34 He spake the word; and the grasshoppers Ex. 10. 14, 15. [the locusts] came, and caterpillars innumerable; and did eat up all the grass in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.

35 He smote all the first-born in their land, Ex. 12. 29. even the chief of all their strength.

36 He brought them forth also with silver Ex. 12. 35. and gold: there was not one feeble person among their tribes.

37 Egypt was glad at their departing, for Ex. 12. 33. they were afraid of them.

38 He spread out a cloud to be a covering, and fire to give light in the night-season. 39 At their desire he brought quails, and he filled them with the bread of heaven.

40 He opened the rock of stone; and the waters flowed out, so that rivers ran in the dry places.

41 For why? he remembered his holy promise and Abraham his servant.

42 And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness [singing];

gave

43 And them the lands of the heathen; and they took the labors of the people in possession,

44 That they might keep his statutes, and observe his laws.

35 The chief, &c. See on Psalm LXXviii. 52.

Ex. 13. 21, 22.

Ex. 16. 13, &c.

Num. 11. 31.

Ex. 17. 6.

Num. 20. 11.

Gen. 15. 13, 14.

Ex. 2. 24.

Isai. 51. 10, 11.

Acts 13. 17.

Josh. 13. 7.

Acts 7. 45.

Deut. 4. 40:

6. 24, 25.

36 There was not, &c. Not one of the Israelites was prevented, either by disease or weakness, from immediately leaving Egypt and journeying "into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.'

38 To be a covering. As well to protect them from the fury of the enemy, who followed hard after them (Exod. xiv. 19, 20); as also, perhaps, to shelter them from the too great heat of the sun.

x. 17: xix. 7.

39 The bread of heaven. See on Psalm LXXviii. 26. 43 The labors, &c. See on Psalm Lxxviii. 47.

Wisd.

44 That they might, &c. Many of the directions given to the Israelites were of such a nature, that they could not be attended to, either in the wilderness, or in a state of wandering; consequently, a special reason existed, why that people must inhabit Canaan, in order to keep the divine statutes, and to observe the divine law. It may be further remarked, that all the advantages and all the favors bestowed on them were expressly vouchsafed, for the purpose of separating them from other nations, and thus rendering them devout worshippers of Jehovah, the living and true God. Deut. v, 31.

Evening Prayer.

PSALM CVI.

JUDGING from the fourth and fifth verses (see also ver. 45.) the present Psalm seems not unlikely to have been composed whilst the author, together with the two tribes, were in captivity, though some persons look upon this notion as very doubtful. It commemorates the numberless blessings and mercies, which the Almighty had conferred on the Israelites, as well as their ungrateful provocations of him. The Psalmist, however, whilst praying for the restoration of the divine favor to his brethren, acknowledges the loss of it to have been occasioned by their own transgressions (ver. 6); and, having then adverted, in general terms, to the sinfulness of their ancestors, he passes on to a particular enumeration (but not in exact chronological order,) of the greater instances of wickedness recorded in the early part of the Israelitish history, and principally in the last four books of Moses. GIVE thanks unto the Lord, for he is gracious, and his mercy endureth for ever. 2 Who can express the noble acts of the Ephes. 3. 17, &c. Lord, or shew forth all his praise?

Matt. 19. 17.
Rom. 5. 20, 21.

Ps. 40. 6.

Acts 24. 16.
Gal. 6. 9.

Mark 1. 40, &c.

Luke 23. 42, 43.

John 15. 16.
Jam. 2. 5.

3 Blessed are they, that alway keep judgment, and do righteousness.

4 Remember me, O Lord, according to the favor that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation;

5 That I may see the felicity of thy chosen; and rejoice in the gladness of thy people; and give thanks with thine inheritance.

3 Blessed are they, &c. This may be taken as the exclamation of the Psalmist, on considering what severe punishments the heinousness of their sins had inflicted on his brethren. For the Israelites had been put in possession of Canaan by the immediate power of Jehovah, "that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws," and truly blessed would they have been, if they had persevered in attendance on those divine ordinances, and in obedience to those divine commandments.

4 Remember me, &c. The expressions, contained in this and the following verse, not only refer to a temporal restoration and felicity, but doubtless extend much further, even to spiritual and heavenly graces. The Psalmist, though praying in his own name, entreats generally, that God would be gracious to the Israelites, according to the greatness of that favor, which caused him, to select them for his peculiar inheritance, and, for so many ages, to protect them; and that he would, therefore, now perform on their behalf his distinct promises of timely deliverance, by again appearing as their Almighty saviour. Psalm xxv. 5.

5 That I may see, &c. He wishes to partake, as well as to become

6 We have sinned with our fathers: we have | Dan. 9. 5, 6. done amiss, and dealt wickedly.

7 Our fathers regarded not thy wonders in Egypt; neither kept they thy great goodness in remembrance; but were disobedient at the sea, even at the Red sea.

Jam. 3. 2.

Ex. 14. 11, 12.

8 Nevertheless, he helped [saved] them for Ex. 9. 16: his name's sake, that he might make his power

to be known.

14. 13, 14.

Isai. 63. 11, &c.

9 He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was Ex. 14. 21, 22. dried up; so he led them through the deep, as through a wilderness.

10 And he saved them from the adversary's Ex. 14. 30. hand, and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.

11 As for those that troubled them, the Ex. 15. 5. waters overwhelmed them; there was not one of them left.

12 Then believed they his words, and sang praise unto him.

13 But, within a while, they forgat his works, and would not abide his counsel;

14 But lust came upon them in the wilderness, and they tempted God in the desert.

15 And he gave them their desire, and [but] sent leanness withal into their soul.

Ex. 14. 31:

15. 1.

Ex. 15. 24:

16. 2, 3.

Num. 11. 4.

1 Cor. 10. 5, 6.

Num. 11. 31, 33.

a spectator, of the happiness, which a return from captivity would impart to those, who had ever been the chosen people of God: he resolves also to bear his share in the public joy, and, in company with his fellow-countrymen, then to praise God for the happy accomplishment of his word. Psalm XLii. 4, 5.

6 With our fathers. As grievously as did our ancestors: after the bad example of their unbelief and disobedience.

8 For his name's sake. To vindicate the propriety and accuracy of his name Jehovah, by which he was always known as "the Lord God of the Hebrews." See on Psalm v. 12.

9 As through, &c. With the same freedom from danger, and with the same safety, as if they had been marching through a sandy desert, in which there was no water.

13 And would not, &c. When difficulties arose, they no longer humbly looked to Him as their director, being too impatient and too forgetful, to wait for the full development of his purposes towards them.

14 But lust, &c. But an excessive and ungovernable desire of eating flesh possessed them in the wilderness, wherefore they perversely determined to put to the proof God's power of providing even for their imaginary wants.

15 And sent leanness, &c. The Psalmist by "leanness" wished pos

N

Num. 16. 3, &c.

Num. 16. 31, &e.

Num. 16. 35, 46.

Ex. 32. 1, &c.

Rom. 1. 23.

Deut. 32. 15, &c.

Ps. 78. 50, &c.

Ex. 32. 10, &c.
Deut. 9. 18, 19.

16 They angered Moses also in the tents, and Aaron the saint of the Lord.

17 So the earth opened, and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the congregation [company] of Abiram.

18 And the fire was kindled in their company; the flame burnt up the ungodly. 19 They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.

20 Thus they turned their glory into the similitude of a calf, that eateth hay [grass].

21 And they forgat God their saviour, who had done so great things in Egypt;

22 Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and fearful things by the Red sea.

23 So he said he would have destroyed them; had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the gap, to turn away his wrathful indignation, lest he should destroy them.

sibly to allude to the plague, which Jehovah, in his wrath, sent "into their soul," that is, upon them (see on Psalm vii. 2), to waste and destroy their bodies, as a punishment for their rebellious murmurings. Psalm LXXviii. 31. In scripture, leanness, which is usually the inevitable consequence of affliction, often stands figuratively for affliction itself. Isai. x. 16: xvii. 4: xxiv. 16.

16 They angered, &c. The anger felt by Moses, and also by Aaron, (whom God had set apart as holy to himself,) against Korah and his company, arose from the mutiny, which, under the baleful influence of envy, they were endeavoring to excite in the camp.

19 A calf. Osiris and Isis, (the sun and moon,) the chief deities of the Egyptians, whose country the Israelites had just quitted, were originally worshipped under the images of a bull and a cow. Deut. xxix. 16, 17.—In Horeb. In that part of the Arabian desert, where mount Horeb was situated. Horeb and Sinai were conceived to be distinct tops of the same mountain, but are, nevertheless, frequently mentioned indiscriminately. The molten image. The Hebrew word, which is thus rendered, strictly and properly signifies the metal case, or covering, spread upon the carved wood. Aaron's calf, then, was made of wood overlaid with gold. Deut. vii. 25: ix. 21.

20 Their glory. Him, whom they ought to have esteemed peculiarly their glory, because he had adopted them for his children, and taken them under his immediate protection. Deut. x. 21. Jer. ii. 11. Him also, who had rendered themselves glorious above all other people. Deut. iv. 6, &c. Does the tenor of this verse give any countenance to a notion sometimes advocated, that the golden calf was designed to constitute a symbolic representation of Jehovah under the form of a cherub?

22 In the land of Ham. 23 Had not Moses, &c.

See on Psalm LXXviii. 52.
There is here a figurative allusion to the

24 Yea, they thought scorn of that pleasant Num. 14. 1, &c. land, and gave no credence unto his word;

Heb. 3. 18.

25 But murmured in their tents, and heark- Num. 14. 27. ened not unto the voice of the Lord.

26 Then lift [lifted] he up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness; 27 To cast out their seed among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands.

28 They joined themselves unto Baal-peor, and ate the offerings [sacrifices] of the dead. 29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their own inventions; and the plague was great among them.

Num. 14. 28, 29.

Lev. 26. 33.

Ezek. 20. 23.

Num. 25. 3:

31. 15, 16.

Eccles. 7. 29.

30 Then stood up Phinees and prayed, and Num. 25. 7, 8, 11. so the plague ceased.

action of soldiers, when opposing an irruption of their enemies, who are endeavoring to enter the city, through a breach, which they have previously made in the walls. Ezek. xiii. 5: xxii. 30. God not only announced his determination to destroy them, but would certainly have carried it into execution, had not, &c.

24 And gave no credence, &c. And would not believe, either God's intention or ability to perform his promise, though he had hitherto wonderfully protected them, and had condescended to give them the strongest assurances, that they really should inherit "that pleasant land."

26 Then lift he up, &c. To raise the right hand towards heaven formed the customary and ancient mode, among the inhabitants of the East, of taking an oath; for that divine Being, who dwelt there, was thus pointed out, as the witness of their sincerity, and as the avenger of their falsehood. Gen. xiv. 22.

27 To cast out, &c. God now threatens, that, if the posterity of the Israelites should imitate their ancestors' evil example, they will be carried away from the promised land, and die in captivity.

28 They joined themselves, &c. Baal-peor, that is, Peor, the lord or ruler, whom the Israelites impiously worshipped, thus violating the solemn covenant existing between themselves and Jehovah, was a deity of the Moabites and Midianites.And ate, &c. The idols of the gentiles were generally warriors, law-givers, or kings, who had been deified, when dead. To partake of the sacrifices offered up to these idols was to acknowledge them for gods, to the neglect of the true and living God, the creator and preserver of all things. 1 Cor. x. 25, &c.

30 And prayed. The Bible version has-" and executed judgment," which rendering, of course, agrees better with the history of the transaction. On the supposition, however, that our old translators have given the correct meaning of the original word, it does not at all follow, that the Psalmist and the historian are at variance, since, because Phinehas did the one, no reason whatever can be assigned,