PSALM CXXXV. 1 An exhortation to praise God for his mercy, 5 for his power, 8 for his judgments. 15 The vanity of idols. 19 An exhortation to bless God. PRAISE ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD. 2 Ye that stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God, 3 Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant. 4 For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure. 5 For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. 6 Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places. 7 'He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries. 8 Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, "both of man and beast. 9 Who sent tokens and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants. 1 Jer. 10. 13. 15 "The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. 16 They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; 17 They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths. 18 They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them. 19 Bless the LORD, O house of Israel: bless the LORD, O house of Aaron: 20 Bless the LORD, O house of Levi: re that fear the LORD, bless the LORD. 21 Blessed be the LORD out of Zion. which dwelleth at Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD. Exod. 12. 29. 8 Heb. from man unto beast. • Num. 21. 24, 25, 26, 34, 35. 5 Josh. 12.7. Verse 7. "Lightnings for the rain."-This probably refers to the regular rainy season of autumn. This comes on towards the latter end of September, in which month there is lightning almost every night; and when this is seen the western hemisphere, accompanied by thunder, the very near approach of rain is considered certain. PSALM CXXXVI. An exhortation to give thanks to God for particular mercies. O'GIVE thanks unto the LORD; for he is good for his mercy endureth for ever. 2 O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. 3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever. 4 To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever. 5 To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever. 6 "To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever. 7 To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever. 8 The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever: 1 Psal. 106. 1, and 107. 1, and 118. 1. Gen. 1. 1. 9 Exod 14.28. PSALM CXXXVI.-This psalm is, in substance, very nearly the same as the preceding; and although the author cannot be distinctly determined, there is sufficient probability in the common opinion which ascribes them to David. They appear to have been both intended for use on stated and recurring occasions. 2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. 3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us 'a song; and they that 'wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. 4 How shall we sing the LORD's song in a strange land? 5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. 6 If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above 'my chief joy. 7 Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, 'Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof. 8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be 'destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. 9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and 'dasheth thy little ones against 1othe stones. Heb. laid us on heaps. 3 Heb. land of a stranger. Heb. the head of my joy. 6 Heb. Make bare. 7 Heb. wasted. 8 Heb. that recompenseth unto thee thy deed which thou didst to us. 1 Heb. the words of a song. 5 Obad. 10, &c. Isa. 13. 16. 10 Heb. the rock. PSALM CXXXVII.-This psalm was of course written during the Captivity, and, as it would seem, not long after the arrival of the captives at Babylon. It expresses very strongly the feelings of a people who had still fresh in their recollection the ruin of their glorious city, the profanation and destruction of their Temple, and the scenes of blood and rapine which had rendered their own homes desolate. It shows how acutely they, captives in the monotonous and sultry plains of Babylonia, regretted their own pleasant land-the land of the olive and the vine (which Babylonia is not)—and their own possessions and comforts there. Their condition must have been very miserable in the first years of their captivity, before their minds were subdued to their depressed condition, and before that condition became itself somewhat ameliorated, as appears to have been the case ultimately; and this was partly, perhaps, through the favour of the Babylonian kings to Daniel and his three friends, and the power in the state which they acquired, and through which it pleased God to evince that his mercy had not wholly departed from the house of Israel. Verse 2. "Hanged our harps upon the willows."-On the banks of the Babylonian rivers (say the Euphrates and Tigris) there are no woods or forests, or any considerable trees besides the cultivated date-palm. But these rivers are in some parts rather extensively lined with a growth of tall shrubs and bushes, interspersed with some small, and a few middling trees, among which the willow is at this day the most frequent and remarkable. 5. "Let my right hand forget her cunning."—There is a striking and appropriate point in this, which has been overlooked. It is, that as it is customary for people in the East to swear by their possessions, so one who has no posses sions-who is poor and destitute, and has nothing of recognised value in the world-swears by his right hand, which is his sole stake in society, and by the "cunning" of which he earns his daily bread. Hence the common Arabic proverb (given by Burckhardt, No. 550) reflecting on the change of demeanour produced by improved circumstances:— "He was wont to swear by the cutting off of his right hand!' He now swears, 'by the giving of money to the poor!"" Amos 9. 2, 3, 4. 8 Job 26. 6. 6 Heb. greatly. 7 Or, strength, or, body. Heb. 4. 13. 15 My 'substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, 'which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. 17 10 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! 18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. 19 Surely thou wilt slay the wicked O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. 20 For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. 21 Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? 22 I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any "1wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Heb. as is the darkness, so is the light. 4 Heb. darkeneth not. 8 Heb. all of them. Or, what days they should be fashioned. 10 Psal. 40. 5. 11 Heb. way of pain, or, grief. erse 9. "The wings of the morning."-This probably refers to the rapidity with which the morning rises to perfect and which is particularly marked in the East, where the morning and evening twilights are very short. On the e idea Aurora, or the morning, was represented with wings by the European ancients. We imagine this general to be preferable to the common one which supposes that the rays of the rising sun are called "the wings of the ning," from their inconceivable rapidity. The essential meaning is however the same. "Curiously wrought.”—The word thus rendered is that which is usually employed to describe embroidery or deing in needlework. Whether the image implied in the term be taken directly from the work of the embroiderer, fers generally, by a derived figure, to any work of complicated and involved nature, but furnishing beautiful Its-it may be difficult to determine. Ainsworth at once renders, "embroidered;" and Lowth, who translates, valently,wrought with a needle:" adds, "Whoever observes this, (in truth he will not be able to observe it in the mon translations,) and at the same time reflects upon the wonderful mechanism of the human body, the various ications of the veins, arteries, fibres, and membranes, and the undescribable texture of the whole fabric, will feel beauty and gracefulness of this well adapted metaphor." Many parts of this fine hymn, which celebrate the om of God in the organization of the human frame, might receive very effective illustration from physiological ments: but these are not usually furnished, nor does it fall within our own line of illustration to supply them. 8 Or, let them not be exalted. 4 Heb. a man of tongue. 5 Or, an evil speaker, a wicked man of violence be established in the earth: let him be hunted to his overthrow. Verse 3. “Adders' poison."-The word rendered "adder,” wy akshub, occurs here only; and it is perhaps impossible to determine what species is intended. As the word, in its proper signification, seems to express coiling, or bending back-an act common to most serpents, the name has perhaps no determinate reference; or it may be another name for the pethen, mentioned under Job xx. ; which seems also to have been the opinion of the Seventy, as they render both words by arms, and are followed by the Vulgate (aspis). As to the poison, it will be observed, that in the venomous serpents there is a gland under the eye secreting the poisonous matter, which is conveyed, in a small tube or canal, to the end of a fang which lies concealed at the roof of the mouth. This fang is moveable at the pleasure of the serpent, and is protruded when it is about to strike at an antagonist. The situation of this poison, which is, in a manner, behind the upper lip, gives great propriety to the expression, "adders' poison is under their lips." The usage of the Hebrew language renders it by no means improbable that the fang itself is called lashon," a tongue," in the present text: and a serpent might then be said to sharpen its tongue, when, in preparing to strike, it protruded its fangs. We do not see any explanation by which a more consistent meaning may be extracted from the expression here employed. PSALM CXLI. 1 David prayeth that his suit may be acceptable, 3 his conscience sincere, 7 and his life safe from snares. A Psalm of David. LORD, I cry unto thee; make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee. 2 Let my prayer be 'set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. 3 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. 4 Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity and let me not eat of their dainties. 5 'Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities. 6 When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet. 7 Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth. 8 But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord: in thee is my trust; 'leave not my soul destitute. 9 Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity. 10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that I withal 'escape. 1 Heb. directed. 2 Or, let the righteous smite me kindly, and reprove me; let not their precious oil break my head, &c. PSALM CXLI.-This psalm appears to have been composed by David, during that life of banishment and trouble which the hostility of Saul obliged him to lead. Verse 2. "Incense...evening sacrifice."-This verse probably expresses David's desire that, being precluded from his customary attendance at the regular ordinances of religion, his simple prayer might be accepted, the same as though he had been present at the offering of the morning incense or the evening sacrifice. The variation of phrase expresses a reference to the first and last daily acts of public worship. For the people prayed without, while the incense was offered in the holy place. In the morning this took place before the sacrifice was laid upon the altar of burnt offering; but in the evening (at the ninth hour), after the sacrifice was laid upon the altar; and then, consequently, the sacrifice and the incense were at the same time offered. See Lightfoot's 'Temple Service,' c. ix. sect. 5. "The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice."-At the morning and evening sacrifice the priests blessed the people in the form of words in Num. vi. 24-26; and as they did this, they lifted their hands high above their heads, with their fingers spread out. This uplifting of the hands, was on some particular days omitted at the evening service, but never in the morning. See Lightfoot, as above. 5. "Let the righteous smile me," &c.—This verse has greatly exercised the ingenuity of interpreters. The Septuagint and other ancient versions, generally seem to understand it to express that the reproofs and smitings of the righteous were better than the rich and fragrant oils of the ungodly. We are rather disposed to understand, as in our version, that the intention is to affirm that the corrections of the righteous are, from their good intentions and beneficial |