upon the earth, and your hands deal with Isai. 10. 1, &c. wickedness.

3 The ungodly are froward, even from their mother's womb: as soon as they are born, they go astray, and speak lies:

4 They are as venomous as the poison of a serpent, even like the deaf adder, that stoppeth her ears,

5 Which refuseth to hear the voice of the charmer, charm he never so wisely.

6 Break their teeth, O God, in their mouths: smite the jaw-bones of the lions, O Lord: let them fall [melt] away, like water that runneth apace; and, when they shoot their arrows, let them be rooted out:

Isai. 48. 8.
Ephes. 4. 17, &c. ́`

Ps. 140. 1, &c.
Matt. 23. 33.

Jam. 3. 7, 8.

Job 29. 17.

Luke 20. 17, 18.

7 Let them consume away like a snail; and Job 3. 16. be like the untimely fruit of a woman; and let | Eccles. 6. 3. them not see the sun.

of Israel, that land, where God's name was worshipped, and his oracles made known.

3 The ungodly, &c. The corrupted nature, with which they were born, has neither been counteracted by proper discipline on the part of their parents and guardians, nor has it been subdued by the aid of sanctifying grace, vouchsafed in answer to their own prayers. They go astray. They wander far from the straight paths of righteousness and obedience. See on Psalm i. 1.

5 Which refuseth, &c. It was commonly asserted in former times, that musical sounds would, for a season, change the disposition of some kinds even of serpents, and render them so gentle as to be handled without danger; yet, that one species of adder could not be thus tamed, as if she stopped her ears against the most skilful strains of those, who attempted to charm her. Numerous testimonies to this effect of music may be collected from ancient writers, and also modern travellers in the East afford their evidence to the truth of the fact. Eccles. x. 11. Jer. viii. 17.

6 Break their teeth, &c. The destruction of the wicked is prayed for under a great variety of images. This clause is sometimes understood as a continuation of the foregoing verse, and as referring to another, and a more usual method of rendering serpents innocuous, namely, by extracting their poisonous fangs.- -Let them fall, &c. The comparison rests on the rapidity, with which the torrents in those mountainous regions pass away and exhaust themselves, furnishing, by this means, a fine emblem of the shortness and instability of earthly power.- -And, when, &c. And, when they are just going to execute their wicked plots, (which circumstance is expressed under the figure of a man bending his bow to shoot an arrow at a mark,) in that very moment cut them off.

7 Like a snail. A snail is continually but insensibly wasting away,

Prov. 10. 25.

1 Thess. 5. 2, 3.

Rev. 14. 19, 20: 18. 20.

Ps. 92. 14.

Isai. 3. 10, 11.

8 Or ever [Before] your pots be made hot with thorns, so let indignation vex him, even as a thing that is raw.

9 The righteous shall rejoice, when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his footsteps in the blood of the ungodly.

10 So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: doubtless there is a God, that judgeth the earth.

Evening Prayer.

PSALM LIX.

DAVID here explains what his thoughts and feelings were, when Saul sent men to watch his house all night, and to slay himself, as he came out of his doors next morning. 1 Sam. xix. 11, &c. His unbounded confidence in God, notwithstanding this extreme danger, and his fervor of gratitude for the deliverance, which he fully anticipates, demonstrate the existence of a peculiarly pious and happy frame of mind.

Luke 1. 74, 75.

2 Tim. 4. 17, 18.

Ps. 26. 9:

139. 19, 20.

DEL

me.

ELIVER me from mine enemies, O God: defend me from them, that rise up against

2 O deliver me from the wicked doers, and save me from the blood-thirsty men.

by leaving some part of its slimy substance along its track, as it proceeds. And be like, &c. Let their designs, in a similar manner, never attain perfection.- -Let them not see, &c. Let them not continue to behold the light of the sun "in the land of the living." Psalm Lv. 25.

8 Or ever your pots, &c. The intention of David is to describe, both the sudden and fearful end of the ungodly, since a fire of thorns is as violent as it is short-lived.- -So let indignation, &c. The divine wrath is now imprecated by him upon his enemies, and he prays, that their minds may be harassed and vexed to the same extent as their bodies, if covered with wounds and blotches, would be put in torment by means of external violence. A flesh sore can be very easily fretted and rendered painful.

9 He shall wash, &c. The just vengeance, executed by God upon these wicked men, shall fill the righteous with that triumphant exultation, which a powerful conqueror may be presumed to feel, who, returning with complete victory from the slaughter of his enemies, dips his feet in their blood, as he necessarily passes to his encampment over their dead bodies. The comparison refers solely to the joyous state of mind, in which each party would then naturally be; not, in the slightest degree, to the mode of expressing it. See on Psalm Lxix. 23.

John 15. 25.

3 For, lo, they lie waiting [in wait] for my 1 Sam. 24. 11. soul: the mighty men are gathered against me, without any offence or fault of me, O Lord:

4 They run and prepare themselves without my fault: arise thou, therefore, to help me, and

behold.

5 Stand up, O Lord God of hosts, thou God of Israel, to visit all the heathen; and be not merciful unto them, that offend of malicious wickedness.

Prov. 1. 16.
Acts 23. 15.

Isai. 17. 9, &c.

Jam. 2. 13.

6 They go to and fro in the evening: they Gen. 27. 41. grin [make a noise] like a dog, and run about

through the city.

15.28.

7 Behold, they speak with their mouth, and Prov. 12. 18: swords are in their lips; for who [say they,] doth | hear?

3 Without any offence, &c. David had given no just cause of offence to Saul, and was not, therefore, persecuted for any crime intentionally committed against him.

4 They run, &c. They hasten hither and thither, being most busily occupied in all things, which can contribute to my destruction, though I am utterly free from blame; and diligently making every preparation for the accomplishment of their iniquitous designs.And behold. And look, with an eye of pity, upon my affliction and my danger. Psalm ix. 13: xxv. 17.

5 Stand up, &c. See on Psalm vii. 6: xxiv. 10.—To visit, &c. To visit judicially, and to overwhelm with thy vengeance, all these wicked men, who are numbered, indeed, among thy people, but yet shew themselves to be as barbarous and as cruel, as are even the heathen. Ver. 8. Psalm Liv. 3. Matt. xviii. 17.

6 They go to and fro, &c. The enemies of the Psalmist are now 'likened to dogs, which every evening were accustomed to run howling and snarling in all directions about Jerusalem. Though throughout the East a person was considered to have contracted pollution by merely touching a dog, and, consequently, that animal was not suffered by the inhabitants to enter their houses and become domestic, dogs still abounded in the streets, as they do at the present day: moreover, they made their appearance more freely after sunset, since they could then roam about without much chance of disturbance or molestation. By the Mosaic law the dog was declared to be unclean, and was, therefore, greatly despised among the Israelites, who seem not to have employed it even in hunting; at least, when hunting is mentioned in scripture, no notice is taken of the dog.

7 And swords, &c. Their tongues perform the office of swords, as instruments of destruction. Psalm Lvii. 5.- -Who doth hear? This exclamation, which David puts into the mouth of his oppressors, constitutes an indirect complaint, that the persons, who might and ought to have been a check upon Saul, partaking with him in his wickedness, disregarded his violent and unjust proceedings. Who will feel disposed to call us to account for our deeds?

Ps. 37. 13.

Prov. 1. 24, &c.

Isai. 26. 3, 4.

Luke 19. 41, &c.
Ephes. 2. 4, 5,

Gen. 4. 12, 15.

Matt. 12. 36, 37.

Luke 23. 5.

Num. 14. 34, 35.. 2 Kings 19. 19.

8 But thou, O Lord, shalt have them in derision; and thou shalt laugh all the heathen

to scorn.

9 My strength will I ascribe unto Thee, for thou art the God of my refuge.

10 God sheweth me his goodness plenteously; and God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies.

11 Slay them not, lest my people forget it; but scatter them abroad among the people, and put [bring] them down, O Lord, our defence [shield].

12 For the sin of their mouth, and for the words of their lips, they shall be taken in their pride: and why? their preaching [speaking], is of cursing and lies.

13 Consume them in thy wrath, consume them, that they may perish, and know that it is God, that ruleth in Jacob, and unto the ends of the world.

9 My strength, &c. My means of deliverance must all come from Thee, inasmuch as Thou alone art "my high place" or house of defence, where I can remain safe from the attacks of my enemies. Psalm xviii. 1.

10 My desire, &c. See on Psalm Liv. 7.

11 Slay them not, &c. He wishes for a permanent memorial of the divine wrath, rather than for a single act of punishment, which, together with the awful lesson it was designed to teach, might soon be forgotten by his countrymen.-Among the people. Among the heathen nations. Perhaps, however, the tribes of his own people are signified. See on Psalm Lvii. 10.

12 They shall be taken, &c. Their pride, which is shewn by their arrogant and impious words, will become the cause of their ruin, with the same certainty as if they had been caught in the toils of a net. Prov. xii. 13. Eccles. vii. 26.- -Their preaching, &c. They give utterance only to imprecations and falsehood. For the word "preaching" see on Psalm iii. 3. An oath, being a solemn appeal to God, was usually joined by the Jews to imprecations, that is, to imprecations of evil, of evil against themselves, should they be found to swear falsely. Perjury, therefore, constituted the means, by which the unscrupulous enemies of David strove to gain an advantage over him. Matt. xxvi. 74. It appears, however, to be the opinion of some learned men, that, both here, and Psalm x. 7, other persons, rather than themselves, were the objects of these curses.

13 Consume them, &c. This passage must, probably, be taken solely with reference to their power, designs, and parties; for, from the eleventh verse, it is evident, that David does not pray for the destruction of their persons.

14 And in the evening they will return, grin [make a noise] like a dog, and will go about the city:

15 They will run here and there for meat, Job 15. 23. and grudge, if they be not satisfied.

Ephes. 1:6, &c.

16 As for me, I will sing of thy power, and 2 Cor. 1. 20. will praise thy mercy, betimes in the morning; for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.

46. 1.

17 Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing; for Ps. 18. 1: thou, O God, art my refuge, and my merciful God.

THE Composition of this Psalm has been assigned to the time, when all the tribes of Israel had submitted to David's dominion, and when, having been firmly established on his throne, he was engaged in making preparations for the reduction of the adjacent countries. 2 Sam. v. viii. In the commencement he records certain domestic troubles, to which the Israelites had been lately exposed, and from whose effects he entreats a complete deliverance: he then anticipates, in accordance with a divine prediction, the extension of his royal authority over the neighbouring nations; but, aware of his own inability to execute his designs, he earnestly implores, that the presence of God may continually be with his armies.

GOD, thou hast cast us out [off], and 1 Chron. 28. 9. scattered us abroad; thou hast also been Ps. 90. 15. displeased: O turn thee unto us again.

2 Thou hast moved the land, and divided 2 Chron. 7. 14. [broken] it: heal the sores thereof, for it Isai. 1. 19, 20. shaketh.

15 They will run, &c. Since the dogs, mentioned ver. 6, did not belong to particular individuals, they were not, of course, fed regularly, but had to procure their food in what manner they best could. They were very numerous in the cities of Israel, and some care of them, was indirectly, at least, enjoined upon the inhabitants. Exod. xxii. 31.

1 Thou hast cast, &c. When Saul and his three sons had fallen in mount Gilboa, the Israelites were dismayed and scattered, whilst their powerful foes, the Philistines, triumphed. The setting up of Ish-bosheth, his remaining son, by Abner, the captain of his army, as king over the ten tribes, in opposition to David, and the civil war which necessarily ensued, made the land to tremble, broke its force, and exposed it to the common enemy. 1 Sam. xxxi. 7. 2 Sam. ii. 7, 8. 2 Thou hast moved, &c. The effects of political convulsions are here compared to those of an earthquake. Isai. xxix. 6.———Heal the sores, &c. The land of Israel had been, in some measure, restored to its