou draw^st me from the dungeon's gloom, And giv'st my feet at large to roam. PART II. 9 Have mercy, Lord : with sorrow worn. Mine eye, my frame, my soul decay : 10 My life with woe to earth is borne. My years with sighing waste away : For grief my flesh has lost its bloom ; My strength is gone ; my bones consume. 1 1 My foes — their scorn am I become : My neighbours shrink alarm'd to see : 7. rilleapl It is a word of vivid representation of extreme gesture, and denotes the out- distress, abandonment, and ward expression of joy by the persecution, motions of the body. ("Park- — viy frame, my soul] Con- hurst, on ^J. vii.) cerning the word, rendered 9. Have mercy, Lord] The " my frame," see the note on description in this part of the Ps. xxx. 3. The word, ren- Psalm is extremely pathetick J dered "my soul," is "my nor can it well fail to bring to belly," in our Bib. translation : our minds the passion of our and so it properly signifies. It blessed Saviour, of which in- however often denotes the in- deed it is as correct a portrait, most part, or mind, of man. as it is, generally speaking, a (See Parkhurst, on ^103) H 3 102 PSALM XXXI. 12 15 16 My friends with terror mark my doom, They view me near them, and they flee. Outcast am I ! a worthless shred ! Forlorn, forgotten, as the dead I 13 The murmurs of the crowd I heard, Around were objects of dismay ; Whilst they against my soul conferr'd, And schemed to take my life away. 14 Yet to the Lord with stedfast vow I clung, and said, " My God art Thou." PART III. Of life and death, of weal and woe. My times, O Lord, thy hands direct: O, snatch me from my ruthless foe. From my tormentor's rage protect. And on thy servant cause thy face To shine, and save me with thy grace. 17 O ! let not shame thy servant daunt ! On Thee, Jehovah, I. have hung. Shame shall the godless rebel haunt ; The grave shall stop th' injurious tongue. 13. " The murmurs of the crowd I heard] Bp. Horsley renders the word, which I have here translated " murmurs/' " the angry muttering." Park- hui'st states die verb to signify, " to murmur, mutter, grum- ble;" and thence the noun, " a murmuring, muttering, evil report, which is frequently propagated in a low muttering tone." It is curious, that the Hebrew name of the bear is taken from the same root, as much as to say, " the mur- murer, grumbler, or growler," from his remarkable grum- bling or growling, esj)ecially when Iiungry or enraged. (Parkhurst, on D^.) ■^1 PSALM XXXI. 103 18 False lips, that with disdain and pride Perverse the righteous man deride. PART IV. 19 How great of good thy treasured store For them who fear Thee, them who love ! 20 When banded foes their malice pour. And scornful tongues the conflict move, Thou to thy secret place shalt bring, And o'er them thy pavilion fling. 21 Glory to God ! His wondrous aid In towered city hath he shown ! 22 AlarmM with thoughtless haste I said, " From thy lov'd presence am I thrown." But Thou didst hear thy supphant sigh, And listen to my anxious cry. 23 Ye saints of God, in Him delight ! God doth his faithful followers guard : But to the sons of pride requite Their glory ings with a full reward. 24 Be strong ; and he your heart shall brace, All ye that trust Jehovah's grace ! 21. — His wondrous aid Marvellous kindness was show- In towered city hath he ed htm in a strong city, when shown] he had a providential warning The event, supposed to be al- to escape from a place, where luded to, is David's escape from Saul thought to find him shut the city of Keilah into the wil- in with gates and bars, derness. See 1 Sam. xxiii. H 4) 104 PSALM XXXII. PSALM XXXII. Introduction. There is a tenderness of feeling in this ele- gant little Ode, well suited to the occasion and subject of it : the occasion, the pardon of David's sin; the subject, the com- memoration of that pardon, and of the blessedness of those who are thus admitted to God's mercy. It is the second of those, commonly styled penitential Psalms. 1 How blest the pardon'd sinner's lot ! Whose crimes are all remember'd not, Whose guilt is all efFac'd ! 2 How blest the man, 'gainst whom the Lord Forbears transgression to record, Nor guile disturbs his breast ! 3 Whilst hid my sin within me lay. My bones with anguish wore away. And rest in vain I sought : 4 On me thy heavy hand remain'd, By day, by night, my moisture drain'd, And turn'd to summer's drought. 1. Whose guilt is all effaced] Literally, " whose sin is co- vered," namely, by God. In the 5th verse, the Psalmist, using the same verb in the Hebrew, says, " mine iniquity have I not hid," or covered. God "covers sin," when he hides it as it were from his sight, and will not observe it : man " covers his own sin," when he clokes or palliates it. 4. — my moisture drained, And ttirnd to summer's drought'] Rain indiscriminately in the winter months, and none at all in the summer, is the most common weather in the East, and particularly in the Holy Land : so that what the Psalm- ist here refers to, is the parched appeai"ance of the earth in an usual eastern summer. The weather at Aleppo, where Dr. Russell resided many years in the last century, very much resembles that of Judea: and his account of a Syrian summer is the most beautiful comment that can be met with on this passage. He says, that the first rains fall about the middle of September, and greatly re- fresh the air, which was before extremely hot ; and, if the PSALM XXXII. 105 Then my transgression I reveaPd, Nor longer mine offence conceaPd ; But, " O my God," I cried, " To Thee will I my sin avow :" And Thou forgav'st my sin, and Thou Didst put my guilt aside. 6 Encouraged thus each saint shall pray To Thee in thy salvation's day, In thine accepted hour : So, when descends the whelming flood, rains have been at all plentiful, though of few hours duration, they give a new face to the country, which looked before extremely barren and parched. From the first rains to the se- cond, the interval is at least between twenty and thirty days J during which time the weather is temperate, serene, and extremely delightful. After the second rains the weather is variable till May, from the end of which, if not sooner, not so much as one refreshing shower falls, and scarcely a friendly cloud appears to shelter from the excessive heat of the sun till about the middle of September. The verdure of the spring fades before the middle of May j and before the end of that month the whole country puts on so parched and barren an aspect, that one would hardly think it capable of producing any thing, there being but very few plants which have vigour enough to lesist the extreme heat. (See more in Harraer's Observa- tions, vol. i.) 6. — when descends the whelming jlood] The original word means " an inundation j" being derived from a verb, signifying to " overflow," to " overwhelm." See the note on Ps. xviii. 4: in illustration of which it may be remarked, that Maundrell particularly notices the great and sudden swelling of the mountain tor- rents in Judea. "AtShofatia, he says, we were obliged to pass a river : a river we might call it now, it being swollen so high by the late rains that it was impassable ; though at other times it might be but a small brook, and in summer perfectly dry." " These moun- tain rivers are ordinarily very inconsiderable : but they are apt to swell upon sudden rains, to the destruction of many a passenger, who will be so hardy, as to venture unad- visedly over them." 106 PSALM XXXII. Short of his home the waters proud Shall stay their harmless pow'r. 7 Thou art my shelter, thou my guard : ThouMt cause around me to be heard The gratulating lay. 8 " I will instruct thee how to tread ; My hand thy steps shall onward lead, Mine eye thy path survey." 9 O take not ye the wayward course Of stubborn mule, or fiery horse, Perverse and hard to learn : Whose jaws the iron curb must hold. 8. / tvill instruct thee kotv to tread] This is an answer, as it were, to the address of the Psalmist, assuring him that his confidence on the Almighty was not misplaced, and that he should enjoy the direction of God's Spirit in the way of righteousness, and the superin- tendence of his watchful care. This interposition, as it were, of God himself is extremely beautiful i and gives variety and liveliness to the composi- tion. 9. — Jtery horse'] The He- brew name for the " horse" is given him, with reference to the active alacrity, or sprightli- ness of that species of animals, according to that of Job xxxix. 21, " He exulteth in his strength." So Homer, in his admirable description of a pam- pered horse, uses the epithets, " glorying," " confiding in his excellence." Every one knows how eminent this quality is in horses, even in our part of the world ; and it is much more so in the warm eastern countries. (See Parkhurst on DD, and WW.) — the iron curb — the muzzling rein] Of the two words in the ori- ginal, thus rendered, the former signifies the " iron" of the common bridle, which is put into the horse's mouth, the bit, or curb: the latter denotes the " reins" or " head- stall" of a bridle, which was fixed to the animal's head. Bp. Horsley says of the word, x»)^oj, by which the LXX render this latter Hebrew terra, that " it was something like a muzzle, which was put upon mischievous horses or mules to prevent them from biting. Xenophon says, that it allowed PSALM XXXIII. 107 Whose mouth the muzzhng rein infold, Lest on their lord they turn. 10 Unnumber'd plagues the rebel threat: But those, who on Jehovah wait, His mercy^s arms embrace. 1 1 Then lift, ye just, the exulting voice ; Ye true of heart, in God rejoice. And triumph in his grace. PSALM XXXIII. Introduction. This is a very magnificent hymn of praise to God, for his goodness ; his creative power ; and his provi- dential care. The whole composition is of a very fine character: the sentiments lofty and noble j the language simple, concise, vigorous, and expressive. The autlior of it was David : but the occasion is not ascertained. them to breathe ; but kept the mouth shut, so that they could not bite. Not knowing the term of art for this contriv- ance," adds the learned critic, " 1 call it a muzzle." With less information than his Lord- ship on this, as well as on much more important subjects, I am glad to avail myself of his term, as well as his descrip- tion. — Lest on their Lord they turn] The verb here is the same as in Ps. xxvii. 2 ; and signifies, " to approach or advance against in a hostile manner; to assault, attack." (See Parkburst on 3"lp, iv.) " The verb is a military term, and signifies, to advance, as an enemy; to attack. The " coming near" therefore, in- tended here, is a coming near to do mischief. The admoni- tion, given by the Psalmist to his companions, is to submit to the instruction and guidance graciously promised from hea- ven ; and not to resemble in a refractory disposition those ill-conditioned colts, which are not to be governed by a simple bridle ; but, unless their jaws are confined by a muzzle, will attack the rider as he attempts to mount, or the groom as he leads to the pasture and the stall." {Bp. Horsley.) 108 PSALM XXXIII. 1 CH AUNT, ye just, the great Creator ; Praises well the upright suit : 2 Joyful hymn the God of nature, Strike the harp and ten-string'd lute. 3 Sing new songs, his praise revealing ; Loud and well the tabor smite. 4 Just and true Jehovah's dealing : All Jehovah's words are right. 6 See him firm in justice seated Through the earth his love display. 2. Strike the harp} The Hebrew word denotes a mu- sical instrument of the stringed kind, a harp, lute, or the like, played on with the hand ac- cording to 1 Sam. xvi. 23 ; though Josephus says that the Cinyra, (the derivative word in Greek,) which David made for the Levites, was furnished with ten strings, and played on with a plectrum. The playing on this instrument was with the Hebrews a sign of joy. (See Parkhurst on "13D.) — ten-string' d lute"} Or "na- " bla:" which was a stringed musical instrument, probably so called from its belly re- sembling a jug or flagon. Josephus describes it as " having twelve sounds, and being struck or played upon by the fingers:" from this passage however, and from Ps. cxliv. 9, it appears to have, sometimes at least, had only " ten strings." In playing, it was turned about with both hands. It began to be in use about the time of David j by whom it is mentioned in se- veral places of the Psalms, and by the sacred writers who suc- ceeded him ; but never once by those who preceded him. Hesychius says it is a harsh- sounding instrument : others however highly commend it. (See Parkhurst, on ^D3, vii.) 3. Loud and well the tabor smite} It seems plain, that some instrument, played upon by slrikifig or heating, is here intended: the particular instru- ment may be less clearly ascer- tained. Bp. Horsley renders the passage, " With joyful notes play skilfully upon the tabor," and his rendering I have adopted. (See Simonis and Parkhurst on pj.) PSALM XXXIII. 109 6 By his Word was heav'n created, By his Spirit heav'n's array. 7 He the swelhng billows ruling Piles aloft the wat'ry heap : And within his stores controlling Treasures up the ocean-deep. 8 Be his fear by earth attested ! All its tribes revere their God ! 9 For he spake, and it existed ; He commanded, and it stood. 6. — heav'n's array'] See the note on Ps. xxix. J 0. 7- Piles aloft the wuVry heap] " As an heap," so our transla- tions render the word, which signifies a heap of things moved upon and rising one above an- other. (See Parkhurst and Simonis on "73.) It occurs again in Ps. Ixxviii. 13; where, as in other places of the Bible, it is applied to the miraculous heaping up of the waters, either in the Red Sea or in the river Jordan. Here it has a reference to the disposition of them at the creation. And he who has ever seen the vast expanse of ocean, and noticed the mass of waters rising, to appearance, perpendicularly above him, will, I think, conceive the best idea of the signification of the term in this application of it. 9. For he spake, and it existed ; He commanded, and it stood] The sublimity of the Hebrew poets, that sublimity in parti- cular which consists in gran- deur of conception, and in brevity, simplicity, and energy of language, is never more completely exemplified than in their representations of the power of the Almighty, mani- fested in the creation of the world. A very few words, and those the most obvious and unadorned, are frequently all that they employ^ to lay before the mind of the reader the most magnificent concep- tion, which it is capable of en- tertaining; or rather leading the mind of the reader to form its own conception of that di- vine power, which they do not so much openly declare, as leave to be collected from a simple statement of its effect. The impression, which the celebrated narrative of Moses in the opening of the book of Genesis, " And God said. Let there be light, and there was light," made on the mind of Longinus, and the language of admiration which it drew from no PSALM XXXIIL 10 Go J the heathen's counsel blasteth, Makes the thoughts of nations vain : 1 1 God's decree for ever lasteth, Evermore his thoughts remain. 12 Blest Jehovah's chosen nation ! Blest the people of his grace ! IS From his holy habitation All he marks of human race : 14 He from heaven, in glory seated, All the tribes of earth surveys : 15 He, who all their hearts created. He of all discerns the ways. 16 Not the chief his serried lances. Not his strength secures the brave : 17 AH in vain the war-horse prances, Weak his force his lord to save. 18 Lo ! Jehovah's eye is over Those who fear him, those who trust 19 Them in time of dearth to cover, Heal and raise them from the dust. that illustriousheathen, are well How magnificently again are known. If the force and mag- the omniscience and universal nificence of that short passage providence of God set forth in were ever equalled, it was in the this and the two following corresponding passage of our verses ! Infinitely removed Psalmist, and in another to above the sight of the world, much the same effect in the he nevertheless surveys with 148th Psalm. Any addition to unerring certainty all their the language of either of these devices : the Creator and the passages would be only a di- Searcher of the hearts of men. minution of its sublimity. How majestick ! how aw- 13. From his holy habitation ful! All he marks of human race] PSALM XXXIV. Ill 20 Rests our soul in expectation, Till the Lord his help dispense : He the strength of our salvation, He our buckler and defence. 21 On his name our hopes are planted, Glad in him our hearts shall be. 22 Be to us thy mercy granted, As we trust, O Lord, in Thee ! PSALM XXXIV. Introduction. This Psalm, the occasion of which is un- known, is an exhortation to conBdence in Jehovah, founded on the Psalmist's own experience of his goodness. It may be di- vided into two parts : the former of which, comprehending ten verses, is for the most part commemorative; the latter, horta- tory. It is a very noble and edifying Poem : but it is rather admirable for the strong feeling of devotion and a certain sen- tentious solemnity, which pervade it, than for any peculiar brilliancy of imagery or language. It is one of the Alphabeti- cal Psalms : and partakes of their characteristicks, as noticed in the Introduction to the 24th Psalm. PART I. 1 JMY constant praise Jehovah wakes : His acts my tongue unwearied speaks. 2 His acts my raptur'd soul employ : The meek shall hear, and hear with joy. 3 To mine your voices join, and frame High sounds to grace Jehovah^s name. 4 Jehovah^s help I sought distrest, He heard, and hush'd my fears to rest. 112 PSALM XXXIV. 6 Who look to him, their face shall see From shame, their path from darkness free. 6 Wretch as I was, to him I grieved, He heard, he solac'd, and reliev'd. 7 Those, whom the Lord hath faithful found, Camps his protecting angel round. 5. — their path from dark- ness free] See the note on Ps, xviii. 28. 6. Wretch as I was, to him I grievd] Literally, as in our Bib, translation, " This poor man cried:" meaning himself. The Seventy render the phrase evTOi 0 ^ru^oi. It is by no means uncommon with the Attick writers, especially the tragedians. 7- Camps his protecting angel roundl The divine protection and salvation, vouchsafed to the faithful, is here signified in the most lively manner, whe- ther we suppose, says Bp. Home, that by " the angel of Jehovah" is meant the presence of Christ in the Church mili- tant, as of old in the camp of Israel ; or the ministration of created spirits to the heirs of salvation, as in the case of Elisha, 2 Kings vi. 17. The passage here alluded to may serve as a beautiful comment on our Psalmist. "And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and cha- riots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master ! how shall we do.^ And he answered. Fear not : for they that be with us are more than they thiit be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man ; and he saw : and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." There is a strong resemblance be- tween this passage, and one in the second book of the .flineid, which indeed may be esteemed one of the most sublime in Virgil's poems. But the simple narrative of the Hebrew his- torian sinks not in the com- parison. It is said by the Psalmist in this place, that " the angel of Jehovah encampeth round about those that fear him :" and the same verb is used in speaking of Jehovah himself, Ps. cxxv. 2, that he is " round about his people." In illustration of this it may be observed, that ac- cording to D'Arvieux it is the practice of the Arabs to pitch their tents in a circular form ; the prince being in the middle, and the Arabs about him, hut so as to leave a respectful dis- tance between them. And PSALM XXXIV. lis 8 O taste his goodness ! taste and prove, How blest to trust his sheltering love ! 9 Ye saints of God, your Lord adore ! Who fear him, want is theirs no more. 10 The famishM lions pine for food : Who seek him, theirs is every good. PART II. 1 1 Come, children, come : attentive hear ; I'll train you in Jehovah's fear. 12 Say, who is he, the man that prays For life and health and prosperous days 1 3 Thy tongue from impious speech withhold : Let no deceit thy lips infold : 14 From vice depart ; own virtue's sway: Peace prompt thy wish, and rule thy way. 15 Jehovah's eyes the just survey ; His ears are open, when they pray : Thevenotj describing a Turkish 11. Come, children, come, encampment near Cairo, hav- &c.] There is much terseness ing particularly noticed the and force in this and the fol- spaciousness, decorations, and lowing verses, suitable to the conveniences of the Bashaw's didactick and authoritative tent, or pavilion, adds, " Round nature of their extents, the pale of his tent, within a 15. Jehovah's eyes the just pistol shot, were above two suroey ; hundred tents, pitched in such His ears are open, when they a manner, that the doors of P'"«^] them all looked towards the An usual, and at the same time Bashaw's tent ; and it ever is a very natural and expressive so, that they may have their Scriptural phrase, for denoting eye always upon their master's the kind providence of God, lodging, and be in readiness and his willingness to relieve to assist him, if he be at- the wants of his creatures, tacked." Milton has adopted it, in his I 114 PSALM XXXV. 16 But frowns the miscreant tribe salute, Their record from the earth to root. 17 The righteous cry : Jehovah hears, Dispels their troubles, lulls their fears : 18 Him of the broken heart befriends, And on the contrite spirit tends. 19 Though countless straits the just appall, Jehovah rescues him from all : 20 Defeats the meditated stroke, And not a bone of him is broke. 21 Evil shall slay the foes of God : Who hate the just, shall feel the rod. 23 Whilst, in Jehovah's shade rechn'd. Who safety seek, shall safety find. PSALM XXXV. Introduction. The first part of this very interesting pro- phetical Ode consists of earnest intreaty to God for assistance, followed by a triumphant anticipation of the assistance be- sought. It reaches to the end of the 10th verse, or the 4th stanza of this version. The second part, to the end of the'lSth verse, occupying three stanzas, is a very plaintive and patheti- cal description of the Psalmist's troubles from his unkind and ungrateful persecutors. The Poenn then passes off to strains similar to those with which it commenced, first of supplication. description of the contrition of And again, more perfectly, in our first parents : the Samson Agonistes : How much more, if we pray him, despair not of his final will his ear pardon, Be open, and his heart to pity in- Whose ear is ever open, and his dine. eye Paradise Lost, x. Gracious to re-a(hnit the suppliant. PSALM XXXV. 115 and then of exultation. There is no doubt that it describes the suiFerings and subsequent triumph of Messiah, personated by David. As a composition, if examined with respect whether to its general subject, or to its particular imagery, or to the transitions froni one set of feelings to another, or to the ex- pression of the several feelings, it is much to be admired. PART I. 1 W^ITH those, who rise against my right, Rise and contend. All-seeing King : ^Gainst them, who dare me to the fight, Thy rescue, God of battles, bring. 2 Hold fast the buckler, grasp the shield ; 3 Stand, and the ready javelin wield : Arrest th' impending weapon's sway. Say to my soul, " Behold thy stay !" 2. Hold fast the buckler, grasp the shield^ Of the two instruments of defence here named, one appears to have been of smaller size, adapted to the protection of the princi- pal parts of the body. (See Simonis on po ) The latter is said to have covered the whole body : See Ps. v. 1 3. It seems, from reference to the radical meaning of the word, to have derived its name from its form; because the middle part of it projected in a sharp- ish point, as some of the shields afterwards used by the Greeks and Romans did: and we are informed by the writers on their military affairs, that this pointed protuberance was of great service to them, not only in repelling or turning aside missive weapons, but in bearing down their enemies. (See Parkhurst on ]if.) 3. — (he readt/ Javelin tvield] Literally, as in our Bib. trans- lation, " DraAv out the spear:" the verb meaning to " draw, draw forth, as a sword or lance." (See Parkhurst on p*i. iii.) " De gladio, evaginavit." (Simonis.) Biblical comment- ators have noticed the He- brew practice, corresponding with that of the Greeks and other ancient nations, of war- riors reposing with their spears stuck upright in the ground close to them. The expression here appears to allude to an- other practice, which prevailed amongst the Greeks at least, of rearing their spears against pillars in times of peace, in a long sheath or case, probably of wood, called ^ev^o^ox-tj, as I 2 116 PSALM XXXV 4 Vain is their aim my soul to tear : Confusion waits them, and disgrace. In vain they plot the murderous snare : Foul rout is theirs, and shame of face. 5 They fly, as chaff before the wind, Jehovah's angel hard behind. 6 A dark and slippery way they fly, Jehovah's angel pressing nigh. noticed in the first book of the Odyssey. The " drawing forth of the spear" here specified seems to be with reference to this uncasing, or unsheathing of it. Jeliovah, says Bp. Home, '' is here described as ' a man of Avar,' going forth to the battle : the protection, afforded by his mercy, is figured by the shield of the warrior, co- vering his body from the darts of the enemy ; and the venge- ance of his uplifted arm, is represented by the offensive weapons used among men, such as the spear and the sword." " The consequence of the Omnipotent appearing in arms against his adversaries is foretold in the following verses." 5. They fly, as chaff before the wind'] See the note on Ps. i. 4. 6. A dark and slippery way theyjly, Jehovah's angel pressing nigli] " A traveller, benighted in a bad road, is an expressive em- blem of a sinner walking in his slippery and dangerous ways of temptation, without know- ledge to direct his steps, to shew him the danger, or to extricate him from it ; while an enemy is in pursuit of him whom he can neither resist, nor avoid." (Bp. Home.) However, the imagery here derives peculiar force from that with which it is con- nected. Having been put to ignominious rout by the Om- nipotent Being, with whom they have dared to encounter, they are now represented as in vain seeking refuge in a perilous flight, the minister of the divine vengeance still tracking their steps, and pur- suing them to their inevitable destruction. The whole of the description is very lively: the introduction of the " Angel of Jehovah" is peculiarly striking: and the repetition of the figure, with a slight va- riation of expression, highly beautiful in itself, is a fine ex- ample of Hebrew Synonymous parallelism, particularly of that sort, which consists of a stanza of four lines, when the paral- lels answer to one another alternately, the first to the third, and the second to the fourth. II PSALM XXXV. 117 7 Without a cause around my feet A deep and hidden trench they drew Without a cause a secret net To catch my guileless soul they threw. 8 But thou, an unsuspected fate ! Shalt leave them sunk and desolate : From their own snare their fall shall come ; Their own device shall be their doom. 9 Then shall my soul in God rejoice, And this her song of triumph be, 10 While all my bones unite their voice, " Jehovah, who is like to Thee ? Thee, who dost raise the child of woe Above his strong, his mightier foe : Thee, who dost save the poor from harm, From terror of his spoiler's arm.'' PART II. 1 1 False witnesses against me throng. They charge me with unthought of guilt. 12 My kindness they requite with wrong. Insatiate till my blood be spilt. 13 But I — ^on them when sickness prey'd, In sackcloth were my limbs array 'd : 7. — trench — nef] See " to," as the Italick character above, notes on Ps. vii. 15 ; denotes, is not in the origi- and ix. 15. nal, and appears unnecessary. 10. While all my bones unite " The spoiling of" the Psalm- their voice'] See the note on ist's " soul" was the " evil," Ps. vi. 2, which his enemies returned for 12. Insatiate till my blood be his good. spilt.] The Bible translation 13. In sackcloth were my gives, " They rewarded me limbs array'd] See the note on evil for good, to the spoiling Ps, xxx. 11. of my soul." The particle I 3 118 PSALM XXXV. For them I fasted, wept, and mourn 'd, Tho' on myself my pray'r returned. 14 As one in sable garb I went, Who mourns a friend's, a brother's doom 13. For them I fasted] Fasting has in all ages and among all nations been prac- tised in times of mourning, sorrow, and affliction. It is in some sort inspired by nature, which under these circum- stances refuses nourishment. We see no example of fasting, properly so called, recorded before Moses: but since his time such examples have been common among the Jews. The heathens sometimes fasted; a remarkable instance occurs in the case of Nineveh, the king of which, terrified by the preaching of Jonah, ordered that not only men, but beasts also, should fast and be co- vered with sackcloth, and each after their manner cry to the Lord. Virgil in his 5th Ec- logue introduces a shepherd saying, that his very cattle fasted at the death of Cfesar. Whilst fasting, the eastern people abstain, not only from food, but from bathing, per- fumes, odours, anointing; in a word, from pleasures of every kind. 14. As one in sable garb I went] According to the asso- ciation before observed be- tween light and cheerfulness, darkness and sorrow, the word *TTp, denoting primarily dark- ness or blackness, thence sig- nifies grief or mourning; and specifically the mourning or black dress, which was one of the emblems of mourning amongst the Hebrews ; who then clothed themselves in sackcloth or haircloth, that is, in coarse or ill-made clothes of brown or black stuff. This is intimated by the use of the word in the latter part of this verse, where our translation says generally " one that mourneth :" and I have there- fore given the more precise, and more expressive sense. The pathetrck character of this passage must be felt by every reader ; at the same time it may be heightened by the remark, that the Hebrews, at the death of their friends and relations, gave all possible de- monstrations of grief. They wept; tore their clothes ; smote their breasts; fasted and lay on the ground ; went bare- footed; pulled off their hair and beards, or cut them i and made incisions on their breasts, or tore them with their nails. And during the whole time of their mourning the near rela- tions of the deceased, as fa- ther, mother, husband, bro- ther, sister, children, continued sitting in their houses, with their faces covered, abstaining from their usual occupations. % PSALM XXXV. 119 As one with sorrow bowM and bent, Slow-pacing to a mother's tomb. 1 5 But when they saw me sore distrest, Round with mahgnant joy they prest : The railers, smiters, prest around, And dealt the keen, the frequent wound. 1 6 Remorseless for my abject state. With scoffs they point the jeering tongue, And gnash their teeth with deadly hate. 17 And Thou behold'st — O Lord, how long ? O from their fury guard my soul, The lion's ravening rage control ; and with various other tokens of sorrow. The sorrow^ wliich the Psalmist describes himself to have felt at the sickness of his eneraieS;, is much inhanced by these considerations. 15. The railers, smiters] The word may signify, either lite- rally " smiters/' or figuratively smiters with the tongue, that is, railers. (See Parkhurst, on 16. Remorseless for my abject state, With scoffs they point the jeering tongue, And gnash their teeth with deadly hate] There is a difficulty in the rendering of this p'assage, as will appear from the variation in our translations. Bp. Home translates it, "Among the pro- fligates the makers of mock gnashed upon me with their teeth." Bp. Horsley thus : While I was (thus) contumeliously treated. They jeered me with their jeers, gnashing their teeth at me. The general purport of it how- ever is sufficiently plain ; and is, I hope, correctly given, above. As to the gnashing with the teeth, as it is a well- known sjTuptom of rage and indignation, so it is frequently introduced as such by the best poets. Thus Homer, in hfs description of Achilles arming himself to revenge the death of Patroclus, among other signs of indignation mentions the " grinding of his teeth." And in the 8th book of the vEneid, Hercules is described by Virgil, " furens animis, dentibus in- frendens," raging in mind and gnashing his teeth. And Poly- phemus in the 3d book, " Dentibus infrendens gemi- tu." loo PSALM XXXV^ 18 That I may pour the grateful strain Through thy throng'd courts and peopled fane. PART III. 1 9 Let not my ruthless foes insult Their victim with triumphant cry, Loud in their causeless hate exult, And o^er me wink the scornful eye. 20 No peace is theirs : but baleful lies Against the peaceful they devise ; 21 And say with dark mahgnant grin, " Aha, Aha, our eyes have seen." 22 But Thou hast seen, thou God of truth ; Thou know'st, unerring Lord, the right. O let not silence seal thy mouth, O turn not from my longing sight. 23 Awake, arise ; my cause defend : For me, my Lord and God, contend : 24 With thine own truth my doom decide. And quell th' insulting sons of pride. 25 Do Thou their glorying vain allay, " Aha, our hearts' desire succeeds." Quench the proud boast, nor let them say, " Behold, our helpless victim bleeds." 19. And o'er vie wink the that in laughter: the eye on scornful eye~\ Every one knows that side, where the teeth ap- that scorn or contempt is often pear, is half shut, whilst the signified by the eye. But other remains open. (See Park - more particularly contempt is hurst, on JJ/^.) expressed by raising one side 25. Behold, our helpless vic- of the upper lip, so as to dis- /«m bleeds'^ Literally, " We cover the teeth, whilst the have swallowed him up." See other side has a movement like the note on Ps, xxvii. 'Z. But PSALM XXXVI. 121 26 Though in my threatened fall they vaunt, Shame and dismay their soul shall daunt : Though high they fix their fancied rest, Shame and disgrace their loins invest. 27 But they shall votive offerings bring. Who pleasM my righteous dealings hear : And " blest be God most High,'^ shall sing, " To whom his servant's peace is dear." 28 Thus shall they chant ; and thus again My tongue take up the daily strain, Still to the Lord of justice cry. And echo " Blest be God most Hisfh." '&• PSALM XXXVL Introduction. This Psalm consists of three parts. The first describes the principles, the actions, the conversation, and the imaginations of the wicked. The second, the perfections of Jehovah, and his loving-kindness to his creatures, especially to mankind. The third is a prayer against the impious, and a prediction of their downfall. The second Part in particular is extremely pleasing, grand, and beautiful. PART I. 1 The actions of the wretch profane Speak to my heart in accents plain, however bold may be such demolishing the city of Ilium, figures as these, the classical reader will remember one as E' ^^ "" y\ u(nx6ouy.) And certainly a more expres- sive comparison could not be devised, for the purpose of its introduction. " Whoever," says Bj). Home, " has watched the progress of a consumption, or any other lingering disorder, nay, the slow and silent devas- tations of time alone, in the human frame, will need no further illustration of this just and affecting similitude ; but will discern, at once, the pro- priety of the reflexion, which follows upon it, ' Surely, every man is vanity !' " The following account of the habits of this little " destroyer" is extremely curious, and will probably be entertaining to my readers. " The young moth, that is, the moth-worm, upon leaving the egg, which a pa- pilio has lodged upon a piece of stuff, or a skin, well dressed and commodious for her pur- pose, immediately finds a habi- tation and food in the nap of the stuff, or hair of the skin. It gnaws and lives upon the nap, and likewise builds Avith it its PSALM XL, 13J Thou mak'st his strength, his beauty fade. Man's but the shadow of a shade ! 12 Lord, let my voice arrest thine ears ! O, hear my cry, regard my tears ! Behold me but a stranger here, A pilgrim, as my fathers were ! 13 The fatal stroke, my God, forbear ; Brief space for my refreshment spare: Or ere, my short-lived wanderings o'er, I part, and sojourn here no more ! PSALM XL. Introduction, This is a very noble Ode of gratitude and triumph ; composed by David, probably on occasion of some great deliverance ; but prophetical of our blessed Saviour's resurrection. Throughout elevated and grand, it exhibits at the same time a deep fixed spirit of devotion, and a certain tenderness of feeling, well adapted to a person recently released by the mercy of God from a condition of extreme affliction, and placed in one of glory and happiness. Indeed a pious and grateful sense of the divine perfections is evidently the predominant affection of the Psalmist's heart, and prevails throughout the composition. apartment; accommodated both stakes of this tent ; after which with a fore-door and a back she carries it to some little dis- one. The whole is well fasten- tance, and then fixes it with ed to the ground of the stuff, her slender cords in a new with several cords and a little situation. In this manner she glue. The moth- worm some- continues to live at our ex- times thrusts her head out of pence, till she is satiated with one opening, aud sometimes her food ; at which period out of the other ; and perpe- she is first transformed into a tually devours and demolishes nymph, and then changes into all about her : and, when she a papilio, or moth." (Cited by has cleared the place about Parkhurst, as above.) her, she draws out all the K 4 136 PSALM XL. ^VlTH fix'd and patient eye I lookM for God most High ; And he inchn'd, and listened to my woe. Forth from the howhng pit He drew my clay-bound feet, Plac'd on a rock, and bade them firmly go : And taught my lips to sound abroad An hymn of rapture new, an anthem to our God. Many shall see and hear, Shall thrill with holy fear. And on Jehovah's might secure rely. O blest the chosen race, Thrice blest are they who place Their trust unshaken in the Lord most High: Nor turn to other hopes aside. The wanderings of deceit, the swelling vaunts of pride. '2. Forth from the howling pit He drew my clay -bound feet] *' A pit of noise," as our mar- ginal rendering notices to be the meaning of the Hebrew. " A pit of confused tumultuous noise," {Bp. Home.) See the Lexicons on ^ixti'. The suf- ferings of the Psalmist are here described under the image of a dark subterraneous cavern, from which there was no emerging; and where roaring cataracts of water broke in upon him, overwhelming him on every sidej till, as it is ex-' pressed in the J 8th Psalm, " God sent from above, and took him, and drew him out of many waters." 4. Nor turfi to other hopes aside. The wanderings of deceit, the swelling vaunts of pride] Bp. Horsley translates, " And turneth him not to pride, and the wanderings of falsehood." PSALM XL. 137 5 How great, how countless seem, My God, thou Lord supreme, The wond'rous works of thine Almighty hand ! The counsels of thy mind In love to lost mankind O who can fathom, who can understand ? Would I recount them and declare. They're numerous beyond measure, vast be- yond compare. 6 Nor sacrifice thy sight Nor offerings vain delight ; Mine ears thou'st open'd, and prepared my frame : 5. Horv great, how countless seem, My God, thou Lord supreme, The wondrous works of thine Almighty handf] Milton has imitated this pas- sage of our Psalmist in the 7th Book of the Paradise Lost : Great are thy works, Jehovah ! in- finite Thy power I what thought can measure thee, or tongue Relate thee ! 6. Mine ears thoust open'd, and prepar'd my frame] Literally, " Ears hast thou digged for me;" and so the margin of our Bib. trans, no- tices to be the meaning of the Hebrew word, at the same time rendering it " opened." The expression in Isaiah 1. 5. says Parkhurst, " The Lord Jehovah hath opened my ear. and I was not rebellious," seems to come near to that in the Psalm : but then it must be allowed that the Psalmist's is the stronger expression, and that in this view " digging the ears" must mean removing wax or other obstructions to hear- ing. But, as such obstructions cannot in a spiritual sense be applied to Christ, it should seem that " digging the ears" here, like planting them in Ps. xciv. 9, refers to their original conformation : and that the former of these phrases further imports the original aptitude to hear and do God's will, in which the humanity of Christ was formed. And the ex- pression according to this in- terpretation will in sense coin- cide with the Septuagint's ex- planation of it, " A body hast 138 PSALM XL. Victim nor hallow'd fire Didst Thou, O Lord, require ; 7 Then said I, Lo, I come, with stedfast aim ('Tis in thine own recording roll) 8 To do thy will, my God : thy law is in my soul. 9 Thy justice Pve proclaimed, Where'er thy name is named, My lips, thou know'st, O Lord, have not been seal'd. 10 Thy righteousness my breast Hath not in silence prest, Thy truth and saving might my tongue re- veaPd. Thy faithfulness hath been my boast. Thy tender love throughout the great assembled host. 11 Thou, Lord, wilt not forbear From me thy tender care, Still on my head thy truth and love shall light. thou prepared," or " adjusted for me," which is accordingly adopted by the Apostle, Heb. X. 5. (Parkhurst, on n*lD, iv.] To the Hebrew phrase, I have added the Greek explanation of it. 7. ' Tis in thine own record' i'lg roll] It is well known, that the ancient Jewish books did not, like ours, consist of distinct leaves bound together} but were, as the copies of the Pentateuch used in the Jewish synagogues still are, long scrolls of parchment rolled upon two sticks, witli the writing distinguished into co- lumns. PSALM XL. 139 12 Afflictions round me canie, Their number who can name ? My sins overtook me, and confus'd my sight : In measure as in strength prevailed, Thick as my countless hairs, till all my spirit faiPd. 13 Then did Jehovah deign His servant to sustain, Jehovah hastes to show his saving grace. 14 Who seek with savage joy My being to destroy, Dismay of heart is theirs, and shame of face. 15 Flight and foul rout shall hunt my foes. And desolation due their yell of triumph close. 16 But they, great God, who seek Thy fost'ring arm, shall break Forth into holy joy and anthems sing : And they, thy sheltering name Who love, shall loud proclaim, " Praise to Jehovah, glory to our King." 17 Though poor and weak, Pm not forgot : My strength, my Saviour Thou : my God, Thou tarriest not. 13. Theri did Jehovah deign thanksgiving for dangers past. His servant to sustain'] or at least prophetically past. Bp. Horsley renders the pas- 17. — Thou tarriest 1101] Or, sage, "Jehovah was pleased "O tarry not!" But the former to deliver me :" and observes, sense appears preferable, being that this Psalm is no prayer more agreeable to the cha- for deliverance from dangers racter of the Psalm, as de- threatened, but a song of scribed in the last note. 140 PSALM XLI. PSALM XLL Introduction. David, speaking in the person of Messiah, was the author of this Psalm ; but the immediate occasion and (late of it are not known. Like many others of the same gene- ral subject, it consists principally of complaint against his ene- mies, and confidence in God. The persecutions, under Avhich he suffered, are described with much sensibility, and a consider- able share of dramatick effect from the interlocutory form of the Poem. 1 How blest is he, whose watchful eye Regards the poor ! The Lord most High Will shield him in the hour of ill. 2 The Lord will life and vigour give. Grant him on earth in bliss to live. Nor yield him to the hostile will. 3 When on the bed of languor laid, The Lord will solace him and shade ; Thou to his couch wilt bring repose. 4 For me — my sorrows thus I pour, " Have mercy, Lord : my soul restore : For sad with sin my spirit goes." 5 On me my foes their malice wreak : " When shall he die,'^ thus fierce they speak, " When shall oblivion vi'helm his name ?" 6 He seeks my home with flattering guise, His bosom frames the dark surmise, His lips abroad the lie proclaim. 7 Who hate me, all against me rail. They whisper round the slanderous tale, PSALM XLII, XLIII. 141 And aggravate with taunts my pain. 8 " Some guilt accurst has seized him fast : Down to the ground, behold ! he's cast ; He's down, nor e'er shall rise again." 9 Ev'n he, on whose support I lean'd, Who shar'd my bread, my chosen friend, Against me lifts the treacherous heel. 10 But Thou, O Lord, thy mercy show: Raise me, and I will cause the foe The due reward of guilt to feel. 1 1 By this thy love to me is tried : Thou quell'st the persecutor's pride, 12 Thou dost uphold me free from blame, Till in thy presence I shall dwell. Blest be the God of Israel ! For ever blest Jehovah's name ! PSALM XLII, XLIII. Introduction. Bishop Lowth with great reason specifies the 42(1 Psalm as a most elegant example of Hebrew elegiack poetry. The Poet, an exile in the remotest borders of Judea, far from the temple and publick worship of God, oppressed by enemies, and harassed by their reproaches, pours forth his complaint and supplications to God. The elegy is an admirable expression of the very ardent desire of a pious soul, and of its grief continually exasperated by the recollection of former en- joyments : of the extreme depression of a spirit, giving way to its affliction, yet at the same time submitting to it with impa- 8. Some guilt accurst] Bp. which they supposed to be the Horsley translates the phrase, cause of the divine judgment " some cursed thing :" and ex- upon him." plains it to mean " the crime. 142 PSALM XLII, XLIII. patience J and of a mind subdued by evils, yet in some sort struggling against them, and in the thickest gloom of adver- sity occasionally admitting a gleam of hope. Love and sor- row ; complaint and expostulation; despair and confidence; despondency and reviving vigour ; succeed each other, and are blended almost all together in this most beautiful and pathetick effusion. The Psalm is divided into two parts ; or rather perhaps, (considering the 43d Psalm, which is written on the same sub- ject and in the same style, as a portion of the same composi- tion,) into three pans : each of which is closed by a sort of epode, wherein the Psalmist remonstrates with his soul for the despondency expressed in the previous verses, and exhorts in a strain, as elegant as it is devout, to place her confidence in God. XLII. PART L 1 As pants the hart, my God, to lave, O'erhunted, in the cooling wave, So pants my soul for Thee. 9 For God she thirsts, the living God. When shall I reach my God's abode, O, when his presence see ! 1. As pants the iuirl] I do not think a more forcible term can be used to express the eager impatience of the ani- mal, than this which is used in our Bible translation. The original verb however seems rather to be a word of gesture. Thus Simonis explains it, " circumspexit et desiderium sensit alicujus rei." And Pai'k- hurst, " to desire eagerly, long after,"' with reference to the radical idea of " reaching after," or "^ extending one's self towards." The margin of our Bibles gives " brayeth," as the sense of the Hebrew : and. agreeably to this, Bp. Horsley translates " crieth." Whatever m:iy be the meaning of the term, intense desire is mani- festly intended to be signified : and indeed it is signified most effectually by the affecting si- militude to the hart chased over the sultry and dry plains. To estimate duly the force of the image, and of the "thirst" of which the Psalmist specifi- cally speaks in the next verse, we should bear in mind the distress occasioned by drought, and the excessive difficulty of relieving it, in the countries of the East. PSALM XLII, XLIII. 143 3 Whilst, " Where is now thy God," they say, My constant food by night, by day, The tears incessant roll. 4 Then on my grief I muse alone. And thus I pour with secret moan The longings of my soul. 5 " When shall 1 view the house of God ? O, when behold the festive crowd 5. When shall I view the house of God f] I adopt Park- hurst's interpretation : " When shall I go into the tabernacle ? When shall I make them," (that is, " the festive multi- tude" mentioned at the end of the verse,) move cheerfully to the house of God, with the voice of singing and confes- sion ?" (See on m3. i.) And thus it is a most earnest and beautiful expression of the Psalmist's longing desire, to be admitted again to tlie enjoy- ment of those festive religious solemnities, in which he had formerly been wont to take delight. Those solemnities consisted in a great degree, as here noticed, of singing and dancing, the latter being signi- fied by the term JJin, which signifies, not merely to cele- brate a feast, but " to dance round in circles, to celebrate a feast with such dances." It is well known that religious dances were used in the wor- ship of the true God ; as they made also an eminent part of the religious rites of the an- cient Greeks and other hea- then nations, and as they do of the modern to this day, (See Parkhurst, on Jin. iii) And in further illustration of this passage it may be ob- served, that with the Greeks at present it is the practice for a lady of distinction to " lead the dance," and to be followed by a troop of young females who imitate her steps, and, if she sings, make up the chorus. The tunes are extremely gay and lively, yet with something in them wonderfully soft. The steps are varied according to the pleasure of her who leads the dance, but always in ex- act time and a very agreeable manner. This gives us a good idea of the description of Mi- riam, when she " took a tim- brel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and dances." Exod. XV. 20. She led the dance ) they followed and imi- tated her steps. Probably David, when he " danced be- fore the Lord" on bringing up the Ark " with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet," was accompanied by others. 144 PSALM XLII, XLIir. To his blest shrine advance ? Teach the bright pomp the note of praise. The voice of song and gladness raise, And lead the sacred dance ?" 5 Why art thou, O my soul, distrest ? What robs thee of thy wonted rest ? Thy trust on God repose : For I shall yet his praises sing, My God, whence all my blessings spring, The balm of all my woes. PART II. My soul is low within me bow'd, Yet still the thoughts of Thee, my God, Refreshing hope instill : While far from Jordan's banks away, And Hermon's heights, my wishes stray To Sion's pleasant hill. whom he led in the dance in the verse, rendered " little this authoritative kind of way. hill," is supposed by many 2 Sam. vi. 15, 16. And heap- commentators to mean Zion, pears evidently to allude to which was a hill of moderate such a practice in this passage, height ; therefore " little" in the beauty of which I conceive comparison of the Hermons. to be greatly inhanced by this I have rendered it agreeably reference to the custom in to that hypothesis : with the question. addition of an epithet of en- 6. Herman's heights] " The dearment, which not only in- Herraons," says Bp. Horsley. dicates the Psalmist's particular The word is plural, because state of feeling with respect to Hermon was a double ridge, it, but that general feeling joining in an angle, and rising with which it was at all times in many summits. The ex- regarded by the Jews, pression in the latter part of jl ^SALM XLU, XLITI. U5 7 Deep calls on deep ; thy torrents roar ; Around me all thy billows pour, And swell and break above. 8 Yet will the Lord be kind by da}^ ; By night to him I'll sing, Pll pray, In whom I live and move. 9 To God Pll say, " My rock, ah ! why Thus mourn I, thus forgotten lie 7. — thy torrents roflrj It probably means, as rendered in our translation, those dread- ful meteors called " water- spouts :" and it is no wonder that David should mention these in allegorically describing his multiplied distresses under the image of a storm at sea : since Dr. Shaw informs us, that water-spouts are more frequent near the capes of Latikea, Greego, and Carmel, which last every one knows to be in Judea, than in any other part of the Mediterranean. So Sandys, describing a storm he met with on the coast of the Holy Land near Acre, says, " Spouts of water were seen to fall against the promontory of Carmel." " Those which I had the opportunity of seeing," says Dr. Shaw, "seemed to be so many cylinders of water, falling down from the clouds." (See Parkhurst, on n3Jf.) Bp. Lowth however sup- poses, that when the Psalm- ist gave vent to the vehe- mence of his passion with this energy and boldness of figurative language, being ac- tually in the land of Jordan and in the mountains near the source of that river, he de- scribed the face of nature, such as he saw it then before him, and employed for the repre- sentation of himself and his own fortunes scenes which were at the moment present to his eyes. (See the second note on Ps. xviii. 4.) However this be, as the imagery in either case is very magnificent, so the form, in which the Poet has conveyed it, is highly poetical and spi- rited: "The clouds above," as Bp. Home says, " calling, as it were, to the waters below ; and one wave encouraging and exciting another, to join their forces, and overwhelm the despairing sufferer." He no- tices, after Merrick, that thus one river, in Homer, " calls upon another," to assist in overwhelming the Grecian hero. And, in ./Eschylus, the fire and sea are said to " swear together," and to give each other their " pledge of confe- deracy," against the Grecian army. 9. — my rock'] See the note on Ps. xviii. "1. 146 PSALM XLU, XLIII. Beneath th* oppressor's rod ? 10 While with the sword my bones they pierce. They scornful cry with accents fierce, Ah ! where is now thy God ?" 1 1 Why art thou, O my soul, distrest ? What robs thee of thy wonted rest ? Thy trust in God repose : For I shall yet his praises sing, My God, whence all my blessings spring. The balm of all my woes. XLIII. PART III. 1 Judge ; plead ; my cause, O God, defend. From ruthless men ; from him, the friend Of violence and fraud. 2 Thou art my God, my strength : ah ! why Thus mourn I, thus forsaken lie Beneath th' oppressor's rod ? 3 Send out thy light and truth divine. And let them lead me to thy shrine, Thy mountain's holy height. 4 Then to thine altar will I go. And on the harp thy praises show. My God, my soul's delight. 5 Why art thou, O my soul, distrest ? What robs thee of thy wonted rest ? Thy trust on God repose : For 1 shall yet his praises sing, My God, whence all my blessings spring. The balm of all my woes. PSALM XLIV. 11.7 PSALM XLIV. Introduction. The author and occasion of this Psalm are unknown. The mournful strain, which pervades it, evidently shews that it was composed on some occasion of great national distress : and it has been thought to have been written by Hezekiah, on occasion of Rabshakeh's blasphemous message. 1 GrOD, with our ears have we receiv'd, The tale our sires have told. The wonders in their days achieved, Thy wond'rous works of old. 2 Thy hand the heathen forth did cast, And Jacob plant instead : Thy hand the stranger tribes did waste, And make thine Israel spread. 3 Not by their sword they gainM their rest. Not by their arm they throve : Thine hand, thine arm, thy presence blest The chosen of thy love. 4 Thou, Thou art he, my King, my Lord, That shielded us in fi2:ht : 5 By Thee the adverse bands we gored. And trod them in thy might. 2. And make thine Israel answering to each other, and spreadi Like a vine, for ex- the second and fourth, ample. Our translation says, 5 — we gored.] The raeta- *' and cast them out," namely, phor, which is the same in the the heathen. But the original original, is taken from cattle; will bear the other sense; (See the verb denoting to "push, Parkhurst on nbw, vi ) and it strike, or butt with the horns," appears more congenial to the as horned animals do. Homer character of Hebrew poetry 5 applies the Greek verb *sg«i'^