enemies, and likewise from the severe judgments, which he naturally expected would fall upon them. It has not been determined, whether the Psalm was written during the persecutions, which he endured from Saul, or at a later period of his life, though the ninth verse (see on Psalm ii. 2.) appears to favor the latter notion. UNTO TO thee will I cry, O Lord my strength: Job 33. 27, 28. think no scorn of me; lest, if thou make as Zech. 1. 12. though thou hearest not, I become like them, that go down into the pit. 2 Hear the voice of my humble petitions, when I cry unto thee, when I hold up my hands towards the mercy-seat of thy holy temple. 30 pluck me not away, neither destroy me with the ungodly and wicked doers, which speak friendly to their neighbours, but imagine mischief in their hearts. 4 Reward them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their own inventions: 5 Recompense them after the work of their hands: pay them that they have deserved. 6 For they regard not in their mind the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands, therefore shall he break them down, and not build them up. 2 2 Chron. 6. 13. Heb. 9. 24. Jer. 9. 8. Matt. 7.23. Luke 11. 50, 51. Rev. 18.6. Job 34. 26, 27. Isai. 5. 12. 7 Praised be the Lord, for he hath heard the Ps. 66. 17, 18: voice of my humble petitions. 8 The Lord is my strength, and my shield; my heart hath trusted in him, and I am helped; therefore my heart danceth for joy, and in my song will I praise him. 1 107. 19, &c. Isai. 61. 10. Sam. 16. 13. 9 The Lord is my strength, and he is the wholesome defence [saving strength] of his Isai. 61. 1. anointed. 1 My strength. My stronghold or rock. See on Psalm xviii. 1. 2 Towards the mercy-seat. This was the place, where God used to answer his people and issue his commands. Exod. xxv. 21, 22. Num. vii. 89.- -Thy holy temple. See on Psalm v. 7. 3 Imagine. See on Psalm iii. 3. 4 Reward them, &c. See on Psalm Lxix. 23. 6 For they regard not &c. Because (see on Psalm xvi. 9.) they take no notice of God's providential interposition in human affairs, nor fear the effects of his wrath, therefore, &c. The present verse has been supposed to refer to the works of creation, as proving, in an extraordinary degree, the power and wisdom of Jehovah. 9 Wholesome. See on Psalm iii. 3. 1 Kings 8. 53. Acts 8. 14, &c. 10 O save thy people, and give thy blessing unto thine inheritance: feed them, and set them up for ever. PSALM XXIX. DAVID may have here wished to point out to some hostile nations, which he had just discomfited, the wonderful power and irresistible dominion of Jehovah, as proved by the terrific sound and amazing effect of thunder. For it is deemed in no way improbable, that a storm unusually violent gave occasion to the Psalm, and that this occurring, as it did, whilst he was fighting with his enemies, threw them into such complete confusion, as to afford him an easy victory. Isai. 60. 12. Ps. 96. 8: 145. 3, &c. Job 37. 4, 5: 38. 34. Luke 4. 36: 8. 25. Job 26. 11. Isai. 2. 12, &c. BRING unto the Lord, O ye mighty, bring young rams unto the Lord: ascribe unto the Lord worship [glory] and strength. 2 Give the Lord the honor due unto his name: worship the Lord with holy worship. 3 It is the Lord, that commandeth the waters: it is the glorious God, that maketh the thunder. 4 It is the Lord, that ruleth the sea: the voice of the Lord is mighty in operation: the voice of the Lord is a glorious voice: 5 The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedartrees; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Libanus. 10 Feed them. Supply them with food, and tend them as carefully as shepherds do their flocks. The idea of government is likewise included. Psalm xxiii. 1.- -Set them up. Uphold them by thy power, so that calamity may never overwhelm them. Perhaps David rather supplicates, that God would render his countrymen, as a people, pre-eminent among the nations for every worldly advantage. 1 Bring young rams, &c. Ye heathen princes and nobles, hasten to Jerusalem, as the first fruits of the gentiles, and offer sacrifices in testimony of your desire to enter into covenant with the Lord our God. Psalm L. 5. 3 The waters. The watery clouds. Psalm civ. 3. Jer. x. 13. Violent rain, then, accompanied the thunder. Ver. 9. 5 The cedar-trees, &c. This species of tree is particularly mentioned by the Psalmist, because of its height and size. The thunder, however, or rather the lightning which precedes it, not merely rends in pieces the common cedars, but even those that grow on mount Lebanon, which are much celebrated in scripture. Judg. ix. 15. Ezek. xxvii. 5. Some of these, it is said, are still standing, remarkable for their great age and prodigious bulk, being from thirty five to forty feet in girth, and throwing out branches, at about five or six yards from the ground, each of them equal to a large tree. 6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; | Ps. 114. 4. Libanus also, and Sirion, like a young unicorn. Hab. 3. 6, &c. 7 The voice of the Lord divideth the flames Acts 2. 3. of fire: the voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; yea, the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Cades [Kadesh]: 8 The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to bring forth young, and discovereth the thick bushes: in his temple doth every man speak of| his honor. 9 The Lord sitteth above the water-flood; and the Lord remaineth a King for ever. 10 The Lord shall give strength unto his people: the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace. Heb. 10. 25. Rev. Gen. 6. 17. Dan. 2. 44. John 14. 27: 16. 33. 6 He maketh them, &c. The fury of the tempest violently agitates the trees, and also the mountains themselves, on which they grow. -Sirion. Such was the name given by the ancient Sidonians to a part of Lebanon. The mountain is styled Hermon in the Hebrew language. Deut. iii. 9. Psalm XLii. 8: cxxxiii. 3.—A young uniSee on Psalm xxii. 21. corn. 7 Divideth, &c. Cuts a way through the dark clouds for the lightning to penetrate into all quarters. Job xxxviii. 25.— -The wilderness of Cades. This constituted a part of the wilderness, through which the Israelites passed in their way to Canaan. Deut. i. 19. The thunder was so loud and terrific, that it shook the widely extended desert, as well as the lofty mountains. 8 Maketh the hinds, &c. Whatever causes great terror may easily produce premature labor, especially amongst the more timid animals. Discovereth the thick bushes. Renders the darkest recesses of the forest plain and visible to the eye. "To discover," in the sense of uncovering, occurs frequently in scripture. Job xLi. 13. Psalm xviii. 15. Hos. vii. 1.—In his temple. On the contrary, God's sanctuary remains uninjured, and his pious worshippers hastening thither, as it is presumed they may have done, when a furious tempest was raging, there speak of (see on Psalm xxxviii. 12.) or proclaim aloud his glory and his praise. Psalm XLviii. 8. 9 The Lord sitteth, &c. Jehovah sits in royal state (Psalm x1.vii. 8.) above the clouds, whence proceed those deluges of rain, which, according to his will, he either sends down or restrains; which also he directs, as he pleases, to the good of his people, and to the confusion of their enemies. 10 The blessing of peace. Every kind of worldly prosperity and happiness. Psalm xxxvii. 11: cxxii. 6. THE SIXTH DAY. Morning Prayer. PSALM XXX. Ir would seem to have been customary, when any Israelite had finished building a house, and prepared it for his habitation, to celebrate the event with great festive rejoicing, and also to perform some religious ceremonies, in order to bring down upon it the divine blessing and protection. Deut. xx. 5. Hence the composition of this Psalm has been assigned to the time, when David consecrated the house, which he had caused to be erected for himself on mount Sion. 2 Sam. v. 11. 1 Chron. xvi. 43. Since, however, it contains no allusion to such an event, but clearly refers to a recent and extraordinary deliverance, it may rather have been written after the angel of the Lord, in obedience to the divine command, had stayed his hand from destroying the people; and when the repentant king, in token of his pious gratitude, had built an altar on the threshing-floor of Araunah, with the intention of offering thereon burnt-offerings and peace-offerings. 2 Sam. xxiv. 25. Dan. 3. 25. Luke 24. 5, 6. Ps. 147. 3. Jam. 5. 14, 15. Isai. 38. 5. Isai. 6. 3: 26. 8. Isai. 54. 7, 8. WILL magnify thee, O Lord, for thou hast set [lifted] me up, and not made my foes to triumph over me. 2 O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. 3 Thou, Lord, hast brought my soul out of hell [from the grave]: thou hast kept my life from them that [that I should not] go down to the pit. 4 Sing praises unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks unto him for a remembrance of his holiness. 5 For his wrath endureth but the twinkling 1 Magnify. See on Psalm xxxviii. 17.---Thou hast set me up. Thou hast raised me out of the depths of affliction, in which, as if sunk in a deep and miry pit, I was nearly overwhelmed. Psalm LXIX. 2. 2 Thou hast healed me. God removed David's affliction, and thus restored his soul to comfort. 2 Chron. vii. 14. Jer. xiv. 19. The expression is, no doubt, here used entirely in a figurative sense. 4 Ye saints of his. This title is given to the Israelites, to distinguish them from the idolatrous nations, by which they were surrounded. Psalm cxLviii. 13.-For a remembrance, &c. That his holiness, as evidenced by his power and goodness in sending deliverance, may be commemorated in a becoming manner. 5 Life. Safety and happiness. See on Psalm xxxiv. 12. of an eye, and in his pleasure [favor] is life: 2 Cor. 4. 17. 6 And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be removed; thou, Lord, of thy goodness, hast made my hill so strong. 7 Thou didst turn thy face from me, and I was troubled. 8 Then cried I unto thee, O Lord, and gat me to my Lord right humbly. 9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? 10 Shall the dust give thanks unto thee? or, shall it declare thy truth? 11 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord, be thou my helper. 12 Thou hast turned my heaviness into joy: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness. 2 Sam. 24. 1, &c. Job 29. 18. Job 30. 26, &c. Ps. 104. 29. Phil. 4. 6, 7. Eccles. 9. 10. Ps. 6. 5. Ps. 54. 4: 143. 7, &c. Isai. 61. 3. 13 Therefore shall every good man sing of 2 Sam. 23. 1, &c. thy praise without ceasing: O my God, I will Ps. 67. 7. give thanks unto thee for ever. PSALM XXXI. DAVID, being pursued by his relentless persecutors, and, probably, in his retreat from Keilah (1 Sam. xxiii. 13), here earnestly supplicates for safety. He describes his afflicted and forlorn condition, at the same time relating the mental sufferings, which he endured from the reproaches both of friends and enemies. His entreaties for aid are, nevertheless, mixed, particularly at the conclusion, with strong expressions of confidence in the divine 6 My hill. My greatness and royal dignity. Any thing, which appears permanent and incapable of being altered, may well be represented under the figure of a mountain. Psalm xxxvi. 6. May not David design an express reference to mount Sion, on which he had built himself a palace, and of which he was declared to have been constituted king by the direct interposition of Jehovah? Psalm ii. 6. 9 What profit, &c. Were I to fall by the pestilence and be laid in the grave, what benefit would accrue to Thee or to thy church? For I should then be prevented from publicly celebrating thy praises, and from bearing testimony to thy faithfulness in the congregation of thy worshippers. See on Psalm LXXXviii. 10. 10 The dust. The human body, when reduced to its original dust in the tomb. 12 My sackcloth. To clothe themselves in ill-shaped garments, made of a coarse kind of hair-cloth, was customary among the Israelites, as a sign of mourning and humiliation. 1 Kings xxi. 27. 1 Chron. xxi. 16.-Girded me, &c. See on Psalm xviii. 32. |