Commentary on the Holy Bible

Verse 10. Bui mine enemies are lively] Inslead of D^*n chaiyim, lively, I would read DJTI thmami without cause; a change made by the half of One latter, a.^ mill for a ^ yod. See the paAdtel' piaeea, Psa. xxxY. 19; Ixxix. 5. See also the Preliminaij Dissertation to Dr. LowthU Isaiah,' p. €0: ^fiot without cause my enemies have strengthened them* selves; and they who wrongfhlly hate me are nndtiplied.** Here the one member of Ihe verse ansitemi - to the other.

Verse 90. Because I follow the thing that good is.] The traasla^pn is 9* bad as 4^ sentence is awkwavd^ fm» io' the Anbv: '" They^have rejected ioe^ 4iie beiored one, as -en abominable dead carcaaa; they hsr^ pierced iny body with nails.** I* snp^oee the Arable translator meant to refer thts to Christ t

None of the other Versions. have any thing liii this addition; only the iBthiopic adds, '* They •rejected'their brethren as- an unclean ^arcass.** St Ambrose saysthis reading was found in some Greek tad Latifi copies ii\ his time; add Theedoret has neaariy the same reading with the Arabic: Kai'arsf- ^4cv lU CM,tf^onri|rov^ C)g vncfov ifiSfhiyiuv^y' " And th^ cast me, Uie belored, out, as an abominable dead oSieaaa.'* * Whence this reading came I cannot cOn-

Yertt SK ForsaJke nu noU O lMrd\ Though all tare fersakeo me, do nOt thou.;

Bt'not far from me\ Though my fiieiids keep docif, be thou near to help itoe. '

Verse 8S. Make haste to help me\ ' I am dying; ave, Loid, or t pensh. Whoever carefully /eads oyer ths Psahn will see what a grievous and bittor thing it isy> stB itgainst the Lord,.and especially to. sin after ha'iiiig, known his mercy, and after having escaped ften the corruption that is in the world. Reader, be pBtXtj guard \ a life pf lighteoosness may be lost by giving way- to a mementos temptation, and a f^ ohalaetei sullied for e/er! Let him; that most assuredly standeii take heed lest hQ ftdL

. *TW but a grain of- sweet thatsone can -sow, To reap a harvest of wide-wasting wo* '

.This Psilm may be divided into two parts: —.

11. A grieunu complaint of sin, disease, misery, Chid^ anger^ th? ingratitude of his friends; coldness of bis ae^naintanccs, and. cruelty of his enemies; all whieh he uses as uguments to induce Xrod to help him; continued from ver. 2 to ver. 90. •. *";

I. In the first put he deprecates God's anget, and entreats a mitigatior. of it; though rebuked, let it not be in- wrath; if coirecte.d, let it not be in rigour: ** O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath," &c.

n. His complairU, ai which he fUIs instantly, and amplifles in a variety of ways.

l.*'Firoiii the prime cause, God: "Thine arrows sliek fast in me,^' &c.

3..Flcom the weight of bis afflictions, which were, in general, ** the arrows of God which stuck in him; tiie hand of God, by which he was pressed;*^ which were sp grievous ''^that there was no soundness in his flesh — no rest in his bones."

.4. By an induction df particulars, where he declares ^Qiany effects of the' disease: — ^

1. Putrefaction of his flesh: *' My wounds stink, and aie corrupt."

9.' Torment in his bbwek* ^c.: "'My loina are filled with ajoathsome disease.'.'

4. ^Diseases through the whole system; '* There is no soundness in my flesh."

6. Anguish that forced him 'to ciy out: "I have roared," Ac.

7. His heart was disquieted: '' The dis^uietness of iny heart." But that it might appeal that he had not lost his held of his hope and his cbnfid^nce in God he directs h» speech to him, and says: '^Lord, all my desire k before thee, and my groaning is' not Ridden from thee."

9. His strength decayed { "My strength fails."

10. A d^fbct of sight: " The sight of ipy eyes is gone from nie."

All these calamities Ikvid; suffered from within. He was tormented Jn bod^ and mind; but hac^ he any Gipmfort from without < Not any.

1. None from his friends: ^*My lovers and my friendis stand aloof." 9. As for his enemies, th^-even then added to his affliction.: ^'They also that seek after my life lay snarea for me." -In purpose, word, and deed, they sought to undo him..

He next shows bis- behaviour in these - sufferings; he tnurmured not, but Was silent and patient. *^I was as a deaf' man;— ^I was as a dumb mah.*^ He made uo defence.

• This, he uses as an arguoient tq induce the Lord to mitigate his sufferings'; knd of his patience he gives.the following reasons: —..■

1. His reliance on God for' audience and redress: "For in thee, O Lord) do I hope;- thou wilt hear me." ' 9^ For this he petitions; for to Gb& he was not silent, though deaf and dumb to man. For / smd^ Hear me! ^nd.the assurance that lie -should be heard made him patient; for if not hesird, his eftemies would triumph-: "Hear me, lestother^rise they should rejoice pver me.".

3. He was thuls patient when his grief was extreme t " For I am ready to halt, snd toy sorrow is continually before ^e." I am under a bitter croai; and I know that if* I be thy servant, I ^ust bear my cross; theref<Nre, I tajce'lt up,-and suffer patiently.

4. This cross-! have deserved to bear; it comes on account oC mine iniquity, and I will not conceal it: "I will declare ihine iniguity; I will be sorry for my sin." I vafktjustly, and therefore have reason to be patient

He complaiils. again of his enemies. Though he suffered justly, yet this was no excuse fbr theur cmeitf; he complains of their strength, their number, and their hatred. My enemies sralivingi while 1 am at dehth^s door; they are multiplied while I am niinished; they render me evil for the good I have done them.

Then he concludes with a petition, to God, in which he begs three things: —

• 3. And prays that this help ma^ come speedily: " Make haste to help me."

Tlie paaJmisfs resbhuion

And these threa petitinw lure dijreeted to the Most lligh, as the God of his sahration: *' O Ifbrd, my saltation;** my deliTeter ftimi sin, guilt, pain, death, 'and heU,

In diis'Psahn; deeply deseripthre of rifat vqgaish of a penitent soqI, nuMt persons, /who iMi 3ii€ress oo account of sin, may meet wit& I their case.

The psabhiifs care arut vmUhfidneet aver his thoughts, tongue, 4md Setians, 1-3. He considers the kreffUy and uncertainty of human life, 4-7; ^ays for ddiverance /rem sin, 8-1.1; and that he may he ftr/^teUd' and spared (ill -he is fitUd fqr idkother world, I2f IZ, i. ** wickecl is before me., • '2^1 was dumb with silence, I'held my peace^ even from good; and my sorrow was « stirred. ^ "' _ *

3 My heart lYas hot within me, while I was

NOTES ON PSALM XXXIX. The title says, To the chirf Musician,. Jeduthun himself, A Psalm, of I)aoi!l.'- It is sopposed that this Jeduthun is the same with Ethan, 1 ChronJ ti. 44, compared with 1 Chron Jxyi. 41 f and' is ther^ nuin-': bep^ among the sons of Merari. And he is supposed to have been one of the fot^ masters of n^usie, or leaders of 6ani#,, belonging to the temple. - Aiid it is thought that. David, having composed this Psalm, gave it to Jeduthun tmd his company tossing. But several have supposed that Jeduthun himsdf was the. author. It is very likely thnt tins Psalm was written ' on* the same occasiQU with the preceding. ^ Itrolates to a grievous n^alady -by which David w^ looted after his transgression with Bath-sheba. See what has been said on the foregoing ^salm.

VeVse 1. I said, I will tahe heed to my ways] I must be cautious because of my enemies; 1 must be patient because of my afflictions; I must be watchful over my tongue, lest I offend my Goo, or give my adversaries any cause to ^)eik evil of j;ne.

Verse 2. I. held my peace, even from g9od]-. "I ceased from the words of the law,", says the Qhaldee. I. spoke nothing, either^- g&od or bad. I did not eVen defend myself.

My sorrow was stirred.] My afflicUens increased, auid I had -an exacerb^on of pain. It is a hard thing * to be denied (he benefit of complaint in sufferings', as it has a tendency to relieve the mind, and indeed, in some sort, to call off the attention from die place of actual suffering: and yet undue and extravagant complaining enervate^ the mind,'' so that it become^ a double prey ya its sufferings. On both si^es there are extremes: David seems to Jiave steered clear of them qn the right hand and on the left.

5 Behold, thou hast made my days (u a handbreadth; and ^mine age^ is as nothi^ before thee: ■■ verily every man >^ at* his best state ts- altogether v^ity. Selah.

, ^ While 'I was musing] What was at first a simpl*' sensation of heai produced 9^ flame; the>irv Mile emt. that had long befen smothered. It is a metafihos talcen frofn ve'getij>les, which, being heaped together^ begin to heat and ferment, if.not.«cattered and ei|wAed.tD the air;. and will sooh produce a flame, and e^nsome themselves and. ev^iy thing within their'ieach.. -

V-erse 4. Lord, male me to know mme Md\ 1 am weary of Hfe; I vrish to know the meamre^^my ^^ys^ that I may see hoW long I have to suffi^, and • ham f^ail I am. I wish to know wlut. is tMui^ti^ to tnake up' the hmpber of the days I have-te live. •., Verse's*..My days as a handkreadtK( My life is -but'a.j^Mm; (firi^ofM) rou jSiou. «

Verify every man at his best state] Stl plK- ^.eal adorn nitstsab, '* every man that exists, is vanily.?* AU his projects, plans, schenies, &c., soon come to aotUng. His body also moulders with the dust, andriiortly passes both from the sight and remembrance of men.

Verse 0. Walketh in a vain show] dS)» betselem^ in a shadow. He is but the semblance x>£ being; - lie appears for a while, and then vanisheth away. SoiM of the fathers read, *< Although every man walketh in the image of God, yet they are disquieted in vain.**.

• He heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them. ] lie raketh together. This is a metaphor taken from' agriculture: the. husbandman rakes the com, &c., together in the field, and yet, sq uncertain is ^ife, that he knows not who shall gather them into the granary!. •...

am consumed by the "* blow of thine hand.

Yene 7. And naw^ Lordj what wait- If or t\ >Have.1 anj object oif pantiit in life, bdt to fegaon thy favour ai4 tiune tnu^.. '

Yfisae d. Ddiver me from aU my transgtesnons] 1 ■Nc- the pardoa of mj wm; I expect. it from iky me^ey. Grant it, ^ that I be not the j^proach of the. ftotdi,'' (the godless and the profane,) who dieride my..^^cctation, and say no such blessings, can be had* Let them know, by thy saving me, that there is a God who heiie^ prayer, and giveth his Holy Spirit to all them that a^L him. '

Yerac 10. Remove ihy- stroke away from me]- This sseons to be a figure taken from gladiators, or persons tmtemding in single coijibat. One is -wounded so' as to he ahle u> maintain the figEt no longer: he th^re- 'hte^gives in. and prays his adversary to spare his life. 1 am conqaeted; I can hold the contest no longer: tboa art too powerfill for me..,Ke cries what ooi liaeestors used to term critten; the word spoken by him who Was c«nquered in the battle ordeal, or trial • ly cambai.

Verse 11. When thou with rebukes dost correctman\ nviDV> toehackoth tignifies a vindicatiofi of proceedings ta m eottrt of law, it legal defence. When God ccmies to niaintain the credit and authority of his law against a jiinner, he *'^ causes his beauty to consume away:'^ a metaphor taken firoip the case of a culprit, who, by,tlie arguments of counsel, and the unimpeachable evidaaee of witnesses, has the facts all proved against him, gnnrs pale, looks terrified; his fortitude forsakes him, and he faints in court.

• StUrely every man is vanity.] He Is incapable of re*- sistance; he falls before his Maker; and none can deliver him but hb Sovereign and Judge, against whom he has offended.

VerSe 13. Hear my prayer] Therefore, O Lord, show that tnercy qpon me which I so much need, and withoat- which I must perish everlastingly.

/am a stranger with thee] I have not inade this earth my home; I lutve not trusted in any'ann but thine. Though/I have sinned, I have never denied thee, and never east thy words behind my back. 1 knew that: h^e I had no continuing city. Like my fathers, I looked

.12 Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give -ear unto my cry; hold riot thy peace at my tears: ^ for 1 dtn d, stranger With thee,-ai^ a sojourn er, ^ as all toy fathers/tc^ere.

Verse- 13. O spare me] Triceme not. from this ^te/e of probation till I have, a thorough preparation for a stati of blessedness. I*hi8 he terms recovering his strengthr^-AHiiAg restored to the favour and image of God^ from which he had fallen. Thi^ should be the daily ciy of -every human c^it: Restore me to thine image, guide me by thy counsel, and then receive me to tl^ glory!

Ahaltsis of the Thirtt-nihth Psalm.

This Psalin was' apparently written on the same Occasion as the preceding. The psalmist is stifi ijuffering as before,^ yet is silent and ' -patient; but the suffering, at last becoming very sharp, he could hol4 his gpeace no longer: then he spoke. And we haye reason to be thankful that he broke silence, as whoever considers ' the weighty truths "which he spoke must allow.

There are. three parts in this Psalm: —

I. His owif account of his resolution to keep silence, ver. 1, and the consequences of it, ver. 3, 3.

I. David acquaints us with his resolution: I said — I fully purj^osed to* keep silence*.

2. This resolution he kept for a while t " I was dumb; I held my peace even from good," even from making a just defence.

1. For all the time **my sorrow was stirred." My pain* wan increa^ by silence.

2. ''My heart was hot;^ t was strongly incited to utter my inind.

3. " And, while thus musing, the fire burned;" *what. was withiii t ' saw should not be longer Concealed: " Then spake I with my tongue."

The ps<4mH waits

patiendy ftm ihb Lord.

TI. He. expostulates widi God: tnd, being gteally oppressed both in body and mind^ prays to know how loAg he is to. lire; or, rather^ how soon he may get rid. of his maladies, false friends, and deceitfcd enemies. Many considerations vender his Ufa ubcemforiable.

1. It is very brittle apd frail: '* Make me to kpow tow foul I am.*^ "

3. Yea* "When carefully considered, it Vas even less, of no consideration: ^' Mine age is as nolhing before thee.";;.

. 4. it was full of ranity: " Verilyj eveiy man at his best estate (in l^is strength, riches, power) is altog^er vanity." His labours pfomise nmch, perform litth5..V. '

6. It is f ub of trouble and inquietude: t* Surely, ihey are disquieted in Yain.^.

7. Man labours for he knows not whom: " He heapeth up riches, arid knoweth not who sfiall gather them."

Notwithstanding all thiS) he finds Uiat eveh here God is a sufficient Portion fqr them that trust in him. Let otliers toil for.riches; admire dignities, empnes, pleasures; let them be proud of these, and complain that their life is too short to enjoy th^m; I have a stroAger hold; I am persuaded Uiat the Lord, will have mercy upon me, and be" my Support -in all the troubles and uncertainties of life: *' And now, I/>rd,. what wait I for 1 MJr hope is in thee."

III. On this con^dence lie again begins to pray,— r

• I, For remissioiraf sin: " Deliver me from all mf transgressiona:"

'■^, For defence against oiaiicipns tongues: <<'Make me not a repioach ta the fooU^.",

8. Fw submission under DiVine ( was dumb,. because thou didst It.". *.

4. For a removal of his jranishment': ^ lUse m^rtj thy pl^gne from me."'

' 1. And he adds the cause;— eitiier veiQOTe thy bandp or I miist needs* perish: "I am even nwwimbd by Jlie blow of thj^ hand." •. ■ '

3. This he amplifies by the sinulitude of a moth; and adds a secc^d reason: *< When fhbn with xelidkes dost 0Dtrect*ni^, thou maVest his- beauty to. contemd away like the.moth," which frets and destroys a garment. And, for confirmation) delivers his.former (pinion, whlcfr i» to be considered as an incontrovertible maxim: ".Surely, every man is yanity.'.' Sejali." Mark that!

3. To which he adds a third — the consideration «f our present condition in this l|fe. We and all out fathers are bnt pilgrims jn this life: </ 1 am a slcanger^ with thee, and a sojounier, as all my fath^ were/ Therefinre, spare hie.

' Faith has alWajs to struggle with difficulties. Thooffa he was confident, ver. 7, jlhat God ijras his hope; teC Hub calamities, his sickness, his enemies, tfie hrei^, fugacity, nid troubles of life, cdme eVer into his memoly; and, therefore,, he prajfs again fop theoa. And diis' rises by a cUmaz or gradation: —

1. He pntys for audience:." Hear my prayei; O Lord!"

9. That.his cry, for such it was, be heard: ^^Otre ear unto my cry^".

.4.. For some relaxation and eas^: " O apafeme; th&tf Iniay recover strength *" which hanrsee>rith this moVive, *' befozg I go hence, and be no moroi** 'Restoio me to thy favour in thisUfe, Hereafter, if wift'bd too late to expect it. Let me not die unstved!

The benefit of confidence in God, 1-3. ' The, ^essedness of those who trust in God, 4, 9.' The termmatim of the Jewish sacrifices in that of Christ, 6-^. The psalvniiCs resolution to jmUish Gdd*s goodness, 0,' 10^:

J » WAITED ^' patiently for the Lord; and he inclined Unto xne, jGind healrd my cry. 2 He brought me up also oiit

NOTES ON PSALM XL. 'the TITLE, " To the chief Husioian," we hare already seen, 'and it isontains nothing worthy of paiticnlar remark. Concerning the occasion and author of thia Psalm there has been a strange and numeroua diversity of opinions. I shall not trouble the reader with senti-* ment9 which I believe to he ill founded; as I am satis-

3 ' And he hath put a new song in my mouthy

fied the Psalm was composed by David, and abon^ the same time and on the* same occasion as the two pK?- ceding; with this difference, that here he magnifies God for having bestowed the mercy which he soaght'Merv.* It is, therefore, a ^n^^'f^m^forhis recovery^fitom Ibe sore disease by which he was afflicted in his body, and for his restoration to the Divine favour^ The WirM«.' jeoeiUAf'uid eighlh Yenes c<uitain a remark^le proffl^dpyof the iBeamatioD and sacrificial, offering of JewoB Christ. ^ From the eleventh to the end contains a new sobiect, and appears to have belonged' to another Psalm. It' is the same as the seventieth Psahn; only it wants tl^ two first veraes. - •

Verse 1../ waited ptdierUl^ far the'Lord] The two ptfscediqg Psalms are proofs of the patience and migiM^ofi.with which David waited for the mercy of God. The reader is requested to Consult the notes on them.

And heard my cry.'l The two 'preceding PsalmS fhow how he prayed and waited; this shows how he succeeded,

.Verse 2. A horrible pit\ Liierally, the sounding fit; where nothing was heard except the howlinga of wfld beasts, or the hollow sounds of winds reYerberated and broken from the craggy sides and -roof.

'The miry day^ Where the longer I stayed the deeper I sank, and was utterly unable to saVe myself. The Syriac and Arabic translate, *' l*he jHt^ oC perdition, and the mud of corruption.*' These are figurative expressions to point out the dreary, dismal, ruinous states of sin and. guilt, and the utter inability of a condemned sinner to save himself.either from the guilt of his conscience, or the corruption of his heart.

Set my feet upon a rock] Thou hast changed my state from jKi// to pardon; from corruption to holiness; in consequence of which my goings arte established, L have now power over all sin, and can Walk steadily m the way thiit leads to God's kingdom.

Verse 3. 'A new song] £!heer fulness and joy h$d long been strangers to him. He seemed to live to utter the. most doleful complaints, and be a prey U> soffering and wretchedness.. Praise for a sense of God^s favour was a new ^ng to him. The word is often used to signify exceUence: I wiU sing a most,exceOemt and eminent song.

Afm^ shidl see it] I will publ&h it abroad; and /<?ar^— to sin against the Lord, knowing by myexsmjAe what a grievous and bitter thing it is.

And shall tntst in the Lord J] Even the worst of. ainners shall not despair of mercy, being peritent, wht^n they ^ee that I have found favour in his sight.

Verse 5. Many — are thy wonderful works] The psalmist seems here astonished and confounded at the

^ they cannot be reckoned up m Davidis, Regk order unto thee: if I would de- ^•JSSS' clareand speak^of lAem,th\sy are - ^•. moire thah can be nutn'biered.

6 ^ Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire;, mine esifi hast thou *> opened: bumtofierihg and sin-offering hast thou not required.

counsels, lemng-kindnesses, and tnarveUous works oi the Lord, dot in nature, but in grace f for it- was the mercy of G% towards himself that he had n6w particularly in view... '. »./,

Verse 0. Satfrijice and effering] - The a|$os^ Heb. lb. 6, &c., quoting this and.the two followifig verses, says, When he (Uie Messiah) cometh into the world — ^was about to be incarpSted, He saith — ^to God the ("ather. Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not—^ it was never thy will and design that the sacrifiees uqder thy own law should be considered as majdng ' atonement for sin; * they were only designed to point out' my incarnation tod consequent sacrificial death;-, and therefore a body' hast thou prepared me, by a mintculoas conception in the womb of a virgin; according to thy- word. The seed of the wofn6n shall bruise the head of the serpent,

A body hast thou prepared me.7— The qnotatibn of this, and the- two foUowihg verses by the apostle, Heb. X. 5, Stc.r is taken from the Septuagint, with scarcely any variety of reading: but, although the gederal meaning is the same, they are widely different in verbal expression in the Hebrew. David's words. are 'h H'^O Q''JIK oznayim caritha Hi, which we translate, My ears hast thou opened; but they might be more pxpperly rendered, My ears hast thou bored; that is. Thou hast made me thy servant for ever, to dweU. in thine own house: for the. allusion is evidently to the custom mentioned ^xod. xxi. 2, &c.: *' If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve, and iivthe «eveoth he shaU go out free: but if the servant shaU positively say, I love my master, ^c, I will not go out free; then.his master shall bring him to the doorpost, and shall bore his ear through with an 'awl, and he shall serve ]iim for ever.^*

But how is it possible that the Septuagint and the apostle should take a meaning so totally different from the sense pf the Bebrew 1 Dr. Kennicott has a very ingenious conjectdre here: he supposes that the Septuagint and apostle express the meaning of the words, as, they stood in the copy from which the 6reek translation was made; knd that the present Hebrew text is. corrupted in the word 0'*3?K oznayim, cars, which has been written through carelessness for nu mazgevah, THEN,' a BODY. ' The first syllable, TM az, then, is the same in both; ^d the huter, D'3, which, joined to m makes D^jm oznayim, might have been easily mistaken for nu gevah, BODY; J nun being very like Jl gimel; ^ yod like } vau; and 71 he like final D mem; espe-' cially if the line on which the letters were written in

7.Then Baid'I, Lo^ I jcome:' in the Tolume of the book it is 'written of me,. '

9 ^ I have preached righteousness in the great

the. MS < h2qpj>ened to be blacker thiEn oi^inary, which *hM often been a* cause of nfiiBtakd, it might then have been easily taken for the under-stroke of the mem^ and thus give ris^ to a corrupt readip'g-; add ^ this,, the root T\^^ cora^signifies as well to prepare, as to open^ bare J &c» On thissupponltiop theancidftt copy translated by the Septiluigint, and followed by the apostle, must- have read the text thus: ^S nnD mil TK azgepah daritha IH; Swfm Ss Jui^^ttfu juloi* Then a body thou host prepared me: thus the/Hebrew text, -tlie version of the Septuagint, and the apostle, will agree in what is known to be an indisputable fact 'in ChristianiQr; namely, that Christ was inecamaied for. the si^ ' of ihe world. - '

^ The JEthiopic has nearly the same reading: the. Arabic has both, " A body hast tiiou prepared me,' and mipe e4rs thou hast opened.'* But the <Syruic, the Chaldee, and the,Fii/^a^ agree with the present Hebrew text; and none of ^e M3S. collated by Kennicott and De Rofsi have any various reading on the disputed words. ' •..

It is remarkable,' that all the offerings and sacrifices, which were considered' to be of an atoiiing or cleansing nature,' offered under the law, are here enumerated by the psalmist and the apostle, to show that.ti<m« of them, lior all of them, could take away sin; and that ihe grand sacrifice of Christ wtt that ^done •which could do it. ' *

Thou hast had no pleasure. — ^Thott pouldst never bo pleased with the -victims under the law; thou couldst never consider them as atonements for sin^ as they CQuld never satisfy thy justice,.nor make thy law honourable.

Verse 7. In the volume of the book^ ^0 thlO'^ bimegillath sepher, " in, the- roll^£ the book. " Anciently, books weire written on skins, and rolled up. Amon^ 'the Romans, these were called volumina, from volvo, IroU; and the. Pentateuch in the Jewish synagogues is still written in ibis way. There are two wooden, rollers; on one they, roll on, on the other they roll off, as they proceed in readingl One now lying before me, written on vellum, is two feet. two inches in breadth, aad one hundred and two feet long. To roll and unxo4 such a MS. was no easy task.; and to be managed must lie flat on a table.' This contains the Pentateuch only, and is without points, or any other Masoretic distinction^ \tYA.book mentioned here avist be the Pentateuch, or t^e l>ooks of Moses; for, in Davids time no other part of Divine revelation had (lecn edmmitted to writing. Tins whole book speaks aboiiit Christ, apd his accomplishing the will of God, noietly in " the seed of,th^ woman shall bruise the head of the serpent,** and «* in thy seed shall all the nationft.ef the earth be blessed;*' but in all the sacr^tces and sacrificial rites mentioned 4n the law.

Verse 8. To' do thy %mU\ God wHled not the sacrifices uqder the law, but he mUed that a human victim oMnfinite merit should be offered for the. redemption of mankind.. That there might be 9uch a vic6m^ a bodywna prepared' for the eternal Logos, and in that body ^ came to do the tpitf ofOod; thai is, to sqler and die for the sins of the worlfl.

1. Hence we see that the sovereign wiUi.of God is that Jesus should be incarnated; that he should aaffer and die; ^r, in the apostle's words, laHe deatiifor ' every man; that all should believe on him; end be saved firom their sins; for this is the wixix»tif God, Our sancUficatian... "., •

• 8.. And as ihe apostle grounds this on ti^^ words of the Psahn, we see Vhat it is the* Will of Oi/i that that ^stem shall end; for as* the etence.of it is eontatned inrits sacrifices, and God sajrs he ufitt not have these, and has appointed the Messiah to jdo his wfflj i..e^ to die for men, hence it necessarily follows, frodi the psalmist hihiself, that the introduction of the Meeaiah into^the world is the abolition of the law ^ and tharhis sacri$qe is that which shall last for ever.

Verse 9. I have preached righteousness] I think it best to refer thes^ words to Christ an^' his apostles. In consequence of his having become a sacrifice for s^n, the Jew|/Bh sacrificial system' being ended, the fiuddle wall of.partition was- broken down, and tl^ door of faith, the doctrine of justification by faith, op^edto the Gentiles. Hence the Gospel was preached in all the world, and the mercy of- God. made known to the Gentiles; and thus righteousness — justification by fiuthy was preached dn the great congregation — to lews and Gentiles, throughout the Roman empire. - The great congregation, bpth in this and the foDowing verse, I think,- means th.e Gentiles, contradistinguished from the Jews. ^ '

The word righteousness means the plan or aiethod of salvation by Jesus Christ — Crod's method, of justifying ^sinners by faith, without the deeds of the Ivv^ See Rom. iii. 25, 86, and the notes there..

Verse 10. Thy faithfulness] This tiieans the exact fulfilmept of the promises made by the prophets relative to the incarnation of Christ, and the opening of the door of faith to the Gentiles. >

mercies from me, O Lord: ' let thy lovingkindoess and thy truth continually preserve me.

12 For iimumerable evils have compa^sbd me about: ^mine iniquities* have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able! to look up; they've more, than the hairs of mine head: therefore ** my heart * faileth ine.

13?.Be pleased, O Lord, to deliyer me: O LoKDy iqake Mate to help me.

Lommg-kindness] Showd fhe' gift itself of Jesus Christy the highest proof that God eould give to a lost wwl4 of liiA mefcyj kindness^ and l/fting-kindness.

Verse II. Thy tender mercies] yon^ rachameychoy saeh propensities and feelings as a mother bears to heir eliild; or animals in general to their ypang.

LSi tAy iotfn^'kmdness] ^pon chasdecha, thy overtonriDg imd saperabnndant mercy.

And thy truth] What is irevealed in thy word: eonimuatly preserve me. Mercy to help me, truth. to direct vap; and, by the "operation of both, I shall be epotiniitUy preserved from sin and evil. -' VeiM 13. Innumerable eviis have compassed me ahnU\ This part does not comport with the pior ceding; and either jairgnes a former experience, oV most be considered a part of another Psalm, flitted at a different time and on anoth<kr occasion; and, weie we> to prefix the two. first verses of the seventieth PMiUd to it we should find it to be a Psalm as icomplele in itself as that is.

T%ey are mare than the hairs of mine head] This could not be said by any person who was exulting In the pardoning' mercy of God, as David was at the time he penned the commencement of this P«dm.

V^rse 16. Let all those that seek theer—be glad] In making prayer and sopplicatiori to thee, let them ever fiad thee, that they may magnify thee for the blessings they receive.

Love thy solvation] Who earnestly -desire to be saved ftom sin: saved in thy own way, and on thy Town terms.

The Lord be magntfied.] Let God be praised continually for the continual blessings he pours down.

The Lord thinketh upon me] The words are very emphatic; "JIK Adonai, my'prop, my support, thinketh, aWT yachshab, meditateth, upon me. On which he concludes: " Thou art my help and deliverer." Seeing that my miserable state occupies thy heart, it Will

14 * Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; * let them he dmen backward and put to shame that, wish me evil. - 1^ ' Let them.be » desolate for a reward of their shame tliat. say unto me, Aha^ aha.

16 ^Xet all those that seek th^e rejoice an4 be glad in thee.: let such as love thy salvation ^ say continually, The Lord be magnified.

17 ^But I am pbor and needy; i/et ^the Lord thinketh upon nie: thou 'art my help and my dejiverer; make no tarrying, O my God.

Make no tarrying] Bee\n%ihxmKst^ disposed to Mp^ and I am in such great neceisity, delay not, but come speedy to my assutance^ The old Psalter speaks to)hiB effect: " Let us 'Dot be so long under distress and misery tliat we lose^oiir patience^ or our love to thee:".

Analysis of ths Fobtibth Psalm.

There are two main parts in thiis Psalm: —

II. A prayer, frouLver. 13 to the end. Thankfulness consists in the exercise of two virtue^,

truth and justice.

1. Truth calls upon us to acknowledge the benefit^ and him from whom we receiye it.

9. Justice obliges us to be grateful, and to perfori&' some duties as evidences of oUr thdnkful minds; and both these we meet with in the first part.'

I. David begins with a profession of thankfulness; isrtiows \k\» 'confidence: "1 waited patiently for the Lord;" then shows the success, or what God did for him.

1. " He inclined his ear, and heard my cry."

3. " He brought me out of the horrible pit, and out of the miry clay."

3. *' He set my feet upon a rock." Being redeemed from danger, he set me in a safe place.

4. "He established my goings." He confirmed my steps, so that I slipped and.elided no more.

6. And he hath moved me to \ie thankful: "He hath put a new.song in my mouth." The deliverance wto not common, and therefore the praise should notbe 'common, but expressed by a new add exquisite song. J

And in this he supposed his example would be a common document. Many shall see my deliverance and my thanksgiving, and shall fear God, and acknowledge his grace, his providence, and protection; and be led thereby to put their trust in him. And then he produces his form of thanksgiving: —

. First, He pronounces the man blessed who relies* on God. U " Ble'^sed is the man that maketh the liord his trust." 2. " And blessed is he who respects.

not the proud;^* men proud of their weahh and power, or sacli a8 tarn uide to lies.

Secondly, Then by oxblamation admires God's merate, and goodness to his people. 1. For their grandeur and muUitade^ '* Manj, O Lord my God, are thy works." 3. For their sapematural appearance:' ** Thy wonderful worksV.' 3.' For the' incomparable wisdom by which they are ordered: "Many, O Lord, are thy wondrous works; and thy- thoughts to us-ward, they, cannot be reckoned np,*^ &c.

And having acknowledged his thankfulness, he speaks of the 'other part, his gratitude; to which, in equity, he thought himself bound, viz., to be obedient to -God's voice, which i^, indeed, the -best sacrifice, and far beyond all those tha,^ are ofiered by the ]|lw; as is apparent in Christy to whom- these words- and the obedience contained -in them are principally attributed: by way of accommodation, they belong to every one of his members who means to be thankful for his redemption... *

And, first, he tells us that outward worship- is of li^de worCh, if sincerity and true piety be *wantixig: ^ Sacrifice and ofiTeriog thou didst not require. ** • Not these abbolutely, bivt as subiservient to true piety, and significative of the obedience of Christ unto death.

2. To this end "mine ears hast thou.opeiied;^ bored, made docile, and taken me for thy servant.

4. He describes his ready obedienoe-: —

), That he performed it cheerfully: "I delight to ^o thy will."

9. That he did it heartily: "Thy law is in jny heart." The obedience of eyeS) hands, and feet may b^ hypocritical; that which is of the heart cannot. The heart thou requirest, and the heart thou shalthave; and to that purpo^ " I have put thy law in my heart."... '

3. He did this for the benefit of others > he published the Gospel. 1. " I have preached'righteousness in the great congregation." 2. " I have noi refrained my lips; that thou knowest." 3. " I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart." /4. " I hav.e declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation." 5. " I have not concealed thy loving-kindness and truth from the great congregation."

In this verse we.hAve the comqiendation' of the Gospel, that it is righteousness, Jesus, who is the sum and mbstsMce oCity Just^es and sanctifies. It is God's truth a^d failh/tdnessy for in it his promises

ve performcNL It is our salvaHan, freeing ns Yrom sin, deaths the curse of the law, and hell-ire. It must, as such,'be preached in the igreat congregation. And to it ob^ditnce must be yielded; and to thisyW things are necessiay:-^^. '

1. The^ help of God's Spirit: " Thou lutft opened mine ean^

4. That respeet be had to God's Uw:.<« Thy Ww In within fkiy heart."

But all that is here spoken must -be considered as resting on die sacrificial offering which Chrial' made; for we Aiust be justified by his Mood; and through hhn alone can we have remission /if sins, the help, of God's Sf^irit, or- any power to do any kixA of good. •. -

n. This second part of the Psalm appears rather to be a part of another,, or a Psalm of itself, aa.it relates to. a dififerent subject.

In the first part of the following prayer we have the sorrowful sighing of a distressed heart, vented ia the most earnest petitions on account of the greatness of its sins, and the dvils.l>y which it was sjvrounded^ A fear of being cut off Oauaes the penitent to pray, " Withhold not thou th^ mercy from me, O Lord.*^

1. " For innumerable evils haye compassed nie," iec]

2. "My iniquities have taken fast hold upop me," &c.. 3. " Therefore my heart faileth me." My agony is great, my vital spirit fails; and.tfierefom'b»']«i^s ■again, 4. " Be pleasedf 0 Lord, to deliver me! make haste to help me!", -,

The second part of his prayer is for the conliiaioa of his wicked enemies: " Let them be ashamed and confounded together, that say, Aha1 ahaV'. -

The third part of the prayer is for atf good'msn. Let all those who seek thee be joyful aqd glad- in thee; let them say, " The Lord be magnified^" •.

In (he.close (le prays for himself; and to jaoie Divine mercy the ^sooner, —

r. He puts himself in th^ number of th^ pOor and afflicted.. He boasts not that he ia a king, a prophet, a great man; but " I am poor and needy." ^

2. He shows his hope and confidence: ". Yet the Lord thinketh upon me."

3. He casts himself wholly upon God: " Than art my help aiid my deliverer."

4. Therefore delay not*: " Make no lanrying, O my Godr

The Blessedness of the mm who is merciful to the poor, 1-3. The psalmist complains of his enemies, and prays for support, 4-10; and Messes Ood for having heard his prayer, and preserved him from his $d^er* saries, 11, 12. A fine doxology closes the Psalm, 13.

2 The Lord wi^l pres^e him, and keep him atiye ^ and he shall be blessed upon.the earth: * and ^ thou wilt not deliver him unto Ih^ wiU of his enemies.

' 3 The Lo&B^ will strengthen him upon the bed. ef languisfaingf: thou wilt ^ make all his bed in his, sickness.

The tiHewi before. The fiyrtacaays it was ^A Pnlm of DaTid, lichen he appointed oversffers to^i^e'caie of ' the poor.*? The ArMc aajs, '* If is « prophecy con- ^ the incanmiioii; and also of the sidatation-of It appears to noe to have been written on the occasion as the three fomier,. and to relate to DsTid^B malady and em, and tiie eril treahnent he had kwoM his enemies dming his affliction*. Osr Lord, by aeeommodation, applies the ninth yeise to the Heacfasry of Judas, John ziii. 18; but as to any other diieet refcfrence to Christ, or his history, I bdieTe the Psa&n has none.

• Terse 1. Blessed is he that, cansidereth] Cod is merc^ul; he wiXt bate man to resemble him: as far as he is merofu/,' feels a compasswnate hearty and uses a henewtlent hand, he^resembles his M^er; aad the inercy he shows^ to others Ood will show to him. But it is not a sudden impression at the -sight of- a persorr in distress, which obliges a man to gire something for the relief of the sofTerer, that cotistitutes the merciful fkara/Uer, It is he who con^ders the poor; who endearoors to find them out; who looks into- their cir-* cumstances; who is in the habit of doing so; and aetoafly, accordmg to his power and means, goes about t9 do good; that is the merciful' man, of whom God speaks with such high appifobation, and to whom he promises a rich reward.

Verse 9l The Lord- will preserve kirn, and keep him sffoe]' tt is worthy of remark, ih^V benevolent persons, who consider the poor, and especially the sick poor; who search cellars, gurrets,back lanes, and such abodes of misery, to find them out, (even ii> the places where contagion keeps its seat,) very seldom fall a prey to their own benevolence. The Lord, in an especial manner, keeps them alive, and preserves them { Mrhile many, who endeavour to keep far from the contagion, are assailed by it, and j^l victims to it. God loves the merciful man.

Verse 3. The Lord will strengthen him] Good, benevolent, and merciful as he is, he must also die: but he shall not die as. other men; he shall have peculiar consolations, refreshment, and support, while passing through the valley of the shadow of death.-

6 And if lie come to s6e-m«, he ^ speakelh vacuity r his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when Ya gdeth abroad, he telleth. t^.

^? All. that hate me whisper together against me: against me if> they devise * my hurt.

8.^ An evil disease, «ay they^ cleaveth fast unto him: msi now that he lieth he shall rise up no more., *

hast turned up, tossed^ and. shaken it; and thou wih 6d 90 to all his bed — thou wilt not leftve oue uneasy. plaee in it-^not one Iwnpt or any unevenness, to pr^ vent hiin from sleeping. Thou wilt do eVery thing, consistently with the aecsmplitolmietit of the^ great deeree, **dnCo dittt thou shalt return,*^ to gits htm eaSe, refreshment, and rest. We may- sum op the privileges of the merciful main: 1. He is generafiy blessed^ ver. 1. 2. He will be delivered in 4he time of troubUr ver. 1. 3. He will be preserved by a; particular prsvidcmce, rer. 3. 4. He shall he kept ali^e aibidisf infection and danger, wet, 3. 5. He shall be blessed on the earth in his temporal concerns, ver. 9. 6. His enemies shall not be able to spoil or destroy him, yer. 9. 7. He shall be strengthened on a bed of languishing, to enable him to bear his afflictions, ver. ^. 8." He shall hare ease, comfort, and support ill his'/<M^ A<mrj, ver. 3.

Verse 4. / said. Lord, be merciful unto me] I need thy mercy especially, beottuse I hav^ sinned against thee, and my sin.is a- deadly wDund to my soul; therefore,h€al my soul, for it has sinned against - thee,.

Terse 5. Mine enemies spe^ evil] It is often a good man^s lot to be evil spoken of; to have his mo^ lives, and even his most benevolent acts, misconstrued.

Verse 6^. And if he come to see me} This may relate to Ahithophel; but it is more likely that it was to some other personf who^was his secret enemy, who pretended to come and itiquire after his health, but with the secret design to seeivhether death was despatch^ ing his work, /,

When he goeth abroad, he telleth it.) He makes, several observations on my dying «tate; intimates that I am suflTering deep remorse for secret crimes; that God is showing his displeasure against ise, and that I am fuU of sorrow at the approach of death.

Verse 7. All that hate me whisper together against me] This^is inf consequence of the information given by the hypocritical friend, who came to him with the lying -tongue, and whose heart gathereth iniquity t04t' self, which, whefl he went abroad, he told to others as ni-minded as hitaiself, and they also drev their wicked inferences.

to AtmJ y'^^^rr Sr^3 iai dehor beliyaal yatsuk bo, a thing, teordj or. pestilence of Belial,, is poured out upon him. Hia disease is of no common sort; it is a diabolical ixi^dy,. -

Verse 9. Mine own familiar friend] This i^ either a diropt prophecy of the treachery of Judas,' or it is. a fact in J>avid's distresses which our Lord found so similar to the falsity of his ^treacherous disciple, that he aj^icQ it to him, John xiii. 18. What We translate mine oum.famUiar friend^-^ryhvf tTK ish shelomi, is Me man of my peace. The man who, yath the!|S Dl^ shalom lecha, peace he to thee J kissed me; and thus gave the agreed-on signal to my murderers that I was the person whom th^ should seize, hold fast, and carry away.

Did eat of my bread] Was an inmate in my house. Applied by our Lord to Judas^ when eating with -him' out of the same dish. See John xiii. 1 8, 26 Possibly it may refei; to Ahithophel, his counsellor,, the man of his peace, hiB primq mihister; who, we know^ was the strength of Absalom^s conspiracy.

Verse 10. Raise me up] Restore me from this sickness, that I may requite them. This has also been applied to our Lord; who, knowing that he must die, "prays that he may rise again, and thus disappoint the malice of his enemies.

Verse 11. By this I know that thou favour est me] If -thou hadst not been on my side, I had. perished hy this disease;.and then my enemies w<^uld have had cause to triumph.

This also has been appli^ tp our Lord; and Calmet says it^is the^ greatest proof we have of tl\e divinity of Christ, that he did not permit the malice of the Jews, nor the rage of the devil, to prevail against him. They might persecute, blaspheme, mock, insult, crucify, and slay him; but his resurrection confounded them; and by it he gained the victory pvtr sin, death, i and hell.

Verse 12. Thou upholdest me] I am still enabled; to show thi^t my heart was upright before God.

Set test me before thy face for ever.] Thou showiest that thou dost approve of me; that I stand tVi thy presence, under the smiles of thy approbation.

This also has be^ applied to our liOjd, and considered as pointing out his mediatorial office at the right hand of God. -

Verse 13. Blessed be Me Lord God^ of Israel] By all these circumstances and events gkfy shall redoaad to the name of God for ever; for the tecori ot thflpe things shall n^ ver perish, but be published from otte generation to another; and it has been m»

^rom jeverlasting, and to everlasting.] Tjn oSj^TR) oSiyn mehaolam vead haolam; From the hidden time to. the hidden time.l from th^t which had no begimunig to that which has no end.,.^

To which he subscribes. Amen and Amen. Fimtj fiat. — 'Vulgate, revowo, ysvotro. — Septuagint. The Chaldee says, " And let the righteous say, AmeSy nd Amen.*'* r^seble^poo bjuhcen ^ots. ifjial^ela rpitm pOjtiiltM ^ on poiiiiloe. heohi« fyhicfpa. *< Be Messed, Lord God of Israel, from world, and in muid. Be it! So be iir-^Anglo-SaJNm. To whieh the OUAPmiier

approaches very nearly: j5lpitf|9reb JLmlb <I$ob of KiftMlt fta toccOi* anh to tneilb: 3e It bone.* fte it JmbmI

Thus illustrated by the same, iFtA UKtlh to tomlb;

that es, fra the byg3mnyng of this wexeld, in til wereld that lastes ay. it UJtmtiie» he it hone« This dubblyng schews Ihat it es at do. of al men. In Latytt^it 08, Jiat, fiat! in EbrUt Amen Amen ^ writjm:.thufoKjl that Aquila translated vere, velfideliter, ihat.es, sotk" fastly or tKew..

Thus ends what the Hebrews call the first hook of. Psalnvs; for the reader will recollect that this book is divided by the Jews into five books, the first of which ends' with this Psalhi.

This doxology. Dr. Kennicott supposes, may have been added by the collector of. this book;. and he thinks that thd ^division into hooks is. not arbitrary-; and thkt the Psalms were collected at different timee by different persons. See. the Introduotion. There is certainly a considerable variety in the style of tfie several books; in the examination of which the Hebrew critic will not lose his labour...

Analysis op the Forty-pirst PeAUf.

In this Psalm David shows how men should, and how coromoply they do, carry themselves towarde m^ in affliction and troifble.

I. They should behave compassionately and kindly, which would tend to their own happiness, and cause them to find mercy from God, ver. 1-4. /

II. But they commonly behave unkindly, and afflict' the afflicted, ver. 4-10.

III. On which unkindness he flies to God, and prays for mercy, ver. U; shows his hope and confidence in Gb^, ver. 11, 12.

I. He begins with an excellent grave sentences

Tk0 p^abnisi earnestly

bmg9 after Ood.

*'.BMBe4 is l»B.«ho conddereth the poor;" that is, uy man in trouble and want,' &c. This is a happj man. His particular comforts and ^privilegea are fut.-— r • • ■ ' '

3. The Lord will preserve him, ^' that he &int not in his troobles.'^

3. The hatdvriH keep, him alive. ' Proloxig his life and days.

* 4. "* He shall be bIe8S0d npon earth:'' Gk)d shall snrich him,.a(ul bless his substance.

5. He sh&li not 'be deliyered onto the will of his eBSOues^-^-Berer to. their foil ddsire, though o^oen into their hands.

d. **Th6 Lord will strengthen him upon a bed of langidshing,'' and maioB' all hia bed in his sicknes4: he shall have comfort and assurance of Gkxi*s ficfomr.

' ^. He begins the second part- with an ejaculation;— '^- '

S. ** Heal my miol:^ extract the sting of sfai, and •B inwivrd corruption.

3. He prays thus, becaosc he is sensible that he ** has sinned against the Lord/' ~ Tlie eomiiiint against himself being ended, he begins te aomfdain of others.

1. Of theiiT hatred and malice: f Mine enemies speak enl of me.'* ^

9. Of their enielty,; they longed for his de^th;

*' When Uiall he die, and fads' name. perish 1" they would have even his memorial cut off. ^. '

3. Theit perfidious dealing and iJLisBimulatipn. They came to visit him: hot it was fraudulently to nnawh out his counsels, and tb entrap him in his' words; and then io detaM them;abro«d; "If he come to aee toe," Ac.

4. Of their plots and conspiracies: ***A11 they that hate me whisper," &c.

5. Their exultation at his niisety:' **An erU disease, jjij^ say they, deaveth unto him," &c.

6. Of Uie perfidiousness of some particular triend, perhaps Ahithophel: *^ Yea, mine own familiar friend hath lifted up his heel- against me."

ni. And then, against all tfiese evils, and in his own defence, he prayB: " But thou, O Loopdf be merciful unto me, and raise me np." For which he giyes these reasons:— • '

S. By this he shonlj^ have experience of,Godhi &vour: '* By this I. know than faVofureet me," &o.

3. It.will be a testimony unto me that tho^ favonrest not only my person^ but my cause f ^ As for, me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for CTer."

* The Psalm, and with it the first book of the Psalms, according to the Jewish division, is closed 4rith.a doxology to God: '^ Blessed be* the Lord God of Israel, 'frbm everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen."

7^ psalmist earnestly longs /of the ordijnances of the Lord's house, 1-4; describes his deep distress, 5-7; endeavowrs to take comfort from the consideration that the Lord would appear in his behalf 8, 9; speaks of the insults of his enemas, 10; and again takes encouragement, 11. * ^

2 * My soul thirst^lh for God, for ^ the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?.

To the chief Musician, • Maschil, for the- sons of fCorah.

AS the hart *» panteth after the water brooks, 80 panteth my soul after thee, O God.

NOTES ON PSALM XLIL The title,. To the chief Musician, giving instruction to the sons of Korah, This is the first of the Psalms that has this title preflxied, ai^d it is probable that soch Psalms were comt)08ed by the descendants of K^orah during the Babylonish captivity, or by some eminent person among those descendants, and that they were nsed by the Israelites during th^fr loi)g captivity, as means of consolation: and, indeed, most of the Psalms which bear this inscription are of the. consoling kind; and the sentiments appear to belong to that period of the Jewish history, and to none other. The word S'D^d maskil, from hom sakal, signifies to make wi^e, to direct unsely, to give instruction; and here is so understood by our translators^ who have left t^is signification in the margin; and so the Versions in general*.

The Synac says,'* It is a Psalm -which DaVid song when he -was an exile, and desired to retnm to Jeni^ salem.'^ The Arabic says, " A Psahn for the backsliding Jews." - •

Veree 1-. As the hart panteth after the water brooks] The hart is not only fond of feeding near some water for the benefit of drinking, ** but when he is hard.> hunted, and nearly spent, he will take to some riTer or brook, in whidi,'? says 7\iier»i//«, ** he will keepr ^:' as long as his breath will suffer him. Underetand *%m^, ■• that when a- hart is spent and sore run, his last refuge is to the water; and he will commonly descend down the streame and swimme in the?ery middest thereiof; «» for he will take as good heede as he can to touch -no boughes'or twygges XhnX grow upon the sides of the river, for feare lest the hounds should there take sent of him. And sometimes the hart will lye imder the M

3 • My tears have, been my meat day and - night, while ^they continually say unto me,

4 When I "remember these things^ » I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the

' mx^tude, ^ I went with them. t<^ the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a w multitude that kept bolyday.

6 * Why art thou ^cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? Vhope thou

water, all but his very nose; and I have seene diyen lye 80 imt)! the hounds hiLre been upon ihem, before' they would rise; for they are constrayned to take the^ water as their last rrfugeJ*"* — 7Vi^ervi/^f V Art of Ve^ nerie, chap, xl.' Lond. 410.,- 1611.

T%e «boTe extracts w^give a -fine illustration of this passage. Tfte hart feels himself almost entirely spent; he is nearly himtea down,; the dogs are in full' - pursuit; he is parched with thirst;. tod in a buniing heat pants after the water, and when he comes to the • riTcr, plunges in as his last refuge.. Thus pursued, spent, and nearly ready to giro up the ghost, the psalpiist pants for Oo4i for the living Ood! for him who can give lifej and- saye from deafh*

Verse 3. When shall I come] \Vlien, when e^all I have the privilege of appearing in his courts before Ood f In the ' mouth of a Christian these words would import: " When sh^ll I see my heavenly country 1 When shall I come to God, Ae Judge of all, and to Jesus,- the Mediator of the new covenant 1** & He* who is a stranger and a pilgrim here below,* and "^ ideln a heart fuH of piety to Ood, may pse thes« words in this sense; but he who feels Jhimself here, at home, whose soul is not spiritual, wishes the earth" to be eternal, and kimself «temal on it-^feels no panting after the Imng God.

Verse 3. My tears have been my meat (jUty.019^ nighi\ My longing- has been so intense after spiritual blessings, that I have forgotten to take my necessary food; -and my sorrow has been so great, that I have had no appetite for any. I feel more for the honour of my God and his truth than for mysolf, when the idolater?, who have thy people in captivity, insultingly ^ry, Where is thy Ood f

Verse 4. When I remember these things] - Or, these ' things I shall remember. They often occur to me, ^ and sharpen my distressful feelings. My soul is dissolved, becomes weak as water, when I reflect on what I have had, and on what I have lost. Or, I pemar out my soul to myself m deep regrets and complaints, when reflecting on these things. I once enjoyed aU the ordiiianoes of God, and now I have J^ none. I once had the joyous cogununion of saints in.God's ordinances; but that communion no longer exists, for there are no ordinances to support it. Theve- was a multitude to worship God in public;, with these / often went: but, &las, this is no more; 35a in God-: for I shall yet p praise him *for the help of his countenance.*

6 O my God, my souLis cast do;vm.within me: therefore will I renaember ^ee freiu the land oC Jordan, and of the Hermonites^ from • the hill Mizar.

7.^ Deep calleth untp deep at the^ noise of. thy waterspouts: •*! all thy waves and thy bil* loWs are gone over me^.

now there are fouftd only a few solitary* indipidudU who sigh for the -desolations of Zion; There we had our holy days, our appointed feasts, to commemorate the wonderful works of the Lord; now there ar« no processions, no festiyals, no joyeus assemblies; all is desolation in Z^, and all is mourning in oar captivity. I have endeavoured 'to give k general sense to this Verse, bht there are several diffioplties in if;,.and different eoinmentators and bntios have, given it a great variety of transhUioM^ ^ad as suny different meanings. Mj^ plan will not ipmH me to folloV them. Much may be seen in, Dr. Hordey^s^ixdL oo thi^ verse. ^ '. •

' Verse 6. Why. art thou /:ast down, O my s&iiff]. Bad as the limes are, desoUtte as Jerusalem is, inpslt-. ing^ are our eneniies, hopeless as in the sight of man our condition may be, yet there is no room fox despair. Ail things are possible to God. We have a promise of restoration; he is as good as he is powerful; hope^ therefore in him... -

/ shaU yet praise him\ For my restoration from this captivity. He is 1^ health of my soul. I shaU have the iight and help of his covn/eiumce, Itisapprohstion, and a glorious deliverance wrought l^ his right hand.

Terse 6. O my Oo4, my soul is. cast down] It is impossible for me to lighten this load; I am fuH of ' discouragements, notwithstanding I labour to hope^iL -

Therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan] That is, from Judea, this being the chief river ' of that countryi »

And of the Hermonites] D'i^DTI the Hermans, nse^ in the plural because Jiermon has a double ridge joinin|r in an angle, and rising in many summits. The river Jordan, and the mountains of Herman, were the moei. striking fe^res of the holy land.

From the hill }iKzar.] *^{nfD TIO mehar mitsar,flwir the little hill, -as in the margin. The little hill probably means Sion, which was little in comparison of the Hermons.-^Bishop Horsley. No sneh hill as Misar is known in India.

Verse T. Deep calleth unto deep] One wave of sorrow roils on me, impelled by another. There is something dismal in the sound of the original; Dinn Sm Dmri WVp teham el tehom kore; something like "And hollow bowlings hung in air." Thompson's EUenare. Or like Homer's well known verse: — kin^n^ss in the daytime, And ' in the fiFght Iiis song shcM be i/vith me, and my prayer unto tte God- of my life.

d I'will say mito God my tock. Why hast thou forgotten me? ^ why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

10 As with a- ■ sword in my bones, mine ene*

Theirdlfog up of the wares into a swell, bM the break of the top of the swell, and Its dash upon the shore, ue anrprisingly represented in the soand of the two hstJwords.

The psalmist seems to represent himself as caat awit; U sea; and bj wave impelling ware, b carried to a roek, around which the surgess dash in all direaiions^ Ibming koHaw soonds in the creeks and c&rems. At hst, sereral waves breaking over him, tear him away from that rode to which he clang, and where he had a li^ befovtft ttmtA a resting-place, and^ apparently « an escape from imger. *^ All thy waves and ihy biilowa are gbne over me;'' he is -then whehned in the deep, and Crod alone can save him.

Waterspouts] A large tube formed of ctouda by OiesBS of the electric fluid, the base being uppermost, and the. point of the ^ube let down ^leTpendicularty ffom the clouds. This tube has a parlicular kind of dreular motion at the point; and being hollow M^ithinT attracts vast quantities of water, indiich it potira down in tonrents upon the earth. These spouts are frequent on the eoast of Syria; and Dr. Shaw has often Been them at Mount Carmel, No doubt the psaJimM hud often seen them also, and the ravages nmde by them. I have seen vast gullies cut out of the sides of mountaiina by tho fidl of waterspouts^ and have seen many of them in their fullest activity.

Verse d. The Lord will sommand] Every day the Lord will give an especial commission tp his levingkindness to visit me. During the night I shall sing of lus mercy and goodness; and alternately mingle my singing with prayer' for a contindance of bis mercy, and for power to make the best use of these visitatbns. " Veiee 9. / wiH say unto Ood my rock] God, my Fortress and Support.

Why hast thou forgotten me /] This and the followlowmg verse is bacUy pointed in our Bibles: ** W\iy go I moaming as with a swbid in my bonea because of the oppression of the enemy 1 Mine enemies reproach me daily, while they say unto me, Where is thy God V^ See on ver. 3. Their reproaches are to my soul 88 cutting and severe as a sword thrust into my body, and separating between my bones; because theae repioaches are intended to &11 on thee* my God, aa if then hadst not power to save us fi[om tbe hands of our oppressors.

Verse 1 1. Why art thou cast rfwm] There is no reason why thou shouldst despair. God will appear and

1 1 * Why art thpu cast down,.0 n^y soolT and why Qft thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I sha]! yet praise hinW^., who is the health of my cbimtenaiice^ anoT my God..,

release thee and thy brother captives; and ^oon thy sighing and sorrowing shall fle6 away. *

Who is the health of my cowUenan€e\ As a healthy state of the constitution sh6ws itself in t)ie ^ppearaiioa 0f the face; God will eo rejoioe thy heart, bed all thy * spirtlu4 nialadies, that thy face sEall testify the happiness that is within thee.

There is a curious gloss dn the first vers^ of this Psalm in ray old Psalter^ which I cannot withhold frc^ the reader. The author translates and paraphrases the verse tiius:^

Par. This Psahn es al of perfite men, that er brinnand in the flamme of Gdddes luf, and passes in til the ootitemplatyf lif: and tharfore it es spngen in the office of the dede men: for than haf thai, that thai yearned; that es, the syght of God. For thi, sais he, ah the Bert that has eten the nedder, gretely yemes to com til the weUeS of waters for to drynk and^ wax yong ogayne: so destroyed in me vices and unclennes, my saule desyres with brinnand yemyng, tQ come til the God.. '. '.

Mliany Appian^ Aristotle^ Nicander, and Pliny-, all iaform us that one cause why the hart thirsts for the da waters is, that they eat serpents, and that the poison 6{ them difilbsed -through their entrails produces a burning heal and fever, to ease and core thdmsdves of which they have recourse to water. Many of the fathers tetl the same tale, and fiom them the paisphrast in the old Psalter has borrowed what is insetted shove: ^' like as the hart, which has eaten the wMfit, greatly longs to come to the fountains of ^ater to drink, tlutt he may grow young again." The hart is undoubtedly a cunning animal; but*ii would be as difficult to believe that he eats seq^ents as it would-be to believe that he seeks (or and eats the fresh water crai tor crayfish^ in order to cure and make him grow youtig again, as EusuMus, Didymus, Theodoret, Jerome, Epiphanius, Gregory Nyssen, and others of the primitive fathersgravely inform us..• • ^

Analtsis or the Forty-skcoho Psauk. '

The psalmist, driven from the assemblies of God*s people, complain;; and as men overwhelmed with tfoabl aa are also oppressed with grief, so is he; and as they » abruptly express their thoughts, so does he; for sometimes he expostulates, sometimes he complains, son&etimes he corrects and checks himself for his weiJcness., One while he opens his doubts, and presentlyagain sets forth his confidence in God. It is difficult on this ac« ^ • 357

TV psalmist pf'^U^

ooant to imteA this Psalm; bat it mfty be redtfbed to the86/(nir £flbU;— « /,

' n. His oomplaint abd expressions of grief for his absence, Ibi his affliction, and his enemies' insults on ^grodii; Tert 3, 4, 7, lb.

I. 1. He begins with an expression of his grief for his exile from the ordinances of God, and the assem-

*■ blies of his people. And he seta forth his zeal and j longing desire under the expressive^ similitude of a: hard-bomed itftt thirsty stag: " As the hart panteth,"; Ac; vej. 1, 9. ' " '. ' 'j

S*. He shows the state he was in. 1. <* My tears have been roy meat day and night;'' ver 3. Q. And, the ' cause was the bitter sarcasm of his enemies: "Where is now tby.GodV Where is thy Protector? him in whom thou trustest 1 '

II. That- whibh Sjdded to his grief was that which gave occasion to this sarcasm, his banishment from the sanctuary.

1. When I remadlber these things, my absence, their insults, I pour.out my heart to myself; tear follow /ear, and ope complaint succeeds to an6ther.

2. And much reason I have to grieve when I -conpipare my present with my fermei condition.. Formerly " I went with the multitude to the house of God^ — with the voice of joy and p'raite," &c. I had gone; now I cannot and must, not gor.

III. Hitherto he had express^ his zeal, his soirovir, and his complaints, with their causes. These 'put his sQul in a sad- condition; and thus he expostulates with

1. -Blaming himself for his weakness and difiidence: •*^ Why art thoa cast down, O my soul," &c.

3. Then praeently fortifies hhnself in God's promises: ^ Hope thoq In God, for I ^hall yet praise him^'* &c.

In an wl^fidi la described the eomlrait that a good man has V^hm be is in heaviness through manifold

temptation, and finds great diffictdty lo straggle be^ tween hope and despair; but jst last conquers, by faith, and inherits the promises.

3. But his conflict is not yet over; be'excfaums agaiOt and still more affectingly, " 0 my &od, my soul ia caat - down." Of which he assigns two causea:r^

1. That though he was ready to remember and sena. God, yet he was forced to do it in an improper plaee. He remembered the pleasant 7an<f of Palestine^ the stately mountain* ofHermon, and the IMe hiU of Stcn: but thire he could not wprship; be was in an enemy^; country, and in captivity in that country.'

. 2. The' greatness aod continual iucoesston of hia troubles-: *'Deep calleth unto deep." Calamity on calamity, one trial on the heels of another; so that ha. might well say, ^ All thy waves ahd'thy UDows aze gone over me."

3. And yet he despaurs nqt, he encourages himaetf in the Lord: **Yet the Lord wiU command* his loving-. kindness," &o. 1. *' HLs-song shall be with me." 9. *^And my prayer unto the God of my Iifi9.".

rV. On which he growa more confident and tcn^ rageous, and agaiif expostulates^ not now vHth his #o«/y. as before^ bu)t with his Goo: '* I will say unto God my rock."

It. " Why hast thou forgotten me 1". S. " Why.go I mcAirning because ef the oppression of the enenqrl".

3. Why am I wounded with grief, "as with a swoid in my bones," while they use the sarcasm, " Wheie ia now thy God t": '.

But in'the -conclusioii, after all hia complaintB add exposOilations, he gains a full assurance of Ood'a fii^ ▼Our and protection*.

1. Chiding himself for his discontent and diffideiMM; " Why ait thou cast down V

S. Then he encourages his heart in God's goodness' and faithfialnt}ss: " Hope thoa in Gk>d, for I shall jet praise him, who is the health of my couhtenande, and, • my God." _

The forty 'third is most probably « part of iSta» Psalm: they should be read and expounded together, as the subject is not complete in either, taken as weps^ rate Psalms. See, therefore, on the' foDowing:

T%e psalmist begs God to take hA part against his enemies, 1, Q; to send his light and truth to guide kemii the tabernacle, 3; promises, if brought thither, to be faithful in the Divine service, 4; chides himself for, despondency, and takes courage, H^ '

JUDGE • me, O God, and *» plead my cause against an » ungodly nation: O deliver me

There is no title to this Psakx\ in the Hebrew, nor in the Chaldee. The Syriac says it was composed ** by I)avid when Jonathan told him Chat Saul intended

2 For thoa art tho God of • my strengths. why dost thou cast me off? ' why go I mounting because of the oppression of the fenemy?*

ceding, that it • is a prayer for the backsliding Jaws. It is most evidently on the same subject with the fortyr second Psalm, had the same author or authors, and contains the remaining- {>art of the. complaint of the captive Jews in Babylon, It. ia written as a paxt of

8 « O ' send out.tby Ughl^ and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me xaAo ^.thy holy hill, »nd to tby tabernaclea. 4 T1iei> will I go onto Ihe altar of God, unto <xod 'my exceeding joy: yea, upon

Tene 2.. For thou 9xi-ihe God of my strength] The psalmist speaks here, as in other places, in the persop of the whole Israeliti^ people then captive in B2U>ylon. Wq still acknowledge thee for our God^ Why ore we cast oft Now that we are humbled and penitent, why are we not enlarged V Why are. we not saved from this oppression of the Babylonians 1 * Verse. 3. O send out thy light and thy truth] We are^io darkness and distress, O send light and prosferity; we look for the fulfilment of Uiy promises;.0 setid forth thy truth.. Let,thy light guide me to thy holy hiU, to the country of my Others; let thy friiM lead me to thy tabernacles, (here to worship thee in spirii and in truth.

Verse 4. Then will I go unto the altar] When thy lighi — a favourable turn in &ur affairs, leads us to ibfi land of our fathers, and thy truth — the fulfilment of thy gracious promises, has placed- us again' at the door of thy tabernacles, then wil) we go to thy dtar, and joyfully offer those sacrifices and offerings which thy law requires, and rejoice in thee with exceeding great joy.

Verse 5. Why art thou cast down] Though oOr deliTerance be delayed, God has not forgotten to be gracious. The vision, the prophetic declaration relative to our captivity; was for an appointed time. Though it appear to tarry, we must w^t for it. ' In the end it will come, and will not tarry;. why then.sfaoold we be discouraged! Let us still continue to trust in Grod, for we shaU yet praise him for the fullest proofr of his approbation in a great outpouring of his benedictions.

Ajtaltsib or the Fortt-third Psalm. This Psalm, which is of the s^e nature with the former, and properly a part or continuation of it, contains two chief things: —

I. A petition, which is double. 1. One in ^e first verse. 3. The other in the fourth verse.

tbe barp will I praise tbee, O God my

5 ^ Wby art tbou cast down, O my soutl^ and wby art t^pu disquieted witbih me 1 bofie in God: for I sball yet praise bim, who is &e health of my coimtenance, and my Gkid. -i;.

For this petition he assigns tw'o reasons: —

1, The unmerciful disposition of his enemies. Is They were a factious, bloody, inhuman (loplc: " Plead ^ my cause against an ungodly nation," 'VCfH vh ^;i got * io ehasid, ** a people without mercy." 2. They were mm ^f deceit and iniquity: " Deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man," ver. 1.,

2. The other reason he draws from the > nature of GDd, and his relation to him: ** For thou art the God of my strength." Thou hast promised tb defend me. On ilus he expostulates: I, " Why hast thou cast' me offr^ For so, to the eye* of sdnse, it at present appears. 2. ** Why go I mourning, hecause of the oppression of the enemy?" ver. 2.,

Secondly, The second part of his petition is, that he may be restored to God*s /avour, and brought back to hia ownroountry, ver. 3.. '

1. <* O send forth thy light and thy truth," the light of thy favour and countenance, and make thy promises true to me: " Let them lead me," ver. 3.

2, ** Let them guide me;" — ^whither 1 To dignity and honours? No, I ask not those: I i^k to be pitied to thy holy hill and tabernacles, where I may enjoy the exeroises of piety in thy pure worship, ver. 3.

Thirdly, That he might the better move God to hear his petition, he does as good as vow that he would be thunkful, and make it known how good God had been to h^n.

t. '< Then will I go unto the altar of God, my exceeding joy." The joy ajid content ho would ts^e in this should not be of an ordinary kind.

3* ** Yea, upon the- harp wOl I praise thee, 0 God." His joy should be expressed outwardly by a Psalm, doubtless composed for the occasion; the singing of which shoul4 be accompanied by the harp, or such instruments of music as were then commonly used in the Diviile worship.

The petitions being ended, and now confident of Eiodience and favour, he thus addresses his heavy and mournful heart, as in the former Psalm: 1. Chiding himself 2. Encouraging himself.

t. ** Why art thou cast dpwn, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me 1" Chiding.

2. " Hope in God: for I shtO yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, ud my God." Encoura^ng. See notes and apalysis of the preceding

Tht puUmist recounts this mercies of Qod; shows to his jHiople how Ood ifi anctetU times gave them the vie* t9ry over afl their enemies, 1-8;pomts, out, their present miserable staiCy 9-1^; 4userts that they hmte not apostatized, and appeals to God for the trut^ 6fhis assertion, 17-39; amt calls upon the Lord for deUver-

IX. DAT. MORNIHQ TKATBIl. Tq the chief Musician fi>r the loiia of Korah, MatchiL '

iV^.>E have heard with our ears, O God, • our falban have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in ihe times of ol3.

2' How * thou didst drive out the heathen with diy band, and plantedst them: how thou didst afflict |he people, and cast them out.

.3 For ^ they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did ^tHeir -own arm save them: but thy right hand^ and thine arm, and the light of tbi^ countenance, ^ because thou hadst a favour unto them.

enemies: through thy n&me will we tread them under^that rise up against us.

6 yor «I will noil trust in«my bow, neither shall my sword save me,

T But thou hast saved us from our enemies^ and ^ hast put theia to shame that hated us*

8 ' Iii God we > boast all the day long, and praise Ihy name for ever. Selah*

9 But ^ thou hast cast oflf, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our. armies.

10 Thoumakest us to ^ turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoiPfor thems^lyed.

U " Thou hast given ^ts >* like sheep op-. pointed for meat; and hast <^ scattered us among the heathen.

The title beire is the same as that in Psa. xlii.; vhioh see. The Syriacaxys it wto " A Psalm of the sons *.of Korah, which the people and Moses sung at Horeb.*' Such, titles are fimcies t^ which no credit 8houi4 be attached..like the preceding, it appears to belong to the time of the capttoity.

Verse i. We have heard with our ears'] The psal/^ begins with recounting the manrellous inter-r positions of God in behalf of the Jewish people, that, he might the better strengthen his confidence, ind form a ground on wfaieh to build hia ezpectationof Additional help. ' ^ •

Versed. Thou didst drive out' the heath€n\ iThe Canaamtes were as a bad tree planted in a good wA^ a^d' bringixig forth bad fruit with great luxunaoot. God plucked up this bad ti^ee ifrom the -roots, aii^ u its place planted the Hebrew^ as a go6d tree, a fOfl^ Tine, and caused them to take root, and fiU the land. '

Verse 3. For they got not. the land\.Neither by their valour, nor cunning, nor for their, merit; yet, they were obliged to fight. ^But how did they conquer t By the right hand. of the Lord, and by hit arm; by his strength alone, and the light of his countehdnce-r46s faTour most manifestly shown unto (hem.v

Verse 4. Thou art my king] ^ What thou wert to them, be to us. We believe in thee as they did; we have sinned and are ia captivity^ but we repent and turn unto thee; command, -therefore, deliverances to Jacob, for we are the descendants of him in whose behalf thou hast wrought such wonders.

thy WORD, WHO^m bemeimra, " Thy substandal WoaA.^ — rChaldee. " If thou be with us, who can be sneciws filUy against usi LiteraUy, ^ We will toss Ibemln iIm air with our horn;^' & metaphor taken from' aiT ozor boll tossing the dogs into the itir whioh attack him.

Throt^h thy fiame] Jehovah; the infinite, the on^ nipotent, the* eternal Being; whose power hone is aUe to resist.

Verse 6. / will not trust in my bow] As lid is speaking pf what God hM already dene for fab ine-. fathers^ these ^words should be read in the past tense: J' W6 have not trusted," &c..

Terse 8. Jn God. we boast] We have lold tlie heathen how great and powerful our God is. tf tlioii do not deliver us by thy mighty power, they wiU not believe our report, but consider that we are lield in - bondage by the superior strength of their gods.

Verse 9. But thou hast cast off] Oar have dominion over us.

And goest not forth with our armks*} Were we to attempt to muster our several tribes, sid ftim a host^ like our fiuhers wken they came oat 9t Egypt, tlio« WNddst not accompany us as thou didst them:.tBa hones and chariots of the Babyloniahs would soon overtake and destroy us.

\efrae IQ, Thou make^ us to turn back] This Ihou didst: and our enemies, profiting by (he oocaaion, finding our strength was departed from us, madd ua aa easy prey, captivated our persons, and spoiled as itf our propterty.

Verse II. And^ hast scattered us among the heathen.] This, most evidently ^udes to the esptivity;

12 » Thou sellest thy people Mbr 4[ioQgHt, and doet not increase tMfrto^aUkhy their price.

13 ■'Tbbumakest us a reproach Urojorneighfaours; a' scorn idid a derision to th^m that are lentid about us.

14 ^Thoumakestua a byword aim)i% the heathen,.*jBL shaking of the head among the people.

15 My. confusion is continually, before me, and the shame of my face hath coyered me,

10 For l)ie Toice of him that reproachetk and blasphemeth; *by reason of the enemy and aVenger.

17 ^ All this is pome upon us; yet hare we not forgotten thee, neither haye we dealt falsely in Ay covenant.

18 Otur heart is not tiimed back, ^ neither hare our * steps declined from thy way.

From the sncoesafdl wars of the kings of ABsyria Aid Quddea against the Ipngs. of Israel and Judah, and the diqienion of the tribes onder Tigiath-pileser, Shabnaoeser, aii4 Nebuchadnezzar, Jews have, been fonnd in efeiy '{nForinee of the east; there they settled, and tkeve their sooeessors may be found to the present day. Verse 19. Thou seUest thy people for nought] An ilUisioa to thd mode of disposing. of slaves by their proprietors or soTereigns. Instead of seeking profit,

Verse 14. T3um makest us a hyword] We ai^ evidently abandoned by thee» arid &re become so very nisetaUe in consequence, tliat we are a proverb among the people: ^ See the Hebrews! see their misefry and

^wretchedness! see haw low the wraith of trod Kashrought ieum an offending people V^ And the worst curse

, that, can be imprecated against a wicked nation is: ** Makest thou become as wretched as the Jewsf^ or as

the old Psalter: '<at|)oa ^aiT fSut njf tcpfobrtfl out iiilimfir: jBttoncpng anb ^t^pttf ttt t^ tt^at u in MS amgsiif*. That es, gref, tourfoem that es of our aeghbuf^ and that> hethyng es noght sone 'gave or panaand, that we suffer of tha,^that er al aboute us. Yfh&tk men saia mkjffal ye, als hyfd Atm."

Verse 17. YH htm we n^ forgotten thee] These are bold words; bit tiiey must be understood in a Ijuahfied sense. We have not apostatized from thee; we have not faUem into idolatry. And this Was stricdy tne: the ehargs of idolatry**could never be farooglia against the Jewish nation firom the time of the cap* tivity, with sufllcient evideoca to support it.

Verse 19. Thou hast sore broken us in the place of drt^gons] Thou hast delivered us into the haiids of a fierce; cruel, and murderous people. We, as a people, are in a similar state to one who has strayed into a wilderness, where there are no* human inluibitants; who beats nothing round about him but ^ hissing of ser-

. 20 If we have forgotten the name.of ougr

21 ^Shdl not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.

22 ® Yea, for. thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

23 ** Awake, why sleepesl thou,. O Lord? arisen • cast us not off for ever.

24 ^Wherefore hidest thou thy face, Mfid forgettest our affliction and our oppression?

25 For •'lour soul is bowed down to the du8t> our belly deaveth unto the earth.

26 Arise ^ for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies' sake.

pents, the hpwling of iieasts of prey, and the terrible roaring of the lion; and who expects every moment to. be devoored.

Vf rse 90. If' ioe have forgotten the name of 'our God] Thar name, niH' Yehovahfhj whitfh the true God was ^rticixlarly distiognished, and which implicMl the exclusion of all other objects of adoration'.

Or stretched out' our hands] ■ Made supplication.; offered prayer or adoration to any strange god->-K god that we had not known, nor Had been acknowledged b*y our' fathers. It has already been- remarked^ that from the time of the Babylonish captivity the Jews never relapsed into idolatry, *

It Was customary among the ancients, while praying, to stretch out their hands towards the heavens, ot the image they were wdTshipping, as if they expected to receive the favour they were asking. »

Yeiai SI. Shall not God seitrch this outf] We conideatly appeal to the true God, the searcher of hearts, -for the truth of this statement.

VsBse 99. F&t thyjsake are we killed'dU the itiy. £0M^}, Because of our attachment to thee and to th^ religioii, we are exposed to continual death; and some of ns fall a daily- sacrifice to the persecuting spirit of our enemies, and wq all carry our lives continually in our hands. In tW same state were the primitive Christians; and St. Paul applies th^se words to their ease, Rom. viii. 36. ^

Verse 93. Atddke, why steepest thou, O Lordf] Tliat is. Why dost thou appear as one asleep, who is regaxdless of the safbty of his friends. This is a freedom of speech "which can only be allowed to inspired men; and- in their mouths it is always to be figurativdy understood.

Verse 94. Wherefore hidest thou thy face] Show us the cause why thou withdrawest from lis the testi«« mony of thy approbation.