The Psalmist prays A. M. cir. 2943. enemy :) 4 If I have rewarded evil un- | thyself because of the rage of to him that was at peace with mine enemies: and awake for me; (yea, I have delivered him me to the judgment that thou that without cause is mine hast commmanded. 5 Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honour in the dust. Selah. B. C. cir. 1061. A. M. cir. 2943. Sauli, Regis Israelitarum, cir. annum 35. 7 So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about: for their sakes therefore return thou on high. 8 The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, 6 Arise, O LORD, in thine anger, 'lift up and according to mine integrity that is in me. a 1 Sam. xxiv. 7. xxvi. 9.b Ps. xciv. 2. - .cPs. xliv. 23. NOTES ON PSALM VII. This Psalm is entitled, Shiggaion of David, which he sang unto the Lord, concerning the words of Cush the Benjamite. The word w shiggayon comes from shagah, to wander, a wandering song ; i. e., a Psalm composed by David in his wanderings, when he was obliged to hide himself from the fury of Saul. Bishop Horsley thinks it may have its name, a wandering ode, from its being in different parts, taking up different subjects, in different styles of composition. But he has sometimes thought that shiggaion might be an unpremeditated song; an improviso. As to Cush the Benjamite, he is a person unknown in the Jewish history; the name is probably a name of disguise; and by it he may covertly mean Saul himself, the son of Kish, who was of the tribe of Benjamin. The subject of the psalm will better answer to Saul's unjust persecution and David's innocence, than to any other subject in the history of David. Verse 1. O Lord my God] Yehovah Elohai, words expressive of the strongest confidence the soul can have in the Supreme Being. Thou selfexistent, incomprehensible, almighty, and eternal Being, who neither needest nor hatest any thing that thou hast made; thou art my God: God in covenant with thy creature man; and my God and portion particularly. Therefore, in thee do I put my trust— I repose all my confidence in thee, and expect all my good from thee. Save me] Shield me from my persecutors; abate their pride, assuage their malice, and confound their devices! Deliver me] From the counsels which they have devised, and from the snares and gins they have laid in my path. Verse 2. Lest he tear my soul like a lion] These words seem to answer well to Saul. As the lion is king in the forest; so was Saul king over the land. As the lion, in his fierceness, eizes at once, and tears his prey in pieces; so David expected to be seized and suddenly destroyed by Saul. He had already, in his rage, thrown his javelin at him, intending to have pierced him to the wall with it. As from the power of the lion no beast in the forest could deliver any thing; so David knew that Saul's power was irresistible, and that none of his friends or wellwishers could save or deliver him out of such hands. d Ps. xviii. 20. xxxv. 24. "Lest he tear my soul (my life) like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver." All this answers to Saul, and to none else. Verse 3. If I have done this] David was accused by Saul of affecting the kingdom; and of waiting for an opportunity to take away the life of his king, his patron, and his friend. In his application to God he refers to these charges; meets them with indignation; and clears himself of them by a strong appeal to his Judge; and an imprecation that, if he had meditated or designed any such thing, he might meet with nothing but curse and calamity either from God or man. Verse 4. Yea, I have delivered him] When, in the course of thy providence, thou didst put his life in my hand in the cave, I contented myself with cutting off his skirt, merely to show him the danger he had been in, and the spirit of the man whom he accused of designs against his life; and yet even for this my heart smote me, because it appeared to be an indignity offered to him who was the Lord's anointed. This fact, and my venturing my life frequently for his good and the safety of the state, sufficiently show the falsity of such accusations, and the innocence of my life. Verse 5. Let the enemy persecute my soul] If I have been guilty of the things laid to my charge, let the worst evils fall upon me. Verse 6. Arise, O Lord, in thine anger] To thee I commit my cause; arise, and sit on the throne of thy judgment in my behalf. Verse 7. For their sakes therefore return thou on high.] Thy own people who compass thy altar, the faithful of the land, are full of gloomy apprehensions. They hear the charges against me; and see how I am persecuted. Their minds are divided; they know not what to think. For their sakes, return thou on high-ascend the judgment-seat; and let them see, by the dispensations of thy providence, who is innocent and who is guilty. David feared not to make this appeal to God; for the consciousness of his innocence showed him at once how the discrimination would be made. Verse 8. The Lord shall judge the people] He will execute justice and maintain truth among them. They shall not be as sheep without a shepherd. Judge me, O Lord] Let my innocence be brought to the light, and my just dealing made clear as the noon-day. 1 Sam. xvi. 7. 1 Chron. xxviii. 9. Ps. cxxxix. 1. Jer. xi. 20. xvii. 10. xx. 12. Rev. ii. 23.b Heb. My buckler is upon God. c Ps. cxxv. 4.- dOr, God is a righteous Judge. e Deut. xxxii, 41. f Deut. xxxii. 23, 42. Ps. lxiv. 7.- -g Job xv. 35. Isai. xxxiii. 11. lix. 4. James i. 15.- h Heb. He hath digged a pit.- i Esth. vii. 10. Job of the unrighteous. arrows against the persecutors. 14 Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood. B. C. cir. 1061 Sauli, Regis Israelitarum, cir. annum 35. A. M. cir. 2943. i 15 He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. 16 His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate. 17 I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high. iv. 8. Ps. ix. 15. x. 2. xxxv. 8. xciv. 23. cxli. 10. Prov. v. 22. xxvi. 27. Eccles. x. 8.k 1 Kings ii. 32. Esth. ix. 25. 1 Ps. ix. 1. xxii. 22. xxviii. 7. xxxv. 18. xliii. 4. lii. 9. liv. 6. lvi. 4. lvii. 9. lxix. 30. lxxi. 22. lxxxvi. 12. cviii. 3. cix. 30. cxi. 1, &c. Verse 9. The wickedness of the wicked] The ini- smaller letter, and included them in brackets. This quity of Saul's conduct. But establish the just] Show the people my uprightness. Verse 10. My defence is of God] I now leave my cause in the hands of my Judge. I have no uneasy or fearful apprehensions, because I know God will save the upright in heart. Verse 11. God is angry with the wicked every day.] The Hebrew for this sentence is the following: or 500 oyr 5xi veel zoem becol yom; which, according to the points, is, And God is angry every day. Our translation seems to have been borrowed from the Chaldee, where the whole verse is as follows: is followed by the prose version in our Prayer Book. The GENEVAN Version, printed by Barker, the king's printer, 1615, translates thus: "God judgeth the righteous, and him that contemneth God every day." On which there is this marginal note: "He doth continually call the wicked to repentance, by some signs of his judgments." My ancient Scotico-English MS. Psalter only begins with the conclusion of this psalm. I have judged it of consequence to trace this verse through all the ancient Versions in order to be able to ascertain what is the true reading, where the evidence on one side amounts to a positive affirmation, "God elaha | is angry every day ; and, on the other side, to as אלהא דינא זכאה ובתקוף רגין על רשיעי כל יומא : daiyana zaccaah ubithkoph rageiz al reshiey col yoma; "God is a righteous Judge; and in strength he is angry against the wicked every day." The VULGATE: Deus Judex justus, fortis, et patiens; numquid irascitur per singulos dies? "God is a Judge righteous, strong, and patient ;-will he be angry every day?" The SEPTUAGINT: Ο Θεος Κριτης δικαιος, και ισχυρος, και μακροθυμος, μη οργην επαγων καθ' ἑκαστην ἡμεραν is a righteous Judge, strong and long-suffering; not bringing forth his anger every day." positive a negation, "He is NOT angry every day." The mass of evidence supports the latter reading. The Chaldee first corrupted the text by making the addition, with the wicked, which our translators have followed, though they have put the words into italics, as not being in the Hebrew text. In the MSS. collated by Kennicott and De Rossi there is no various reading on this text. The true sense may be restored thus: bel, with the vowel point tsere, signifies GoD: bal, the same letters, with the point pathach, signifies SYRIAC: "God is the Judge of righteousness; he is not. Several of the Versions have read it in this not angry every day." The ARABIC is the same as the Septuagint. way: "God judgeth the righteous, and is NOT angry every day." He is not always chiding, nor is he daily punishing, notwithstanding the continual wickedness of men: hence, the ideas of patience and long-suffering which several of the Versions introduce. Were I The ETHIOPIC: "God is a just Judge, and strong and long-suffering; he will not bring forth tribulation daily." COVERDALE: God is a righteous judge, and God to take any of the translations in preference to the is eber threateninge. above, I should feel most inclined to adopt that of KING EDWARD'S Bible by Becke, 1549, follows this Coverdale. reading. CARDMARDEN: God is a righteous judge, [strong and patient] and God is provoked every day. Cardmarden has borrowed strong and patient from the Vulgate or Septuagint; but as he found nothing in the Hebrew to express them, he put the words in a Verse 12. If he turn not] This clause the Syriac adds to the preceding verse. Most of the Versions read, "If ye return not." Some contend, and not without a great show of probability, that the two verses should be read in connexion, thus: "God is a just Judge; a God who is provoked every day. If (the sinner) turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready." This, no doubt, gives the sense of both. Verse 13. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death] This appears to be all a prophecy of the tragical death of Saul. He was wounded by the arrows of the Philistines; and his own keen sword, on which he fell, terminated his woful days! Verse 14. He travaileth with iniquity] All these terms show the pitch of envy, wrath, and malevolence, to which Saul had carried his opposition against David. He conceived mischief; he travailed with iniquity; he brought forth falsehood-all his expectations were blasted. preceding psalm. of death. He had: 1. Enemies. 2. Many enemies. 3. Persecuting enemies. 4. But one above the rest, a lion ready to rend him in pieces; so that if God forsook him, he would do it. "Save me from those that persecute me," &c., ver. 2. II. And then he gives his reasons why he doth appeal to his God, which are: 1. His own innocence. 2. God's justice. 1. He makes a protestation of his innocence. He was accused that he lay in wait, and plotted for Saul's life and kingdom; but he clears himself, shows the impossibility of it, and that with a fearful imprecation. 1. O Lord-if I have done any such thing as they object; if I have rewarded evil to him that was at peace with me, ver. 3, 4, which was indeed an impossible matter. For I have delivered him—as Saul in the cave, 1 Sam. xxiv. 2. His imprecation— Then let mine enemy persecute me—let him take both my life and my honour, kingdom, property, and whatever thou hast promised me. Verse 15. He made a pit] He determined the destruction of David. He laid his plans with much artifice; he executed them with zeal and diligence; and when he had, as he supposed, the grave of David digged, he fell into it himself! The metaphor is taken from pits dug in the earth, and slightly covered over with reeds, &c., so as not to be discerned from the 2. And, which is the second reason of this appeal, solid ground; but the animal steps on them, the sur- being innocent, he calls for justice. "Arise, O Lord face breaks, and he falls into the pit and is taken.-lift up thyself-awake for me to judgment." For, "All the world agrees to acknowledge the equity of that sentence, which inflicts upon the guilty the punishment intended by them for the innocent."Horne. Verse 16. Shall come down upon his own pate.] Upon his scalp, pp kodkod, the top of the head. It may refer to knocking the criminal on the head, in order to deprive him of life. Had scalping been known in those days, I should have thought the reference might be to that barbarous custom. Verse 17. I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness] I shall celebrate both his justice and his mercy. I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High. The name of God is often put for his perfections. So here, by shem Yehovah Elyon; "The perfections of Jehovah, who is above all." My old Scotico-English MS., mentioned at the conclusion of the introduction, begins at this verse, where are the following words by way of paraphrase: Sang falles til ioy; and he that synges well that name, his ioy es mare than i kan tell. Those who are happy may sing; and he who can duly celebrate the name of God, who knows it to be a strong tower into which he can run and find safety, has inexpressible happiness. That is the sense of the above. ANALYSIS OF THE SEVENTH PSALM. I. His appeal to God by way of petition, ver. 1, 2, 6. II. The reasons of this appeal,-set down through the whole psalm. III. His doxology or thanksgiving, ver. 17. 1. The rage of my enemies is great. 2. The judg- Now, upon this argument of God's justice, he 2. He prays for justice to be done to him and to the wicked. 1. To him, an innocent person: "Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness." 2. To the wicked: "O let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end!" 3. He prays not only for himself, but for all good men: "Establish the just." And adds this reason, that as "God trieth the hearts and reins," he is fittest to be Judge, in whom is required knowledge and prudence. 4. The other two properties of a judge are, to save, and to punish; and the triumph of his faith is, that he knows He will do both. 1. He will save the just and upright in heart, and therefore his defence is in God. 2. He will punish the wicked, for he is angry with them every day; and yet even to them, he shows much clemency and forbearance. He waits for their conversion. He whets, binds on, and sharpens his instruments of death; but he shoots not till there is no remedy. But, If they will not return, he will whet his sword, &c. 5. But the Lord's long-suffering had no good effect I. He begins his appeal with a petition for deliver-upon Saul; he grew worse and worse: He travailed ance from his persecutors: "Save me, and deliver me," ver. 1. In which he desires God to be, 1. Attentive to him: 1. Because of the relation between them. For he was the Lord his God. 2. He trusted in him: "O Lord my God, I trust in thee," ver. 1. with mischief; conceived iniquity; brought forth falsehood; and digged a pit for his innocent neighbour, into which he fell himself. Thus the righteous God executed judgment and vindicated innocence. III. The close of the psalm is a doxology. Thanks that a good and merciful God would judge for the 2. Benevolent to him. For he was now in danger righteous, save those who are true of heart, establish The glory and excellence of God manifested by his works, 1, 2; particularly in the starry heavens, 3; in man, 4; in his formation, 5; and in the dominion which God has given him over the earth, the air, the sea, and their inhabitants, 6, 7, 8: in consequence of which God's name is celebrated over all the earth, 9. NOTES ON PSALM VIM. The inscription to this psalm is the following: To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of David. This has been metaphrased, "To the conqueror, concerning the wine-presses ;" and has been supposed to be a psalm intended for the time of vintage: and as that happened about the time of the year in which it is supposed the world was created, hence there is a general celebration of those works, and of the creation, and the high privileges of man. The Chaldee gives it a different turn: "A Psalm of David, to be sung upon the harp, which he brought out of Gath." That the psalm has respect to our Lord and the time of the gospel, is evident from the reference made to ver. 2 in Matt. xi. 25, the express quotation of it in Matt. xxi. 16, and another reference to it in 1 Cor. i. 27. The fourth and sixth verses are quoted Heb. ii. 6-9. See also 1 Cor. xv. 27, and Eph. i. 22. The first and second ADAM are both referred to, and the first and second creation also; and the glory which God has received, and is to receive, through both. It relates simply to Christ and redemption. Verse 1. O Lord our Lord] Yehovah Adoneynu; O Jehovah our Prop, our Stay or Support. Adonai is frequently used: sometimes, indeed often, for the word Yehovah itself. The root 17 dan signifies to direct, rule, judge, support. So Adonai is the Director, Ruler, Judge, Supporter of men. It is well joined with Jehovah; this showing what God is in himself; that, what God is to man; and may here very properly refer to our Lord Jesus. How excellent is thy name in all the earth!] How illustrious is the name of Jesus throughout the world! His incarnation, birth, humble and obscure life, preaching, miracles, passion, death, resurrection, and ascension, are celebrated through the whole world. His religion, the gifts and graces of his Spirit, his people-Christians, his gospel and the preachers of it, are every where spoken of. No name is so universal, no power and influence so generally felt, as those of the Saviour of mankind. Amen. Thy glory above the heavens.] The heavens are glorious, the most glorious of all the works of God which the eye of man can reach; but the glory of God is infinitely above even these. The words also seem to intimate that no power, earthly or diabolical, can lessen or injure that glory. The glory and honour which God has by the gospel shall last through time, and through eternity; and of that glory none shall be able to rob him, to whom majesty and dominion are eternally due. This has been applied by some to the resurrection of our Lord. He rose from the dead, and ascended above all heavens; and by these his glory was sealed, his mission accomplished, and the last proof given to his preceding miracles. Verse 2. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings] We have seen how our Lord applied this passage to the Jewish children, who, seeing his miracles, cried out in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David !" Matt. xxi. 16. And we have seen how the enemy and the avenger-the chief priests and the scribes, were offended because of these things; and as the psalm wholly concerns Jesus Christ, it is most probable that in this act of the Jewish children the prophecy had its primary fulfilment; and was left to the Jews as a witness and a sign of the Messiah, which they should have acknowledged when our Lord directed their attention to it. There is also a very obvious sense in which the mouths of babes and sucklings shew forth the praises of God; viz., the means by which they derive their first nourishment. In order to extract the milk from the breasts of their mothers, they are obliged to empty their own mouth entirely of air, that the external air, pressing on the breast, may force the milk through its proper canals into the mouth of the child, where there is no resistance, the child having extracted all air from its own mouth, which in this case resembles a perfectly exhausted receiver on the plate of an airpump; and the action of sucking is performed on the same principle that the receiver is exhausted by the working of the air-pump. Of this curious pneumatic action the child is capable the moment it breathes; and, its strength considered, performs it as perfectly the first hour as it does in any other period of its childhood or infancy. What does all this argue? Why instinct. And pray what is instinct? You cannot tell. But here is an operation by which the pure Boylean vacuum is made; and this by an infant without any previous teaching! Do you suppose that this is an easy operation, and that it requires little skill? You are mistaken. You have done this yourself while an infant, under the sole guidance of God. Can you do it now? You are startled! Shall I tell you what appears to you a secret? There is not one in ten thousand adults, who have had their first nourishment from the breasts of their mothers, who can perform the same operation again! And those who have had occasion to practise it have found great difficulty to learn that art which, in the first moment of their birth, they performed to perfection! Here is the finger of God; and here, out of the mouths of babes and sucklings, he has ordained such a strength of evidence and argument in favour of his being, his providence, and his goodness, as is sufficient to still and confound every infidel and atheist in the universe, all the enemies of righteousness, and all the vindicators of desperate and hopeless causes and systems. The words may also be applied to the apostles and primitive preachers of the gospel; to the simple and comparatively unlearned followers of Christ, who, through his teaching, were able to confound the wise among the Jews, and the mighty among the heathens: and in this sense our Lord uses the term babes, Matt. xi. 25: "I thank thee, O Father, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to babes." the works of thy hands; things under his feet: dignity of man. thou hast put all 7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; 8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! d1 Cor. xv. 27. Hebr. ii. 8. of them. e Heb. Flocks and oxen all f Ver. 1. teaching, and these changing or converting influences, come from God. They are not acquired by human learning; and those who put this in the place of the divine teaching never grow wise to salvation. To enter into the kingdom of heaven, a MAN must become as a little child. Verse 3. When I consider thy heavens] ki ereh; because I will see. He had often seen the heavens with astonishment, and he purposes to make them frequent subjects of contemplation; and he could not behold them without being affected with the skill, contrivance, and power manifested in their formation. The work of thy fingers] What a view does this give of the majesty of God! The earth is nearly eight thousand English miles in diameter: but to form an adequate conception of its magnitude, we must consider it in its superficial and solid contents. Upon the supposition that the earth's polar diameter is seven thousand nine hundred and forty miles, and its equatorial, seven thousand nine hundred and seventyseven (estimates considered to be very near approximations to the truth), the whole superficies of the terraqueous globe will amount to about one hundred and ninety-eight millions, nine hundred and eighty thousand, seven hundred square miles; and its solid contents, in cubic miles, will be expressed by the following figures: 264,544,857,944, i. e., two hundred and sixty-four thousand five hundred and forty-four millions, eight hundred and fifty-seven thousand, nine hundred and forty-four. Great as we have shown the bulk of the earth to be, from the most accurate estimate of its diameters, it is but small when compared with the bulks of some of the other bodies in the solar system. The planet Herschel, or Georgium Sidus, known on the continent of Europe by the name of Uranus, is eighty times and a half greater than the earth; Saturn, nine hundred and ninetyfive times greater; Jupiter, one thousand two hundred and eighty-one times greater; and the sun, the most We may also witness, in the experience of multi-prodigious body in the system, one million three tudes of simple people who have been, by the preaching of the gospel, converted from the error of their ways, such a strength of testimony in favour of the work of God in the heart, and his effectual teaching in the mind, as is calculated to still, or reduce to silence, every thing but bigotry and prejudice, neither of which has either eyes or ears. This hundred and eighty-four thousand, four hundred and sixty-two times greater. The circumference of the sun contains not fewer than two millions seven hundred and seventy-seven thousand English miles; and a degree of latitude, which on the earth amounts only to sixty-nine miles and a half, will on the sun (the circle being supposed in both instances to be |