day long, and are counted as sheep appointed to | Rev. 17. 6. be slain.

23 Up, Lord, why sleepest thou? awake, and be not absent from us for ever.

24 Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our misery and trouble?

25 For our soul is brought low, even unto the dust; our belly cleaveth unto the ground. 26 Arise and help us; and deliver us for thy mercy's sake.

Ps. 7. 6.

Mark 4. 38.

Job 13. 24, &c.

Isai. 51. 23.

Lam. 4. 5.

Ps. 130. 7, 8.

PSALM XLV.

THIS extremely remarkable Psalm is sometimes conjectured to have been originally designed as a song of congratulation, on the occasion of Solomon's marriage with the daughter of Pharaoh, king of Egypt (1 Kings iii. 1), and sung to music at the weddingfeast. The bridegroom is, therefore, praised for the various qualities of a royal personage, for the comeliness of his appearance, and the urbanity of his address; for his military exploits; for the extent of his conquests; for the upright administration of his government, and for the magnificence of his court. On the other hand, the bride is commended for her high birth; for the beauty of her person; for the richness of her dress, and for her numerous train of youthful attendants. It is foretold, also, that their marriage will be fruitful, and that their offspring will become the sovereigns of the whole earth. The inspired writers, however, when speaking of those persons, who were typical of the Messiah, were often carried by the Holy Ghost, to treat, at once, of the Messiah himself. Hence, we have now an express prediction of the divinity of our Saviour, and of his exaltation above the angels, but particularly of his spiritual union with the Church. For the connexion between the Deity and his servants was constantly represented by the prophets under the figure of a marriage, as their apostacy from him was under that of adultery. The same image has likewise been consecrated to the same use by our blessed Lord, as well as by the writers of the New Testament. Matt. ix. 15. Ephes. v. 23, 24. Rev. xxi. 9. That the Messiah is here the Bridegroom, and the Church his bride, was the unanimous opinion of all antiquity, not excepting even the best of the Jewish commentators.

1 Cor. xv. 31. The enemies, then, of the Israelites attempted to destroy them, because they professed the true religion, and sedulously avoided all communion with the worshippers of false gods.

25 Our belly cleaveth, &c. We are reduced to such a state of misery and wretchedness, that we resemble men, who are lying prostrate on the ground. Is there any reference to the mode, in which serpents crawl along the earth? Gen. iii. 14.

Job 32.8.

Matt. 27. 37.

2 Pet. 1. 21.

Luke 4. 22.
John 7. 46.

Isai. 9. 6.

Heb. 4. 12.

Zech. 9. 9.

2 Thess. 3. 1.

Luke 20. 18.
Acts 2. 37, 41.

Rom. 9. 5.
Heb. 1. 8.

MY

Y heart is inditing of a good matter: I speak of the things, which I have made unto [touching] the King.

2 My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. 3 Thou art fairer than the children of mei: full of grace are thy lips, because God hath blessed thee for ever.

4 Gird thee with thy sword upon thy thigh, O thou most Mighty, according to thy worship and renown [thy majesty and thy glory].

5 Good luck have thou with thine honor: ride on, because of the word of truth, of neekness, and righteousness, and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.

6 Thy arrows are very sharp; and the people shall be subdued unto thee, even in the midst among the King's enemies.

7 Thy seat [throne], O God, endureth for ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.

1 Is inditing of, &c. Is occupied with an important and glorious subject, and preparing it for utterance. See on Psalm xxxviii. 12.

-I speak of, &c. I am now about to recite the song, which I have framed in honor of our great King. It should here be remarked, that the whole hypothesis of any, even the least, allusion in this Psalm to Solomon is by some persons said to rest upon very questionable grounds.

3 Thou art fairer, &c. It became a prevalent notion in ancient times, that a king must be distinguished from other men by the beauty of his person, and by the majesty of his appearance. 1 Sam. ix. 2: xvi. 6, 7. If this was not the case with our Saviour, (as some persons, judging from Isai. Lii. 14: Liii. 2. have asserted,) it should still be remembered, that His kingdom was not of this world, anl that he rose infinitely superior to his brethren after the flesh in the graces, at least, of his spirit, and in the purity of his human nature. 4 According to, &c. As befits one, who is pre-eminent in dignity (see on Psalm iii. 3.) and fame.

5 Good luck, &c. Prosperity attend thee in thine exalted station. -Because of, &c. That the evil passions] of men being subdued, and their evil principles eradicated, the cause and spiritual ornaments of truth, meekness, and righteousness, may flourish throughout the land. Isai. Lix. 14. Hos. iv. 1.- -Shall teach thee, &c. Shall lead thee on from conquest to conquest. Rev. vi. 2. See on Psalm cx. 6.

6 Even in the midst, &c. His sharp-pointed arrows would reach his enemies, and cause them to fall, even whilst standing in the very centre of their forces.-The King's enemies. See on Psalm xxii. 25, where instances are adduced of a similar change of person.

7 Thy seat, &c. The power and authority of former prophets, such

8 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated | Isai. 61. 9. iniquity; wherefore God, even thy God, hath Heb. 1.9. anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy

fellows.

9 All thy garments smell of myrrh, aloes, Ex. 30. 20. and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby Cant. 3. 6. they have made thee glad.

60. 10, 11.

10 Kings' daughters were among thy honor- Isai. 49. 23: able women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen, in a vesture of gold wrought about with divers colors.

2 Cor. 6. 17, 18.

11 Hearken, O daughter, and consider; in- Luke 14. 26. cline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house;

12 So shall the King have pleasure in thy beauty, for He is thy Lord God; and worship thou him.

Isai. 54. 5.
Ephes. 5. 25, &c.

as Moses, Elijah, and others, how great soever and awful for a time, were but transitory and evanescent, whilst, on the contrary, Thy kingdom is immovable, Thy dominion is everlasting. -O God. Though Solomon might, in a very inferior sense, be thus addressed, as the divinely appointed governor of his people (see on Psalm LXXxii. 1), yet, coupled as the salutation is with the promise of a perpetual kingly rule, the Psalmist, doubtless, directed his words to the Messiah: besides, His government was more particularly founded in impartiality and righteousness, which qualities are denoted by the straightness of his sceptre Isai. ix. 7: xi. 4.

8 The oil of gladness, &c. To have the head and face anointed with oil, and that, commonly perfumed, was an unvarying custom among the Jews, except in times of affliction. 2 Sam. xiv. 2. Matt. vi. 17. God has advanced thee to a state of happiness and glory above the sovereigns, thy contemporaries. In the same manner, our blessed Lord, who, in his human nature, received from the Father, His God, a special appointment to the office of Messiah, was rendered by the divine favor" the first-born among many brethren." Rom. viii. 29. Rev. xix. 16.

9 Out of the ivory palaces. Brought forth, to adorn thee, from palaces, the walls of whose apartments are inlaid, or ornamented, with ivory. 1 Kings xxii. 39. Amos iii. 15. But, since costly perfumes were anciently deemed necessary by the Eastern nations, to complete the dress of illustrious personages before they appeared in public, the words may refer to the fragrance diffused by the garments of the King, as often as he went "out of" his royal and customary residence into the assemblies of his people. The latter mode of explaining the phrase may be illustrated and enforced from Psalm XLIX. 14: cix. 9.- -They have made, &c. See on Psalm xxxi. 5.

10 Thy honorable women. The noble ladies in attendance on thy

court.

11 O daughter. See on Psalm xxxiv. 11.

Ps. 22. 29.

Rev. 21. 24.

Rev. 19. 7, 8.

2 Cor. 11. 2.

1 Pet. 3. 4.

John 14. 3.

Rev. 3. 12, 21.

Rev. 1.6: 5. 10.

13 And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; like as [even] the rich also among the people shall make their supplication before thee.

14 The King's daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is of wrought gold.

15 She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needle-work: the virgins, that be her fellows [companions], shall bear her company, and shall be brought unto thee:

16 With joy [rejoicing] and gladness shall they be brought, and shall enter into the King's palace.

17 Instead of thy fathers thou shalt have children, whom thou mayst make princes in all lands.

13 The daughter of Tyre, &c. See on Psalm ix. 14. This is prophetic of the accession of the Gentiles to the Christian Church.With a gift. Presents were so customary, according to Eastern manners, that, unless he had offered some, an inferior could scarcely experience any peace of mind, from imagining that he had, therefore, no hold upon his superior for protection in his difficulties. Gen. xxxiii. 8: xliii. 11. 2 Kings viii. 8.————The rich. Not merely "the wealthy of the land," but also the powerful and mighty.

14 The King's daughter, &c. Commentators are much divided in opinion, whether the same individual, who has hitherto been called "the queen," is now styled the daughter of the King, or whether a new personage is introduced. But, since the connexion between Christ and the Church embraces within it every relationship, and every affection, she may readily be considered under the character both of daughter and wife. May not the expression contain an allusion to Pharaoh, the royal father of the queen, and, therefore, to the Church, as consisting chiefly of the Gentile nations?Within. In the inner chambers, the apartments appropriated to women. Perhaps, however, the word refers to the inner part of her clothing, as emblematical of the graces of her spirit; whilst the outer part, which represents the virtues conspicuous to all the world, is described in the following verse.

16 With joy and gladness, &c. The writer describes the pomp, with which "the King's daughter" would be introduced to him, who forms the subject of the Psalm, namely, with the greatest signs of exultation, accompanied, probably, with music and dancing.

17 Instead of thy fathers, &c. To recompense thee for those royal ancestors in Egypt, whom thou must now forget, thou shalt "be a joyful mother of children" at Jerusalem. The fruit of this mystical union of the Messiah with his Church comprises the whole Christian race, who have been made by him "kings and priests unto God." For, if the words agree at all with the former notion, they do so in a very reduced and accommodated sense; but, with the latter they agree in a sense the most exalted and perfect.

18 I will remember thy name from one gene- Ps. 72. 17, &c. ration to another; therefore shall the people Isai, 59. 21. give thanks unto thee world without end.

PSALM XLVI.

WE have here an animated Psalm of thanksgiving for deliverance from dangers, which were either caused by tremendous convulsions of nature, or are depicted by figures drawn from them. But, as the occasion of it has not been recorded, the mercies intended to be especially commemorated can only be matter of conjecture. It may have been composed in the reign of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, when he had defeated the Ammonites and their allies. 2 Chron. xx. The seventh verse is repeated in the conclusion by way of chorus.

G

OD is our hope and strength, a very present
help in trouble.

2 Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be moved, and though the hills be carried into the midst of the sea;

3 Though the waters thereof rage and swell: and though the mountains shake at the tempest of the same.

4 The rivers of the flood thereof shall make Ps. 91. 5, &c. glad the city of God, the holy place of the Isai. 60. 18. tabernacle of the most Highest.

18 I will remember, &c. The best mode of understanding this verse seems to be to take it as the language of joyful homage from his spouse, the Church, to the Messiah. But, perhaps, the same sense was by our old translators purposed to be expressed, as is given in the Bible version,-" I will make thy name to be remembered." In this case, the Psalmist must be considered as having foreseen, that, by inditing this marriage-song, and by its incorporation into the public services of the Church, he should become the blessed means of celebrating the name of his Messiah to all generations, and of inciting the nations of the world to do so likewise. Psalm Lxxi. 16.World. See on Psalm XLI. 13.

1 Present. See on Psalm xxxviii. 17.

2 Though the earth, &c. The region of Judea was often shaken by earthquakes. Sometimes these were accompanied by land-slips, when patches of ground, lying on the declivities of the mountains, were removed from their places, and carried into the sea, which washes its coasts.

4 The rivers, &c. The turbulent waters, overflowing from the tempestuous sea, instead of occasioning terror, shall become a source of joy to the citizens of Jerusalem, because the remoteness of their situation enables them to escape uninjured―The tabernacle, &c. The temple built by Solomon is, probably, meant. See on Psalm ix. 2.