RKELEY 
 
 iRARY 
 
 'ERSITY OF 
 UFORNIA 
 
THE PSALMS. 
 
 IN A NEW VERSION. 
 
LONDON : 
 Printed by G. BABOLAT, Castle St. Leicester Sq. 
 
THE PSALMS. 
 
 IN 
 
 A NEW VERSION, 
 lo t&e 3ftme* usefc m CTJurcfies. 
 
 WITH NOTES 
 
 IN EXAMINATION OF THE DIFFICULT PASSAGES. 
 
 BY M. MONTAGU. 
 
 " Serve THE LORD with gladness, and come before His presence with a song." 
 
 Ps. C. 2. 
 
 "See that thou believest in thy heart what thou singest with thy mouth; 
 and approve in thy works what thou believest in thy heart." 
 
 Council of Carthage. Deer: iv. Cap: 10. 
 
 LONDON. 
 T. HATCHARD. 187 PICCADILLY. 
 
 M.DCCC.LI. 
 
TEnterrtl at Stationers' 
 
 
 
AU 
 
 TO 
 THE MOST REVEREND 
 
 Cfje primate, 
 
 THE ARCHBISHOPS, THE BISHOPS, 
 
 AND GENERALLY 
 
 THE CLERGY OF ENGLAND, 
 
 THIS WORK IS DEDICATED : 
 
 WITH ALL RESPECT, 
 
 BY THEIR OBEDIENT HUMBLE SERVANT, 
 
 20*- 1851. THE AUTHOR, 
 
 448 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 THE want of A New Metrical Version of THE 
 PSALMS, for Church singing, has long and repeatedly 
 been expressed and still more generally felt. To 
 endeavour at supplying this desideratum is what has 
 here been in view. 
 
 Those now commonly in use, namely THE OLD 
 VERSION (by Sternhold and Hopkins) and THE NEW 
 
 VERSION (by Brady and Tate) tho both but more 
 
 especially the latter have some good points, yet are 
 alike confessedly very defective ; and require to be 
 superseded by some one that, if not perfect, yet 
 shall be less open to objection and more worthy of 
 The Sacred Original. 
 
 * % * IN 1844 was published by Messrs. Hatchard,as Spe- 
 cimens of the present Version, "THE SEVEN PENITENTIAL 
 PSALMS Etc:", announcing this for the then ensuing year ; 
 but which various unforeseen circumstances, and the en- 
 largement of our Plan, have prevented from appearing until 
 now. Of that Work A New and enlarged Edition has 
 lately been put forth by the same House. 
 
 The most extensive circulation being desired for the 
 
 Work, along with this is published, both for portability 
 
 and cheapness, a smaller Edition of it, without Notes, but 
 containing all of the Text. In its Preface the reasons here 
 following for undertaking the task, and the manner pursued 
 in its execution, are also stated ; only more generally and in 
 brief, and without the correlative matter given in this. 
 
VHI PREFACE. 
 
 The First, however suited it may have been, as 
 
 it unquestionably was, to the times of its composition 
 
 nearly three hundred years ago, yet is now avowedly 
 and by common consent entirely unequal to the sub- 
 ject and unsuitable to represent it* : Tho generally 
 faithful to the sense, and in many passages close 
 even to the letter of the Text, it is studded with 
 faults that are now impossible to be looked over,__ 
 harshness of construction, meanness of language, de- 
 fectiveness of rhyme, with a general commonness and 
 vulgarity about it, and an entire want of every thing 
 like poetical elegance or adornment. The few pass- 
 ages that might be quoted in exception are not at 
 all of such weight as to detract from this as its 
 general character, but only serve as foils to make its 
 pervading deficiency the more apparent. 
 
 * THO, generally speaking, and especially as to London 
 and the larger and more public Towns, THE OLD VERSION 
 is now disused ; yet it would seem to be by no means 
 entirely laid aside, but still to keep a lingering hold on the 
 People's aifections in remoter and quieter places. 
 
 It appears, by a Return with which we have been 
 favoured from both the Universities, that the average 
 
 number of Copies annually printed (and it is to be 
 
 assumed sold) for the last ten years at Oxford is above 
 
 10,000, something less than a fifteenth part of the numbers 
 of THE NEW VERSION : Which seems a most unaccountably 
 large number, considering how very seldom it is found 
 in use : But many of the Copies, being bound up with The 
 Common Prayer Book, are sent abroad by The Society for 
 promoting Christian Knowledge, and thus get circulated 
 all over the World. At Cambridge, however, it is very 
 considerably less, and apparently dwindling to nothing ; only 
 
 one thousand having been printed in all that time in 1841, 
 
 while of THE NEW VERSION above 200,000. 
 
 As it is so rarely heard in our Episcopal Churches, 
 it might be thought to be still used among the Dissenters : 
 But there Hymns, especially Watts's, are almost exclusively 
 the more favourite Psalmody. 
 
PREFACE., IX 
 
 The Second, tbo altogether free from the faults 
 generally imputable to its antecessor, is not without 
 others and very great ones of its own. It is by no 
 
 means close to The Original, that is to the Text of the 
 
 Authorised Prose Versions of whether The BIBLE or 
 Liturgy ; often rendering them by paraphrase rather than 
 transcription ; and more frequently still altering them 
 both by addition and omission, and otherwise changing 
 their sense ; besides in its language entirely departing 
 from the simplicity of those, for which it substitutes 
 finery and embellishment altogether at variance with 
 both their character and the subject. In other respects 
 it certainly has great merit ; having many good 
 
 points, flowingness harmony and elegance ; being 
 
 for the most part tolerably faithful, and seldom de- 
 parting very widely from the sense ; generally good 
 as verse and always respectable, tho not often rising 
 to beauty and to sublimity never ; while rarely 
 offending by any blemish of importance or that would be 
 excepted to either by those acquainted with The Ori- 
 ginal or any but severe judges of poetical composition. 
 Except as to fidelity, it is altogether immeasurably 
 and beyond all comparison superior to its elder rival ; 
 tho, however of real excellence in parts, on the whole 
 not to be deemed a perfect Work nor at all sufficiently 
 good for its high place. Both these Versions will be 
 found examined more in detail below. 
 
 IT has been thought by some, partisans of whether 
 the one or the other of those Versions, that they 
 might respectively be made perfect (using the word in 
 a comparative sense) or sufficiently good for their 
 purpose, by merely altering what should seem to 
 require change and correcting acknowledged defects. 
 But this for the First is out of the question, and for 
 the Second seems more than doubtful. 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 The mere fact of THE OLD VERSION being a 
 poetical or at least a rhymed Composition dating three 
 centuries back, is surely quite a sufficient reason for 
 it to be now laid aside : Not of course from merely the 
 lapse of time, but -from the especial circumstances 
 
 of the case the natural change of feeling and taste 
 
 on such matters ; not to speak of the unavoidable 
 mutations of language to a more improved state, that 
 must now render it obsolete ; which even if it were not 
 so grossly disfigured as it is by the blemishes above 
 mentioned, and that no partial change however 
 
 extensive could remove : This could only be done 
 
 by new writing it altogether, merely retaining here 
 and there some of its passages ; which would make 
 it neither THE OLD VERSION nor a New One, but 
 something between both, with no distinctive character 
 but incongruity. If indeed this had been done hereto- 
 fore gradually until now, it might perhaps have 
 answered the purpose : Like the Argo or the Bu- 
 centaur ; tho, from successive repairs, with not a 
 piece of their original timber in them, yet still re- 
 taining with their names their first mould dimensions 
 and appearance : But here it would be, so to say, 
 an entirely new Ship ; tho called the same, yet of 
 different scantling and construction, and with all her 
 points at variance from the old. The thing is impos- 
 sible ; and cannot be thought of, as in all probability 
 it never will. 
 
 With THE NEW VERSION it might be more 
 practicable, and perhaps could be done. But this 
 would then also labour under the unavoidable defect 
 of want of unity in its composition. Moreover its prin- 
 cipal faults above-stated are of such a nature as little 
 less than an entire recasting of it would correct : the 
 hand of the mender would every where be seen 
 clashing with that of the first maker ; and it would 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 be like an old edifice altered and enlarged, that always 
 retains some of the defects and inconveniences of its 
 
 first state and at all events always showing and 
 
 reminding one of it, and where nothing is of a piece. 
 This seems the more likely result : nevertheless with 
 judgement and skill these consequences of such an 
 attempt might possibly be in part avoided ; only 
 that it may be assumed against the performance 
 that one competent thereto would probably not 
 undertake it, but prefer to erect a structure of 
 his own rather than thus merely aim at improving 
 that of another. 
 
 THIS task, a Versification of THE PSALMS from 
 the English Text, may be considered in much the 
 same light as a Translation from one language into 
 another ; with only the difference, and certainly one 
 
 of some importance and in this case very gratifying, 
 
 that, saving some few immaterial exceptions, there 
 can be no misunderstanding the Original ; as its sense 
 is perfectly clear, and admitted and consented to on 
 all hands so to be, without difference of opinion. 
 
 Considering this Work, then, as purely Translation, 
 
 and of Prose into Verse and this of the lyrical 
 
 form, it may not be out of place to make a remark 
 on the system (so to call it) here followed, and the 
 reasons that have influenced its adoption. This will 
 also serve to suggest the difficulties of the task to 
 those to whom they may not have occurred ; and to 
 
 offer an excuse partly at least for any want of 
 
 success in its execution ; and which may explain the 
 
 failure where it has been of our antecessors in the 
 
 attempt, as possibly that of those who may yet come 
 after ourselves. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to remark that the verbal 
 character of THE (Hebrew) PSALMS (as generally of 
 
Xll PREFACE. 
 
 THE OLD TESTAMENT) is that of A combination of the 
 
 greatest simplicity force and beauty, coupled at the same 
 time with a very peculiar idiomaticalness belonging to 
 the Country and Age of their production. This has in 
 general been very admirably preserved by our English 
 Translators* (whether in THE BIBLE or LITURGY 
 VERSION, for the difference between these is but 
 triflingf) who, tho with occasional reference to the 
 
 * It is but just to say that the French Protestant 
 
 Bibles generally are also perfectly well done, and very 
 
 much preserving that original character; tho of course 
 
 this will not be so apparent to a Foreigner as to one 
 with whom the language is vernacular. 
 
 t Many Persons are not aware of any difference be- 
 tween them ; not taking notice of it, naturally imagining 
 
 that there is but One Recognised or Authorised Version 
 
 that of THE BIBLE and thence inserted in THE LITURGY. 
 And indeed (saying this with deference) the propriety 
 or expediency of using Two different Versions may 
 perhaps be questioned. 
 
 As to the facts of the case, however, The BIBLE 
 
 Psalms stand there as part of that New Translation made 
 in King James the I 8t ' s time 1611, and put forth as The 
 Authorised Bible, superseding all previous ones. Those in 
 THE COMMON PRAYER BOOK are from an older Version 
 in the so-called Cranmer's or "The Great Bible" of 1539; 
 and were retained in use in The Liturgy when the above- 
 said New Bible was published ; probably not to disturb too 
 violently all old associations at once by such an entire 
 change, especially as The Psalms were always so favourite a 
 portion of Scripture and so much more in common use than 
 any other part of it. But, tho this concession was tacitly 
 made to public feeling for the time, it can hardly be supposed 
 they were intended to remain always in use, as evidently 
 thro oversight or negligence they have done ever since. 
 
 Besides dating at an interval of nearly a Century, as 
 they were by other hands there was unavoidably a difference 
 between them : But this is generally very little, and more in 
 the wording than the sense. The LITURGY Psalms were 
 
PREFACE. Xlll 
 
 Greek Version of THE SEPTUAGINT and especially 
 
 in the LITURGY one, had evidently the Original 
 Hebrew in their minds' eye as well as before them, 
 and so most happily succeeded in imparting to their 
 Versions as much of that peculiar character as could 
 possibly be done in a Translation ; and for which our 
 own rich powerful and plastic language possessed 
 especial aptitude, and lent itself with the most suc- 
 cessful pliancy, perfectly blending in the happiest 
 combination the raciness of its vernacular " English 
 undefiled" with the native Hebrew. It has justly 
 been observed that, in order to effect this, they made 
 use generally of a phraseology not altogether that of 
 
 their own day but somewhat older, at the same time 
 
 avoiding the quaintness and harshness of expression 
 usually concomitant with it : thus giving to their Work 
 that mellowness of antiquity which made it at once 
 what it should be without the maturating process of 
 time; while unapproachably simple and sublime in 
 both its subject and language, graced with all the 
 
 pretty evidently done from the Greek Bible THE SEPTUA- 
 GINT, or perhaps rather from its translation the Latin 
 Vulgate: while The BIBLE ones were directly from the 
 Hebrew, and are accordingly more close to it where the 
 two Versions vary. 
 
 Some think the language of the LITURGY Version preferable 
 to that of THE BIBLE, as older and thus more simple and 
 Scriptural : but in this there is very little difference, as both 
 have occasional passages better in one than the other. The 
 real advantage seems to be on the side of habit, and therefor 
 with the former, from its being more familiar to us in its 
 Sunday's use. 
 
 All this, and more such here, is of course not said for 
 
 those who do not need to be told it ; and, if a fault, it may 
 
 be hoped is not on the wrong side: where information is 
 
 to be given, excess is surely better than deficiency. 
 
XIV PREFACE. 
 
 venerableness of age and the imperishable charms of 
 intrinsic and inherent beauty.* 
 
 To endeavour at improving this would be merely 
 presumptuous ; gilding refined gold, or throwing a 
 perfume on the violet ; as it could but be injured by 
 any whatever alteration. All that can be attempted 
 or hoped for in presenting it in another dress, the 
 somewhat varied shape of Verse, is to preserve as 
 much as possible in every particular all not only 
 of its essential points but those that are in any way 
 peculiar to or characteristic of it, as much as can 
 be done in combination with a metrical form, and 
 occasionally suiting the language to a somewhat more 
 modernized expression : This is what has here been 
 attempted ; tho always avoiding the use of words or 
 phrases not distinctly conveying the sense they are 
 
 intended to bear, unless those having conventionally 
 
 at least such a Scriptural and appropriated meaning. 
 
 It has here been assumed as a principle that 
 
 The best manner of representing THE PSALMS in a form 
 fitted to be sung in Churches, after the old and still 
 accustomed method, is The simplest adaptation of their 
 words to measured verse. In pursuance of this we 
 
 * As THE BIBLE comes to our hands ready-made, it 
 never occurs to us to think about the manner in which it 
 was done, nor to consider the great ability and immense 
 
 labour bestowed upon it, translating into most choice yet 
 
 the simplest english from a language so difficult as the 
 Hebrew and so little cultivated as it then was : and we 
 thus unreflectingly give but very little of their due meed of 
 prai>c to the learned and excellent men by whom the Work 
 was achieved, and who really seem to have been aided by a 
 sort of secondary inspiration in the admirable execution of 
 their great task. But theirs was one of those few human 
 labours that pay themselves, and in which thoy must have 
 had an abundant reward. 
 
PREFACE. XV 
 
 have aimed to give the very words of the Text, of (as 
 already said) whether the Bible or Liturgy Version, 
 
 and those alone neither more nor less, whereever 
 
 practicable ; merely throwing them into the form of 
 one or other of the usual singing Stanzas or Verses. 
 And it is remarkable that, by a very singular coinci- 
 dence, those, namely the Metres* or Measures gene- 
 rally used in our Churches the Common the Long 
 
 and the Short, besides their general suitableness to 
 the purpose in a just sufficient length or extent, are 
 peculiarly adapted to convey the Hebrew Text; one 
 or the other of them for the most part answering 
 precisely to its verses or lines whether whole or hemi- 
 stich a long one or a short: A particular, this, 
 
 which perhaps has not. been taken sufficient notice 
 of by those who contend for a greater variety of form 
 
 in them but even for which the usual Peculiar 
 
 Metres give an all-sufficient diversity. 
 
 In fewer words This Version is merely THE 
 
 PSALMS put into verse for singing, and " Fitted to the 
 Tunes used in Churches": Just what was designed 
 by THE OLD VERSION ; and done by it in a style very 
 proper for its own day, tho now grown unsuitable to 
 ours. THE NEW VERSION seems somewhat more 
 ambitious, and to have aimed at " improving " them 
 by altering their phraseology ; but, as in so much 
 departing from both their sense and spirit, giving 
 much less general satisfaction, at its first appearance 
 and now every day still less.f 
 
 * Of these a short account is given below. 
 
 t It can hardly be doubted that this dissatisfaction with 
 the Authorised Versions, whether THE OLD or THE NEW, 
 
 is one great reason if not indeed the principal why THE 
 
 PSALMS have of late years been so much discontinued to be 
 used in our Church-singing; and for which has been sub- 
 
XVI PREFACE. 
 
 To this loose rendering it is, and not to any 
 real difficulty of the thing, that may be attributed 
 the so common failure in versifying THE PSALMS. 
 For it may safely be held that, the indispensible 
 condition of good Verse being premised, a Version 
 
 will be well or ill done good or bad in the exact 
 
 proportion in which it adheres to or diverges from 
 the letter of the Text. 
 
 stituted such an endless variety of Hymns scarcely any 
 
 two Churches using the same, to the entire abolition of what 
 at least to a certain extent surely is desirable and expedient 
 in the matter anything like uniformity. 
 
 In immediate connection with this point might also be 
 noticed the entirely objectionable practice, some years back 
 comparatively infrequent but of late grown into very general 
 use, and this not only in large Towns but even in remote 
 and primitive parts of the Country, of substituting scienti- 
 fic or at least florid and ornamental singing, which must 
 
 necessarily be confined to a few "Performers" however 
 
 not paid ones, for the general consentaneous psalmody of the 
 Congregation, who are thus left to be auditors or spectators 
 (gratified or not) of the Sacred Song that it is on every 
 account desirable they should join and take a part in ; but 
 which, unless to regular vocalists, is of course entirely out 
 of the question, as being impossible to them. It cannot be 
 necessary here to advert to the exceptions incident to the 
 system of general singing here advocated. In Cathedrals, 
 Collegiate Churches, or other Places of Worship where such 
 is specifically customary, a different one is of course unob- 
 jectionable and only proper : this only speaks of where it is 
 an innovation and manifestly out of place. 
 
 The vindication that is probably made of this practice is 
 
 the incapacity of the Congregation to join in the singing. 
 But this is occasioning and perpetuating the deficiency (if 
 indeed it exist) instead of endeavouring to remove it. If the 
 Congregation were only well led and exhorted to join in it, 
 t fins encouraged and assisted they would soon wish to do so 
 and eventually succeed ; as they universally do in Protestant 
 Churches on the Continent and without any regular teaching, 
 as also in most of our Dissenting Congregation- at home. 
 
PREFACE. XV11 
 
 WE are of course not unaware of the existence 
 of several Versions with pretensions similar to our 
 own*; and some of them done upon professedly at 
 
 Where there are Charity-Schools, the Children, if themselves 
 well taught, might very much help this: But in fact now 
 they do not do so unless occasionally, from the Tunes being 
 for the most part set much too high : their frequent transitions 
 also from low to alt: and vice versa (the vagaries of tasteless 
 Composers, who mistake bouncing for beauty) are very 
 much against it, making an additional and gratuitous diffi- 
 culty. The fugue singing of honest Villagers is a practice 
 
 
 
 Just Published. One Volume 8 vo> Cloth. Price 15*. 
 
 JHE PSALMS. In a New Version. 
 
 Fitted to the Tunes used in Churches, 
 
 With NOTES, In examination of the Difficult Passages. 
 
 BY M: MONTAGU. 
 
 By the same : 
 
 Another Edition of The Above: Without The Notes. 
 Fcap. 8 VO> Cloth Boards. Price 2s. 6d. 
 
 Also THE SEVEN PENITENTIAL PSALMS. 
 
 Being Specimens of The above Version. With NOTES : 
 
 And Early Versions of Those Psalms. A New Edition: Enlarged. 
 
 Post 8- Boards. Price 5s. 
 London. T: Hatchard. 187 Piccadilly. And all Booksellers. 
 
 * Of these, as being avowedly in competition with them, 
 it may be expected of us here to give some account. But, 
 as this has lately been done, and in the most complete 
 manner by another hand,t we shall confine ourselves to 
 
 f Mr. f T. Holland, in his PSALMISTS or BRITAIN ETC: 2 vol: 
 8 TO - London. 1 843 : however apparently little known, a most ably 
 written and highly interesting Work, and one that should have 
 a place in every Library in The Kingdom. 
 
 b 
 
XVI PREFACE. 
 
 To this loose rendering it is, and not to any 
 real difficulty of the thing, that may be attributed 
 the so common failure in versifying THE PSALMS. 
 For it may safely be held that, the indispensible 
 condition of good Verse being premised, a Version 
 
 will be well or ill done good or bad in the exact 
 
 proportion in which it adheres to or diverges from 
 the letter of the Text. 
 
 stituted such an endless variety of Hymns scarcely any 
 
 two Churches using the same, to the entire abolition of what 
 * *~ nn ^uin p.xtent surely is desirable and expedient 
 
 the incapacity of the Congregation to join in me siugm^. 
 But this is occasioning and perpetuating the deficiency (if 
 indeed it exist) instead of endeavouring to remove it. If the 
 Congregation were only well led and exhorted to join in it, 
 tli us encouraged and assisted they would soon wish to do so 
 and eventually succeed ; as they universally do in Protestant 
 Churches on the Continent and without any regular teaching, 
 as alm> in most of our Dissenting Coujriviration* at home. 
 
PREFACE. XV11 
 
 WE are of course not unaware of the existence 
 of several Versions with pretensions similar to our 
 own*; and some of them done upon professedly at 
 
 Where there are Charity-Schools, the Children, if themselves 
 well taught, might very much help this: But in fact now 
 they do not do so unless occasionally, from the Tunes being 
 for the most part set much too high : their frequent transitions 
 also from low to alt: and vice versa (the vagaries of tasteless 
 Composers, who mistake bouncing for beauty) are very 
 much against it, making an additional and gratuitous diffi- 
 culty. The fugue singing of honest Villagers is a practice 
 of much the same sort, tho of a more homely and time- 
 honoured description, but which would be more honoured 
 still "in the breach than the observance"; for, besides 
 the occasional unchoice intonations and other musical 
 inaccuracies of the Performers, they certainly have it 
 all to themselves. 
 
 The new " Hullah " system, now apparently so much 
 in vogue, may do something in the matter. But the axe 
 
 should first be laid to the root of the tree, in abolishing 
 
 all Orchestra Performances whether vocal or instrumental 
 
 in the Gallery, where Congregational singing is desired ; 
 and giving this every reasonable assistance, whether of an 
 Organ or other sober means, and the decent leading of the 
 Clerk. How absurd and much worse it is to give out the 
 
 Psalm " Let us sing etc: " when it is known that it will be 
 
 not "sung" by the Congregation but "executed" by a 
 
 few select Performers and much less to " the praise of GOD " 
 than of themselves. This is precisely the much reprobated 
 Church of Rome; where at least the lighter of the 
 faithful go merely to see the show and hear the music, 
 instead of themselves " singing with the spirit and with 
 the understanding also." 
 
 * Of these, as being avowedly in competition with them, 
 it may be expected of us here to give some account. But, 
 as this has lately been done, and in the most complete 
 manner by another hand,t we shall confine ourselves to 
 
 t Mr. !r. Holland, in his PSALMISTS OF BRITAIN ETC: 2 vol: 
 8 TO - London. 1843 : however apparently little known, a most ably 
 written and highly interesting Work, and one that should have 
 a place in every Library in The Kingdom. 
 
 b 
 
XVlll PREFACE. 
 
 least the same principle of closeness; but which they 
 
 have either so departed from, or been so unsuccessful 
 
 saying a few words on the principal ones ; taking them, with 
 
 the exception of the two Authorised Versions placing 
 
 these last, in the order of their appearance; namely those 
 
 of 1 SANDYS, 1636. 2 Rous, 1650. 3 DENHAM, 1714. 
 4 BLACKMORE, 1721. 5 MERRICK, 1765. 6 MANT, 
 1824 ; OLD VERSION, 1562. and NEW VERSION, 1696 : 
 referring the reader to Mr. H:'s excellent work for 
 particulars and the rest. 
 
 These are selected also from the circumstance of their 
 
 greater number having been privileged " allowed " " to 
 
 be received in Churches and Chapels" : as likewise not to 
 run the risk of giving pain or offence by whatever strictures 
 on the Versions of living Writers, tho fully prepared with 
 an examination of them as well. 
 
 Sandys. 1636. 
 
 G: SANDYS* was son to the Archbishop of York; and 
 of some eminence both as a Traveller and a Poet, having 
 visited and described The Holy Land and given Verse 
 Translations of Ovid's Metamorphoses and part of Virgil's 
 Eneid: His Poems from Scripture were the work of his 
 latter years. His Version of The Psalms appeared in 1636. 
 It is entitled " A Paraphrase etc:" But, from the frequent 
 use of the word in this sense formerly, it would seem that 
 its meaning was not then confined to its present one of a 
 free or large or explanatory rendering in contradistinction to 
 Metaphrase for a close one, but used for Translation in 
 general, without binding the Writer to either one mode or 
 the other : He has followed both, but perhaps rather more 
 the latter. It is in every respect of considerable merit ; 
 by no means without defects both of sentiment and ver- 
 sification, but generally highly poetical, without very widely 
 departing from the letter of the Text and still less from its 
 spirit. A curious peculiarity in it is the occasional ad- 
 mixture of classical and mythological allusions, certainly 
 somewhat incongruous in such a place, but which most 
 
 * Born 1577. Died 1643. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 XIX 
 
 in their general execution of, as not to have arrested 
 the attention of the Public sufficiently to have been 
 called into common use. 
 
 probably were involuntarily suggested to his mind by his 
 former ' profane ' studies. The Verse used is for the most 
 part the heroic couplet: or Metres not of the accustomed 
 kind; and, as announced in the Title, " Set to new Tunes 
 for private devotion : " this by H: Lawes, the great com- 
 poser of the day (and friend of Milton, who has immor- 
 talised him in one of his Sonnets) but little of which, it 
 must be said, redounds much either to the honour of the 
 Musician or the advantage of the Psalmist. From this it would 
 appear that SANDYS did not intend his Version to compete 
 with others for public favour. But, be that as it may, it 
 has always been very much admired in the closet: And (as 
 has already been observed by others) it seems not unlikely 
 that, if " Fitted to the Tunes used in Churches," it might- 
 have superseded THE OLD VERSION or at all events not 
 have left room for THE NEW : tho conclusions of this sort 
 are not always of certain inference ; as the genius generally 
 takes its own direction in any point, and may not succeed 
 equally well in one not of spontaneous choice. SANDYS'S 
 Version, however, tho not sung, will always be read with 
 pleasure by the lovers of verse, and keep its place among 
 the best poetical renderings of The Psalms. For a specimen, 
 his Ps: xxix is here subjoined. 
 
 SANDYS. G. 
 Psalm xxix. 
 
 Ye, that are of princely birth ! 
 
 Praise The Lord of Heaven and Earth : 
 
 Glory give ; His power proclaim ; 
 
 Praise and magnify His Name. 
 
 Worship in the beauty, bless, 
 
 Beauty of His holiness. 
 
 From the dark and showering cloud, 
 
 On the floods that roar aloud, 
 
 Hark ! His voice with terror breaks : 
 
 GOD our GOD in thunder speaks ! 
 
 Powerful in His voice on high, 
 
 Full of power and majesty. 
 
 Lofty cedars overthrown, 
 
 Cedars of steep Lebanon. 
 
 Calf-like skipping on the ground, 
 
 Libanon and Sirion bound, 
 
 Like a youthful unicorn. 
 
 Laboring clouds with lightning torn. 
 
 At His voice the desert shakes ; 
 
 Kadesh ! thy vast desert quakes. 
 
 Trembling hinds then calve for fear ; 
 
 Shady forests bare appear. 
 
 His renown by every tongue 
 
 Thro His holy Temple sung. 
 
 He the raging floods restrains. 
 
 He a King for ever reigns. 
 
 GOD His People shall increase, 
 
 Arm with strength, and bless with peace. 
 
XX PREFACE. 
 
 At the same time, while considering this to be 
 the best manner of doing THE PSALMS for that pur- 
 
 These fine verses, written two hundred years ago, might 
 seem of to-day, and would do honour to the ablest hand that 
 Britain could ever boast. Their noble Measure, too, the genuine 
 English Trochaic or Sevens (that, with any or all others, prove 
 our language eminently adequate to express whether the music or 
 the sentiment of whatso Poetry has ever been produced by 
 Man) is moreover unmarred by the vicious admixture of Iambics 
 that so often disfigure it and cripple its march in nearly all of 
 even our best Poets Milton and Gray at their head. Such 
 quickening numbers as these may well atone for any minor 
 imperfections, even if one could stop to notice them. 
 
 Rous*. 1650. 
 
 This is the common SCOTCH VERSION. Its history is not 
 very clear : but, as well as can be made out from the con- 
 flicting notices respecting it, the principal facts seem as 
 
 follows The English OLD VERSION was taken up in 
 
 Scotland a year or two after its first appearance in 1562, 
 and continued in general use till 1650; when, after a con- 
 sideration of ten or fifteen years on the change, that was 
 laid aside for a New Version, compiled in England by 
 FRANCIS Rous, and adopted in 1645 by the Revolutionary 
 Parliament (of which lie was a Member) instead of THE 
 
 OLD VERSION tho this suppression never took any general 
 
 or permanent effect. That Version of Rous's, with some 
 partial substitutions and alterations, has continued in use as 
 THE SCOTCH PSALMS to the present day. The ground- 
 work of this Version is pretty manifestly our O.V. : for, 
 besides a general resemblance between them, many of the 
 verses and some whole Psalms are absolutely identical ; so 
 as quite to preclude the idea of a merely accidental simi- 
 larity. It differs chiefly from that in affecting a remarkable 
 conciseness, as if aiming to be more brief than the Text 
 itself: but which for the most part degenerates into curtness, 
 where the sense is crammed rather than compressed and 
 at times altogether truncated and maimed ; also frequently 
 
 * Born 1579. He afterwards became Provost of Eton; 
 and died 1658. 
 
PREFACE. XXI 
 
 pose, we would by no means contend that they may 
 not be versified in a more free way, after what is 
 called Paraphrase, and very suitably for singing 
 
 making it to stride from one verse to another, often ending 
 with the next ensuing first line; thus leaving no corre- 
 spondence between the melody and the sentiment, which is 
 both unmusical and fatiguing and of altogether bad effect : 
 This also much injures its exhibition of the Text, to which 
 otherwise it is generally very faithful. Such as it is, this 
 Version has met with the warmest admirers as well as the 
 severest censors ; among both of whom some persons of the 
 highest literary eminence ; in whose pronouncements upon 
 it it is most strange to see in what different lights Men, who 
 cannot be thought otherwise than equally competent judges, 
 will sometimes view the same subject. One declares that 
 
 " as a whole it is most magnificent."! Another calls it 
 
 " the prince of Versions." ! ! And a third considers it 
 
 " so beautiful, that any alterations would prove only so 
 many blemishes." 1 ! ! While, contra, one places it " infi- 
 nitely below THE OLD VERSION." A second says it is 
 " thoroughly wretched in execution." And a third, one 
 even of its own advocates and who recommends it (proh 
 pudor /) as " the basis of an English Version " ! ! ! says 
 
 that " portions of it are intolerable, which the merest tyro 
 
 might infinitely polish." (Compare this with the above 
 " blemish-alterations.") The matter, however, tho we may not 
 be persuaded of the fact, seems to have been really set at rest 
 long ago by Johnson's famous biographer Boswell, who says 
 
 that "Upon the whole it is the best; and it is in vain to 
 
 think of having a better."!!! a dictum certainly highly 
 encouraging to improvement in general. At all events the 
 fact of its having continued for two hundred years (half a 
 century more than our NEW VERSION) the Popular as well 
 as Authorized Psalmody of a whole Nation must imply for 
 it a very high degree of some kind of merit and such as 
 
 well to cover any minor defects at least in the eyes 
 
 of its compatriot admirers. 
 
 In The Edinburgh Literary Journal for 1829-30 is a 
 controversy on this Version between the Scottish Poets 
 Tennant and Hogg: the former, while generally approving 
 it, suggesting its correction and improvement ; and the latter 
 
XX1L PREFACE. 
 
 also, as has in fact been done by many : But 
 this forms no part of our plan, and therefor will 
 not be looked for here. 
 
 violently or rather virulently opposing any change in 
 
 it whatever. Mr. T: views it with the eye of taste and 
 
 truth, unprejudiced (as should be) by any national or 
 
 one should rather here say provincial or local feeling, 
 
 and with perfect impartiality : indeed it is pretty easy to 
 
 see that, tho he blames freely it is still with reserve, and 
 
 that his praise, as if centre cceur y is of a faintness approaching 
 to condamnation.* While The Ettrick Shepherd sees only 
 its Scotchness ; however in fact it is essentially English; 
 clamouring for it at the top of his voice with mere par- 
 tisanship, abusing whatever competitors thro THE NEW 
 
 VERSION, defending all its faults, and (with Mr. Boswell) 
 giving it the meed of unimprovable super-excellence. The 
 question, however, seems to have been left by them sub 
 judice ; and it has not been mooted since. 
 
 Having said the above " nothing to extenuate etc:," we 
 
 feel in honesty bound to add, as our own humble opinion, 
 
 that, generally speaking, to any thing like poetical merit 
 
 whether of sentiment or mechanism THE SCOTCH VERSION 
 
 has not the most distant claims, but on the contrary is 
 entirely destitute of it, and the very anti-phrasis to all Poetry ; 
 and that nothing can possibly be worse, being in every 
 metrical respect to the last degree wretched and pitiable, 
 and utterly unworthy of and degrading to its sacred subject. 
 This " most magnificent" . . . . " Prince of Versions " . . . . 
 " the best etc:" and "basis" of whatever other, we un- 
 hesitatingly place, as a whole, in the lowest rank of them all. 
 
 * But M r ' T: is altogether a very indulgent Critic: For, 
 amidst other eulogiums on Tate and Brady's Version, he proposes 
 
 its versification as_"a model to us in the North one 
 
 double rhyme, or one vicious rhyme (! ! !) it will be difficult to 
 discover in it from beginning to end." Now the " vicious " ones are 
 numerous : And, for specimens of variousness of rhyme in it, see 
 Ps: cxiii ; where, out of twenty-four lines, eight are in the same 
 rhymes : and in the very next, the short and pithy cxiv, three 
 alternates are similarly rhymed out of sixteen. 
 
PREFACE. XX111 
 
 Neither does this one desire to enter into any kind 
 of rivalry or competition (indeed rather entirely depre- 
 
 To adduce proofs of this* would be to quote nearly its 
 every page ; so that it is not necessary to go far to verify 
 this view of it.f 
 
 Its first reception, like that of our O:V:, considering 
 the times and circumstances, is not at all to be wondered at. 
 But, how so polished a Nation as one that justly boasts an 
 " Athens " for its Capital, the mother of a BURNS a LEYDEN 
 
 and a SCOTT, can continue up to this hour the middle of 
 
 the 19th Century to use in its Divine Worship so deplor- 
 able a travesty of the tuneful " Songs of Zion " as these 
 rhymes of worse than Boeotian poorness, is one of those 
 anomalies in taste, which, not to suppose an impossible 
 indifference to the subject, can admit of no conceivable 
 explanation but that of the utter blindness of prepossession. 
 But surely that film cannot be perpetual, and must now 
 soon be removed for a truer view : May the freedom of 
 these remarks, to the furtherance of that most desirable end, 
 be excused in consideration of their justness. 
 
 Denham. 1714. 
 SIR JOHN DENHAM'S^ Version of The Psalms by no 
 
 * For brief particulars : Its good points are closeness to the 
 Text, clearness, and perfect simplicity : Its bad ones an excess 
 of literalness ; poverty and meanness of language ; and generally 
 the worst possible versification, in miserable cacophony whether 
 positive or negative of rhyme, and perpetual recurrence of the 
 same chiefly the e literally usque ad nauseam; the most des- 
 perate inversions, and other unwarrantable licences ; an entire 
 want of the least grace or beauty ; with a total absence of any 
 thing like diversity of any sort or kind, 144 out of the 150 
 Psalms being in the same Metre the Common, and, like the 
 bourdon of its compatriot bag-pipe, all in precisely the 
 same drone: surely any thing but the varied and tuneful 
 harp of David. 
 
 t For Specimens, tho certainly very favourable ones, are here 
 given its Ps. xliii P: 395 and c P: 462. For some other incidental 
 Notices upon it, see P: 357 404 and 418. 
 
 I Born 1615. Died 1668. 
 
XXIV PREFACE. 
 
 eating such) with those Versions that have aimed at a 
 so-called poetical character, such especially as Sandys's 
 
 means comes up to what might have been expected from the 
 author of ' Cooper's Hill,' and can never be considered as in 
 any way contributing to his otherwise well-deserved repu- 
 tation as a Poet. It is generally and as a whole respectable; 
 but nothing more; never rising to any thing like force or 
 beauty nor even elegancy, much less to excellence ; and 
 frequently falling to the lowest point of ordinariness, marring 
 all the previous better parts by passages of the poorest 
 
 and meanest kind sometimes even to very ludicrousness : 
 
 in short altogether of a character not at all above mediocrity. 
 As to faithfulness, it is in general pretty close to the Text ; 
 
 that is in what it gives of this, for it omits a great deal, 
 
 tho certainly without substituting any thing foreign in its 
 stead ; apparently aiming at great brevity, and herein very 
 much after the manner stated above of The Scotch Psalms 
 and with the like bad effect.* It is full-rhymed throughout; 
 and to which point seems to be sacrificed nearly every thing 
 else. The Metres are generally of the usual kind, but with 
 very little variety in them. This Version nevertheless has been 
 very highly praised, and by some (i. a. Tattersall, in his 
 Preface to Merrick's Version) most extravagantly so : but in 
 which eulogium the public opinion has certainly not con- 
 curred; for, generally speaking, it is next to unknown, and 
 does not seem likely ever to be drawn out into larger 
 acquaintance. But, even had its claims to attention been 
 
 much greater, coming as it did so very soon only about 
 
 twenty years after THE NEW VERSION, it could not have 
 
 hoped to supplant that without some very marked supe- 
 riority, in which it certainly was wanting, and accordingly 
 never obtained any notice. It seems somewhat strange that 
 so long a time (nearly half a century) should have been 
 allowed to pass after the death of SIR JOHN before the 
 publication of his Work ; tho, from his having provided it 
 with a Preface, he might seem to have left it ready for the 
 
 * Sec, for a fair specimen, his Psalm I. here subjoined ; 
 on which he may naturally be supposed to have cm ployed, as his 
 freshest, his best hand. 
 
PREFACE. XXV 
 
 and Merrick's : Not, however, that ours is in any man- 
 ner deficient in that quality so far as is suitable to it ; 
 since, being professedly a transcript of The Original, 
 
 press : Yet, as the Editor* (Dedication : To Lord Derby. 
 
 P. xii xiii.) talks of " the numerous interlinings in 
 
 the Original Copies" and his having been moved "to finish 
 the Work," it may be presumed SIR JOHN had not put the 
 last hand to it ; which, being left to be done by another, may 
 in part account for its imperfections. In that Preface P: 
 
 xxv he speaks of " his way of Translation," with reference 
 
 to " the Hebrew," implying that he had done his from the 
 
 Original; but on which the least one can say is that 
 
 there is no evidence whatever of it : In this he seems to 
 
 have followed or rather anticipated for himself the 
 
 injudicious example of the advocates of The Old Version, 
 who have only weakened their cause by proving a 
 great deal too much for it. 
 
 SIR JOHN, by the way, is there, as well as on several 
 others, very severe on his venerable antecessorf THE O:V: ; 
 but which, with all its faults, and notwithstanding ' the 
 effectual recommendation" to the world "for general use" 
 of the illustrious name of " Derby" promised to this by his 
 Editor (Ded. p. x.) his own has not yet succeeded in pushing 
 from its stool and is very unlikely ever to do so. 
 
 SIR J: DENHAM. 
 Psalm i. 
 
 1 Blest is the man, who never treads 2 But makes GOD'S law his whole delight, 
 
 Those paths where evil counsel leads His meditation day and night. 
 
 In sin's deep ways, nor standing fast, 3 As trees, when set in even ranks, 
 
 Nor on high seats with scorners plac'd : Where living streams inrich their banks, 
 
 * Heighes Woodford : perhaps a descendant of Dr. Samuel 
 Woodford, author of a Version of the Psalms, 1667 : spoken of, 
 tho with no great praise, by our author in that Preface. 
 
 f "Dr. Brown might have done well to place in the 
 
 Catalogue of his Vulgar Errors the great addiction which some 
 have to a Version so barbarous, and wherein is exposed (I fear) 
 to contempt the most noble and highest part of Holy Scripture 
 etc:" Preface xxv. Of Sandys he says /.a. that he is 'short' 
 and 'alien to the Text,' of 'brevity,' 'irregular and obscure,' 
 and wanting a proper 'agreeable taste.' 
 
XXVI PREFACE. 
 
 it could not well be so ; but that it aims at representing 
 The Original alone and nothing more, considering 
 that abundantly sufficient to itself. 
 
 Their branches, swell' d with quickening As chaff from corn the wind does fan, 
 
 In season joyful fruits produce ; [juice, 5 Sinners, when judgment is at hand, 
 No blasts the bud or leaf impair : Amongst the righteous shall not stand. 
 
 So all his actions prosperous are. 
 
 6 The just man's ways to GOD are known 
 4 Thus fares not the ungodly man : The wicked perish in their own.* 
 
 Dr. Johnson, in his Life of Denhara, speaking of this 
 Version with little commendation, adds, as if in extenuation 
 
 of its failure, " But in Sacred Poetry who has succeeded !" 
 
 Of course implying that the attempt is hopeless. 
 
 But this is one of those dicta in which the great Critic, 
 in the exuberance of his power, occasionally indulged without 
 sufficiently considering the grounds on which they were 
 based : for most certainly there is no real foundation for it. 
 In the first place his postulate is altogether vague : for he 
 does not specify the nature of Sacred Poetry, which is evi- 
 dently of very various kinds. And nextly he states the 
 assumed impracticableness, not absolutely, but only by im- 
 plication ; not saying that " success " is impossible, but that 
 no one has ever yet "succeeded:" merely begging the 
 question on the one hand ; and on the other asserting what 
 most assuredly is not fact ; as many have succeeded in Sacred 
 Poetry, however perhaps not in producing a perfectly good 
 Version of The Psalms. 
 
 A great deal more might be said upon the point, to 
 
 * Whatever may be the merits of SIR J: D:'s method of 
 working, it will hardly be thought that " the Hebrew " is better 
 represented here than usual by the omission in V: 1. of the 
 simple and beautiful gradation of Parallelism and the loading of 
 the sentence with an involved and not very intelligible redun- 
 dancy of wordery in its stead ; nor that, in V: 2., the trees being 
 set "in even ranks"! adds any truth or force to the clear simile 
 of the Original ; nor, generally, that its syllogistic yet perfectly 
 plain sequence of argument is in any way strengthened or 
 improved by the curt unconnected and confused form in which 
 it is exhibited here. In this instance at least, neither The O: V:, 
 nor any of the other Versions SIR JOHN so much deprecates, have 
 much to learn from his new " way of translation." 
 
PREFACE. XXV11 
 
 In short It has here been intended to represent 
 
 THE PSALMS just as they are, merely clothing them 
 in rhyme for singing : And which the Reader is 
 
 explain the motive or rather impulse of D r * J. in making 
 
 the assertion : But it will be sufficient for the present purpose 
 to say (with all due deference to so high an authority) that 
 we consider it entirely unfounded, and that there are no 
 inherent or unsurmountable obstacles to the thing ; but that, 
 with the proper qualifications for the task, and the ob- 
 servance of its acknowledged conditions, there is nothing 
 whatever to prevent its "success": As in so many other 
 things, it is only the absence of or departure from those 
 points that have occasioned failure in this. 
 
 Elsewhere, however (in his Life of Waller) D ri J: speaks 
 more at large and with greater positiveness upon it. 
 In some very finely turned sentences (considered by many as 
 decisive on the point) but whose harmoniousness has perhaps 
 
 dazzled into an admiration irrespective of their sense, he 
 
 contends that Sacred Poetry in general has little chance of 
 
 pleasing, both from the limited and abstract nature of devo- 
 tional feelings and their unsusceptibility of the poetical 
 adornments that may be given to more positive and material 
 subjects: and which he illustrates with his usual force of 
 argumentation, tho this may not be equally clear or convincing 
 to all. But, without stopping to analyse his positions, and 
 
 to concede both his premises and conclusion, It does not 
 
 seem that Versifying The Psalms comes within the category 
 that debars devotional numbers from giving pleasure: For here 
 is no invention required of the Versifier, as his subject is all 
 before him : Then, by universal consent, The Psalms are 
 admitted to possess all the constituents of Poetry and this of 
 the very highest order : And, what he allows for legitimate 
 
 topics of such, " the doctrines of Religion," " the motives to 
 
 Piety," and " the Works of GOD," form a very considerable 
 part of their matter ; leaving the Artist only to give all a 
 suitable expression : And thus, by the Dr.'s own showing, 
 in no way forbidding success to Sacred Poetry, so far as 
 is here in question. 
 
 Mason the Poet, also, probably prompted by or at least 
 leaning on Johnson, has allowed himself with more such 
 
XXV111 PREFACE. 
 
 requested throughout to bear in mind ; as otherwise 
 he will try the Performance by a false criterion and 
 judge it by a standard to which it is not amenable 
 
 " In every Work regard the Writer's end : 
 
 " Since none need compass more than they intend." 
 
 upon the subject to say that " A literal Version of The 
 
 Psalms may be asserted impracticable*": But which rather 
 betrays a consciousness of his own incapacity for or unwil- 
 lingness to the task than any persuasion of the truth of 
 his " assertion " ; one that we hold altogether gratuitous, and 
 as we hope here to show it. 
 
 So, and with infinitely more reason (if the juxtaposition 
 may be permitted) Voltaire pronounced Hudibras untrans- 
 lateable into french : not long after which it was translated 
 into french and admirably well, and this moreover by an 
 Englishman Townley. So much for authorities. 
 
 Sir R d> Blackmore.f 1721. 
 
 If a good Version of The Psalms might have been looked 
 
 for from any of our Poets or Versifiers it would certainly be 
 
 from SIR RICHARD BLACKMORE, as he seemed in every way 
 
 qualified for the task : For, notwithstanding all the severity 
 
 or rather scurrility of criticism J to which he has been 
 
 * Essays on Church Music. 12 mo - York. 1795. P: 177. 
 f Born circa 1650. Died 1729. 
 
 J This criticism, got up by the ribald and libertine wits of the 
 day headed by Dryden and Pope, was excited infinitely more by 
 Blackmore's hostility to their licentiousness than the faultiness of 
 his verse ; and wherein he earned the acknowledgments of Society 
 at large, for it was by no means without effect. Such Poets (!) 
 as those (the Tom Browns, Sedleys, Garths, and Co:) would most 
 assuredly have been excluded from Plato's Republic, and even 
 their leaders might not have been secure of admission ; while 
 Black more, unequal and defective as he was, would have been 
 retained with the esteem the gratitude and honour that have 
 since been deservedly awarded mm by ourselves. 
 
PREFACE. XXIX 
 
 This then professes to be in every way superior 
 to THE OLD VERSION ; as being equally close to the 
 Text in many cases even more so, and given in 
 
 subject, he most unquestionably possessed the Poetical 
 
 Faculty often indeed exhibiting it to a very high degree ; 
 
 and was moreover a most pious and excellent Man, well 
 acquainted with Scripture, and a good Writer in general : 
 Nevertheless, like so many other apparently competent 
 hands, he must, at least in so far as any excellence is con- 
 cerned, be confessed to have failed in the undertaking. 
 
 His Work appeared in 1721. It is a Complete Version 
 of the entire Psalter, "Fitted to the Tunes used in Churches:" 
 
 that is to the ordinary Metres of THE OLD and THE NEW 
 
 VERSION ; with several Aliters. 
 
 In a short but pithy Preface he lays down, and excel- 
 lently well, the principles (altogether our own) upon which 
 A Metrical Version of The Psalms should be constructed, 
 and that he professes to follow in his own. This is all 
 the preliminary matter; and there are no Notes nor other 
 Illustrations whatever. 
 
 The Version is throughout full-rhymed; but, with a very 
 few exceptions, in alternate rhymes alone, which causes a 
 most insipid and wearisome sameness. The rhymes, more- 
 over, are often very loose; and still worse frequently 
 
 with near recurrence of the same, which destroys all 
 harmony of versification. 
 
 As to the matter, It is done altogether, without refer- 
 ence to any other, from whether The Bible or Liturgy 
 Texts ; which for the most part it follows pretty closely, but 
 so servilely purely verbally as often to give no intel- 
 ligible sense ; and particularly in the more indistinct pas- 
 sages, which it takes no care whatever to make clearer, 
 merely giving their words. It is also wholly deficient in 
 whatever of poetical adornment, altogether failing to give 
 any thing equal to the sentiment or language of the Original. 
 Nevertheless it is generally respectable; close to the Text 
 in so far as the mere words are concerned; and, if never 
 rising to strength or beauty, at least free from absurdity 
 vulgarity or meanness. 
 
XXX 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 better versification : and superior also to THE NEW 
 VERSION; as generally much more faithful, and in 
 
 In explanation or extenuation of these defects, It is to 
 
 be considered that, however long he may previously have 
 been occupied about it, which cannot be known, he pub- 
 lished his Version only a few years before his death, when 
 he was already in old age and his mental as well as corporal 
 powers must have been correspondingly enfeebled : but which 
 leaves the facts the same. 
 
 This Version was " Recommended by Public Authority, 
 as proper to be used in the Churches and Chapels of Eng- 
 land:" (Chalmers.) tho THE NEW VERSION had been so 
 licensed about five and thirty years before (1696) and was 
 now growing into general use. But, as might have been 
 expected, contending with such a rival and one already 
 in possession of the field, it had little chance of success, 
 and was never generally known and soon afterwards wholly 
 forgotten. This "allowance" Sir Richard probably owed 
 more to favour than to any sense entertained of the merit of 
 his Work : for he had been in great and well-deserved esteem 
 at Court during the two preceding Reigns ; as it is to be 
 presumed he was in the present, since the Work is dedicated 
 to George I st " then on the throne. But fame is not to be 
 commanded by even Royal decrees, and Posterity has 
 refused to confirm the Imprimatur. 
 
 For specimens of the Work are subjoined Ps: vui 
 and LXVII ; both among the Optimes of The Psalter, 
 and by no means the worst of his Version. 
 
 SIR R: BLACKMORE. 
 
 Psalm vui. 
 
 1 O Lord our GOD ! how excellent 
 
 Is thro the Earth Thy Name : 
 The Heaven of Heavens is in extent 
 Unequal to Thy fame." 
 
 2 Thou mad'st the mouths of infants young 
 
 With powerful praise resound : 
 Thus to strike dumb the impious tongue. 
 And vengeful foe confound. 
 
 3 When I th' extended Heavens behold, 
 
 The work of Thy right hand, 
 The moon and stars in order roll'd 
 On high, by Thy command : 
 
 4 Lord ! what is man, that he should see 
 
 Thou keep'st him in Thy mind ; 
 The son of man, that Thou should'st be 
 To visit Mm so kind? 
 
 Psalm LXVII. 
 
 1 Do good to Jacob's race ; 
 
 To help us, Lord ! incline ; 
 Be merciful, and make Thy face 
 Upon Thy People shine. 
 
 2 That so Thy wond'rous way 
 
 The Earth may understand ; 
 
 And Thy Salvation may display 
 
 Its fame * thro every Land. 
 
 3 Lord! let the People raise 
 
 Their voice to praise Thy Name ; 
 Let all the People sing Thy praise, 
 And Thy great works proclaim. 
 
PREFACE. XXXI 
 
 no way beneath it in poeticalness so far as this essen- 
 tially belongs to The Original ; any other rivalry being 
 altogether disclaimed, as foreign to its purpose. 
 
 5 For thou hast made him next below 4 Glad let the Kingdoms be. 
 
 The Angels in renown * ; And shout for joy and sing : 
 
 Dost on him dignity bestow, For Thou shalt judge them righteously ; 
 
 And with dominion crown. Thou, of all Nations King ! 
 
 6 Thou mad'st all creatures to his throne 5 Lord ! let the People raise 
 
 Submissive homage pay ; Their voice, to praise Thy Name ; 
 
 And mad'st the World his empire own, Let all the People sing Thy praise, 
 
 And his commands obey : And Thy great works proclaim. 
 
 7 Flocks herds and beasts, that range the plain ; 6 The Land, that we possess, 
 
 All fowl that fly in air ; Shall then yield her increase ; 
 
 All fish that dwell amidst the main, And GOD, even our own GOD, shall bless 
 
 And every creature there. Our tribes with wealth and peace. 
 
 8 O Lord our GOD ! of what extent 7 With blessings us He '11 crown ; 
 
 Is Thy unrivall'd/awe * : And Earth's remotest coasts, 
 
 Thro all the world how excellent Fill'd with His wonderful renown,* 
 
 And glorious is Thy Name. Shall fear The Lord of hosts. 
 
 Merrick.f J: 1765. 
 
 MERRICK'S Version of The Psalms, tho one of the most 
 considerable of any in a particular kind of merit and import- 
 ance that of poeticalness, can hardly be named with pro- 
 priety among The Principal Versions, as it is professedly 
 
 neither a close one nor intended at least originally for 
 
 singing : But, it is so generally placed in that category and 
 referred to as one of the most remarkable in it, that a 
 mention of it here seemed unavoidable. 
 
 The Author himself disclaimed all intention or idea of 
 making it either a Close or a Singing Version : for he speaks 
 of it in his Preface (where are some excellent observations on 
 The Psalms in general, quoted below) as "a mixture of 
 Translation and Paraphrase", and " not calculated for the 
 uses of Public Worship" : and he calls it in his Title, with 
 
 * From Blackmore's here use of fame and renown, applying 
 this latter equally to THE CREATOR Ps: LXVII. 7 (and the 
 former to His Salvation V: 2). and the Angels and Man here, 
 it is pretty clear that he had never considered the true and full 
 meaning of the words, but used them (as even now still generally 
 done in Versions of The Psalms) altogether loosely and vaguely. 
 It is (with deference to better judgements) hoped that our remark 
 upon it, Note to Ps: LXVII. 3. P: 415, will set the point in 
 its just light. 
 
 t Born 1720. Died 1769. 
 
XXX11 PREFACE. 
 
 Another feature in which this Version has aimed at 
 
 claiming a preference over them is Its being fully 
 
 rhymed throughout, that is all the lines corre- 
 sponding one way or the other by similar endings : 
 
 some vagueness, " The Psalms translated, or paraphrased, 
 
 in English Verse". Moreover he says of himself, certainly 
 
 in a somewhat stalking tone, that " he knew not how to 
 
 write in such a language as the common sort of People would 
 
 he likely to understand " : and therefor " does not confine 
 
 himself to Stanzas nor the usual measures": with more of such 
 deprecation of vulgar verse. It may seem strange, that, 
 with such a full and perfect exemplar of that " language " as 
 The Bible Text afforded him, he could not bend the great 
 powers he seemed so oppressed with to an imitation of it for 
 that People's advantage, or indeed how he carried on every 
 day intercourse at all with so obtuse a species. 
 
 MERRICK, then, versified The Psalms obviously not for 
 the choir but the closet : And it was not till nearly 
 thirty years after his death (namely in 1792) that they were, 
 uncontemplated and unauthorised by him, framed and in part 
 altered for Church Service by their Editor, the late D r - 
 W. Tattersall.* Yet, in the face of his clear and positive dis- 
 claimer of any such a design and the little fitness of the Work 
 for that, it has been officiously brought forward as a Singing 
 Version ; and writers have compared it with others such 
 with which it was in no way in antagonism nor had any 
 point of resemblance beyond the form of verse and their 
 common Original : And this seems to have been altogether 
 overlooked by some later critics, who speak of MERRICK'S 
 Version as of THE OLD or THE NEW or any other professed 
 Versified and Singing Translation of The Psalms, not in the 
 least " regarding" either " the writer's end " or the real point 
 at issue. At the same time it is possible, that, notwith- 
 standing the disavowal which was but a necessary apology 
 
 for such a Free Version, he might not have been altogether 
 without a wish that it should be taken up for singing, tho of 
 course he could not so propose it : And this notion may 
 have influenced its posthumous arrangement and republication 
 for that purpose. 
 
 * Born 1752. Died 1829. 
 
PREFACE. XXXlll 
 
 While those (at least in the Psalms in Common 
 
 Metre which are the far greater number, and all 
 
 the longer ones) are, especially in THE NEW VERSION, 
 very seldom so, but only rhyming alternately or in 
 every other line* : An immense abridgement, this, of the 
 
 MERRICK'S Version must then be regarded, not as 
 
 either a Translation or a Singing Version, but as a Poetical 
 
 Paraphrase, in which character alone it is here noticed. 
 It is generally spoken of as the most *' poetical " of all our 
 Metrical Versions of The Psalms. But this at best is but 
 equivocal praise for it, as showing it in so much to depart 
 from the plain and sober character of The Original ; and 
 which, after all, it can hardly be said to deserve, unless 
 excessive and inordinate ornament be thought a greater 
 constituent of Poetry than strength, and elegance seeded to 
 the last degree of effeminate delicacy better than simple 
 beauty ; for in these two severer points it is altogether deficient. 
 It certainly is very well written, smooth flowing and har- 
 monious ; but circumlocutory and diffuse, crowded with feeble 
 adjuncts, and over minute in details, leaving nothing implied 
 or understood ; and generally pompous and rhetorical, cloth- 
 ing every thing in the same flowery language, and with a 
 vast deal of finery both of sentiment and expression of course 
 not in the Text and which is here entirely out of place : 
 And yet, singularly enough, or perhaps rather an unavoidable 
 consequence of perpetual and unnatural inflation, he entirely 
 fails in giving any thing like a commensurate expression 
 to the truly poetical the fine the grand and the power- 
 ful, or even the pathetical parts; always, while soaring in 
 nothings, sinking exactly in proportion to the real elevation 
 of the matter. After this it is unnecessary to say that this 
 Version gives no exhibition whatever of the language of 
 Scripture ; and at times so disguises the sense by its own as 
 to leave that not very discernible, in the substitution for it 
 of a mass of mere verbose declamation clothed in however 
 tuneful-sounding numbers. Its versification is certainly in 
 the highest degree harmonious, choice classical and gene- 
 
 * For something more on this point see in The Notes, 
 P. 365 and 370. 
 
XXXIV PREFACE. 
 
 Versifier's labour; but which, if admitted (as will 
 
 hardly be denied) that rhyme is a source of beauty 
 
 especially in singing, must leave them correspondingly 
 deficient in that particular. This, however, is but a 
 very secondary point ; and, if it were obtained only at 
 
 rally correct : and great artistical skill is shown in never 
 being at a loss for a rhyme, however unexpectedly this is 
 sometimes brought in ; tho it must also be said that occasionally 
 a great deal is sacrificed to it, in forcing the meaning of 
 words, as well as in near recurrence of the same desinences. 
 Moreover it is mostly in Octosyllabic Verse ; and chiefly in 
 successive couplets ; which gives it a great sameness, by no 
 means favourable either to the development of the sense or 
 its own appearance. 
 
 Very considerable pains seem to have been taken to bring 
 this Version into notice, by publication of it in different 
 forms, some of which very costly and with music. And it 
 further appears to have obtained a partial "Authorization" 
 from The Crown for its use in some parts of Dorsetshire, where 
 its first Editor D r> T: resided: But, if ever received at all, 
 it does not seem to have kept its ground even there, nor to 
 have been in any way taken up by The Public ; so that it is 
 confined altogether to library readers. 
 
 On the other hand Mr. M:, besides being a man of learn- 
 ing and of considerable general abilities, was a good Hebraist; 
 which enabled him occasionally to detect, and exhibit how- 
 ever circumlocutorily, depths and shades of meaning that 
 had escaped less competent hands. The original Edition 
 of his Psalms was accompanied, or at least followed a year 
 or two afterwards,* by a Volume of Annotations, chiefly 
 philological with reference to the Hebrew Text ; very erudite, 
 and of course highly valuable to the Hebrew Scholar ; but 
 not of much interest to the General Reader, and taking but 
 little notice of the more difficult and disputed passages : The 
 Work, not having been reprinted, is now rare. 
 
 MERRICK'S Version, then (tho, in its present form, for 
 the purpose of adapting it to singing, considerably altered 
 from that in which it was left by him) is merely a Poetical 
 Paraphrase of The Psalms ; giving no just representation of 
 
 * 4"" Reading. 1768. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 XXXV 
 
 the expense of more important ones of either the sense 
 
 or the flow or the general propriety of expression, 
 
 it would be a defect instead of an advantage, and 
 could only be used as a bad excuse for imperfection. 
 But it is hoped this will by no means be found the 
 
 the " Songs of Zion", except as to a mere general outline : 
 and, from the far-fetched and high-flown tone of both its 
 sentiments and language, entirely unsuitable for ordinary 
 Congregational singing ; being, in fact, whether legitimately 
 within their comprehension or not, for the most part quite 
 unintelligible to " the common sort of People" ; and perhaps 
 not less objectionable to those of higher capacities, who can 
 distinguish between tinsel and gold and prefer the simple and 
 chaste beauty of Scripture to the meretricious adornments of 
 mere "poetical" art. 
 
 His Ps: xxiii is subjoined for a specimen. 
 
 MERRICK. J: 
 Psalm xxiii. 
 
 Lo my Shepherd's hand divine ! 
 Want shall never more be mine : 
 In a pasture fair and large, 
 He shall feed his happy charge ; 
 And my couch with tenderest care, 
 Midst the springing grass prepare. 
 When I faint with summer's heat, 
 He shall lead my wearied feet 
 To the streams that still and slow 
 Thro the verdant meadows flow. 
 
 He my soul anew shall frame ; 
 And, his mercy to proclaim, 
 When thro devious paths I stray, 
 Teach my steps the better way. 
 Tho the dreary vale I tread 
 
 By the shades of death o'erspread, 
 There I walk from terror free ; 
 While my every wish I see 
 By Thy rod and staff supplied, 
 This my guard and that my guide. 
 
 While my foes are gazing on, 
 Thou Thy favouring care hast shown ; 
 Thou my plenteous board hast spread, 
 Thou with oil refresh' d my head ; 
 Fill'd by Thee my cup o'erflows ; 
 For Thy love no limit knows. 
 Constant to my latest end 
 This my footsteps shall attend, 
 And shall bid Thy hallow' d dome 
 Yield me an eternal (?) home. 
 
 Mant. 1824. 
 
 This is the most recent of those here considered as The 
 Principal Versions of The Psalms. It is by the late Bishop 
 MANT,* the learned and pious co-adjutor of DR. D'OvLY in 
 the elaborate Edition of The Bible known by their joint 
 
 * Born 1776. Died 1849. 
 
XXXVI PREFACE. 
 
 case ; but that it exists in combination with all those 
 
 and marking them the more, while not cheating 
 
 the ear of the looked-for desinence the return of 
 
 the same sound, nor giving a half-rhymed verse where 
 the Reader or Singer expects a whole one. 
 
 names ; and therefor might well be expected to do justice 
 
 to its subject at least in the sense, as it fully has done and 
 
 indeed generally speaking in all. 
 
 MANX'S Work, without being striking for any particular 
 excellence, is remarkable for its general merit both as a 
 tolerably close Transcript and a good Poetical Version. 
 Indeed it does not seem to have aimed at more than an 
 equable propriety, being entirely free from ambition or 
 affectation of any kind ; and in that it has perfectly suc- 
 ceeded, generally giving the full spirit of the Text if 
 not always keeping close to the letter, and expressing it 
 in correct and pleasing verse. Dr. M:'s object, however, 
 was rather to point out and reproduce the poetical beauties 
 of The Psalms than to give an adequate and sustained 
 representation of them ; and the circumstance of their being 
 used for singing, tho not disavowed, was altogether secondary 
 to their exhibition as mere Poems. They are accordingly in 
 
 very various metres or rather arrangements or forms, chosen 
 
 by what he considered most corresponding with their re- 
 spective subjects; tho most of those commonly sung are 
 " Fitted to the Tunes used in Churches." 
 
 It is prefaced by an Introduction, entering into large 
 
 detail on The Psalms generally their nature character 
 
 and occasions : but where, considering the chief object of 
 the Work and its not being professedly critical, the analysis 
 
 seems in part needlessly if not perhaps inaccurately 
 
 minute ; attributing more artistical design and feature than 
 is clearly apparent or likely to be intended in the Sacred 
 Songs ; and at all events unnecessary and unprofitable to 
 notice ; from thus clouding or over-covering their more 
 essential and important points, and reducing them to the 
 
 level of mere human and 'profane* lay compositions: in 
 
 this, however, only following, tho somewhat too closely, 
 some previous learned Commentators. At the head of 
 
 each Psalm are Arguments, stating in detail all the 
 circumstances relating to it. The Work is accompanied 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 XXXV11 
 
 Moreover, that partial freedom from the fetters of 
 rhyme enables those Versions to say many things 
 easily and happily in a single line ; which could 
 not so well be done in its full shackles, from the 
 necessity of making some other line consonant to 
 that and therefor saying them in a different and less 
 felicitous manner. But even this advantage we freely 
 concede to them ; for they have very little profited 
 by it ; being quite content to have the merits of 
 
 throughout with some very valuable Notes, both critical and 
 generally illustrative ; giving a great deal of useful and 
 interesting information, which the learning of the Reverend 
 Author both philological and miscellaneous fully qua- 
 lified him to impart. 
 
 MANT'S Version, then, if not of pre-eminent merit, is 
 altogether a highly respectable Performance; without any 
 great pretensions, but of good general execution ; correct 
 and agreeable, and in nothing offensive ; that might succeed 
 in the choir, and at any rate will always give pleasure 
 in the closet. 
 
 For specimens are subjoined his Ps: xcm and c. 
 
 MANT. R: 
 
 Psalm xcm. 
 
 Crown'd with universal sway, 
 
 Sovereign is The Lord alone : 
 Majesty is His array, 
 
 Strength omnipotent His zone. 
 He the World's foundation stone 
 
 Fix'd, that it can never start. 
 Firm on Thy primeval Throne, 
 
 Thou from everlasting art. 
 
 Loud the stormy billows spoke ; 
 
 Loud the billows rais'd their cry ; 
 Fierce the stormy billows broke, 
 
 Sounding to the echoing sky. 
 Strong the breakers tossing high : 
 
 Stronger is JEHOVAH'S might. 
 True Thy words ; and sanctity 
 
 Decks, O Lord ! Thy Temple bright. 
 
 Psalm c. 
 
 Shout to The Lord, thou peopled Earth ! 
 O serve The Lord with holy mirth, 
 With songs of joy before His presence 
 
 stand. 
 
 Know that The Lord is GOD alone : 
 He made He claims us for His own ; 
 Us, of His fold the sheep, the people of 
 His hand. 
 
 Low at His Gates adoring bend ; 
 His Courts with grateful strains ascend, 
 With vows of homage due and hymns of 
 
 praise. 
 
 For goodness with The Lord presides : 
 His ways eternal mercy guides ; 
 
 And age to endless age His pliyhted 
 truth conveys. 
 
XXXV111 PREFACE. 
 
 our respective Versions tried on every point simply 
 and absolutely as they are. 
 
 These Remarks, however, chiefly refer to THE NEW 
 VERSION, with which more especially we are here in 
 
 The Old Version. 1562. 
 
 This Version is so often incidentally mentioned in these 
 Pages,* besides being generally so well known, that it may 
 seem superfluous to speak specifically of it here : Never- 
 theless, to continue the comparison with the rest, it shall just 
 be named ; praying excuse for the unavoidable repetition. 
 
 THE OLD VERSION of The Psalms, and which was our 
 earliest Entire Version, first thus appeared in 1562.f It was, 
 in its complete form, the joint production of several contri- 
 butors ; but chiefly of T: STERNHOLD and J: HOPKINS, who 
 have bequeathed it their well-known names. Thirteen 
 years before, in 1549, Sternhold had published separately 
 Thirty-Seven of The Psalms, most probably intending to do 
 the whole, but died that same year: when the Work was 
 
 * See especially in the Notes to Ps: I P: 339, XV 356, 
 XVII 362, XVIII 365 to 370, XXV 378, XLIII 392, LII 402, 
 LXIII 408, and C 460. 
 
 f Much controversy has taken place as to the Authorisation of 
 THE OLD VERSION ; which it claims for itself in the Title, as being 
 
 " Set forth and allowed to be sung in all Churches etc:" 
 of course to the exclusion of all others not similarly licensed : 
 some contending for the affirmative of this, and others the con- 
 trary ; but of which there is no absolute proof either way. On 
 the one hand it seems very strange that, if so authorised, a formal 
 and official " allowance" granted should not somewhere be on 
 record : And on the other it appears still more unlikely that such 
 should have been untruly assumed, and so long continued unim- 
 peached, when the falsehood could have been so easily detected and 
 at once set aside. The probability then seems altogether for the 
 license ; and especially as this may have been given negatively, 
 sufferance being taken for positive warrant. Mr. Todd, in his 
 Work named below, tho there seems still less reason to call this 
 in question, denies the Authority of THE NEW VERSION. 
 
 See the matter discussed at large, in an excellent Article on 
 Psalmody in general, in The Quarterly Review No. LXXV ; and 
 more briefly in Mr. Holland's Work. 
 
PREFACE. XXXIX 
 
 antagonism : For, without intending any thing unjustly 
 disparaging to THE OLD, it is not too harsh to say 
 that, from its antiqnatedness and general inferiority, it 
 must now be considered out of court. 
 
 taken up by Hopkins, and finally accomplished by himself 
 and the others.* 
 
 This Version is generally very close to the Text ; that 
 is not so much to the Hebrewf as to the Liturgy Version, 
 
 * Accounts differ as to the number respectively supplied by 
 them: but, not to speak of Aliters or Second Versions of which 
 there are six, it more generally stands thus : Sternhold 37, Hop- 
 kins 51, Norton 28, Kethe 26, Whyttingham 7, and Wisdome 1, 
 making up the 150. Three other Contributors are named, Church- 
 yard, Mardley, and Pullain ; but only of Aliters or disputed 
 single Psalms ; so that they may be left out of the account. In 
 all the old Editions, and some modern ones, the initials of the 
 Authors are put at the head of the Psalms, tho occasionally some- 
 what varying. With one or two exceptions, the dates of their 
 births and deaths have unfortunately not been preserved. 
 
 f One of the points, that the champions of THE O: V: are very 
 strenuous in insisting upon, is, as at least they chuse to assert, 
 Its close correspondence with the Hebrew : But which it is here 
 contended 1 Is not the fact (See this discussed more at length in 
 The Notes, P: 369) and 2 That it is not necessary it should be ; 
 since the Translations already existing, whether Greek Latin or 
 English, were quite sufficiently so for the purpose of a mere Sing- 
 ing Version ; as the general sense, and not a literal interpretation, 
 is all required ; tho of course a such would be all the better for 
 the combination of that with the rest. 
 
 But, if these remarks have not allowed to that Version all which 
 its defenders would claim for it ; far less are they intended to de- 
 preciate its real merit, which for its day was very great, but that it 
 is manifestly unreasonable should continue to be so considered 
 now. And full justice is still more done to its principal author 
 STERNHOLD ; who has the high honour of being our first printed 
 Versifier of The Psalms ; and who, tho living in a dissolute Court, 
 undertook the task (as stated in the Title to the early Editions) to 
 stem and counteract the tide of licentiousness then flowing over 
 the Land in the common songs of the People, by endeavouring 
 thus to substitute for them the elevating and purifying " Songs of 
 Zion ": A motive reflecting far greater honour upon him than 
 any to be gained by its mere execution however good : From this 
 there can be no detraction ; and, tho immortality may be denied 
 to the Poet, STERNHOLD THE GOOD MAN will never die. 
 
PREFACE, 
 
 Again, A single line, or a verse, or even occasion- 
 ally a whole Piece where short, may always be 
 
 selected out of any one of such rival Performances as 
 
 which was that of The Bible of its day. And this, now at 
 least that a better style good language and correct versi- 
 fication are indispensible to a such, is its best point ; for 
 
 both its diction and poetry (or rather rhyming, for of real 
 poetry it is entirely destitute) are for the most part of the 
 poorest possible kind, the former cold feeble and mean, and 
 
 the latter to the last degree inharmonious harsh rugged 
 
 and in every way faulty.* Nearly all our Writers (See 
 especially Warton History of Poetry, H: K: White, J: 
 Hughes, and Sir J: Denham) who have had occasion to name 
 this Version, speak of it in the most reprobative and con- 
 temptuous terms: While, on the other hand, it has been 
 
 defended among others by Abp: Seeker and Dps: Beve- 
 
 ridge f and Horsley J ; and has found advocates even in our 
 
 * For more particulars: General prosaicalness, while with 
 forced and tortuous inversions; strained applications of words 
 for the rhyme ; rhymes frequently very bad, lax and arbitrary, 
 now with one assonance and now with another, and frequently of 
 near recurrence ; omission of the definite article ; and in all much 
 the same as above said of The Scotch Version. 
 
 Its Ps: XV and C are here given incidentally, at P: 357 
 and 462. But see the respective Notes. 
 
 f Bp. Beveridge : In his " Defence of The Old Metrical Version 
 of The Psalms." 12 mo - London. 1710. 
 
 This was published ten or fifteen years after the appearance of 
 THE NEW VERSION, and when that was beginning to be received 
 into general use : And its object seems to have been to extol THE 
 O: V:, giving it the most unqualified praise, at the expense of its 
 new rival, to which it allows no merit whatever, avowedly with 
 the view of obstructing its adoption. 
 
 I Bp. Horsley : In his Partial Translation of The Psalms : For 
 some account of which see here in The Notes P. 351. The learned 
 Bishop there follows his brother Prelate in all points, only per- 
 haps with more inveteracy, and altogether begging the question for 
 his arguments. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 better than that of another ; and such may very pro- 
 bably be found in THE NEW VERSION or any of the 
 others as opposed to One here. But the test of 
 
 own day ; * but the grounds of whose praise are certainly 
 beyond common discernment to perceive. At the same 
 time there is a truth of feeling and a forcible plainness 
 about it ; which, coupled with the fervour and simplicity of 
 the matter, makes it both very pleasing and very effective to 
 
 untutored minds and no doubt much more so than would 
 
 be a more artificial and polished composition that should be 
 less within their reach. Moreover it must be borne in mind, 
 that, tho this seems so faulty to us now, it undoubtedly was 
 not so considered in its own day, however perhaps not 
 passing for the best poetry, but sufficiently serving the 
 purpose of a Singing Version, which indeed was its only 
 end. The time of its appearance, too, was certainly highly 
 favourable to the reception of the Work : a new Religion, 
 so to say, warming the hearts and exciting the imaginations 
 
 * The late Archdeacon Todd : In his " Observations on The 
 Metrical Versions of the Psalms, &c:" 8 VO - London. 1822. 
 
 As to Mr. T:, however great his abilities or good his intentions, 
 his opinions on the matter can have very little weight, nor can his 
 narrowness of view here be wondered at, when we see in 
 him the Continuator of JOHNSON'S DICTIONARY ; where, while 
 adding a few unavoidable old words he rejects numerous others 
 merely because they are new ; retaining all its antiquated ortho- 
 graphy ; and perpetuates the gross absurdity of considering the 
 I and J and the U and V respectively as one letter, because they once 
 were so, when (now and even for two centuries back) they are as 
 different and distinct Consonant and Vowel as any four name- 
 able letters of the Alphabet. And yet do we see to this very 
 day this ignorant impropriety persevered in, servum pecus like, 
 by some Publishers in Dictionaries Vocabularies Concord- 
 ances and other Alphabetical Books of Reference because once so, 
 to the great and gratuitous vexation trouble and loss of time 
 of all who have occasion to consult them ! ! ! While Truth 
 keeps at the bottom of her well to a yet indefinite time, how slow 
 is Common Sense to re- assert its rights, when once trodden down 
 by Dulness Pedantry and Conventionalism ! 
 
 The chief object, however, of Mr. T :'s Book, and wherein he 
 argues with judiciousness and propriety tho with somewhat too 
 limited a view of his subject, is to deprecate the want of uniformity 
 in the genera! singing of Psalms. 
 
Xlii PREFACE. 
 
 superiority is not in such partial instances, but in the 
 general character of the whole and considering all the 
 points that by common consent are required or ad- 
 
 of People generally, the Reformation then being hardly 
 settled ; and all eager to enjoy their new liberty of worship ; 
 they joined in the Sacred Song with an exultation made up 
 of personal feeling not less than abstract devotion, and 
 almost as an amusement as well as a duty ; and, even if 
 fastidiously inclined, could not then stop critically to ex- 
 amine their new Psalms ; which once taken into use, 
 custom and habit soon confirmed the choice (if indeed the 
 adoption could be so called where there was no selection) 
 as if it had been from the first a deliberate one. But now, 
 circumstances being entirely different, we may and indeed 
 
 are bound to look at the matter more closely; and we 
 
 cannot but see that those Psalms, besides being in every 
 respect unequal to and unworthy of their Sacred Exemplar, 
 are altogether below the present standard of general intel- 
 ligence and instruction, and that, with every thing else 
 of the kind, such a Work should accordingly be raised to 
 a suitable level. 
 
 THE OLD VERSION, then, was very good for its time 
 and purpose, and has well performed its really important 
 part : and, tho now out of date, it still retains some of the 
 odour whose antiseptic fragrance has preserved it so long, 
 but which can no longer keep it from decay. It seems 
 therefor that it should now obey the universal law, and, 
 being worn out, give way to some new and more vigorous 
 creation, for a truer representation of its inspired archetype. 
 
 New Version. 1696. 
 
 THE NEW VERSION appeared in 1696. It was the 
 joint production of Dr. N. BRADY* D:D: and NAHUM TATEf 
 the Poet Laureate, both natives of Ireland. Many years 
 before its appearance, complaints had been general and loud 
 in the more refined part of the Land, and especially the 
 Metropolis, against the continued use of THE OLD VERSION ; 
 
 * Born 1659. Died 1726. t Born 1652. Died 1715. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 rnitted to constitute excellence in such a Work ; and 
 here with particular reference to the principle upon 
 
 from the barbarousness the ruggedness and meanness 
 
 of its style and its generally inadequate exhibition of the 
 Sacred Song. So that the Public was quite prepared to 
 
 give a favourable reception or at least a fair trial to any 
 
 new Version that should come forward with fair claims to 
 supplant it : And in such, tho by no means otherwise perfect, 
 TATE AND BRADY'S was certainly not deficient; that ac- 
 cordingly, when it did come out, and armed as it was with 
 the Royal Authority recommending its acceptance, and 
 supported by the highest Church patronage, it was freely 
 welcomed, and in no long while took a firm hold on the 
 public mind and became generally popular. From that 
 time to the present THE NEW VERSION has continued grow- 
 ing into favour ; in so far at least as it is opposed to THE OLD ; 
 which it has for many years past pretty generally super- 
 seded : tho (as already said) by no means altogether ; for, 
 from it is to be assumed the affection of long acquaint- 
 ance and old friendship and tenacity of habit quite as much 
 as from deliberate choice, a lingering fondness is still enter- 
 tained in the remoter parts the nooks and corners of the 
 
 Land for the time-honoured strains of STERNHOLD AND 
 
 HOPKINS, and which it will probably yet take many years 
 to displace whether by those of TATE AND BRADY 
 or any other. 
 
 The character of THE NEW VERSION is generally, 
 
 A rather loose and paraphrastical rendering of the Text (very 
 much so as compared with THE O:V:) besides altogether 
 departing from its characteristic simplicity; and with very 
 little of its idiomatic phraseology and peculiar turn of 
 expression, which indeed is no longer recognised in that: 
 Otherwise of a good style of composition alike of language 
 and verse, tho with some habitual vices and many occasional 
 defects of both. It is, with an exception presently to be 
 noticed, more remarkable for a general equalness, which it 
 is not too disparaging to call ' mediocrity,' than for variation 
 of excellence and ordinariness ; ' excellence ' indeed it very 
 seldom displays at all, and but little of either elevation force 
 or beauty : But there is a general air of correctness and 
 occasionally of elegance about it ; which, joined to consider- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 which this one is done, namely _ a close imitation of 
 the Original. And on this ground, trusting to the 
 
 able glitter, appears to dazzle the cursory Reader into a 
 
 notion of much more merit in it than it really possesses 
 
 tho it unquestionably has a great deal; and it never falls 
 into any thing like the prosaic meanness and vulgarity of the 
 other. For details : It is continually aiming at antithesis 
 and point ; its ideas are often vague and inaccurate, its 
 words strained and forced in their application, and its ver- 
 sification as to rhyme * incorrect: in all which, except of 
 
 course the last particular, it is equally at variance with the 
 Text and its elder rival. It has however many fine pas- 
 sages ; and some of its shorter Psalms may be called perfect. 
 
 One great and pervading fault of this Version is, that it 
 
 seems to sacrifice every thing to or at least to content itself 
 
 with the display and effect of a good opening, as if think- 
 ing to win the campaign by a grand demonstration and the 
 first battle ; for the rest is very seldom any way equal to the 
 beginning, nor at all correspondingly sustained to the end : 
 In this again it entirely differs from THE O:V: ; which not 
 infrequently, like a good picture that continually improves 
 upon acquaintance, on re-examination discovers some good 
 point not observed before ; while, the more showy glare of 
 the first once over, it will not bear a closer inspection, and 
 soon ceases to give any pleasure if it does not leave disgust. 
 
 Like THE O:V:, and as probably would any other with 
 
 even more decided merit, this Version has had as well 
 
 as great admirers severe reprovers; but wherein the latter 
 
 seem much the more unjust of the two.f Among the more 
 important of these, Bp: Beveridge, in his " Defence of 
 The Old Version," speaks of it in the most dis- 
 
 * This especially to English ears, from the Irish pronun- 
 ciation of many words differing from ours and making desinences 
 that are not so to us. As to Rhyme, again, like THE O:V:, a 
 considerable part of it, nearly all the Psalms in Common Metre 
 (eighty-four out of ninety-four) among which are almost all 
 the longest ones including the CXIXth, are only half- rhymed, 
 and in so much imperfect. See more on this in P: 370. 
 
 t Its Ps: XV is here given incidentally, at P: 357, as 
 compared with that of THE O:V: and our own. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 justice and candour of the Reader upon bis duly com- 
 paring both these Versions with the Text and with 
 
 paraging terms and without allowing it any merit what- 
 ever. And Bp: Horsley, following him in his injudicious 
 " Defence," in the Preface to his own Partial Trans- 
 lation of The Psalms (both spoken of above) calls it 
 " careless and inadequate " and " contemptible in the little- 
 ness and poverty of its style": The first part of this censure 
 may not be undeserved, tho it equally applies more or less to 
 every other nameable Version ; but the last (unless the 
 learned Prelate uses the words in a very different sense 
 from their common acceptation) is entirely unjust, as any 
 page or number of its pages will prove: THE NEW VERSION, 
 however defective, is in nothing " contemptible " ; and its 
 " style " has neither " littleness " nor " poverty," but, quite 
 on the contrary, is faulty in unsuitable floridness and ex- 
 uberance which by some may be considered rather as 
 
 grandeur and richness. The excellent Bp: must have 
 taken but a very hasty or prejudiced view of it to pass such 
 a judgement as this, which is contradicted by the unanimous 
 opinion of all others who have written on the subject and of 
 The Public in general. 
 
 Within the century and a half elapsed since THE NEW 
 VERSION has been in use, not less than half a hundred 
 Complete Versions of The Psalms, designed (if their Authors 
 meant any thing by their publication) however perhaps not 
 
 avowedly so for public use to the supersession of that, 
 
 have been put forth ; among these some both of the earlier 
 
 and more recent ones by the most eminent poetical hands 
 
 of the Nation, and some with the like Royal Authority for 
 their use ; and yet not one of them, however belauded or 
 extolled and set up above this, has succeeded in the remotest 
 
 degree not in supplanting it but in competing with it at 
 
 all or obtaining any share of public notice or favour. The 
 great difficulty of getting a comparison instituted for trial of 
 respective merits must no doubt be taken into consideration 
 as a set off against the hitherto unshaken stability of THE 
 NEW VERSION: But, still, the Public could hardly have 
 been blind to the merit of an adequately rival or superior 
 Version, had one of them really been such ; nor could the 
 voice, which then must have been raised in favour of it, 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 each other, the present one will fearlessly join issue 
 with THE NEW VERSION, and therefor with all or 
 
 have been suppressed nor have died away without making 
 itself heard to that effect : so that the fact alone of its long 
 undisputed sovereignty must prove for it a very high order 
 of merit, and one sufficient to justify its claims as long as 
 none can come forward with greater. And it is here pre- 
 sumed to think, therein concurring with what must be con- 
 sidered the general opinion, that, whatever may be its 
 
 faults or deficiencies, as a whole it has hitherto been un- 
 equalled, and in comparison with its rivals well deserving its 
 
 high pre-eminence ; and that, as a Singing Version of The 
 Psalms, THE NEW VERSION is by much the best that has 
 yet appeared. To that, if the Field permit, the present one 
 now throws down the glove. 
 
 For a Summary of this View of the Principal Versions, 
 including the two Authorized ones 
 
 Rous's (1650) is only mentioned as that used in The 
 Scottish Church ; being otherwise, from its general poorness, 
 altogether unworthy of notice. 
 
 SANDYS'S (1636) is very poetical, and generally good; 
 but, from being set to other than the common Church Mea- 
 sures, is not suited for Congregational singing. 
 
 DENHAM'S (1714) is respectable, but nothing more; with 
 little to censure, but still less to praise. 
 
 BLACKMORE'S (1721) like the last, if without any great 
 blemishes, is equally devoid of beauties, and can at best only 
 lay claim to mediocrity. 
 
 MERRICK'S (1765) is merely a Poetical Paraphrase: and 
 otherwise, from its highly florid and artificial character, not 
 adapted for common use. 
 
 MANX'S (1824) has a great deal of merit, but not of a 
 kind sufficient to give it claims to pre-eminence ; besides 
 being little fitted to the common Church tunes. 
 
 THE OLD VERSION (1562) is substantially of real 
 excellence ; but so antiquated in structure and language, as 
 now, tho always respected and still occasionally used, to have 
 become altogether obsolete. 
 
 THE NEW VERSION (1696) is in essentials less good than 
 THE OLD, but in other respects far superior to it; and, tho 
 with many defects, taken as a whole, for a just representation 
 of The Sacred Songs, is by much the best existing. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 any others;* that (as already said) being here considered, 
 as a whole, not to have been surpassed by any which 
 has yet appeared. 
 
 On a general review and synopsis of the actual entire 
 number of Whole Versions of The Psalter (exclusive of the 
 present) there appears to be Seventy -Jive : Of which Sixty-six 
 
 are of a general character, that is simply Metrical Versions, 
 
 more or less close to the Text, and intended for singing: 
 
 Six spiritualized or rather Christianized; applying all the 
 
 passages that can in any way be made to bear such an inter- 
 pretation, and indeed many others, to THE SAVIOUR instead 
 of David ; but also meant for singing : and One in heroic 
 couplets : besides Three in Blank Verse, and Two in MS: 
 For a bird's-eye view of these, drawn from materials in 
 Mr. Holland's Work and other sources, see a Table at the End. 
 
 It certainly seems strange that, with the great and varied 
 poetical talent of this Country, out of so many nearly Four 
 Score Versions of the Psalms, not one should have been 
 thought so good, or at least have given sufficient general 
 satisfaction, as to be considered a fair representation of the 
 subject and received as such without desire for a better : tho, 
 to a certain extent, this must be conceded to have been the 
 claim of THE NEW VERSION for more than a century : But, 
 
 that such now at least and for many years past is the case 
 
 cannot be denied : The fact of by far the greatest part of 
 
 those Versions (fifty just two-thirds) having appeared since 
 
 THE NEW is an abundant proof of it. 
 
 This must stand as a sufficient justification for any endea- 
 vour to supply the desideratum : And it is trusted, whatever 
 may be thought of the manner in which the present one has 
 been attempted, that the consideration will be allowed its full 
 weight in our favour. 
 
 * A not bad test of the quality of the different Versions 
 would be what might be called an "Arithmetical Proof"; 
 
 namely turning them into a Prose as near as possible that 
 
 of Scriptural language, and comparing this with the Text 
 
 itself whether of the Bible or Liturgy Psalms. In such a 
 
 comparison we should have little fear for the exhibition 
 of our own. 
 
XlVlll PREFACE. 
 
 IT may be well here to say a word generally on 
 
 these Sacred Songs, their history character and 
 
 purposes ; since, being presented to us as they chiefly 
 are in The Liturgy Service as detached Compositions, 
 these points may not always be taken notice of, tho 
 greatly demanding attention. 
 
 THE PSALMS* are a Collection of Divine Poems, 
 composed on different occasions both public and pri- 
 vate, chiefly in thanksgiving prayer and praise, 
 
 and occasionally of narrative or history prophecy 
 
 and doctrine. Some of them are the outpouring only 
 
 of the Writer's own heart, under various circumstances 
 
 mostly of affliction or calamity ; and a few are Hymns, 
 or Odes^ , in exaltation of the power glory and goodness 
 of GOD : But their greater number are of a more mixed 
 and extended nature ; and suited for the common use 
 of Worshippers in general ; tho of course somewhat 
 less for us, in a different state of Society and under 
 a more benignant Dispensation, than those for whom 
 they were written. 
 
 * The name " Psalras " comes from the greek psalma 
 1 a song ' : which shows that they were intended and ac- 
 customed to be sung, whether with music or otherwise. 
 
 They are called in the Hebrew so usually written Sepher 
 
 Tehillim, or The Book of Praises'; the praise of GOD 
 being their chief subject. The Fathers distinguished 
 
 between The Psalms and other such Songs, by calling 
 Canticles such as were sung by the voice only, while the 
 former were always accompanied with music. 
 
 t Some Writers have classed them under still more 
 varied denominations; such as War or Triumphal Songs 
 
 as it were lo P&ans, Idyls, Elegies, Monodies, and 
 
 even Dramatic Odes: But which seems much too far- 
 fetched and at all events an unnecessary sub-division ; as 
 they all resolve themselves under one or other of the heads 
 named in the Text, and to which for simplicity it seems 
 better they should be confined. 
 
PREFACE. xx 
 
 But the most remarkable point about them gene- 
 rally, or at least in a very considerable part of them, 
 
 is Their two-fold sense : The primary, or positive one, 
 
 being simply what appears on the surface : And the 
 secondary, by far the most important, a typical one*; 
 prefigurative of HIM (already thus, and perhaps long 
 
 before, announced) The MESSIAH the 'Sent'; who 
 
 was thereafter, in the assumption of the human 
 condition, by His sufferings and death to redeem 
 fallen Man from sin and its penalty ; and ultimately, 
 while reigning HIMSELF in Heaven, to establish His 
 Church triumphantly universally and permanently 
 upon Earth. This, while in many instances abun- 
 dantly self-evident, has been pointed out in detail 
 and commented upon by many pious and learned men 
 of all agesf ; and in our own times by none more fully 
 
 * In some of our Metrical Versions of The Psalms, as 
 
 among others Watts's G code's and Marsh's, this has been 
 
 to a more or less degree transferred into the Text: But 
 which gives them the nature, not of a Transcript nor even a 
 
 Paraphrase, but of something difficult to denominate, an 
 
 Indefinite Imitation, which, however well founded, has no 
 positive Original, and is liable to differ from any other con- 
 structed on a similar plan, and that can have no determinate 
 character but the absence of any. Moreover there is 
 
 perhaps no little undue boldness in thus, with whatever good 
 motive, obtruding interpretations that may not always be the 
 true and at all events are often not evident ; as, where such 
 may be found not sufficiently supported, it may shake faith 
 in other and incontestable instances. But, under any cir- 
 cumstances, Transcription (the duty here) should confine 
 itself to close Copy ; as otherwise there is no security 
 against misrepresentation. 
 
 f There is no portion of Scripture, perhaps no Com- 
 positions whatever, that have more been the subject of notice 
 than THE PSALMS. The Scholia Comments and Annota- 
 tions, and " Improvements " or Spiritualizations, upon them, 
 besides those of The Fathers, ever since The Reformation, 
 
 d 
 
1 PREFACE. 
 
 ably and convincingly than the late Bp: Home, whom 
 it would be altogether presumptuous to follow here or 
 do more than refer to his excellent and every where 
 accessible Work : * While, in conjunction with verbal 
 criticism, to speak only of the more modern ones, 
 Lowth Mudge Merrick Dimock Durell Horsley 
 and Clarke have left nothing unsaid on the subject.^ 
 
 Tho called, for a general name, THE PSALMS OF 
 DAVID; from his having written their greater part, 
 or at least a very considerable number of them J; they 
 are by different hands, all of whom are not known, 
 
 but especially in modern times, are infinite ; and almost 
 every year added to by new. But nothing can be said more 
 to the purpose than has been done in the Works above 
 named, any additions to which now can be little more than 
 mere variations of the same thing. 
 
 * " Commentary on The Book of Psalms." First pub- 
 lished 4 10t Oxford 1776, and since repeatedly reprinted in 
 every variety of form. 
 
 f For a complete account of The Psalms, in all their 
 details and particulars, see The Revd. T: H: Home's " Intro- 
 duction etc: to The Scriptures": First published in 1821, 
 and now in its Ninth Edition : A truly great Work, and a 
 real Encyclopaedia of Biblical information. 
 
 I His name appears, in the Title or Heading, to Seventy- 
 two ; and several more would seem to be of his composing. 
 Of the others, twenty-eight are ascribed to the Asaphs, the 
 Korahs (?) and some other Writers; and the rest are alto- 
 gether anonymous : Some of The Fathers, however, consider 
 them all as his ; tho several are manifestly after his time. 
 
 A very absurd notion prevails among the Jewish Com- 
 mentators Of attributing all the Psalms without a name, 
 
 one or many and whatever may be their points, to the 
 
 Author named last. Thus not less than eleven, XC to CI, 
 are given to Moses, because his name appears in the 
 Title to the XC">- 
 
PREFACE. II 
 
 while some are there mentioned. They embrace within 
 their dates a period of about a thousand years ; that 
 
 is from Moses (to whom is attributed the XC th> ) to 
 
 Ezra* ; who is supposed to have collected and arranged 
 the whole, as we now have them, along with the rest of 
 The Old Testament Scriptures, on the return of the 
 Jews from the Babylonian Captivity .f That arrange- 
 ment, however, is not at all consecutive in the order 
 of their composition :J and the principle upon which it 
 was made does not appear ; tho no doubt upon some 
 sufficient one, but which, as unimportant, has not 
 been recorded. In the Hebrew they are parted into 
 Five Books, marked by a Doxology at the end of 
 each ; a division that, as unnecessary, has not been 
 followed in our Bibles. Most of them have Titles 
 there : These, however ; tho some contend for their 
 genuineness || ; are not generally considered of original 
 authority, but to have been subsequently added by 
 Scholiasts or persons concerned in their transcription ; 
 
 * Ezra is by some supposed to be the same with the 
 Prophet Malachi. 
 
 f About five hundred years B.C. 
 
 J Several Writers have considered this subject, and, 
 according to their different views, arranged them in such a 
 chronological order. For a bird's eye of this as imagined by 
 Calmet, see a Table below, P: Ixxii. 
 
 Book 1 , Ps: I to XLI. 2, XLII to LXXII. 3, LXXIII 
 to LXXXIX. 4, XC to CVI. and 5, CVII to CL. 
 
 |j See especially upon this G: Fenwick 8 VO * London 1749, 
 and Sonntag's latin Work 4 to - Silusia (Schleusinghen) 1687 ; 
 who have adduced some strong reasons for their opinions. 
 
 The Jews read them as part of the Text. 
 
Hi PREFACE. 
 
 as in several cases they are of uncertain meaning, and 
 occasionally at variance with the Text* : They occur 
 also in THE SEPTUAGINT, tho sometimes with con- 
 siderable variations from the Hebrew ; but they do 
 not appear in any of the other Eastern Versions. 
 
 Moreover, They were evidently composed for sing- 
 ing with music ; as they are rhythmical if not strictly 
 
 metrical in their structure (and this purpose is 
 
 frequently and expressly mentioned in their Text 
 and other parts of Scripture) and altogether of a 
 lyrical character, and generally speaking of the very 
 first order of Poetry ; and musical instruments are 
 frequently mentioned in them (as well as in the Titles) 
 for use with their recitation. 
 
 They are,-f- as just said, very varied in their subjects 
 and character ; so as to suit every circumstance of the 
 
 pious mind, whether under sickness or sorrow in 
 
 contrition or holy joy, for meditation generally, or in 
 
 * Besides their other anomalies, the circumstance of 
 their not appearing alike at the head of all the Psalms 
 (eighteen are without) looks very much against their genuine- 
 ness ; as there would seem to be no reason for their being 
 thus only partially used. 
 
 t The Fathers especially have all vied in their commend- 
 ation of THE PSALMS. It may be liked here to see in part 
 the terms in which some of the principal ones, and a few 
 of our own Commentators (perhaps occasionally prompted 
 by the former) have spoken of them ; anticipating what, at 
 all times and however variously expresed, must be felt and 
 thought by all of the admirable " Songs of Zion." 
 
 S l< Athanasius : as quoted in the early Editions of 
 THE OLD VERSION: says 
 
 " All holy Scripture is certainly the teacher of all virtue 
 and the true faith. But The Book of Psalms doth express 
 after a certain manner the very state and condition of the 
 soul : For ; as he, which intendeth to present himself to a 
 
PREFACE. Hi! 
 
 whatever way the Worshipper would pour out his 
 heart either to himself or before GOD ; and are won- 
 derfully calculated, by their fervour and beauty, to 
 give comfort peace and hope to all who have recourse 
 
 King, first will compound with himself to set in good order 
 both his gestures and speech, lest else he might be reputed 
 rude and ignorant ; even so doth this godly Book inform all 
 such as be desirous to lead their life in virtue and to know 
 the life of our SAVIOUR which He led in His conversation, 
 putting them in mind in the reading thereof of all their 
 affections and passions whereto their soul is inclined. 
 
 Moreover The Psalms form and teach every Man with 
 divers instructions, whereby he may not only espy the state 
 and affections of his soul and to win a good pattern and dis- 
 cipline how he may please GOD, but also with what form 
 and words he may commend himself and how to give GOD 
 due thanks ; lest, if he should speak otherwise than were 
 convenient, he should fall into impiety by his unreverent 
 estimation of GOD : for we must all make an account to the 
 Judge as well of our idle words as evil deeds." 
 
 S l * Ambrose. 
 
 *' The Book of Psalms contains every good and medica- 
 ment necessary to human health : Whoever consults that, pos- 
 sesses a specific remedy for whatso wounds, of whatever passion, 
 may rankle in his mind. Whoever would strive, as if in a 
 common arena of piety and a certain race-course of virtue, 
 finding different paths open to him, may there chuse for 
 himself that for which he feels most fitted, wherein he may 
 the more easily win the palm. 
 
 How important, too, is this feature of The Psalms, 
 
 that in such near proximity they mark the evil of offence 
 and the good of reconciliation (to GOD): that we may know 
 together the injuriousness of Unbelief and the profitableness 
 of a willing Faith." 
 
 In Librum Psalmorum Argumentum. 
 
 S l< Augustine. 
 
 " A Psalm is the tranquillity of minds, the herald of peace ; 
 calming both the perturbations and the conflicts of thoughts ; 
 subduing anger; suppressing luxuriousness, inducing sobriety; 
 promoting friendship, bringing those opposed into concord, 
 
liv PREFACE. 
 
 to them in time of need; of a fulness in every point, 
 not to be seen at first, but continually opening out 
 upon acquaintance and never flagging in interest nor 
 
 and reconciling enemies : for, who could any longer call him 
 an enemy with whom he has poured forth the voice of 
 Psalmody to GOD? Whence may we see that a Psalm 
 renews good-will, which is the greatest of all goods ; making 
 conjunction by the unison of voices, and associating differing 
 Persons by the concord of a simultaneous chorus in one 
 consonant harmony. A Psalm disperses evil thoughts, and 
 invites Angels to communion with us. It is a shield against 
 the terrors of night, and a rest from the labours of day ; a 
 defence to youth, an ornament to manhood, a solace to age, 
 and the most becoming adornment of women. It peoples 
 desert Cities, and moves to order. It is made the first rudi- 
 ments to beginners, an increase to proficients, a stable found- 
 ation for the perfect, and a common voice for the whole 
 Church. A Psalm soothes the sadness felt on account of 
 (offended) GOD, and draws tears of contrition from the 
 most obdurate heart. 
 
 What is there also not taught in The Psalms I the per- 
 fection of whatever virtue, the rules of justice, the beauty 
 of modesty, the submission of resignation, with every thing 
 that may be called "good": Thence the perfect knowledge 
 of GOD, the pre-announcement of CHRIST in the flesh, the 
 hope of a final resurrection, the dread of hereafter punish- 
 ments, the promise of glory, and the revelation of all holy 
 mysteries : As in a common and inexhaustible treasury, here 
 open to all are all riches both hidden and disclosed." 
 In Librum Psalmorum Prologus. 
 
 Hooker. 
 
 " What is there necessary for Man to know, that The 
 Psalms are not able to teach ? They are to beginners an 
 easy and familiar introduction, a mighty augmentation of all 
 virtue and knowledge in such as are entered before, a strong 
 confirmation to the most perfect among others. Heroical 
 magnanimity, exquisite justice, grave moderation, exact 
 wisdom, repentance unfeigned, unwearied patience, the 
 mysteries of GOD, the sufferings of CHRIST, the terrors 
 of wrath, the comforts of grace, the works of Providence 
 over this World, and the promised joys of that World which 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 wearying to study ; and that may always be applied 
 to as an inexhaustible source alike of instruction 
 solace and delight. 
 
 is to come: All good necessary to be either known, or 
 done, or had, this one celestial fountain yieldeth : Let there 
 'be any grief or disease incident unto the soul of Man, any 
 wound or sickness named, for which there is not in this 
 treasure-house a present comfortable remedy at all times 
 ready to be found." 
 
 Eccl: Pol: B. v. S. 37. 
 
 Merrick. 
 
 " The Psalms are calculated for the use of all ranks and 
 conditions, all ages and sexes ; and may be appropriated to all 
 situations and circumstances of life. Each portion has so 
 powerful a tendency for the reformation of the wicked or the 
 consolation of the righteous, that to have omitted any part 
 would have frustrated my intentions. For, who can take 
 these Sacred Poems in his hand without deriving the advan- 
 tages of improvement and pleasure to his mind from the 
 attentive perusal of them? The amiable and glorious 
 attributes of THE DEITY are herein so clearly and con- 
 spicuously delineated, that they inspire our souls with love 
 admiration and praise. Wherever we labour under diffi- 
 culties and distress, there are passages that furnish us with 
 language fit for expressing our desires and wants by prayer 
 and supplication : In the season of joy and prosperity others 
 afford us matter for adoration and thanksgiving. During 
 the appointed Fasts, or when we are conscious of having 
 offended our Heavenly Father, we may have recourse to 
 many of them for the purposes of confession and repentance. 
 In short they are, as it were, a treasury abounding with 
 every kind of the most valuable doctrine and instruction." 
 Preface to his Version of The Psalms. 
 
 And lastly Bp: Home, in the Preface to his above- 
 named Work, most comprehensively calls them " An Epitome 
 of The Bible, adapted to the purposes of devotion." 
 
 Unless as mere expansions of the same thoughts, it would not 
 be easy to enlarge on the above encomiums : Yet can The 
 Psalms be fully judged of and appreciated only in themselves. 
 
lyi PREFACE. 
 
 Such admirable properties as these, alone, suffi- 
 ciently show them to be of divine origin, the work of 
 inspired hands; and must render entirely hopeless any 
 attempt adequately to transcribe them in different 
 words. Any Poetical Form of THE PSALMS, there- 
 
 %* Collateral with the point of full-rhymes, spoken of 
 
 at P. xxxi i, In the Note to Ps: C. P. 460, is remarked the 
 
 circumstance of both that of THE O:V: and THE N:V:, with 
 
 some other Versions of the Psalm (as well as our own four 
 
 out of the six) being, whether designedly or not, done with 
 the alternation of Masculine and Feminine Rhymes.* 
 Our Ps: VI, XXXII First Version, XLV1I Second Version, 
 LXI Second Version, C First Second Fourth and Fifth 
 Versions, CXVII, CXX, and our Morning and Evening 
 Hymns P. 331-2, are also done with attention to that par- 
 ticular. For further illustration of it are here subjoined a 
 Translation of DESBARREAUX'S famous Sonnet on THE ATONE- 
 MENT, with another of our own for a companion. 
 
 THE ATONEMENT. 
 
 From the french of Desbarreaux. 
 
 "Grand Dieu! tesjugemens sont remplis d'equite." 
 
 SONNET. 
 
 THY judgements, LORD ! with goodness all consent: 
 
 To spare Thou claim'st Thy first prerogative. 
 
 But, such my sin forbidding to forgive, 
 
 'T would wrong Thy justice should it here relent. 
 
 Yea, LORD ! the greatness of my guilt's extent 
 Thee but a choice of penalty can give : 
 Thy interests are against that I should live ; 
 And e'en Thy mercy asks my punishment. 
 
 Since for Thy glory 't is, Thy wrath unbar ; 
 Let e'en my tears but more Thine ire provoke ; 
 Hurl strike, 't is time; return me war for war. 
 
 In death I kiss the castigating rod 
 
 But, where can fall Thy bolts' avenging stroke, 
 That not besprent with CHRIST'S redeeming blood ? 
 
 * In "THE ART OF VERSE," a little Work lately published by 
 M r - Hatchard, the subject will be found treated of at large. 
 
PREFACE. Ivii 
 
 for, however skilfully done, must always fall far short 
 of their own simple Prose; and can only do the best 
 towards fitting for singing such as are suitable for the 
 purpose and which otherwise could not so effectively 
 be thus used, and clothing all with a similar dress to 
 render them perhaps more attractive to those who 
 may love the garb of verse. 
 
 As to the practice of singing Psalms (or other 
 Hymns) in our Church Service*, it can hardly be 
 
 THE LAST DAY. 
 
 SONNET. 
 
 SOUNDS The Last Trump. . . . Terrific call, for whom 
 Not arin'd to hear I Awake, to sleep no more ; 
 Ye prone ! erect ye. Earth ! thy dead restore : 
 To trial, all ! from life, or from the tomb. 
 
 Is come the day, to them of darkest gloom, 
 
 When, at His judgement GOD'S dread bar before, 
 
 All summon'd : Vain, then mercy to implore, 
 When pass'd the sentence of eternal doom : 
 
 Yea dread Tribunal this ! For, in His sight 
 
 Who justified shall be? who not own right 
 
 The condemnation, barring to forgive ? . . . . 
 
 But, at His side is One, our cause to plead ; 
 
 E'en CHRIST; who died, that fallen Man might live 
 And saved thro HIM from endless death be freed. 
 
 * It is in some places customary to sing a Psalm or Hymn 
 or a Doxology after the Sermon. But which would seem 
 better omitted : as, besides its interference with the closing 
 Prayer and the Benediction, it interrupts and must in many 
 cases quite break and divert the train of thought awakened 
 by the Discourse, and destroys the impression intended to be 
 left by it; this especially with the humbler part of the 
 Congregation, and the young generally. Moreover there 
 seems no reason whatever for the practice ; as, the Service 
 being otherwise over, no relief or variety is required for those 
 engaged in its performance which is already fully closed. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 necessary here to say any thing in vindication of its 
 propriety ; as, in the first place, they were originally so 
 designed ; and it has always existed, from the earliest 
 
 ages of The Church as before that under the Jewish 
 
 Dispensation, aad has never yet been called in question, 
 however some for very insufficient reasons have ob- 
 jected to it: While; not to speak of the numerous 
 passages, both in The Old Testament and The New, 
 alluding to and recommending and requiring it; all 
 
 our most eminent Divines, the Parkers the Hookers 
 
 the Taylors the Tillotsons the Beveridges and 
 
 a host of others of scarce less note, have spoken in 
 commendation of it in the warmest and most eloquent 
 terms : And to which the general feeling of Worship- 
 pers, wherever properly encouraged and assisted, has 
 always warmly responded ; as being, not only a suitable 
 manner of glorifying GOD by using the highest human 
 means for the purpose; but, while useful in sustaining 
 the spirits under possible weariness from length of the 
 Service, quickening piety to greater height and zeal 
 for His worship and attendance thereon ; and awaken- 
 ing and entertaining in the mind the most devotional 
 tone, that can hardly fail to be practically carried out 
 in general obedience to HIM and love to our fellow- 
 creatures. It is therefor to be hoped that it will 
 never be disused*; but, on the contrary, promoted 
 and enlarged to the utmost point becoming so 
 worthy and beneficial an object. 
 
 * Without alluding in any way to Cathedral or Choral 
 
 singing, which in its place is highly suitable, this applies 
 
 more particularly to Congregational Psalmody ; not indeed 
 that confined only to the Gallery, but where, as so seemly 
 and desirable, the whole Assembly join in the Sacred Song. 
 This latter point has been spoken to more at large, back, P. xvi. 
 
PREFACE. Hx 
 
 THAT the Reader may have a full idea of the nature 
 of the present Version its character features and 
 design, it may be well to enter into a few more parti- 
 culars; which it is hoped will not be thought superfluous. 
 
 In the first place, It has aimed throughout at 
 
 giving the exact meaning of the Text (See Note J 
 next Page) without either addition omission or change : 
 Nothing whatever has been left out ; and the few 
 words that here and there have been thrown in are 
 in no way new ideas, but only light expansions of those 
 already there, merely for the exigency of the measure 
 or rhyme ; neither has there been any the least alter- 
 ation, more than to make those clear. In some few 
 instances, where the sense was by common consent 
 obscure or ill represented, a better has been proposed : 
 In others, however, where the difference was unimpor- 
 tant, tho a somewhat more close interpretation of 
 The Original might have been given, the words of the 
 English Text have been retained ; considering it much 
 better in such cases not to disturb the antient and re- 
 ceived reading for the sake of an immaterial improve- 
 ment. So that the Reader or Singer may be satisfied 
 of having here the full and true sense of THE PSALMS, 
 and nothing else : this, however, in its plain and 
 literal meaning ; all beyond being deemed unsuitable 
 to the present purpose. 
 
 For this end numerous Translations, foreign as 
 well as english, from The Original, including some 
 interlinear ones,* have been carefully consulted, as 
 
 * Our want of acquaintance with the Hebrew (for the 
 little elementary knowledge we may possess affords no con- 
 tradiction to that) has been objected to us as a disqualifi- 
 cation for the present task. But to this we oppose the 
 opinion expressed above (P: xxxix) about the Authors of 
 
 THE OLD VERSION; And, still more, that, nothing short 
 
 of a good a comparatively perfect knowledge of it 
 
x PREFACE. 
 
 well as all the best Commentators:* and the whole 
 has been compared with the Hebrew Text by a Scholar f 
 of that Nation. So that the present may justly claim 
 to be (as asserted for itself by THE OLD VERSION) 
 Conferred with the Hebrew, and may be depended upon 
 as such. The doubtful passages^, now and then 
 
 could really be of service in this ; as less would only be 
 likely to lead to unprofitable doubts and uncertainties about 
 many of the received readings, and the hasty adoption of new 
 ones very seldom likely to be just. In this, above all things, 
 intricate and little idiomatically understood as that truly 
 " dead language " now is, we consider that 
 
 " A little learning is a dangerous thing." 
 
 * " But, where the Text, in some places, 
 
 " Was doubtful and obscure, 
 " I have sought help of learned Books ; 
 " Because I would be sure." 
 
 Francys Seagar. 
 
 Dedication to his " Certayne Psalmes etc:" 
 16 mo - London. 1553. 
 
 t Mr. P: Abraham : now of Birmingham : to whose 
 general information on the subject, so far as we are capable 
 of appreciating it, we are glad to take this opportunity of 
 paying a public testimony. Mr. A:, however, must not 
 be considered as agreeing with those interpretations to 
 which his faith is opposed : On this point discussion 
 was waived. 
 
 J The Reader knows that Of some of these, from 
 
 whether defectiveness of the Text or our comparatively 
 imperfect acquaintance with the language, the true sense 
 is altogether disputed; being either of very uncertain 
 meaning, or lending itself to different interpretations, and 
 in some few cases offering none wholly satisfactory : all 
 which have been duly weighed. In The Notes the 
 greater part of these are examined, and reasons given 
 for the sense adopted. 
 
PREFACE. 1x1 
 
 occurring there, have been rendered according to what 
 seemed the best interpretation ; always chusing that 
 which seemed the more obvious and the most in har- 
 mony with the context* : And, where occasionally some 
 sense is given different from that usually received or 
 what might appear the true, such has been adopted 
 only after full consideration and on sufficient authority ; 
 tho these variations are very few. 
 
 Nextly It has (as already said) preserved, where- 
 
 ever possible, the very words of the Text, whether of 
 
 the Bible or the Liturgy Version, and sometimes 
 
 where they could be combined of both together: 
 
 considering, not only that (with a very few exceptions) 
 this best gives the real sense, but that it is most de- 
 sirable the beautiful and forcible language of Scripture, 
 so admirably given in our Bibles, should be preserved 
 wherever it could with propriety be adapted to music ; 
 so as to retain as much as possible in our Sacred 
 
 Songs the inspired accents the voice as the thoughts 
 
 of " The sweet Psalmist of Israel."f 
 
 Another reason for doing this was A hope to 
 
 contribute by it to the keeping up of our genuine old 
 
 * Of Variorum Readings, it may be observed generally 
 
 that, In the merely literal sense in which Hebrew words now 
 
 exhibit themselves to us, they are often apparently susceptible 
 of a variety of meanings ; while it is probable that, in their 
 origin, as used in Scripture, there was no such ambiguity 
 about them ; but that, however occasionally employed in 
 different senses, collateral circumstances confined their sig- 
 nification and made it definite and unequivocal. So that 
 great caution should be used in assuming in them a 
 different meaning from that obvious on their face and in 
 harmony with the context, merely from any seeming 
 ambiguousness. The simplest and clearest and most gene- 
 rally received sense will generally be found the best. 
 
 f 2 Sam: xxiii. 1. 
 
Ixii PREFACE. 
 
 English* so happily here married with the Hebrew, 
 
 so much and so justly loved by us for its simplicity 
 and raciness ; by using it, wherever practicable, rather 
 than the more far-fetched or foreign idioms of modern 
 phraseology : desiring to make this Version, while 
 not beneath the highest so not above the meanest 
 capacity ; but easily understood by all, tho particularly 
 the less educated part of the Community, and espe- 
 cially our Country Population, to whom, from their 
 primitiveness of feelings and habits, the " Songs of 
 
 Zion" are a source of so much comfort of pious 
 
 meditation and holy pleasure. And for this the greater 
 poeticalness, by many fancied to exist in THE NEW 
 and other Versions of THE PSALMS, will be found in 
 general but very little calculated ; as often both 
 difficult to be understood, and not productive of 
 nearly so much effect when it is. 
 
 In connection with this A peculiar and very 
 
 remarkable feature of THE PSALMS (as generally of 
 all the more poetical and also the didactic parts of 
 Scripture) is what is called Parallelism,^ or an enlarge- 
 
 * Of the modification to which this may be subject, 
 if referring it to 
 
 " The pure well of English undefiled," 
 
 we are quite aware ; but that the present is not the place 
 to discuss. This is sufficient for a general proposition, as 
 we trust it will be received. 
 
 The present so general puerile and it may be added 
 
 ignorant affectation of french terms and phrases perhaps 
 
 makes the object still more called for. 
 
 t For a complete account of this, see Bp: Lowth's 
 " Lectures on The Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews etc:" First 
 published in latin 4 to ' Oxford 1 753, and long since become a 
 European Work : who first gave it the very apt name. 
 But it is also fully explained in Mr. Home's above-named 
 Work, and generally in all who have written on The 
 
PREFACE. x 
 
 ment in a more or less varied form of what has been 
 first stated simply ; and making the succeeding parts 
 of a sentence correspond, whether by apposition or 
 antithesis, with those in its beginning and relatively 
 with one another. Indeed this is the only mechanical 
 constituent recognisable in Hebrew Poetry at all, and 
 is what may be called its distinctive particular ; all 
 others, whether of quantity metre or consonance, being 
 by common consent now given up as altogether un- 
 traceable in it : For, in a word, tho some modern 
 Hebrew Verse has been composed with an imagined 
 reference to the structure of the old, nothing whatever 
 is now known, nor assumed otherwise than by con- 
 jecture, of the principles upon which the Poetry of 
 The Scriptures is constructed.* There are no certain 
 data upon which to form any hypothesis about it. Its 
 essential elements, the " disjecti membra" of course 
 remain, and are perpetual ; but the laws of their 
 arrangement in a poetical form, or any arrangement 
 of words in such a form independant of these elements, 
 are entirely unknown. 
 
 Psalms : This especially in Bp: Jebb's " Sacred Literature 
 etc:" ; who has shown it to exist in THE NEW TESTAMENT as 
 well as THE OLD: Tho possibly not in either designed 
 to the extent imagined ; the genius or idiom of the 
 language being occasionally taken for artificialness in the 
 Hebrew, and in The N. T. the Greek perhaps uninten- 
 tionally falling in with that. 
 
 * Some, even of the learned and among others Josephus, 
 who would seem to have formed their conclusions before 
 ascertaining the premisses, have asserted Hebrew Poetry 
 to possess all the characteristics of the Greek Metres 
 
 Iambics Hexameters Sapphics etc:, and from a few 
 
 purely accidental instances even Rhyme I ! I But the facts, 
 
 by universal admission, are as above : and it seems in 
 vain now to hope for more. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Another and more common feature in them is Itera- 
 tion ; or the studied repetition of any thing said, for the 
 purpose of more strongly enforcing it on the attention ; 
 and that is by no means to be taken (as it sometimes 
 is) for tautology or redundant reduplication, but as 
 intended re-assertion, and which is a source of great 
 beauty ; tho, as in a certain degree Parallelism, it 
 perhaps belongs to the genius of the language gene- 
 rally, rather than being especial to its Poetry. 
 
 These points also have here throughout been care- 
 fully preserved : so as, like in every other, to give the 
 closest possible imitation, and show THE PSALMS in 
 Verse exactly as they are in Prose, with only the 
 occasional varyings necessitated by this different form. 
 
 Perhaps some may think such a scrupulous regard 
 to a close rendering of the Text not necessary for 
 A Singing Version of The Psalms ; but that the prin- 
 cipal object should be, while without absolutely de- 
 parting from the sense, yet chiefly to give it in a 
 flowing verse, so as to attract not so much by the 
 accuracy of the reading as the goodness of the poetry : 
 And indeed in some of our remarks above, P: xxix 
 and xxxv, we might ourselves up to a certain limit seem 
 to incline to this view : But, without stopping to 
 inquire as to its correctness or not, we may fearlessly 
 say that not less care has been given to one point than 
 the other ; and that, as the former can confidently be 
 spoken to, so it is hoped we shall not be found 
 more defective in the latter. 
 
 Much more might be added in illustration and 
 support of our views, of the system here followed and 
 the manner in which it has been worked out: But 
 from which we forbear, lest unnecessary or proving 
 tedious ; as what already said may be fully sufficient, 
 and there is much less to fear for the project 
 than its execution. 
 
PREFACE. xV 
 
 THE NOTES, given at the end, are merely on the 
 principal of those passages in THE PSALMS that are 
 generally considered not very clear, or liable to dif- 
 ferent interpretations, or that for whatever other reason 
 seemed to require elucidation. These are offered 
 without the least pretence to an erudition to which 
 we have no claim ; and particularly (as said above) 
 as to Hebrew ; but only in the simplest manner, for 
 mere practical understanding of the Text, and not to 
 send the Reader elsewhere for the information he 
 might naturally desire to find here ; tho for this we 
 have (as already said) consulted all the best generally 
 accessible authorities, and given to it our own closest 
 consideration and study. The few " excursions*" 
 that occasionally occur, suggested by the Text, will 
 it is hoped not be thought too digressive ; and may 
 serve to vary, if not enliven, the severer parts 
 of the matter. 
 
 * Among those are some incidental notices on The 
 Romish Church (P: 372 434 and 454) which, at the time of 
 
 making them a year or two ago, we feared might be 
 
 thought something too harsh or out of place. But surely 
 subsequent events have proved (if indeed any proof could 
 
 have been necessary) that no time can be unseasonable 
 
 no place unsuitable no repetition too frequent nor any 
 
 language too strong, for calling attention to the open as 
 well as secret the insidious restless never-ceasing acti- 
 vity of that Church (especially by her serpent Jesuits^) 
 in its machinations against our own ; in endeavouring to 
 undermine it, and to recover her former crushing ascendancy 
 
 f The Jesuits: First adopted by one "infallible" Pope, 
 Paul III d ' 1540. Suppressed, and expelled from Rome (as they 
 had already been from nearly every Papistical Country in 
 Europe) by another, Clement XIV th - 1773 : And since that restored 
 by a third, Pius VII th - within the present Century. Now again 
 rising hydra-headed ; and fast spreading, and usurping power, all 
 over the Papist World and enen in Protestant England! 
 
Ixvi PREFACE. 
 
 FOR Recapitulation : It is generally admitted that 
 THE PSALMS are not sufficiently well represented in 
 
 the two Authorized Versions now in use THE OLD 
 
 and THE NEW ; and that there should be a better, for 
 Public Singing at least, if not for private reading. 
 The Present is respectfully offered for that purpose. 
 
 whether in civil or religious matters in State or Church 
 
 over Sovereign or People, and to the subjection and enslave- 
 ment alike of the person and the conscience the feelings and 
 the very thoughts of Men : now even at this time of day her 
 impious purpose audaciously avowed and acted upon. 
 Attacks, these, hitherto but far too inadequately met on the 
 other side ; from whether confidence of security, inattention 
 or negligence, or whatever less excusable motive ; till now 
 at length roused to resistance (?) by her late " Insolent 
 Aggression" on our Protestant Community; and it may 
 be hoped now (?) to their effectual repulse and suppression. 
 
 Why are not the " People" of this Christian Country 
 
 the " Million" told, till they can be brought to know and 
 
 feel the higher points of the case, that Roman Catholicism 
 
 strikes at the very root "of all their much-clamoured-for 
 Liberty, and goes to make them literally Slaves to Abso- 
 lute Power of the very worst kind that which enfeebles 
 
 and enfetters the mind even still more than the body, making 
 all the faculties crouch and wither beneath it ? This is 
 what they could understand ; and what should loudly and 
 incessantly be sounded in their ears; to make them resist 
 and repel the Impostor that would imbecilitate their intel- 
 lects, enslave their persons, and devour their substance. 
 
 For Imbecilitating Impostures, besides the countless old 
 
 ones and the puerile mummeries of their common Worship, see 
 
 the " Miracles" the saving Relics the Winking Virgins 
 
 Bleeding Pictures etc: of the very present day. For Per- 
 sonal Liberty, see generally the condition of the Subject in 
 
 all Papist Countries, and most especially in Metropolitan 
 Rome, where they seem to breathe but by sufferance. 
 
 And, for Pecuniary Spoliation, see inter alia the sale of 
 
 nearly every religious ministration, Dispensations for un- 
 holy or forbidden things, with prospective as well as retro- 
 spective absolution for sins ami repose of son Is of course 
 
PREFACE. Ixvii 
 
 If the Reader is of the same mind ; arid the subject (as 
 it well may) be of sufficient interest to him ; he will 
 look at this attentively, comparing it with the Text 
 either of The Bible or Common Prayer Book or (if he 
 will) with the Hebrew, and with the two above named 
 
 shut out to all who cannot pay for it. At the Reformation, 
 three hundred years ago (and notwithstanding the various 
 Statutes of Mortmain) From atoning gifts and donations and 
 death-bed bequests, the fee simple of nearly a third part 
 of the landed property of the Kingdom was in the hands of 
 The Clergy : While more than the revenues of The Crown, 
 wrung from the sinews and sweat of the enslaved People, 
 was annually transmitted in various forms of tribute to the 
 Court of Rome. How much of the rest would have 
 remained by this time not theirs? 
 
 This, and the gone-by enormities religious moral 
 
 and political of The Papal Church, and which would be 
 
 renewed to-morrow if they could, should be the subjects of 
 brief plain practical TRACTS, every where and incessantly 
 dispersed among the Multitude. The seed thus sown would 
 infallibly bear fruit, where now all is comparatively barren. 
 
 How listless how supine we are, not for perhaps even 
 
 justifiable attack, but for vital defence! 
 
 As a minor point, Why do we still continue, when 
 
 speaking of that Church of its Body Politic, to call it 
 
 " Catholic " (the " Catholics " and so on) instead of what 
 
 it really is the Romish Papist or at the very best the 
 
 "Roman- Catholic"? However apparently trivial, the dis- 
 tinction is really important; as names are often taken for 
 things, and may have very great influence with those 
 who cannot distinguish between them. Its real name is 
 BABYLON (Rev: xvii. 5) and it should properly be 
 called by no other : Seeing that the only true " Catholic " or 
 Universal Church is that founded on THE BIBLE; which 
 she rejects in this form, and for which she would substitute 
 the opinions of mere Men. The Pope of Rome, and not 
 CHRIST THE SAVIOUR, is the Head of that Church: Its 
 Members therefor are merely Papists, and in fact heretics 
 
 and schismatics, and the true " Infidels " as she calls all those 
 
 without her pale and for whom there is therefor No Salvation. 
 
Ixviil PREFACE. 
 
 Versions ; and then say whether he thinks it as well 
 done as such a thing ought to be, and sufficiently good 
 (at least till there may appear one still better) to super- 
 sede them and be used in their stead. If not, he will 
 perhaps be right, and at all events will have lost 
 
 nothing by his labour: But, if otherwise and he 
 
 shall side with its claims, it is hoped, as but just and 
 
 reasonable and in every way proper, that he will do 
 what may in him lie to get its object effected ; that the 
 ** Songs of Zion " may henceforth be used in our Land 
 neither unworthily nor unintelligibly, but sung 
 
 while " with the spirit" "with the understanding 
 
 also*", and "making His praise glorioust-" 
 
 The foregoing observations are desired to be con- 
 sidered as particularly addressed to those Persons, who, 
 from their position as well as their learning and piety 
 and especially the more eminent among them, are the 
 natural supervisors and guardians of our Church 
 Ordinances in general, arid therefor more competent 
 
 to judge on such a matter as the present than others 
 
 whose attention has not been so much given to such 
 things and whose opinion on them would consequently 
 be of less weight. They are made boldly, from a per- 
 suasion (however perhaps mistaken) of their justice 
 and propriety ; but still with all deference to the 
 superior judgement of THE CLERGY OF ENGLAND, 
 from whose award alone is to be expected the admission 
 of their claims to attention. It is hoped, then, that, 
 particularly from this distinguished Body, a full hearing 
 will be given to our arguments and a fair trial granted 
 to the present Work ; as their opinion cannot fail to 
 lead that of The Public ; and indeed from their deci- 
 sion, however hoping it may not, be unfavourable, 
 we have no desire to appeal. 
 
 * 1 Cor: xiv. 15. f Ps: Ixvi. L>. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IN conclusion : Some apology may here be requi- 
 site for the length (not at first intended) to which 
 these arguments have been drawn, and especially for 
 having said so. much that is personal to ourselves. 
 But this has been done with great reluctance, and 
 only because it seemed absolutely necessary for the 
 proper development of our plan arid exposition of our 
 motives : Neither has any thing been introduced that 
 it seemed desirable to avoid, nor it is hoped more 
 than will be agreeable to the Reader; with whom, 
 craving his indulgence for all faults, we now leave 
 the whole. However failing of its immediate object 
 his approval, may it at least lead him to the contem- 
 plation of the high subject to which it refers, where 
 he may be assured of finding " fulness of joy and 
 pleasures for evermore." 
 
 * # * Our Task is done. It has employed, however not 
 
 incessantly, ten of the happiest and we would hope not 
 
 altogether unuseful years of our life. We leave it with 
 
 the greatest regret, as with the deepest gratitude to The 
 Power that enabled us to take it up : for we can never again 
 expect the society of so agreeable a companion, the help of 
 so useful a friend ; so sweet a solace in care ; nor an occupation 
 
 for any permanency of such interest such elevation and 
 
 in every way so gratifying, time indeed being now denied us 
 for more than any temporary or very brief ones. 
 
 The Performance itself must have many deficiencies, and 
 perhaps still more defects : as from such what of the kind is 
 free ! But we would hope it is not without good points as 
 
 well. It is now left with the World : Whatever its fate 
 
 praise or blame acceptance or rejection it has already 
 
 been to us its own ample reward; and the time the toil 
 
 the anxious care bestowed upon it (little imagined by the 
 general reader of such things) have been fully repaid us. 
 This may animate those who may be induced to engage in 
 similar pursuits, where not interfering with duties, not to be 
 discouraged by difficulties nor deterred by doubts of success : 
 failure as to the world is the worst that can ensue ; while 
 the task is joy, and at least self-approval the assured return. 
 
1XX PREFACE. 
 
 CLASSIFICATION OF THE PSALMS. 
 
 THE different points of THE PSALMS will sometimes 
 occur in the same Piece : but they are in general 
 sufficiently distinct to admit of specification. For 
 a short arrangement of them, according to their 
 principal subjects, they may be classed as follows. 
 
 PSALMS OF PRAYER, in. iv. v. vi. vn. xiu. xvn. 
 
 XX. XXVI. XXVII. XXVIII. XXXI. XXXII. XXXV. XXXVIII. 
 XLI. XLII. XLIII. XLIV. LI. LII. LV. LVI. LVII. LIX. 
 LX. LXI. LXII. LXIII. LXIV. LXVII. LXIX. LXXI. 
 LXXIV. LXXIX. LXXX. LXXXIII. LXXXIV. LXXXVI. 
 LXXXIX. XC. XCIV. CII. CIX. CXX. CXXII. CXXXVII. 
 
 CXL. CXLI. CXLIII. CXLIV. Of these, Seven, the vi. 
 xxxn. xxxvni. LI. cii. cxxx. and CXLIII., are called 
 THE PENITENTIAL PSALMS. 
 
 %* Nearly all or at least the greater part of 
 
 The Psalms may be sung. But, as they are not all equally 
 
 proper for the purpose, those or parts of them which are 
 
 so, are here marked by having the alternate lines more 
 " indented " than the others, as Ps. i contradistinguished from 
 Ps. ii and the succeeding ones to Ps. viii ; which will help 
 in their selection, and may save the inadvertent choice of 
 unsuitable ones. Of Whole Psalms the following seem 
 entirely singable : Ps. i. viii. xv. xix. xxiii. xxiv. xxix. xxxiii. 
 xlvii. Ixiii. Ixvii. xciii. xcvi. xcviii. c. ciii. cxi. cxiii. cxvii. 
 cxxxiv. cxlv. cxlvi. cxlvii. cxlviii. cxlix. and cl. And some 
 Verses, more or less, may be selected out of the rest, but 
 especially from Ps. v. ix. xxviii. xxxiv. xxxvi. Ivii. lix. Ixvi. 
 Ixviii. Ixix. Ixxi. Ixxxiv. Ixxxix. xcii. xcv. cv. cvi. cviii. 
 cxxxv. and cxxxvi. In this latter case it may occasionally 
 be necessary to make a little alteration in the first words, to 
 detach the Extract from its immediate connection with the 
 Psalm and let it appear complete of itself, as in Ps: ix v: 7, 
 and the latter Verses of Ps: xxvi and some others : But for 
 the most part this will not be required. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 PSALMS OF PRAISE, ADORATION, AND EXALTATION 
 OF GOD. vin. xix. xxni. xxiv. xxix. xxxni. xxxiv. 
 XXXVI. XLVII. L. LXV. LXVI. LXXVI. LXXXV1I. XCI. XCIII. 
 XCV. XCVI. XCVII. XCIX. C. CIV. CVII. CXI- CX1II. CXIV. 
 CXV. CXXI. CXXXIV. CXXXIX. CXLV. CXLVI. CXLVII. 
 CXLVIII. CL. 
 
 PSALMS OF THANKSGIVING : WHETHER NATIONAL 
 OR PERSONAL, ix. xvm. xxn. xxx. XL. XLVI. XLVIII. 
 
 LXV. LXVIII. LXXVI. LXXXI. LXXXV. LXXXVIII. XCV. 
 
 cm. cv. cvm. cxvi. cxvm. cxxiv. cxxvi. cxxix. 
 
 CXXXV. CXXXVI. CXXXVIII. CXLIX. 
 
 PSALMS OF INSTRUCTION : OR DIDACTIC, i. x. xi. 
 
 XII. XIV. XV. XXIV. XXV. XXXVII. XXXIX. XLIX. 
 LIII. LV1II. LXXIII. LXXV. LXXXI1. XCII. CI. CXII. CXIX. 
 CXXV. CXXVII. CXXVIII. CXXXI. CXXXIII. 
 
 PROPHETICAL PSALMS. n. xvi. xxn. XL. XLV. 
 
 LXVIII. LXXII. LXXXVII. CX. CXVIII. 
 
 HISTORICAL PSALMS. LXXVIII. cv. cvi. 
 
 IN connection with this variety or combination of 
 character in the same Piece, it may be well to notice 
 
 that, A common feature of THE PSALMS generally is 
 
 sudden transition of subject, and frequent change of 
 both tense and person ; sometimes so abrupt as to look 
 like disconnection, and not always readily to be under- 
 stood. This is a characteristic of impassioned Poetry 
 in general; but especially peculiar to that of the 
 Hebrews, tho perhaps more noticeable in these Sacred 
 Songs than elsewhere. This peculiarity exists in sepa- 
 rate passages, independently of the general design of 
 the whole Piece : But, another and larger form of it 
 
 is where the Psalm is broken into Parts (as in what 
 
 is called Antiphonal Singing) that are assigned to 
 different interlocutors or speakers, such as (for illus- 
 tration) the personages in a Drama, but here the 
 several persons, Priests Worshippers or others, 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 by whom it was recited or sung ; as, for instance, in 
 Ps. ix xviii and xxiv. These Parts are, in the more 
 remarkable cases, marked here by a greater interval 
 between the Verses than usual ; and occasionally 
 by a bar, as in the above.* 
 
 In reading THE PSALMS, therefor, this must be 
 
 borne in mind : as it will serve to account for if not 
 
 always explain what might otherwise be thought 
 defectiveness in them, and will reconcile any seeming 
 discrepancies. 
 
 CHRONOLOGICAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE PSALMS: 
 
 ACCORDING TO CALMET.t 
 
 Psalms of which the dates are uncertain. Nine. 
 
 I. V. VIII. XIX. LXXXI. XCI. CX. CXXXIX. CXLV. 
 
 Composed by David, during his persecution by 
 Saul. Seventeen. xi. xxxi. xxxiv. LVI. xvi. LIV. LII. 
 
 CIX. XVII. XXII. XXXV. LVII. LVIII. CXLII. CXL. CXLI. VII. 
 
 Composed by David, at the beginning of his reign, 
 and after the death of Saul. Sixteen. u. LXVIII. 
 
 IX. XXIV. CI. XXIX. XX. XXI. VI. XXXVIII. XXXIX. XL. 
 XLI. LI. XXXII. XXXIII. 
 
 Composed during the rebellion of Absalom. Eight. 
 
 III. IV. LV. LXII. LXX. LXXI. CXLIII. CXL1V. 
 
 Composed between the death of Absalom and the 
 Captivity. Ten. xvm. xxx. LXXII. XLV. LXXVIII. 
 
 LXXXII. LXXXIII. LXXVI. LXXIV. LXXIX. 
 
 * The division of some of The Psalms into Parts in both 
 THE OLD and THE NEW VERSION is for the most part very 
 loosely done, and seems to refer more to a subdivision of the 
 general quantity of the Psalm than to its subject or character. 
 That, therefor, has not been followed here. 
 
 f "Commentaire Literal etc:" Fol: Paris. 1724. Vol: 4. 
 
 Pg: LXII vi. The supposed subjects, or occasions, are also 
 
 given. For another and different one s< < ;ilt r this. 
 
PREFACE. Ixxiii 
 
 Composed during the Captivity: Probably by the 
 descendants of the Asaphs and the Korahs. Forty. 
 
 X. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XXV. XXVI. XXVII. XXVIII. XXXVI. 
 XXXVII. XLII. XLIII. XLIV. XLIX. L. LIII. LX. LXIV. LXIX. 
 LXXIII. LXXV. LXXVII. LXXX. LXXXIV. LXXXVI. LXXXVIII. 
 LXXXIX. XC. XCII. XCIII. XC1V. XCV. XCIX. CXX. CXXI. 
 CXXIII. CXXX. CXXXI. CXXXII. 
 
 Composed after the edict of Cyrus, allowing the 
 Jews to return home from the Captivity. Fifty. 
 
 CXXII. LXI. LXIII. CXxiv. XXIII. LXXXVII. LXXXV. XLVI. 
 XLVII. XLVIII. XCVI tO XCVIII. C. CII to CVIII. CX to 
 CXVII. CXXVI. CXXXIII tO CXXXVII. CXLIX. CL. CXLVI to 
 CXLVIII. LIX. LXV. LXVI. LXVII. CXVIII. CXXV. CXXVII 
 
 to cxxix. cxxxvui. 
 
 This Arrangement, however, is in part very arbi- 
 trary ; and liable to great dispute, which in fact it 
 always has occasioned : as its ascription of several of 
 the Psalms rests on very uncertain data ; and it 
 rejects altogether the authority of many of the Titles, 
 and thus takes away more than a third of the 
 number attributed in them to David. It, therefor, or 
 indeed any other, is not at all to be depended upon. 
 To this remark may be added generally (as already 
 
 here incidentally suggested) that Any hypotheses on 
 
 the collateral points of THE PSALMS, such as their 
 
 Authors, Titles Names of things occurring in these or 
 
 the body of the Piece, Subjects, Occasions etc:, where 
 The Text does not clearly speak for itself, are alto- 
 gether uncertain, and have been differed upon by 
 nearly all the Commentators who have written on 
 the subject: And which, after all, as being merely 
 secondary and of no importance, are wholly immaterial, 
 and worthy of consideration only as matters of curiosity. 
 Their essential points are patent and unquestioned ; 
 which is abundantly sufficient. 
 
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PREFACE. 
 
 PSALM METRES. 
 
 THE Metres (or Measures) generally used in our 
 Churches ; and to which the present Version is adapted ; 
 are The Common, The Long, The Short, and The Pecu- 
 liar ; the arrangement of which is as follows. 
 
 The Common Metre is the Stanza of four lines 
 generally alternate-rhymed ; of which the first and 
 third are -of eight syllables, and the second and fourth 
 of six : as here Ps: i to vi. It is the most useful, 
 and that which chiefly prevails in both THE OLD and 
 THE NEW VERSION. 
 
 The Long is the Stanza of four lines of eight 
 syllables, whether in couplets or alternate rhymes. 
 Without there being any positive assignable reason 
 for it, tho perhaps one might be found in the greater 
 
 and equal length of the lines especially this latter 
 
 particular, this Metre and Stanza seem best adapted 
 to solemn and plaintive subjects. It is that of our 
 Ps: vi Second Version. 
 
 The Short is the Stanza of four lines generally 
 
 alternate-rhymed ; of which the first second and fourth 
 are of six syllables, and the third of eight. This Metre, 
 as the most varied of the three, is also the most musical 
 and pleasing ; and is of singularly equal application to 
 all sorts of subjects, while always seeming most suitable 
 to that with which used : for it has indeed a most 
 wonderful * numerousness ' and harmony in it, which 
 
 is not easy to explain but will immediately be felt 
 
 on comparing it with the other two. Ps: viii Second 
 Version here is in this. 
 
 All other Metres, of which there are only three 
 or four and these very infrequent, generally used 
 in our Psalmody, are called Peculiar: as here Ps: 
 xxix Second Version, xxxvii First Version, xcvi 
 Thirrl J>r$/V>H, and Second Version of rxxxvi. 
 
PREFACE. IxXV'ii 
 
 The above Metres, however few, have hitherto been 
 thought sufficient for their purpose, as in fact they do 
 seem to be. Nevertheless perhaps a little more 
 variety might not improperly be admitted ; tho, if 
 done, this should be so with especial reference to 
 the subject and Psalrn for which used. But, however 
 feasible, there certainly seems no necessity for such : 
 And, it may be feared, that, in adapting Psalms to such 
 
 more varied Measures, For the necessary extension 
 
 or contraction of the lines to suit the music, the sense 
 might be made to suffer by whether addition omission 
 
 or other alteration, and at all events in a great point 
 
 its simplicity of expression ; of which some notable 
 instances have recently appeared. For (as has already 
 been said ante P: xv) our present Metres, meaning 
 the three principal ones, are both singularly appro- 
 priate to their subjects generally and correspondent to 
 the construction of Hebrew verse : and there is danger 
 that more is likely to be lost than gained by any 
 change. To modern Compositions of this sort, as 
 Hymns in general, of course this does not apply ; as 
 the much greater variety of sentiment and more com- 
 plex phraseology introduced in them leaves room for 
 a corresponding diversity in the music. 
 
 The three first-named Metres, and some of the 
 Peculiar Measures, are in what is called the Iambic 
 
 Measure, or foot of two syllables the first short and 
 
 the second long, sometimes represented by this mark u 
 for the former and this for the latter. That called the 
 
 Trochaic (or Sevens) or foot of two syllables the first long 
 
 and the second short, respectively marked thus \j ; 
 and the Anapcestic, or foot of three syllables two short 
 and one long u u ; tho frequently employed for 
 Hymns, are never used with THE PSALMS in the 
 two Authorised Versions except the latter for Ps^ CXLIX 
 and sometimes for a closing Doxology. 
 
 As it has here been in especial design every where 
 to compete with The Authorised Versions but especi- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 ally THE NEW, all the Psalms there in Peculiar Metre 
 have (with a few exceptions as to THE OLD VERSION) 
 been done in a First Version in the same as theirs, for 
 comparison; and, in a Second or more, in one of the 
 other Metres, for variety, as well as for adaptation to 
 different tunes ; as of Ps. xxxvii xlvi etc: 
 
 An additional Version has also occasionally been 
 given, for a mere diversity of our own ; and in this 
 latter case the Measure also has generally been varied ; 
 as of Ps. xxiii 1 Ivii and some others. 
 
 A closing observation will perhaps here be allowed 
 
 On the general manner of singing THE PSALMS, as to 
 the music and the mode : both which are often sus- 
 ceptible of great improvement ; the Tunes being fre- 
 quently in very bad taste, with little or no melody in 
 them, and in no harmony with their subject ; and, 
 while sometimes much too high for all but children, 
 too often played in such a slow monotonous heavy 
 manner as to be exceedingly wearisome to follow ; so 
 as in a great measure to defeat the object of Psalmody, 
 by producing fatigue and coldness instead of the warmth 
 and elevation so desirable to be excited. 
 
 It surely seems that a proper degree of discrimi- 
 nation might be used ; in chusing such Tunes as are 
 generally agreeable, of a pitch of note not beyond the 
 
 reach of the mass of the Congregation especially 
 
 avoiding sudden and violent transitions, and in accord- 
 ance with the subject, solemn and plaintive where in 
 
 humiliation, simple and earnest in prayer, and joyous 
 and animated in praise ; while always avoiding the 
 extremes of either style, and keeping within the bounds 
 of soberness and decorum that become Divine Song ; 
 and so to attract rather than repel in its performance. 
 
 This is a point well worthy of more attention than 
 it seems hitherto to have received ; but, not to exceed 
 the present limits nor step out of their proper province, 
 only generally hinted at for consideration. 
 
PREFACE. Ixx'lX 
 
 OF the Psalm Tunes more generally used, the 
 following seem among the best : 
 
 Common Metre. Abingdon. Ashley. Broomsgrove. 
 Cambridge New. Devizes. New York. Helmsley. 
 Salzburg. Saxony. Sheffield. Sheldon. Walsal. 
 
 Long Metre. Creation. Morning and Evening 
 Hymns. Mount Sinai. Old Hundredth. Portuguese 
 Hymn. Sabbath New. Sicilian Hymn. Stockport. 
 
 Short Metre. Bath. Falcon Street. Langdale. 
 St. Bride's. Shirland. Wirksworth. 
 
 Peculiar Metre. Carey 6 es - Darnell's cxLvm th * etc: 
 Hanover cxLix th - Portsmouth cxLVin tht Hotham 7 s - 
 
 It may be noticed that the good Tunes for Common 
 Metre greatly preponderate ; probably from the greater 
 part of The Psalms being in that Measure in both 
 THE OLD VERSION and THE NEW. 
 
 Among the more modern Tunes there are also 
 several in every respect very good, especially those 
 for Peculiar Metres : but, as they are not generally 
 known, it has been thought better for the present 
 not to name them. 
 
 With two or three exceptions, all the above Tunes 
 
 tho not New are comparatively recent, not being in 
 
 any Collection anterior to within a hundred years ago. 
 The far greater part of those in use before then, as 
 
 may be seen in Playford's perhaps the principal 
 
 Assemblage, are of the most unimaginative dull and 
 tasteless description, such as could please only the 
 rudest ear. So that in this point also there has been 
 gradual and great improvement : May all the rest 
 alike progress to ultimate perfection ! 
 
PROEM. 
 
 To British chords attun'd the strain, 
 
 In Britain's tongue express'd ; 
 As erst, ere SALEM'S hallowed Temple fell, 
 By " Israel's sweet Psalmist" waked and well ; 
 
 Now cloth'd again in later numbers dress'd, 
 Drawn from The Blessed Page, by HEAVEN'S own hand 
 
 Where written all indelible to stand ; 
 
 Here " ZION'S SONGS" up-swell. 
 
 Not here indeed (to none now given 
 
 A power that so transcends) 
 Not here, in tones that inspiration wear, 
 The fervent vow the burst of praise the prayer, 
 
 Which there to Heaven with glowing warmth ascends : 
 Yet still here heard, tho fainter of rebound, 
 The faithful echoes of the tuneful sound ; 
 
 On high their voice to bear. 
 
 Yet, howso faint the hearer deern,__ 
 
 May they well-liked be heard, 
 And move to pay the pious debt he owes ; 
 While move still more to seek the source, whence flows 
 
 The sacred stream their PROMPTER'S Holy Word, 
 
 To all as offer'd stintless yielded up ; 
 
 Where freely drink the *' living water?" ' cup, 
 That " saving-health " bestows. 
 
THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM I. 
 
 JJOW blest is he, who shuns the ways 
 
 Wherein the ungodly walk, 
 Nor stands in sinners' companies, 
 
 Nor sits where scoffers talk! 
 
 2 But in GOD'S law sets his delight, 
 
 Wherewith him making wise; 
 And loves therein, by day and night, 
 Himself to exercise. 
 
 3 That man is like unto a tree ; 
 
 That by the streams has root, 
 And, when the season's time shall be, 
 Brings forth mature its fruit. 
 
 4 His leaf, likewise, of verdant growth, 
 
 Shall neither fade nor fell ; 
 And whatsoever thing he doth 
 / Shall prosper thus in all. 
 
 5 But with the wicked 't is not so : 
 
 For like the chaff they are, 
 That by the wind swept to and fro, 
 Off-scatter'd noteless where. 
 
 6 So, at the judgement when to meet, 
 
 The ungodly shall not stand ; 
 Nor shall the sinner take his seat 
 Among the righteous band. 
 
 7 For GOD approves the just man's way, 
 
 Whose paths on Him attend ; 
 But the transgressors', turn'd astray, 
 Shall in destruction end. 
 
THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM II. 
 
 furiously, with menacings, 
 Do thus the Heathen rage ? 
 And why do vain imaginings 
 The Nations thus engage? 
 
 2 Earth's Kings and Rulers them accord' 
 
 Together 'gainst His Throne ; 
 And counsel take against The Lord 
 And His Anointed One. 
 
 3 * Now let us break their bonds :' they say 
 
 ' Asunder break them all ; 
 4 And from us cast their cords away, 
 ' That bind us and enthrall.' 
 
 4 But He, who dwells the Heavens within, 
 
 Shall mock their efforts vain ; 
 The Lord on high shall have them in 
 Derision and disdain. 
 
 5 Then, in His wrath, arraign'd before, 
 
 Unto them shall He speak ; 
 Them vex in His displeasure sore, 
 And vengeance on them wreak. 
 
 6* " There have I set, to do my will, 
 " Mine own, as Sovereign own'd ; 
 " Now, on my Sion's Holy Hill, 
 k< My King have I enthron'd." 
 
 7 Thus did The Lord unto me say, 
 
 As His declared decree : 
 
 "Thou art my Son:" said He: "This day 
 " Have I begotten Thee. 
 
 8 " Ask : and the Heathen Thee I '11 give, 
 
 " For Thine inheritance ; 
 " And, in possession to receive, 
 "The Earth's unbarr'd expanse. 
 
 9 "Them, with a rod, unspar'd withal, 
 
 " Of iron, shalt Thou bruise; 
 " In pieces shalt Thou break them all, 
 " E'eri as a potter's cruse." 
 
 %* For Notes see the End. 
 
ill. THE PSALMS. 3 
 
 10 Be wise, then, O ye Kings! Be taught, 
 
 Ye who Earth's Judges are! 
 Serve ye The Lord : and, reverence fraught, 
 Your joy in Him declare. 
 
 11 And hailf The Son: lest He be wroth, ' 
 
 Arresting you therein ; 
 And so, stray 'd from the righteous path, 
 Ye perish in your sin. 
 
 12 If e'er so little as it may, 
 
 With indignation just, 
 His wrath be kindled* .... Blest are they, 
 Who put in Him their trust! 
 
 PSALM III. 
 
 GOD! how much increas'd they are, 
 That 'gainst me ill devise; 
 Yea many are they, round every where, 
 That up against me rise. 
 
 2 Many there are, my enemies, 
 
 That of my soul* thus say 
 
 * No help to him from GOD there is ; 
 ' He 'th cast him off.' say they*. 
 
 3 But, Thou, Lord ! art my guarding shield, 
 
 My glory o'er me shed ; 
 Thou 'rt my defence, sure aid to yield; 
 The uplifter of my head. 
 
 4 I, with my voice, imploring still, 
 
 Did call upon The Lord : 
 And He, out of His Holy Hill, 
 Did hear me, as implor'd. 
 
 5 I laid me down, and slept secure; 
 
 Secure uprose again : 
 For, with protection ever sure, 
 The Lord did me sustain. 
 
 6 Yea in ten thousands tho my foes 
 
 Against me be array 'd, 
 
 With Thee, whate'er their number shows, 
 I will not be afraid. 
 
 f Or <kiss.' See Note. 
 
4 THE PSALMS. iv. 
 
 7 Up, Lord! and help me, O my GOD! 
 
 For Thou my foes dost smite : 
 Their broken jaws confess Thy rod ; 
 The ungodly own Thy might. 
 
 8 Redemption to The Lord belongs ; 
 
 To save alone is His : 
 He will redress His People's wrongs; 
 His blessing on them is. 
 
 PSALM IV. 
 
 THOU, who freed'st me when distress'd ; 
 
 My GOD! my calling hear; 
 Have mercy on me, thus oppress'd ; 
 
 And to my prayer give ear. 
 
 2 How long, ye great ones*! will ye then 
 
 My glory turn to shame? 
 How long love vainness? and till when 
 Speak falsely and defame? 
 
 3 The Lord hath chosen for His own 
 
 The man that godly is : 
 So, when The Lord I call upon, 
 Me will He hear for this. 
 
 4 Stand in His awe ; and shun ye sin ; 
 
 Eschew whate'er is ill ; 
 With your own heart self-commune in 
 Your chamber, and be still. 
 
 5 The sacrifice of righteousness 
 
 Still offer up and pay ; 
 Rest on The Lord for His redress, 
 On Him your trust still lay. 
 
 6 The many, craving, say ' Who now 
 
 ' Us any good will do!' 
 But, Lord ! for our all good, do Thou 
 Us with Thy favour view. 
 
 7 With gladness still Thou fill'st my heart, 
 
 And giv'st me joy far more, 
 
 Than theirs whose riches this impart 
 
 Their corn and wine's rich store*. 
 
V. THE PSALMS. 
 
 8 In peace then will I lay me down, 
 
 And take rny rest with Thee. 
 For Thou, O Lord ! whom trusting on, 
 In safety niak'st me be. 
 
 PSALM V. 
 
 LORD! give my petition ear, 
 
 Thereof deign notice take ; 
 My King ! my GOD ! my calling hear : 
 
 To Thee my prayer I '11 make. 
 
 2 Betimes, O Lord! at morning's prime, 
 
 To Thee my voice I '11 raise ; 
 Betimes, at morning's early time, 
 To Thee address my praise. 
 
 3 For Thou, O Lord! hast no delight 
 
 In such as do not well ; 
 With Thee shall nought but what is right, 
 Nor any evil, dwell. 
 
 4 The unjust* shall in Thy sight not stand, 
 
 Nor they who speak untrue : 
 For Thou dost hate the wicked's band, 
 Who iniquity pursue. 
 
 5 The righteous Lord hates evil-doers, 
 
 And them who seek not good ; 
 He the deceitful man abhors, 
 And him who thirsts for blood. 
 
 6 For me into Thy House I '11 go, 
 
 And for Thy mercy pray ; 
 Bow'd in Thy Holy Temple low, 
 My worship there I '11 pay. 
 
 7 Lord! in Thy righteousness me lead, 
 
 Lest into danger run : 
 Instruct me in Thy ways, to heed ; 
 And how my foes to shun. 
 
 8 For in their mouths, to evil prone, 
 
 No faithfulness there is ; 
 Their hearts are wickedness alone, 
 And all their thoughts amiss. 
 
THE PSALMS. VI. 
 
 9 They flatter with their tongues ; they cheat ; 
 
 Their throat 's an open grave. 
 Lord ! cast them down in their deceit, 
 Nor from destruction save. 
 
 10 By their own counsels let them fall ; 
 
 And them, thence forth expell'd, 
 Cast out in their transgressions all: 
 For 'gainst Thee they 've rebell'd. 
 
 11 Let all rejoice who trust in Thee; 
 
 For Thou dost them protect: 
 Let all, who love Thy Name*, glad be, 
 With joyfulness uncheck'd. 
 
 12 For Thou, Lord ! wilt the righteous bless ; 
 
 Him wilt Thou still befriend ; 
 And, with Thy gracious favouringness, 
 As with a shield, defend. 
 
 PSALM VI. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 T ORD! in Thy wrath rebuke me not, 
 
 Nor in Thine ire chastise ; 
 Ne'er smite in Thy displeasure hot, 
 Nor let it 'gainst me rise. 
 
 2 O heal me, Lord ! my strength restore : 
 
 For I am worn and weak ; 
 My soul also is troubled sore, 
 Nor knows where ease to seek. 
 
 3 O Lord ! do Thou forgive my wrong ; 
 
 Release me from Thy frown. 
 'Neath Thy displeasure, thus, how long 
 Wilt still Thou bow me down? 
 
 4 Turn Thee, O Lord! turn from Thy wrath; 
 
 Me in Thy mercy save : 
 None may remember Thee in death, 
 None thank Thee in the grave. 
 
 u I 'm worn with groaning ; nothing cheers : 
 
 By night as day still shed, 
 My couch I water with my tears ; 
 Therewith 1 bathe my bed. 
 
VI. THE PSALMS. 
 
 6 Because of all my many woes, 
 
 Mine eye is worn away ; 
 Because of my so many foes, 
 *T is dimm'd and in decay. 
 
 7 Hence from me, ye ! all who rejoice 
 
 In vanity and ill. 
 
 The Lord hath heard my weeping's voice ; 
 My prayer will He fulfil. 
 
 8 My foes shall all confounded be, 
 
 Sore vex'd, and mark'd of blame ; 
 They shall be made turn back and flee, 
 And sudden put to shame. 
 
 PSALM VI. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 TORD ! in Thy wrath rebuke me not, 
 
 Nor in Thine ire withhold to spare ; 
 In pity now my sin outblot; 
 
 And heal my woes, for great they are. 
 
 2 Shall then Thine anger ne'er be past ? 
 
 Still vainly must I pardon crave? 
 O Lord, relent Thee now at last ; 
 And, for Thy mercies' sake, me save. 
 
 3 Lord ! to me turn : my soul set free ; 
 
 Release, and give me now to live. 
 In death none memory keeps of Thee, 
 None in the grave Thee thanks can give. 
 
 4 My couch with ceaseless tears o'erflows; 
 
 With groaning worn, in grief I pine; 
 T is dimm'd thro my so many foes, 
 Mine eye with weeping learns decline. 
 
 5 But, from me hence, ye wicked ones, 
 
 Who in iniquity rejoice ! 
 For now no more my plaint He shuns, 
 The Lord has heard my wailing's voice. 
 
 6 My supplication has He heard, 
 
 The Lord will now my prayer receive : 
 My enemies shall turn back, deterr'd; 
 They shall be made asham'd, and grieve. 
 
8 THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM VII. 
 
 LORD, my GOD ! whate'er my woes, 
 
 I 've put my trust in Thee : 
 From all my persecuting foes, 
 
 Now save and set me free. 
 
 2 O save me from them, Lord ! and stay 
 
 With Thy supporting power ; 
 Lest, like to hungry lions, they 
 My helpless soul devour. 
 
 3 O Lord, my GOD! if I 've done this, 
 
 Their evil imagining : 
 If in my hands be aught amiss, 
 Or any wicked thing : 
 
 4 If, wronging any one in aught, 
 
 I 've good with evil paid ; 
 Nor, rather, tho my foe for nought, 
 Reliev'd and given him aid : 
 
 5 Then let them persecute, as may, 
 
 And take me, forth to thrust ; 
 Yea let them tread me down, and lay 
 Mine honour in the dust. 
 
 6 Lord ! in Thine ire upstand ; Thee rouse ; 
 
 Make rny enemies withdraw : 
 Uplift Thee, Lord ! my cause espouse ; 
 And justify Thy law. 
 
 7 So shall Thy People, far and nigh, 
 
 Come round Thee for defence : 
 Lord ! for them sit* Thou now on high, 
 Thence justice to dispense. 
 
 8 Thou judgest all. So, with redress, 
 
 Give sentence, Lord ! for me ; 
 According to my righteousness, 
 And as from evil free. 
 
 9 Let not the ungodly's ways abide ; 
 
 But bring them to an end : 
 Establish Thou the just; them guide, 
 And in their paths attend. 
 
V11L THE PSALMS. 
 
 10 The righteous GOD is keen of sight: 
 
 He tries the heart and reins. 
 Of GOD my help comes : He the upright 
 And faithful ones maintains. 
 
 1 1 GOD is a righteous Judge : He is loath 
 
 To smite, enduring long: 
 Yea daily He 's provok'd to wrath, 
 And anger'd with our wrong. 
 
 12 If man not turn him and repent, 
 
 The Lord will whet His sword : 
 His bow already has He bent, 
 Already drawn the cord. 
 
 13 For them The Lord, and pardonless, 
 
 Death's instruments prepares ; 
 'Gainst those, who the innocent oppress, 
 His arrows forth He bares. 
 
 14 Lo all, the sinner has achieved, 
 
 Is ill and nothing worth ; 
 Ungodliness has he conceived, 
 And wickedness brought forth. 
 
 15 He made and digged him a pit, 
 
 To take himself withal ; 
 He sunk a ditch, o'ercovering it, 
 Wherein himself to fall. 
 
 16 The mischief, he for others meant, 
 
 Has on himself recoil'd ; 
 On his own head his ill intent 
 Has fall'n, therein self-foil'd. 
 
 17 As is His truth and righteousness, 
 
 The Lord Most High I '11 praise; 
 And to His Name, while loud confess, 
 My praiseful song still raise. 
 
 PSALM VIII. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 C\ LORD, our GOD ! spread far and nigh, 
 
 How excellent is Thy Name! 
 Thy glory hast Thou set on high, 
 Above the ethereal frame. 
 
10 THE PSALMS. Vlii. 
 
 2 From babes' and sucklings'* mouths forth shown, 
 
 Thou mak/st Thy strength appear; 
 
 To still the scorner fain to own, 
 
 And make Thine enemies fear. 
 
 3 When to Thy heavens I lift my eyes, 
 
 The works of Thy dread hand, 
 
 The moon the stars the glittering skies, 
 
 That were at Thy command: 
 
 4 Lord ! what is man, or all his seed ; 
 
 That Thou should'st him regard? 
 
 What man's whole race ; that Thou should'st heed, 
 Or keep him in Thy ward? 
 
 5 Than Thine own angels only less, 
 
 To make him didst Thou deign ; 
 
 With worship honour gloriousness, 
 
 Thou 'st crown'd him, here to reign. 
 
 6 O'er all that owe to Thee their birth, 
 
 Thou 'st given him rule and sway ; 
 To him all things that are on Earth 
 Made subject, to obey. 
 
 7 Whatever peoples land or air, 
 
 Beasts birds, whatever is, 
 
 The sea's inhabitants wheree'er, 
 
 The deep's all tribes are his. 
 
 8 O Lord, our GOD! spread far and nigh, 
 
 How excellent is Thy Name! 
 Thy glory hast Thou set on high, 
 Above the ethereal frame. 
 
 PSALM VIII. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 Q LORD ! o'er all the Earth 
 
 How excellent is Thy Name : 
 Yea Thou Thy glory hast set forth 
 Above the ethereal frame. 
 
 2 From babes 1 and sucklings' mouths 
 
 Thou 'st made Thy greatness shown: 
 That the enemy, who disavows, 
 
 Thy strengthfiil power might own. 
 
. THE PSALMS. 11 
 
 3 When I Thy heavens retrace, 
 
 The sun moon stars all there: 
 
 O what is man mankind's all race, 
 
 That Thou should'st give him care! 
 
 4 But than the angels less 
 
 Thou 'st made him ; fair of show ; 
 And him Thou 'st crown'd with gloriousness 
 And honour; lord below. 
 
 5 O'er Thy hands' works to him 
 
 Thou 'st given domain and seat ; 
 All things of life, that creep fly swim, 
 Thou 'st set beneath his feet. 
 
 6 The field's all beasts whate'er, 
 
 Sheep cattle, all are his; 
 
 The bird that wings its way in air, 
 The fish that cleaves the seas. 
 
 7 O LORD! o'er all the Earth 
 
 How excellent is Thy Name : 
 Yea Thou Thy glory hast set forth 
 Above the ethereal frame. 
 
 PSALM IX. 
 
 Thee, O Lord! with my whole heart, 
 
 Will I give thanks and praise; 
 On all Thy works of wondrous art 
 My voice I '11 loudly raise. 
 
 2 In Thee, O Thou Most High ador'd ! 
 
 I gladsome will rejoice. 
 In songs to Thy Name's praise, O Lord ! 
 Will I uplift my voice. 
 
 3 Thou mad'st mine enemies retire; 
 
 Thou didst them back repel : 
 They perish'd at Thy wrathful ire, 
 And at Thine anger fell. 
 
 4 For Thou dost my just cause abet ; 
 
 My rights by Thee are fenced : 
 Thou in the righteous throne art set, 
 Whence judgement is dispensed. 
 
THE PSALMS. 
 
 5 The Heathen Thou 'st rebuk'd with rout; 
 
 The ungodly Thou 'st destroy'd ; 
 Thou 'st put their name for ever out, 
 And made their places void. 
 
 6 Thou hast destroy'd the foe*: Forth thrust, 
 
 Nor more remember'd there ; 
 E'en with their cities Thou 'st made dust, 
 Their memories perish'd are. 
 
 7 But He The Lord for ever lives : 
 
 His throne He high has rear'd ; 
 The seat, too, whence He judgement gives, 
 He for Him has prepar'd. 
 
 8 Thence He, with righteousness and truth, 
 
 Shall judge the World : and thence 
 He to the Nations, yet with ruth, 
 
 True judgement shall dispense. 
 
 9 The Lord, also, to those oppress'd, 
 
 A sure defence will be ; 
 A refuge for them when distress'd, 
 From troubles them to free. 
 
 10 And they, O Lord ! who know Thy Name, 
 
 In Thee their trust will place : 
 For Thou, from whom to seek Thee came, 
 Hast never turn'd Thy face. 
 
 11 O praise The LordThe Holy One, 
 
 In Sion who doth dwell! 
 
 The Nations show what He hath done, 
 
 His acts among them tell. 
 
 12 He into blood inquiry makes ; 
 
 And recollects the poor ; 
 Of their complaints He notice takes ; 
 And checks the evil-doer. 
 
 13 O help me, Lord ! see all that from 
 
 My enemies I endure: 
 Thou, from death's portals and the tomb, 
 Who hold'st me up secure. 
 
 14 That I, in Sion's daughter's* gates, 
 
 Thy praises forth may show. 
 In Thy salvation, midst my straits, 
 Rejoicing will I go. 
 
X. THE PSALMS. 13 
 
 15 The Heathen are sunk down amid 
 
 The pit themselves prepared ; 
 The net, that privily they hid, 
 Has their own foot ensnared. 
 
 16 The Lord is in His judgements known: 
 
 None e'er His sentence 'scaped. 
 By their own hands, in toils their own, 
 The ungodly are entrapped. 
 
 17 The wicked shall be overset, 
 
 And turned into hell * ; 
 The Nations all, who GOD forget 
 And 'gainst His power rebel. 
 
 18 The injuries of the poor and weak 
 
 Shall not be still forgot'; 
 The abiding patience of the meek 
 Not always held for nought. 
 
 19 Up, Lord ! and let not man prevail, 
 
 Nor have the upper hand : 
 But judge the Heathen ; make them fail, 
 Nor longer Thee withstand. 
 
 20 Alarm the Nations, Lord ! them touch, 
 
 Them put in fear of Thee : 
 
 That they may know themselves for such 
 
 And only men to be. 
 
 PSALM X. 
 
 J^ORD! from us why, refusing heed, 
 
 Stand'st Thou so far aside ; 
 And, in the troublous time of need, 
 Thy face thus from us hide? 
 
 2 The ungodly, in their pride, oppress 
 
 And persecute the poor. 
 In his own wiles and wickedness 
 Confound the evil-doer ! 
 
 3 By his heart's lusts alone engrossed, 
 
 The wicked nought respects ; 
 He blesses him, and makes his boast 
 That he The Lord rejects. 
 
14 THE PSALMS. X. 
 
 4 Self-trusting, he regards Him nought, 
 
 Nor aught he for Him cares ; 
 GOD is nowise in his each thought, 
 Nor in his mind he bears. 
 
 5 His ways go on, still bent on ill ; 
 
 GOD'S judgements nought he heeds ; 
 He flouts at all who oppose his will ; 
 And, as him lists, proceeds. 
 
 6 * Away ! I ne'er shall shaken be.' 
 
 (He in his heart has said) 
 
 ' No ill shall ever happen me. 
 ' I will not be afraid.' 
 
 7 His mouth is full of blasphemies, 
 
 Of falsehood, and deceit; 
 Beneath his tongue ungodliness 
 And vanity take seat. 
 
 8 He in the streets* dark corners sits: 
 
 There prowls he, to way-lay ; 
 And privily, in his dark pits, 
 The innocent doth slay. 
 
 9 There mischief 'gainst the poor he works, 
 
 To get them in his power; 
 (As in his den the lion lurks) 
 Where he may them devour. 
 
 10 In ambush hid' he crouches down, 
 
 Where waits he lying low; 
 That, suddenly them setting on*, 
 The weak he may o'erthrow. 
 
 11 'Away!' (he in his heart has said) 
 
 4 GOD has forgotten this ; 
 ' He sees it not ; 't is nothing weigh'd ; 
 1 It nought regarded is.' 
 
 12 But, O Lord GOD! arise; upstand : 
 
 Forget not Thou the poor; 
 For them raise Thine avenging hand, 
 And smite the evil-doer. 
 
 13 Why shall the wicked thus gainsay, 
 
 And GOD contemn and dare? 
 
 While in his heart he saith ' Away ! 
 
 ' This gives Thee little care.' 
 
xi. THE PSALMS. 15 
 
 14 But surely Thou hast seen this wrong; 
 
 For Thou dost all things see : 
 Thou guard'st the feeble 'gainst the strong; 
 The orphan 's stay'd by Thee. 
 
 15 So Thou the ungodly's arm shalt break, 
 
 The wicked bring to ground : 
 
 That, for him when again to seek, 
 
 He no where shall be found *. 
 
 16 The Lord is King for evermore ; 
 
 He exalted high doth stand : 
 His foes are from Him swept before, 
 Outrooted from the land. 
 
 17 Lord! Thou hast heard the bumble's call; 
 
 Thou their desire dost hear ; 
 Thou prompt'st their hearts and prayers withal, 
 And givest them Thine ear: 
 
 18 To help unto their right, and guard, 
 
 The poor and parentless ; 
 That the unforgiving man and hard 
 No longer them oppress. 
 
 PSALM XI. 
 
 trust is in The Lord reposed. 
 
 Why to my soul then say* : 
 
 ' E'en as a bird with toils enclosed, 
 ' Flee to your hill* away. 
 
 2 * For now the ungodly bend their bow, 
 
 ' And they their arrows suit ; 
 ' That at the true of heart, laying low, 
 * They privily may shoot.' 
 
 3 * Earth's government* have they destroy 'd, 
 
 ' O'erturning all there thro : 
 4 And, 'gainst their power, of help devoid, 
 ' What can the righteous do !' 
 
 4 GOD in His Holy Temple is : 
 
 In Heav'n is The Lord's Throne : 
 His eyes thence scan us ; all He sees ; 
 He knows whatever is done. 
 
16 THE PSALMS. xii. 
 
 5 The Lord regards the just man's way; 
 
 But hates all evil-doers ; 
 The lovers of iniquity, 
 And wicked, He abhors. 
 
 6 Fire brimstone storms and tempests, He 
 
 Shall on the ungodly rain; 
 
 To drink shall this their portion* be, 
 
 And this their cup to drain. 
 
 7 For, righteous is The Lord : Withal 
 
 So righteousness He loves; 
 He notes the just and upright all, 
 And them well pleas'd approves. 
 
 PSALM XII. 
 
 C\ HELP me, Lord! For, thro the land, 
 
 Now iniquities prevail ; 
 From 'mong us now, a dwindled band, 
 The godly wholly fail. 
 
 2 'Mong one another, with deceit, 
 
 All falsely talk and act ; 
 They flatter with their lips, they cheat, 
 And double parts enact. 
 
 3 But, lying lips are not The Lord's : 
 
 All such will He cut off; 
 And so the tongues, that speak proud words 
 And at reproval scoff: 
 
 4 That say ' We will prevail, nor reck : 
 
 * We will have our own word : 
 ' Our tongues our own are ; none shall check : 
 'Who over us is lord?' 
 
 5 " But (saith The Lord) the needy for, 
 
 " And for their troubles' sake ; 
 " And, for the poor's oppression o'er, 
 " Now their defence to take : 
 
 (> * I for them will arise (saith He) 
 
 4 To help in their distress ; 
 *' From their iusulters set them five, 
 "And will their wrongs reili 
 
xiii. THE PSALMS. 17 
 
 7 All The Lord's words are pureness all: 
 
 As silver purified ; 
 That, in the furnace, smelted small, 
 Seven times the fire hath tried. 
 
 8 So He shall guard us from all ill, 
 
 And keep us in His ward ; 
 He, from the oppressor sheltering still, 
 For ever shall us guard. 
 
 9 The ungodly stalk in open view, 
 
 When wicked men bear sway*. 
 But He shall note the unrighteous crew, 
 To sweep them off away. 
 
 PSALM XIII. 
 
 JJOW long wilt Thou forget me, Lord ! 
 
 Still from me turn'd aside ? 
 How long wilt Thou, in vain implor'd, 
 Thy face still from me hide? 
 
 2 How long shall thus, unheard by Thee, 
 
 'My soul its wailings pour? 
 How long shall thus, oppressing me, 
 My enemies triumph o'er? 
 
 3 My GOD! consider me, and hear: 
 
 Do Thou in safety keep ; 
 My eyes enlighten, making clear; 
 And lest in death I sleep : 
 
 4 Lest boast my foe, with tauntful voice, 
 
 Against me to prevail : 
 Lest they, that vex me, should rejoice, 
 If moved when they assail : 
 
 5 For in Thy mercy do I trust ; 
 
 Therewith I fear no ill. 
 In Thy salvation, Lord most just ! 
 My heart rejoices still. 
 
 6 Unto The Lord my song I '11 frame; 
 
 Whose hand doth me upraise : 
 Yea I The Lord Most Highest's Name 
 Continually will praise*. 
 
 - 
 
18 THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM XIV. 
 
 'THE fool within his heart hath said 
 ' There is no GOD.' Now, astray, 
 In wickedness's paths all tread, 
 Pursuing the evil way. 
 
 2 GOD on the sons of men, close scann'd, 
 
 From Heaven look'd down below ; 
 To see if none would understand, 
 Nor seek for Him to know. 
 
 3 But all have wickedness pursued, 
 
 And from the way are gone ; 
 There is not one that follows good, 
 No not a single one. 
 
 4 *Their throat 's an open sepulchre ; 
 
 They with their tongues deceive ; 
 The poison of the asp is there, 
 Their lips a venom give. 
 
 5 Of cursing and of bitterness 
 
 Their mouths are ever full : 
 They thirst for blood ; and, pitiless, 
 Still seek whom down to pull. 
 
 6 In every thing their way 's amiss ; 
 
 Therein destruction lies : 
 They know not peace's paths ; nor is 
 GOD'S fear before their eyes. 
 
 7 *Then do they no avengement dread, 
 
 Those evil-doers all? 
 
 My People eating up like bread ; 
 Nor on The Lord they call. 
 
 8 Yea in great fear shall they be thrown ; 
 
 Where deeming nought to fear* : 
 For, 'mong the righteous, as His own, 
 GOD ever is, still near. 
 
 9 They mock the counsel of the poor; 
 
 Ashaming him for this; 
 
 That still, against the evil-doer, 
 The Lord his refuge is. 
 
XV. THE PSALMS. 19 
 
 10 0* who shall free them, and allow 
 
 Again to see their home! 
 O would that their deliverance now 
 Were out of Sion come ! 
 
 11 Yea, when The Lord, in His kind choice, 
 
 Shall set His People free, 
 
 Then Jacob greatly shall rejoice, 
 And Israel glad shall be. 
 
 PSALM XV.* 
 
 in Thy Tabernacle still 
 
 Shall dwell and there reside? 
 Who, Lord! upon Thy Holy Hill 
 
 Shall sojourn and abide ? . . . 
 
 2 E'en he, that in uprightness walks, 
 
 And uncorruptly lives; 
 That from his heart still truthful talks, 
 Nor with his lips deceives. 
 
 3 He, that ne'er joins with slanderous tongues, 
 
 Nor secret mischief seeks ; 
 That ne'er in aught his neighbour wrongs, 
 Nor evil of him speaks : 
 
 4 That holds the reprobate abhorr'd, 
 
 And him contemning sees* ; 
 That honours them who fear The Lord, 
 And hates His enemies : 
 
 5 That to his neighbour swears in aught; 
 
 And will him not deceive, 
 Howe'er to his own hindrance wrought; 
 But to his word will cleave. 
 
 6 He that, to grinding usury, 
 
 Puts not his money out; 
 Nor 'gainst the innocent takes pay, 
 False witnessing about. 
 
 7 Who doeth these things shall not be moved ; 
 
 Nor shall he ever fall : 
 His ways are by The Lord approved, 
 As just and perfect all. 
 
20 THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM XVI. 
 
 Q GOD ! on Thee do I depend ; 
 
 I put iny trust in Thee : 
 Do Thou protect me, and defend ; 
 Do Thou my refuge be. 
 
 2 My soul! thou to The Lord hast said 
 
 ' Thou only art my GOD : 
 ' From Thee alone comes all my stead*, 
 * By Thee alone bestow'd.' 
 
 3 ' As for all those false gods of earth, 
 
 'To whom do men down bow; 
 ' Vain idols mere, and nothing worth : 
 ' As those who them avow : 
 
 4 'Them and all such will I abhor; 
 
 ' Nor will I share their shame ; 
 'Their blood drink-offerings I '11 not pour, 
 ' Nor shall my lips them name.' 
 
 5 The Lord is my inheritance, 
 
 The portion of my cup ; 
 T is He who guards me 'gainst mischance ; 
 'T is He who holds me up. 
 
 6 The lines*, His bounty to me gave, 
 
 Are fall'n in a fair land ; 
 A goodly heritage I have, 
 A pleasant and a bland. 
 
 7 So will I bless The Lord, who deigns 
 
 His counsel me to give. 
 At night within me, too, my reins 
 Instruct me how to live. 
 
 8 Before me have I set my GOD, 
 
 There always and for all ; 
 At my right hand is He, avow'd : 
 Therefor shall I not fall. 
 
 9 Thence is my heart with gladness fill'd ; 
 
 Thence triumph wakes my voice ; 
 My flesh also in hope doth build ; 
 Thence doth my sense rejoice. 
 
Xvii. THE PSALMS. 
 
 10 For Thou 'It not let, in death laid prone, 
 
 My soul extinguish'd be; 
 Thou wilt not let Thy Holy One 
 Corruption ever see. 
 
 11 Life's path Thou wilt me show. Full bliss 
 
 Is where Thy face before ; 
 At Thy right hand there pleasure is, 
 And joy, for evermore. 
 
 PSALM XVII. 
 
 T ORD! hear my cry; my calling hear; 
 
 Try Thou the right, O Lord ! 
 To my complaint and prayer give ear, 
 From no feign 'd lips outpour'd. 
 
 2 Let from Thy presence, sentencing, 
 
 My judgement come in this; 
 And let Thine eye look on the thing 
 That just and equal is. 
 
 3 In the night-season hast Thou tried 
 
 And visited my heart ; 
 
 Lord ! Thou hast search'd me, and descried 
 In me no faulty part. 
 
 4 Thou 'st in me found no evil bent : 
 
 For I Thy words attend ; 
 And I am purpos'd of intent 
 My mouth shall not offend. 
 
 5 As for men's works, rebelling still 
 
 Against Thy ordinances, 
 
 I Ve kept me from the walks of ill, 
 And the destroyer's ways. 
 
 6 Lord! show me how Thy paths to keep, 
 
 And hold me up therein ; 
 So that my footsteps do not slip, 
 Nor that I fall by sin. 
 
THE PSALMS. xv. 
 
 7 My GOD ! on Thee I call : O hear, 
 
 And to my call reply ; 
 Now to my prayer incline Thine ear, 
 And hearken to my cry. 
 
 8 Thy loving-kindness let me see ; 
 
 Thou ! who, by Thy power, 
 
 Sav'st them, that put their trust in Thee, 
 From those who would devour. 
 
 9 Keep me as the apple of Thine eye ; 
 
 'Neath Thy wings' shadow hide, 
 From them, in wait who for me lie, 
 Around on every side. 
 
 10 Save me from them that would ensnare, 
 
 That to destroy me seek : 
 Enclos'd in their own fat*' they are, 
 And pridefully they speak. 
 
 11 Wheree'er, encompassing me round, 
 
 Within their hands to get, 
 
 Their eyes, down bowing to the ground, 
 They watchful on me set. 
 
 12 As lions, greedy for their prey, 
 
 They for me wait, down couched ; 
 E'en as young lions, that way-lay, 
 In secret lurking crouched. 
 
 13 But rise, O Lord ! and foil his plan ; 
 
 Down cast him in his spite : 
 Release me from the ungodly man, 
 Who is Thy sword* to smite. 
 
 14 From men who but this world rdgard, 
 
 Who here their portion have ; 
 Whom with Thy treasures, nought debarr'd, 
 Thou 'st fill'd, e'en as they crave : 
 
 15 Who offspring have e'en as they would; 
 
 Who all their schemes achieve ; 
 And to their heirs, in plenteous good, 
 Their over-substance leave. 
 
 16 For me, in righteousness's fold, 
 
 Thy presence will I see*; 
 And, Thee at waking to behold, 
 
 1 satisfied shall be. 
 
THE PSALMS. 2 
 
 PSALM XVIII.f 
 
 T'HOU art my ward 'gainst every shock : 
 
 Thee will I love, O Lord! 
 Thou art my fortress, and my rock, 
 My help whene'er implor'd. 
 
 2 My GOD ! my Saviour ! and my power ! 
 
 On Thee my trust I build: 
 Thou 'rt my salvation's horn,* my tower, 
 My refuge, and my shield. 
 
 3 I still upon The Lord will call ; 
 
 Who all praise worthy is. 
 So shall I safe be from them all, 
 Nor fear mine enemies. 
 
 4 The woes of death, in terrors strong, 
 
 Encompass'd me around : 
 The ungodly made me fear ; their throng, 
 Like floods, o'erspread the ground. 
 
 5 Hell's cords about me came, and thrall'd ; 
 
 Its bands were round me tied : 
 On Him in my distress I call'd, 
 Unto my GOD I cried. 
 
 6 For, from His Holy Temple still 
 
 The Lord my voice shall hear ; 
 
 Before Him my complaint, in ill, 
 
 Shall come, and reach His ear. 
 
 7 Then was He wroth : and, at His look, 
 
 Earth trembled and did quake : 
 The hills from their foundations shook ; 
 They moved, their base to shake. 
 
 8 A smoke went from His nostrils forth, 
 
 And a consuming fire 
 
 From out His mouth : as glows the hearth, 
 Was burning coals His ire. 
 
 9 *He bowed the Heavens, and shook their seat ; 
 
 And came He down the height. 
 Was darkness all beneath His feet, 
 Black darkness all and night. 
 
 f 2 Samuel, xxii. 
 
24 THE PSALMS. XV111. 
 
 10 He rode upon His cherubim, 
 
 Careering thro the sky ; 
 With the swift wind transporting Him, 
 He on its wings did fly. 
 
 1 1 Darkness His secret place He made : 
 
 And round about Him there, 
 Dark waters, and the skies' thick shade, 
 For His pavilion were. 
 
 12 Then, at the brightness of His face, 
 
 The clouds did back retire : 
 Before His presence gave they place : 
 Was hail, and coals of fire. 
 
 13 From out the Heavens He thunder'd forth ; 
 
 Spake forth The Lord in ire ; 
 Spake The Most High : Shook Heaven and Earth: 
 Was hail, and coals of fire. 
 
 14 His vengeful arrows shot He out: 
 
 He scatter'd them* abroad. 
 His lightnings shot He forth about : 
 Them scatter'd and destroy 'd. 
 
 15 Then, at Thy breathing's blast, dread Lord! 
 
 When Thy displeasure woke ; 
 When rose Thy kindling wrath outpour'd, 
 And when Thy chiding spoke : 
 
 16 The waters backwards rose on heap ; 
 
 Their sources were laid bare ; 
 And the round World's foundations deep 
 Unveil'd discover'd were. 
 
 17 The Lord then from On High stretch'd down, 
 
 And pluck'd me from the grave ; 
 From many waters where to drown, 
 He, taking me, did save. 
 
 18 He freed me from my enemies, 
 
 And them who did me wrong 
 And hated me : For, many in this, 
 They for me were too strong. 
 
 19 They in my trouble on me rose, 
 
 And in my evil day : 
 But He Himself did them oppose ; 
 The Lord was then my stay. 
 
xviii. THE PSALMS. 25 
 
 20 He brought me where at large to be, 
 
 Releasing whence emmewed ; 
 He rescued me ; because, sin-free, 
 With favour me He viewed. 
 
 21 According to my innocence, 
 
 The Lord will me regard ; 
 
 As clean my hands without offence, 
 
 My meed will He award. 
 
 22 Because I still have kept me to 
 
 And in His paths have trod ; 
 Nor, as the wicked daily do, 
 Have I forsook* my GOD. 
 
 23 For still I kept before my thought 
 
 His statutes, to observe ; 
 Nor His commandments set at nought; 
 In nothing thence to swerve. 
 
 24 Before Him was I perfect-stepp'd, 
 
 So walking in His sight; 
 And from iniquity I kept, 
 
 Still following that which right. 
 
 25 So, as the cleanness of my hands, 
 
 Before Him still displayed, 
 
 And as my rectitude demands, 
 
 The Lord hath me repaid. 
 
 26 With him, O Lord! that piteous is, 
 
 Thou piteous too wilt be : 
 The righteous man, in nought amiss, 
 Shall righteous so find Thee. 
 
 27 Thou, with the good and free from blame, 
 
 Wilt blameless be, and good : 
 But, with the froward, Thou, the same, 
 Wilt be of froward mood. 
 
 28 Thou wilt uphold the oppress'd and weak, 
 
 Against the prideful's frown ; 
 But check the haughty and unmeek, 
 And their high looks bring down. 
 
 29 The Lord my candle too will light, 
 
 Illumining my way ; 
 He makes the darkness of my night 
 To be as open day. 
 
26 THE PSALMS. Xviil. 
 
 30 My foes discomfiting with Thee, 
 
 My ground 'gainst hosts I '11 keep ; 
 With Thee, my GOD! assisting me, 
 Opposing walls I '11 leap. 
 
 31 GOD'S way is undefil'd and just; 
 
 His word is tried and pure : 
 He guards all those who on Him trust ; 
 He is their buckler sure. 
 
 32 For who is GOD except The Lord? 
 
 Who but our GOD hath might? 
 T is He who doth me strength afford, 
 And lead my path aright. 
 
 33 He like the roebuck's makes my feet, 
 
 Safe guiding them withal ; 
 On my high places bounding fleet, 
 Preventing me to fall. 
 
 34 My hands for war doth He prepare, 
 
 And teach their blows to deal ; 
 My arms by Him enstrengthen'd are, 
 To break a bow of steel. 
 
 35 Thou 'st given me Thy salvation's shield ; 
 
 Thou, Lord! reliev'st my strait; 
 Thy hand me its support does yield, 
 Thy countenance makes me great. 
 
 36 Thou clear dost for me make my way, 
 
 With plenteous room around ; 
 
 That so my steps not turn astray, 
 
 Nor let me come to ground. 
 
 37 I follow on my foes I speed 
 
 And quickly them o'ertake ; 
 Nor, till destroy 'd, as 'neath me bleed, 
 From their pursuit forsake. 
 
 38 I smite them ; that they cannot stand, 
 
 But fall beneath my feet. 
 Thou for the battle arm'st my hand ; 
 Thou giv'st my foes defeat. 
 
 39 Thou for the battle mak'st me strong; 
 
 Thou mak'st my foes to flee : 
 All them, who hate me tho with wrong, 
 Do I destroy thro Thee. 
 
Xviii. THE PSALMS. 27 
 
 40 Then cry they : but do none reply ; 
 
 None there will give them ear: 
 
 E'en to The Lord for help they cry : 
 
 Bat nought will He them hear. 
 
 41 Then do I beat them small, as dust 
 
 Off-blown the gale before : 
 As the streets' dirt, them out I thrust, 
 To know their place no more. 
 
 42 Thou, from the people's mutinying, 
 
 Hast freed me, to maintain ; 
 And o'er the Heathen, as their King, 
 Establish'd me, to reign. 
 
 43 Strange Nations, I not knew withal, 
 
 Now to me them submit; 
 Obedient now, they to me call 
 Upon their throne to sit. 
 
 44 Strange Nations, now who of me hear, 
 
 Within their strongholds quake ; 
 Their hearts now fail them for my fear ; 
 For fear of me they shake. 
 
 45 The Lord He lives: and blest be He! 
 
 My helper, staff, and rod : 
 
 Prais'd and exalted let Him be, 
 
 He my salvation's GOD! 
 
 46 The GOD, who is my strength and stay, 
 
 Who my avenger is ; 
 Who bends the Nations to my sway, 
 And from my enemies frees. 
 
 47 Above my adversaries Thou 
 
 Dost set me up secure ; 
 Thou wilt the violent man down-bow, 
 
 And from his hand assure. 
 4$ So will I thank Thee, gracious Lord ! 
 
 And still Thy praises frame ; 
 Among the Heathen, loud outpour'd, 
 
 Sing praises to Thy Name. 
 49 Thou 'st bopnM Thy King with bounteous hand ; 
 
 And given Thy mercies' store 
 To David, Thine Anointed, and 
 
 His seed, for evermore. 
 
28 THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM XIX. 
 
 THE Heavens, and all the realms on high, 
 
 GOD'S glory wide declare ; 
 The Firmament tells, far and nigh, , 
 His greatness everywhere. 
 
 2 Day tells it to recurring Day ; 
 
 Night tells it Night recurr'd ; 
 
 Nor is there language speech or say, 
 
 Where is their voice not heard. 
 
 3 Throughout all lands their tongue resounds, 
 
 To Earth's remotest end ; 
 To the Universe's utmost bounds 
 
 Their soundful words extend. 
 
 4 A tabernacle hath He placed 
 
 Among them, for the Sun : 
 Whence, giant-like, he goes, swift-paced, 
 Rejoic'd his race to run : 
 
 5 Thence ; as a bridegroom, blithe of mien, 
 
 Goes from his chamber forth; 
 Forth goes he out, in radiant sheen, 
 Illuming Skies and Earth : 
 
 6 From Heaven's extremest part he goes, 
 
 And round thereto returns; 
 Nor is there whither he not glows, 
 
 Nor with his brightness burns. 
 
 7 The Lord's law, perfect all and pure, 
 
 The soul doth well advise ; 
 His testimony so is sure, 
 
 And makes the simple wise. 
 
 8 The statutes of The Lord are right, 
 
 Rejoicing to the heart; 
 The Lord's commandment, so, doth sight 
 Unto the eyes impart. 
 
 9 They, Him who fear, shall prove His ruth : 
 
 He ever hears their call. 
 
 Tho judgements of The Lord are truth, 
 
 And rigliteouswss in all : 
 
XX. THE PSALMS. 29 
 
 10 Ere gold, than gold of fine assay, 
 
 To be desir'd far more ; 
 Ere honey sweet, and sweeter they 
 Than is the comb's rich store. 
 
 11 Moreo'er by them Thy servant 's taught, 
 
 By them shuns all amiss : 
 And, in the keeping them as ought, 
 A great reward there is. 
 
 12 Yea who can tell how oft 'gainst Thee 
 
 He offends how oft revolts? 
 
 Lord ! search my bosom ; cleanse Thou me 
 From all my secret faults. 
 
 13 Lest sin dominion o'er me gain, 
 
 Still keep Thy servant thence : 
 So shall I undefil'd remain, 
 
 And free from all offence. 
 
 14 Lord, Thou my strength and saviour Thou ! 
 
 Still let my words, as right, 
 And my heart's musing, e'er as now, 
 Be pleasing in Thy sight. 
 
 PSALM XX. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 KING ! e'er in the troublous day, 
 The Lord thee hear, as pray'd ; 
 
 May Jacob's GOD thee strengthening stay, 
 His Name assisting aid. 
 
 2 May He protect thee and defend, 
 
 Preserve from every harm, 
 Help from the Sanctuary thee send, 
 Thee out of Sion arm. 
 
 3 May He to mind thy offerings call, 
 
 Thy sacrifice receive, 
 Still grant thee thy petitions all, 
 Thee all thy wishes give. 
 
 4 Thee saved to sing shall be our task, 
 
 And on our banners bear 
 Our GOD'S blest Name. Whate'er thou ask, 
 May He concede thy prayer. 
 
30 THE PSALMS. XX. 
 
 5 Now know we that The Lord will hear, 
 
 And His Anointed aid; 
 E'en with the saving strength e'er near 
 Of His right hand display'd. 
 
 6 In chariots some their trust ; the same, 
 
 In horses some pat this : 
 But we us strengthen in His Name, 
 The Lord our GOD who is. 
 
 7 They down are brought in overthrow ; 
 
 But we 've the upper hand ; 
 They prostrate lie, down fallen low ; 
 But we erect upstand. 
 
 8 Lord, King of Heaven ! be Thou our stay ; 
 
 Uphold us, lest to fall ; 
 And hear us, in the troublous day, 
 When unto Thee we call. 
 
 PSALM XX. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 Q KING ! in trouble's day, 
 
 The Lord thee hear, as craved : 
 
 Thee Jacob's GOD support and stay, 
 
 His Name procure thee saved : 
 
 2 Thee from His seat send aid, 
 
 Strength out of Zion give ; 
 Remember all thy offerings paid ; 
 Thy sacrifice receive : 
 
 3 Supply thee as thy want, 
 
 Thee further to thy will ; 
 All thy petitions may He grant, 
 All thy desires fulfil. 
 
 4 In thy salvation we 
 
 Will joy ; for thee make prayer ; 
 In our GOD'S Name, deploy'd for thee, 
 Our banners will we rear. 
 
 5 Now know we that The Lord 
 
 Will His Anointed save, 
 Him from His Heavens will help afford, 
 And in His keeping have. 
 
XXI. THE PSALMS. 31 
 
 6 Some in their chariots' train, 
 
 In horses some confide : 
 But, on The Lord our GOD, nor vain, 
 Our trust shall still abide. 
 
 7 They down are brought in fall : 
 
 But we 're uprisen and stand. 
 Lord ! hear us, when on Thee we call ; 
 And yield Thy saving hand. 
 
 PSALM XXI. 
 
 King, O Lord! sustain'd by Thee, 
 Shall in Thy strength rejoice ; 
 And, for Thy saving him, shall he 
 Thee thank with praiseful voice. 
 
 2 His asking hast Thou gratified, 
 
 In what he did require; 
 His lips' request Thou 'st riot denied, 
 But given his heart's desire. 
 
 3 Thou goodness' blessings manifold 
 
 Unsued hast on him shed ; 
 
 And Thou a crown and of pure gold 
 
 Hast set upon his head. 
 
 4 He of Thee asked life, dread Lord ! 
 
 Which to him Thou didst give ; 
 E'en length of days, thro time upstor'd, 
 For e'er and e'er to live. 
 
 5 His honour, in Thy saving stay, 
 
 Is proudfully display 'd : 
 Great gloriousness and majesty 
 Upon him hast Thou laid. 
 
 6 Great blessings hast Thou made his own, 
 
 Nor e'er to know alloy ; 
 And, with Thy favour to him shown, 
 Him gladden'd with great joy. 
 
 7 For on The Lord, his strength to be, 
 
 The King relies in all ; 
 In The Most Highest's mercy, he 
 Shall ne'er be moved nor fall. 
 
32 THE PSALMS. 
 
 8 Thy hand shall all Thine enemies reach ; 
 
 Shall find them, and disclose : 
 Yea Thy right hand shall find them, each, 
 Who hate Thee and oppose. 
 
 9 Thou, in Thine ire, shalt make them like 
 
 Burnt fuel, off to fume ; 
 
 Thou, Lord ! shalt in Thy wrath them strike ; 
 And fire shall them consume. 
 
 10 Their fruit shalt Thou, e'en every heir, 
 
 Destroy, the Earth throughout; 
 And, from among men's sons, wheree'er, 
 Their seed shalt Thou cast out. 
 
 11 For, evil in their hearts, plain seen, 
 
 They 'gainst Thee did intend ; 
 And mischief 'gainst Thee did they mean ; 
 Tho ne'er to gain their end. 
 
 12 So shall they turn their backs, and so 
 
 To flight shall them betake; 
 And 'gainst them shalt Thou bend Thy bow, 
 And arrows ready make. 
 
 13 Dread Lord! in Thine own strength, our tower, 
 
 Be Thou exalted high : 
 So will we celebrate Thy power, 
 Extolling far and nigh. 
 
 PSALM XXII. 
 
 GOD ! my GOD ! why, in my need, 
 Hast Thou forsaken me? 
 Why wilt Thou nought my plaining heed, 
 And far still from me be ? 
 
 2 My GOD ! to Thee all day I call ; 
 
 Yet nought can wake Thine ear ; 
 Alike through the night-season all ; 
 Yet nothing wilt Thou hear. 
 
 3 Yet Thou 'rt The Holy One and Just, 
 
 Whom Israel owns for Lord : 
 In Thee our fathers plac'd their trust ; 
 Nor vainly Thee implor'd : 
 
XX11. THE PSALMS. 33 
 
 4 To Thee in their distress they cried ; 
 
 And them Thou didst relieve : 
 
 On Thee they trusted and relied; 
 
 Nor didst Thou them deceive. 
 
 5 But I 'm a very worm, nor man ; 
 
 An outcast, and cut off; 
 Despis'd of them, as 'neath a ban, 
 The People's scorn and scoff. 
 
 6 All they, that see me, at me flout, 
 
 Or from me turn away; 
 Make mouths at me, the lip shoot out, 
 And wag the head, and say 
 
 7 c He trusted him in GOD, that He 
 
 ' Would free him and redeem : 
 'Then let his GOD now set him free, 
 * Since so delights in him.' 
 
 8 But Thou art He, who, as a son, 
 
 Didst rear me up from young ; 
 Thou wast my hope, while yet upon 
 My mother's breast I hung. 
 
 9 On Thee have I been cast, since from 
 
 My very birth-hour e'en ; 
 Yea Thou, from e'en my mother's womb, 
 My Saviour GOD hast been. 
 
 10 O go not from me, left unstay'd, 
 
 Now trouble is at hand : 
 For none save Thou will give me aid, 
 Save Thou none by me stand. 
 
 1 1 Lo numerous bulls, e'erwhere around, 
 
 Encompass me and threat'; 
 Big bulls of Bashan, o'er my ground, 
 On every side beset. 
 
 12 As tho, fierce ravening for their prey, 
 
 Impatient to devour ; 
 Do lions throng about my way, 
 And roaring on me lower. 
 
 13 Like outpour'd water am I all ; 
 
 My bones are out of frame ; 
 
 My heart so in me sinks withal, 
 
 Like wax before the flnme. 
 
 D 
 
34- THE PSALMS. 
 
 14 My strength is as a potshred * gone : 
 
 Dry-tongued I gasp for breath : 
 Thou 'st laid me, prostrated and prone, 
 E'en in the dust of death. 
 
 15 For many dogs are come about, 
 
 And worrying round me beat: 
 The wicked seek to cast me out; 
 They Ve pierc'd my hands and feet. 
 
 16 I all my bones may tell. Fix'd fast, 
 
 They looking on me stare ; 
 They lots upon my vesture cast, 
 And garments 'mong them share. 
 
 17 But go not from me far away, 
 
 Nor be Thy help delay 'd ; 
 Lord, Thou, my succour arid my stay ! 
 Now haste Thee to my aid. 
 
 18 My soul deliver from the sword : 
 
 From death deliver me*; 
 From the dog's jaws, O gracious Lord ! 
 Release and set me free. 
 
 19 O save me from the lion's mouth ! 
 
 From 'mong the unicorns* 
 Thou heard'st my cry; and, in Thy ruth, 
 Didst save me from their horns. 
 
 20 Unto the brethren, making know, 
 
 Will I declare Thy Name ; 
 In midst the Congregation, so, 
 Thy praises will 1 frame. 
 
 21 Ye, Him that fear! with one accord, 
 
 To Him your voices raise ; 
 Ye seed of Israel ! praise The Lord ; 
 Ye, Jacob's seed ! Him praise. 
 
 22 For He will not the afflicted spurn, 
 
 Nor lowly's suit deny ; 
 Nor from them He His face will turn, 
 But hear, when to Him cry. 
 
 23 In midst the Congregation still 
 
 My praise shall of Thee be ; 
 Still, them before who do Thy will, 
 I'll pay my vows to Thee. 
 
xxiii. THE PSALMS. 35 
 
 24 His ne'er shall want; the poor and meek* 
 
 Shall plenteous meat receive: 
 All they shall praise The Lord, who seek : 
 Their hearts shall ever live. 
 
 25 All Earth upon His Name shall call, 
 
 Shall own Him and adore ; 
 The Nations' various kindreds all 
 Shall worship, Him before. 
 
 26 For, rule and sovereignty are His__ 
 
 Dominion and all sway; 
 
 The Governor o'er all He is : 
 All Peoples Him obey. 
 
 27 Earth's great ones shall to Him bow low ; 
 
 To Him all, small and great, 
 Shall bend the knee : My soul, also, 
 On Him shall ever wait. 
 
 28 A chosen seed shall be, select, 
 
 To serve Him and make known ; 
 A generation, made elect, 
 And counted for His own. 
 
 29 Yea they shall come ; and to all Earth 
 
 His righteousness declare ; 
 To Nations yet unborn set forth, 
 And speak Him everywhere. 
 
 PSALM XXIII. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 Lord my shepherd is and guide, 
 
 He teaches me my track ; 
 With Him I need me nought provide, 
 With Him I nought shall lack. 
 
 2 He in green pastures makes me feed, 
 
 Where herb abundant grows ; 
 He by clear waters does me lead, 
 Where comfort ever flows. 
 
 3 He shall my soul with knowledge bless, 
 
 And in His laws instruct ; 
 And, iu the paths of righteousness, 
 
 For His Name's sake, conduct. 
 
36 THE PSALMS. 
 
 4 Yea tho thro death's dark vale 1 walk, 
 
 No evil will I fear : 
 For Thou art with me ; ne'er to balk, 
 Thy staff and rod me cheer. 
 
 5 Thou for me spread'st a plenteous board, 
 
 In presence of my foes ; 
 Thine oil upon my head is pour'd ; 
 Thro Thee my cup o'erflows. 
 
 6 Thy mercy and loving-kindness still 
 
 Shall me thro life attend : 
 Lord! in Thy House, to do Thy will, 
 I '11 dwell, unto its end. 
 
 PSALM XXIII.* 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 Lord my shepherd is and guide : 
 With Him 1 nought shall want; 
 He the still waters leads beside ; 
 He in green pastures makes me bide, 
 Where food is never scant. 
 
 2 My soul He succours in distress: 
 
 He shows my way to take ; 
 And, in the paths of righteousness 
 Conducts me, so to not transgress; 
 
 For His great Name its sake. 
 
 3 Yea tho thro death's dark vale I walk, 
 
 No evil will I fear : 
 
 For Thou art with me ; Thou my rock ; 
 Thy rod and staff ward every shock, 
 They comfort me and cheer. 
 
 4 Thou, in the presence of my foes, 
 
 Before me spread'st a board ; 
 Thro Thee my plenteous cup o'erflows ; 
 My head with oil anointed shows, 
 
 By Thee upon me pour'd. 
 
 5 All my life's days, bestow'd by Thee, 
 
 By Thee provided well, 
 Shall mercy and goodness follow me. 
 In The Lord's House, with Him to be, 
 For ever will I dwell. 
 
 * This may be sung with any Common Metre Tune ; only 
 repeating that part of it which plays with the Third Line. 
 
THE PSALMS. 3J 
 
 PSALM XXIV. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 'THE Earth, and all that therein is, 
 
 Unto The Lord belong; 
 The compass of the World is His, 
 And all its dwellers' throng. 
 
 2 For He upon the seas, fast based, 
 
 Hath founded it, secure ; 
 And on the floods, commoveless placed, 
 Establish'd, to endure. 
 
 3 Who up to The Lord's Hill shall go, 
 
 And who thereto ascend? 
 
 Or, in His Holy Place, who so 
 
 Shall stand, on Him to tend? 
 
 4 E'en he, that hath, without deceit, 
 
 Clean hands and a pure heart ; 
 That swears not falsely ; nor doth cheat, 
 Nor from truth's way depart. 
 
 5 To him will, plenteously bestow'd, 
 
 The Lord His blessing give : 
 And so, from his salvation's GOD, 
 He mercy shall receive. 
 
 6 This is the People, who The Lord 
 
 Do seek and sue His grace : 
 These, GOD of Jacob ! their's ador'd ! 
 Are they, who seek Thy face. 
 
 7 Ye eternal gates ! wide open fling ; 
 
 Lift up your heads within ; 
 Be ye uplifted f And The King 
 Of Glory shall come in. 
 
 8 Who is The King Of Glory ? He, 
 
 The Lord, who mighty is ; 
 The Lord in battle mighty ; He, 
 
 Who makes the victory His. 
 
 9 Ye eternal gates ! wide open fling ; 
 
 Lift up your heads within ; 
 Be je uplifted: And The King 
 Of Glory shall come in. 
 
38 THE PSALMS. 
 
 10 Who is The King Of Glory ? He, 
 
 The Lord our GOD, is this; 
 The Lord Of Hosts it is : 't is He, 
 The King Of Glory is. 
 
 PSALM XXIV. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 J7ARTH, and all its orb contains, 
 All unto The Lord belongs : 
 His its dwellers and domains, 
 
 His the World and all its throngs. 
 
 2 For upon the seas, of old, 
 
 Hath He founded it, to sit, 
 
 And upon the floods, for hold, 
 
 Fast hath He establish'd it. 
 
 3 Who shall The Lord's Hill ascend, 
 
 In His Holy Place who stand ? . . . 
 He, whose ways in nought offend, 
 Pure of heart and clean of hand : 
 
 4 That, to vanity and pride, 
 
 Has not lifted up his heart; 
 In whose word may all confide ; 
 Ne'er from Tightness to depart. 
 
 5 Him the blessing, free bestow'd, 
 
 Shall The Lord of mercy give ; 
 And, from His salvation's GOD, 
 Righteousness shall he receive. 
 
 6 These the generations are, 
 
 Thee that seeking, Thine to be ; 
 
 These are they, Thy grace to share, 
 
 Jacob's GOD ! that seeking Thee. 
 
 1 Lift ye up your heads, ye portals! 
 
 Lift, ye eternal gates ! within : 
 And the Sovereign King of mortals, 
 King Of Glory, shall come in. 
 
 8 Who The King Of Glory is ? 
 
 T is The Lord of strengthful stay ; 
 'T is The mighty Lord is this, 
 Mighty in the* battle fray. 
 
XXV. THE PSALMS. 39 
 
 9 Lift ye up your heads, ye portals! 
 
 Lift, ye eternal gates ! within : 
 And The Sovereign King of mortals, 
 King Of Glory, shall come in. 
 
 10 Who The King Of Glory is ? 
 
 T is The Lord all governing ; 
 T is The Lord Of Hosts is this ; 
 He it is, is Glory's King. 
 
 PSALM XXV. 
 
 LORD ! unto Thee I cry, 
 
 To Thee uplift my soul; 
 My GOD! me with Thy aid supply, 
 And my enemies controul. 
 
 2 I put my trust in Thee, 
 
 To Thee look safety for : 
 O let me not confounded be, 
 Nor let them triumph o'er! 
 
 3 Shall none be put to shame, 
 
 Who wait on Thee as due : 
 But they shall so, who mischief frame 
 And wickedness pursue. 
 
 4 Lord ! show me where Thy ways, 
 
 And in Thy paths conduct ; 
 In Thy truth lead me all my days, 
 And in Thy laws instruct. 
 
 5 Thou art my strength and stay ; 
 
 Thou 'rt my salvation's GOD : 
 To Thee I look continually, 
 
 Before Thy Throne down-bow'd. 
 
 6 Thy tender mercies all 
 
 Recall to mind and hold; 
 Thy loving-kindnesses recall, 
 As e'er have been of old. 
 
40 THE PSALMS. XXV, 
 
 7 Remember not nor see 
 
 The offences of my youth ; 
 Nor note my sins: but look on me, 
 According to Thy ruth. 
 
 8 The Lord He righteous is ; 
 
 He gracious is and good ; 
 To sinners will He show, where this, 
 The way to be pursued. 
 
 9 The humble will He stay, 
 
 And in His statutes guide ; 
 The peaceful will He teach His way, 
 And show therein to bide. 
 
 10 To such as, doing His will, 
 
 His covenant keep with care, 
 All the Lord's paths prove pleasant still, 
 And truth and mercy are. 
 
 11 For Thy Name's sake, O Lord! 
 
 My sins behind Thee cast; 
 Thy pardon yield me, as iinplor'd ; 
 For great their sum and vast. 
 
 12 What man is he and who 
 
 That fears The Lord aright? 
 
 Him shall He teach His will to do, 
 And walk before His sight : 
 
 13 As unto latest age, 
 
 His soul at ease shall live ; 
 
 And his seed shall, in heritage, 
 
 The land for theirs receive. 
 
 14 Who seek The Lord to know, 
 
 And fear Him, shunning sin, 
 
 To them His covenant * will He show, 
 Instructing them therein. 
 
 15 Unto The Lord on high 
 
 Mine eyes are ever set : 
 For He my feet, unsnar'd thereby, 
 Shall pluck from out the net. 
 
 16 Thee to me turn, O GOD! 
 
 And mercy on me have : 
 For I 'in in sorrow and down-bow '< I, 
 With none but Thou to save. 
 
XXvi. THE PSALMS. 41 
 
 17 The troubles of my heart 
 
 Do evermore encrease; 
 O help me, Lord ! Thy aid impart, 
 And send me thence release. 
 
 18 Lord ! see my wretchedness ; 
 
 My afflictedness relieve; 
 Look on my sorrows and distress ; 
 And all my sin forgive. 
 
 19 Behold my enemies' throng 
 
 How many and great they are : 
 They hate me with a hatred strong, 
 Pursuing me every where. 
 
 20 Save and deliver me : 
 
 Uplift me from the dust : 
 Nor let me now confounded be : 
 For still on Thee I trust. 
 
 21 Let righteousness preserve 
 
 And guard me in every strait. 
 Preserve me Thou : For Thee I serve, 
 And still on Thee I wait. 
 
 22 O GOD! redeem from thrall; 
 
 Make all his trouble cease ; 
 And out of his distresses all 
 Thy Israel release. 
 
 PSALM XXVI. 
 
 J^ORD ! judge me Thou. For I have walk'd 
 
 In innocence in all : 
 In Thee has been my trust, ne'er balk'd : 
 Therefor I might not fall. 
 
 2 Lord! prove me and examine thro; 
 
 Try Thou my reins and heart: 
 For still I keep Thy truth in view, 
 Nor from Thy law depart. 
 
 3 I with vain persons ne'er have dwelt, 
 
 Nor fellowship have had; 
 Nor with dissemblers have I dealt, 
 Nor 'companied the bad. 
 
THE PSALMS. XXV11. 
 
 4 The ungodly's congregation still 
 
 I Ve hated and eschewed ; 
 Nor sat with those that follow ill, 
 Nor e'er their paths pursued. 
 
 5 In innocency, Lord ! I e'er 
 
 Will wash my hands : That so 
 I may to Thy blest Courts repair, 
 And to Thine altar go : 
 
 6 There my thanksgivings-voice to swell 
 
 With songs of grateful praise ; 
 
 Of all Thy wondrous works to tell, 
 
 And high Thy greatness raise. 
 
 7 I 've ever loved Thy House, O Lord ! 
 
 Where speak Thy oracles ; 
 And loved the place, where Thou 'rt ador'd, 
 And where Thy glory dwells. 
 
 8 O shut not up my soul, to bide 
 
 With them who sin pursue : 
 Nor lead my life, where to reside 
 With bloody men untrue : 
 
 9 Them in whose hands still mischief is, 
 
 Malicious and ill-will'd ; 
 And whose right hand with bribes, for this, 
 And wicked gifts, is fill'd. 
 
 10 For me, in all Thy will to do, 
 
 I '11 ever walk guilt-free. 
 
 Lord ! be merciful unto, 
 Save and deliver me. 
 
 1 1 My foot stands firm : I fear no ill, 
 
 While here my bulwark raise : 
 
 1 in the Congregations still 
 
 Will bless The Lord and praise. 
 
 PSALM XXVII. 
 
 Lord my light and safeguard is : 
 Whom should I fear, so stay'd ! 
 The Lord is my life's strength : With this 
 Of whom were I afraid ! 
 
XXvii. THE PSALMS. 43 
 
 2 For, when the wicked, in their power, 
 
 My adversaries all, 
 
 Came up upon me to devour, 
 
 They stumbled and did fall. 
 
 3 Yea tho an host were 'gainst me set, 
 
 Yet nothing should I fear ; 
 Tho war should rise against me, yet 
 I trust in Him e'er near. 
 
 4 One thing I 've of The Lord desired, 
 
 Above all else whate'er : 
 Above all else I Ve this required, 
 And made thereto my prayer : 
 
 5 That in His House, 'mong His enroll'd, 
 
 I all my days may live ; 
 His gracious countenance to behold, 
 And Him my service give. 
 
 6 For, in His Tabernacle, He 
 
 At need shall make me bide ; 
 And in its secret, covering me, 
 In trouble's time shall hide. 
 
 7 Yea on a rock shall He me set, 
 
 Where no assault to dread ; 
 And 'bove my foes, who round beset, 
 Shall He uplift my head. 
 
 8 So in His House, with gladsomeness, 
 
 My oblations will I bring; 
 And to The Lord my thanks express, 
 And praises to Him sing. 
 
 9 Lord ! hearken to my voice ; give ear ; 
 
 When unto Thee I cry : 
 Have mercy on me, Lord ! O hear, 
 And to my call reply. 
 
 10 My heart discours'd concerning Thee, 
 
 And with itself did speak : 
 " Seek ye rny face :" saidst Thou : " Seek me." 
 Yea, Lord ! Thee will I seek. 
 
 11O from me hide not Thou Thy face, 
 
 Towards me turn'd at last ; 
 Nor, in Thine anger, with disgrace, 
 Thy servant from Thee cast. 
 
44 THE PSALMS. XXviii. 
 
 12 Thou still hast been my help; ne'er Thou 
 
 Didst yet my hope deceive : 
 O, my salvation's GOD ! ne'er now 
 Abandon me nor leave. 
 
 13 Should kindred _ brethren _ cast me off, 
 
 My parents me forsake ; 
 Well standing me in stead thereof, 
 The Lord will me uptake. 
 
 14 Teach me Thy way, O Lord! where found, 
 
 And lead me in that right way ; 
 Because of my enemies around, 
 Who watch me if to stray. 
 
 15 Give me not up into their will : 
 
 For, angry men, incens'd, 
 Have risen upon to work me ill, 
 False- witnessing against. 
 
 16 But that I trusted, cheering me, 
 
 Yet in the living's land 
 The goodness of The Lord to see, 
 I should have fail'd to stand. 
 
 17 My heart! still wait on Him: this do: 
 
 Be strong; thereon firm-floor'd. 
 And He shall strengthen thee thereto. 
 Still wait thou on The Lord. 
 
 PSALM XXVI II. 
 
 Q LORD, my rock ! to Thee I call : 
 
 Ne'er on my calling frown ; 
 Lest 1 become like them withal, 
 That to the pit go down. 
 
 2 Hear me, when unto Thee I cry : 
 
 My supplication hear; 
 When, t'wards Thy mercy-seat on high, 
 I lift my hands* in prayer. 
 
 3 Ne'er pluck me with the bad away ; 
 
 With men of wicked arts; 
 Who sneak of peace, but to bewray, 
 
 Whie mischief fills their hearts. 
 
THE PSALMS. 45 
 
 4 Repay Thou them, and recompense, 
 
 According to their deeds : 
 As their desert is, measur'd thence, 
 Give their apportion'd meeds. 
 
 5 For, The Lord's works they nought regard, 
 
 Nor what His hands have wrought: 
 So shall He them, in just reward, 
 Break down and bring to nought. 
 
 6 Blest he The Lord! For He hath heard 
 
 My supplication's voice. 
 Blest be The Lord ! whose gifts conferr'd 
 Still make me to rejoice. 
 
 7 The Lord my strength is and my shield ; 
 
 He fall'n doth me upraise. 
 So with great joy my heart is fill'd ; 
 And Him my song shall praise. 
 
 8 The Lord protects the People His, 
 
 He is their strength in all : 
 He His Anointed's safeguard is, 
 And will not let him fall. 
 
 9 O save Thy People, Lord ! upbear 
 
 And bless Thy inheritance; 
 Feed them, and set them up for e'er, 
 And still their cause advance. 
 
 PSALM XXIX. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 great ones ! homage to Him pay ; 
 To Him ascribe all honour, height; 
 Ascribe unto The Lord all sway, 
 
 All strength, and greatness, power, and might. 
 
 2 Ascribe all glory to The Lord ; 
 
 Give to His Name the honour due ; 
 With humble worshipping ador'd, 
 Him in His Holy Temple sue. 
 
 3 The Lord's voice on the waters sounds ; 
 
 Therewith the many waters roar ; 
 The Lord's voice wakes their farthest bounds ; 
 The GOD Of Glory thunders o'er. 
 
46 THE PSALMS. 
 
 4 The Lord it is who rules the seas. 
 
 The Lord's voice soundfully extends. 
 The Lord's voice rends the cedar-trees : 
 He Libanus's cedars rends: 
 
 5 The Lord's voice whirls them to and fro; 
 
 Like to young calves He makes them skip. 
 He Libanus, and Sirion so, 
 
 Like to young unicorns makes leap. 
 
 6 The Lord's voice makes the clouds express; 
 
 It cleaves with flames and fiery flakes. 
 The Lord's voice shakes the wilderness, 
 The Kades wilderness He shakes. 
 
 7 The Lord's voice strips the forest bare: 
 
 It makes the hinds to drop their young: 
 Him loud proclaiming every where, 
 It tells His glory all among. 
 
 8 He sits the floods. Thro time's all length 
 
 The Lord sits King nor e'er to cease. 
 The Lord will give His People strength ; 
 His People will He bless with peace. 
 
 PSALM XXIX. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 Q.IVE, ye great ones ! to The Lord 
 Strength and glory ; e'er ador'd, 
 Give His Name the honour due ; 
 Him with holy worship sue. 
 
 2 Lo The GOD Of Glory speaks : 
 Ocean thrills to all her creeks; 
 Thunders He the waters o'er; 
 Loud the many waters roar. 
 
 3 Lo The Lord's voice powerful is ; 
 Mightful is the voice that His; 
 Rends the cedars, breaking bends, 
 Lebanon's tall cedars rends. 
 
 4 Lebanon and Sirion steep, 
 
 Like to steerlings, makes He leap. 
 Lo The Lord's voice, bursting loud, 
 Cleaves in fiery flames the cloud. 
 
XXX. THE PSALMS. 47 
 
 5 Lo The Lord's voice Kades wakes ; 
 Kades' wilderness it shakes; 
 Strips the forests, bare reveal'd ; 
 Makes the hinds their burthen yield. 
 
 6 Fain His greatness to declare, 
 All proclaim Him every where. 
 Sits The Lord o'er flood and main ; 
 Sits He King, for endless reign. 
 
 7 Reigns The Lord thro time's all length : 
 He will give His People strength. 
 Reigns The Lord, nor e'er to cease : 
 
 He will give His People peace. 
 
 PSALM XXX. 
 
 LORD! I '11 extol and honour Thee. 
 
 For high Thou hast me placed ; 
 Nor let my foes triumph over me, 
 Nor let me be abased. 
 
 2 O Lord ! to Thee I rais'd my cry, 
 
 When terror seized my soul : 
 And Thou didst to my plaint reply, 
 Didst heal and make me whole. 
 
 3 Thou brought'st me, Lord ! from out the pit ; 
 
 From hell Thou didst me save ; 
 Thou kept'st my soul, and rescued'st it, 
 Yea e'en from out the grave. 
 
 4 O ye, His saints and servants all ! 
 
 Sing praises to The Lord ; 
 Give thanks unto Him, to recall 
 
 His bounteousness forth-pour'd. 
 
 5 His anger but a moment bides ; 
 
 His favour life bestows : 
 Tho weeping for a night betides, 
 Yet joy at morning shows. 
 
 6 In my prosperity I said 
 
 ' 1 never shall be moved.' 
 Thou, of Thy goodness, Lord! hadst made 
 My hill of strength so proved. 
 
48 THE PSALMS. XXxi, 
 
 7 Thy face then from me didst Thou hide : 
 
 And I was troubled sore : 
 Then unto Thee, O Lord ! I cried, 
 And humbled me before. 
 
 8 4 What profit shall, when in the pit, 
 
 * My blood return Thee there? 
 ' Shall earth Thee praise ; or, uttering it, 
 ' The dust Thy truth declare?' 
 
 9 * Lord ! hear me still ! Thine aid afford, 
 
 ' And mercy on me have ; 
 ' Be Thou my helper, gracious Lord ! 
 ' And from destruction save.' 
 
 10 For Thou my mourning, stead thereof, 
 
 Didst into joy convert ; 
 Yea Thou my sackcloth hast put off, 
 And rne with gladness girt. 
 
 11 So shall my tongue, with ceaselessness, 
 
 Thee laud, and thanks Thee give ; 
 O Lord my GOD ! Thee will 1 bless, 
 And praise, while e'er I live. 
 
 PSALM XXXI. 
 
 JN Thee, O Lord! I trust; 
 
 "I Ve put my hope in Thee : 
 Deliver me, as Thou art just ; 
 Nor let confounded be. 
 
 2 Bow down to me Thine ear; 
 
 Deliver me with speed ; 
 Be Thou my refuge, ever near, 
 To save me in my need. 
 
 3 Yea my strong rock art Thou, 
 
 My fortress, to protect : 
 For Thy Name's sake, conduct me now, 
 Now lead me, and direct. 
 
 4 Release me from the net; 
 
 Which privily they lay; 
 To take me, which my foes have set: 
 For Thou 'rt my strength and stay. 
 
XXxi. THE PSALMS. 49 
 
 5 Into Thy hands, O Lord! 
 
 My spirit I commend : 
 For Thou 'st redeem'd me and restor'd ; 
 Thou GOD of truth unfeign'd ! 
 
 6 I 've hated them, that hold 
 
 To vanities unclean ; 
 But, Lord! in Thee, therein made bold, 
 My trust has ever been. 
 
 7 In Thee will I be glad; 
 
 And in Thy mercy still 
 Rejoice : For thought Thou 'st on me had 
 In trouble and in my ill. 
 
 8 Thou hast not given me o'er 
 
 Into the enemy's hand ; 
 But in large room, where firm of floor, 
 Hast set iny foot to stand. 
 
 9 Have mercy on me, Lord ! 
 
 For troubles great assail ; 
 Mine eye is worn with grief outpour'd ; 
 Yea soul and body fail. 
 
 10 With sighing and with distress, 
 
 My life is waxen old ; 
 With mourning and with heaviness, 
 My years are growing told. 
 
 1 1 My strength exhausted is ; 
 
 It fails me, with decay : 
 Because of my calamities, 
 My bones consume away. 
 
 12 Amidst my enemies' throng 
 
 I 'm a reproach and blame ; 
 Yea, e'en my very friends among, 
 Am I reduc'd to shame. 
 
 13 My acquaintances do fear, 
 
 They avoid and pass me by ; 
 And they, who see me, will not near, 
 But shun and from me fly. 
 
 14 I out of mind am thrown, 
 
 Forgotten, as one dead ; 
 I 'm like a broken vessel grown, 
 E'en as a fragment shred. 
 
50 THE PSALMS. XXXI, 
 
 15 For I have heard their words, 
 
 The crowd's calumnious shout: 
 And fear on every side engirds, 
 Surrounding me about : 
 
 16 While 'gainst me they conspire, 
 
 And snares about me lay ; 
 Devising how, with mischiefs dire, 
 To take my life away. 
 
 17 But, Thee I 've trusted in; 
 
 Thou 'st been my staff and rod ; 
 In Thee my hope has ever been : 
 I 've said * Thou art my GOD.' 
 
 18 My times are in Thy hand. 
 
 Thy succour now I crave; 
 Now, from the persecuting band 
 And my enemies, me save. 
 
 19 Lord! on Thy servant make 
 
 Thy face e'ermore to shine ; 
 O save me, for Thy mercies' sake, 
 And for the goodness Thine. 
 
 20 Ne'er let me be made shamed, 
 
 Nor let confounded be : 
 For still Thy succour have I claimed, 
 And call'd, O Lord ! on Thee. 
 
 21 But let the ungodly now 
 
 Be to confusion put ; 
 E'en silenc'd in the grave, do Thou 
 Their mouths for ever shut. 
 
 22 Shut Thou the lips of guile ; 
 
 That still to injure seek, 
 And cruelly and with spite revile, 
 And 'gainst the righteous speak. 
 
 23 How plentiful, O tord ! 
 
 How great and ever near, 
 Thy goodness is! which Thou 'st upstor'd 
 For them who Thee do fear: 
 
 24 Which Thou 'st for them prepared, 
 
 On Thee who trust and call ; 
 Before the sons of men declared. 
 And shown disclos'd to all. 
 
XXxii. THE PSALMS. 51 
 
 25 Them, safe from all men's wrongs, 
 
 Thou privily shalt hide; 
 Them make, safe from the strife of tongues, 
 In Thy Pavilion bide. 
 
 26 Blest be The Lord ! Yea_Thou 
 
 Be blest! who, as Thine own,, 
 Hast marvellous kindness to me now 
 In a strong city shown. 
 
 27 For in my haste I 'd said 
 
 ' Thou 'st cast me from Thy si^ht.' 
 Ne'erless Thou heard'st me when I pray'd, 
 Nor didst my crying slight. 
 
 28 O love The Lord, all ye, 
 
 His saints ! For He e'er guards 
 The faithful ; arid, in full degree, 
 He the proud -doer rewards. 
 
 29 All ye, that on The Lord 
 
 Your trust repose and lay ! 
 Be of good heart : And He, firm-floor'd, 
 Shall 'stablish you and stay. 
 
 PSALM XXXII. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 "RLEST he, whose fault forgiven is, 
 
 Whose sin is cover'd ; free from wile, 
 In whom The Lord sees nought amiss, 
 And in whose spirit is no guile. 
 
 2 While unavow'd my wrong, all day 
 
 With inward sorrow did I pine ; 
 Thy hand still heavy on me lay ; 
 
 As drought-parch'd land did I decline. 
 
 3 But I my iniquity confess'd ; 
 
 That so I pardon might receive ; 
 My wrong I own'd wherein transgress'd : 
 And, Lord ! Thou didst my sin forgive. 
 
 4 For this shall, while Thou may'st be found, 
 
 To Thee his prayer the godly make : 
 So, when the water-floods are round, 
 
 Him shall they not come nigh nor shake. 
 
THE TSALMS. xxx. 
 
 5 Thou art my hiding place; Thou still 
 
 In trouble art rny refuge sure; 
 
 Thou, with deliverance-songs,* in ill, 
 
 Shall compass rne about secure. 
 
 6 The Lord has said " I will instruct 
 
 " And teach thy way, wherein to bide ; 
 " Thee will I govern and conduct, 
 
 "And with mine eye thee safely guide. 
 
 7 " Be not ye as the horse or mule ; 
 
 " Who sense and understanding lack ; 
 " Whose mouth must bit and bridle rule, 
 " Lest on their rider turning back." 
 
 8 Woe waits the wicked. But, who trust 
 
 In Him shall plenteous mercy share : 
 Be gladsome in The Lord, ye just! 
 Ye, shout for joy, who righteous are! 
 
 PSALM XXXII. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 4P 
 
 J^LEST he, guile-free within, 
 Whose fault forgiven is ; 
 To whom The Lord imputes no sin; 
 In whom is nought ,amiss. 
 
 2 While silent I remained, 
 
 And unavow'd my wrong; 
 Remorseful still, and anguish-pained, 
 I mourn'd the whole day long. 
 
 3 For night and day Thy hand 
 
 Still heavy on me lay : 
 
 Tpburn'd within, like drought-parch'd land, 
 Was I .coiisuni'd away. 
 
xxxiii. THE PSALMS. 53 
 
 4 Of all wherein trangressed, 
 
 Then did I me relieve ; 
 To Thee, Lord ! I my sin confess'd : 
 And Thou didst me forgive. 
 
 5 Thus, while Thou may'st be found, 
 
 Who fears, to Thee on high 
 Shall pray : So, when the floods are round, 
 Him shall they not come nigh. 
 
 6 Thou shalt me guard from ill ; 
 
 Thou art my refuge sure ; 
 Thou, with deliverance songs, shalt still 
 Encompass me secure. 
 
 7 The Lord shall thee instruct, 
 
 And teach thy way where bide ; 
 Thee shall He govern and conduct, 
 And with His eye thee guide. 
 
 8 Be not as horse or mule ; 
 
 Who understanding lack ; 
 Whose mouth must bit and bridle rule, 
 Lest on thee turning back. 
 
 9 On them wait many woes, 
 
 Whose ways unrighteous are : 
 But they, who on The Lord repose, 
 Shall plenteous mercy share. 
 
 10 Be gladsome in The Lord, 
 
 Ye just ! in Him rejoice ; 
 Ye righteous all ! to Him loud pour'd, 
 Uplift the praiseful voice. 
 
 PSALM XXXIII. 
 
 J^EJOICE ye in The Lord, 
 
 Ye righteous ones ! rejoice : 
 J T is meet for such, aloud outpour'd, 
 To raise the thankful voice. 
 
 2 Piyaise ye The Lord with string, 
 
 With harp and psaltery praise ; 
 With ten-string'd instruments loud sing, 
 To Him your voices raise. 
 
54; THE PSALMS. xxxiii, 
 
 3 To Him sing a new* song, 
 
 A new and fitting one : 
 His praises sing with voices strong, 
 
 And tongues of loudest tone. 
 
 4 For The Lord's word is truth ; 
 
 And righteousness He loves : 
 To all extends His gracious ruth ; 
 
 All Earth His bounty proves. 
 
 5 He spake, ordaining forth 
 
 And straight the Heavens were made ; 
 The Heavens and all their hosts had birth, 
 As His commandment bade. 
 
 6 Together, as a heap, 
 
 The waters He u plays ; 
 As in storehouses, He the deep 
 Lays up, where moveless stays. 
 
 7 Let all the Earth Him fear; 
 
 The World, and all therein : 
 All ye, Earth's dwellers, far or near! 
 Stand in His awe, nor sin. 
 
 8 He bade it come to pass 
 
 He spake and it was done : 
 
 As He commanded so it was; 
 
 To stand, remov'd of none. 
 
 9 He the Heathen's counsel foils, 
 
 And whatso they project ; 
 And He the Nations' schemes embroils, 
 And makes of none effect. 
 
 10 But The Lord's counsel 's sure, 
 
 And stands for ever fast; 
 And so shall His designs endure, 
 And thro all ages last. 
 
 1 1 Yea blest that People is, 
 
 Who have The Lord for GOD! 
 Blest they, He chooses to be His, 
 His heritage avow'd ! 
 
 12 The Lord sees far and nigh; 
 
 From Heaven notes all their ways; 
 
 Mis abiding place mi high, 
 Earth's (Uvi'Hcrs Ih- surveys. 
 
XXXIV. THE PSALMS. 55 
 
 13 He forms them with His hands; 
 
 He fashions so their hearts; 
 And all their works He understands, 
 And knows their inward parts. 
 
 14 By his multitude of hosts 
 
 No King may rescued be ; 
 Nor by his strength, wherein he boasts, 
 The mighty one him free. 
 
 15 For safety, in danger's hour, 
 
 A horse's strength is vain ; 
 Nor, for a man, by his great power, 
 Deliverance shall he gain. 
 
 16 Behold ye, ever near 
 
 His eye is on the just ; 
 The Lord them sees, that Him do fear 
 And on His mercy trust. 
 
 17 In dearth He is ever good, 
 
 And pity on them has ; 
 In scarceness' time to give them food, 
 And save from famine's pass. 
 
 18 To succour when in straits, 
 
 Upon The Lord we build ; 
 Our soul for Him with patience waits : 
 He is our help and shield. 
 
 19 Our heart in Him, the same, 
 
 Shall still rejoice, firm-based : 
 For, ever in His holy Name 
 Our confidence is placed. 
 
 20 O let Thy mercy, Lord ! 
 
 Upon us ever be ; 
 As we rely us on Thy word, 
 And put our trust in Thee. 
 
 PSALM XXXIV. 
 
 JJNTO The Lord continually 
 
 Will I give thanks and praise ; 
 E'ermore employ 'd that debt to pay, 
 Thereto my Voice I '11 raise. 
 
56 THE PSALMS. XXxiv. 
 
 2 In His relief, as ever near, 
 
 I '11 boast, with lifted voice : 
 The afflicted one the strain shall hear, 
 And, comforted, rejoice. 
 
 3 O praise The Lord with me ; come, all ! 
 
 His loudest praises frame ; 
 Together let us loud recall 
 
 And magnify His Name. 
 
 4 I sought The Lord : And, from on high, 
 
 He heard considering me ; 
 
 Yea He, with succour ever nigh, 
 From all my fears set free. 
 
 5 To Him they look, whom ills oppress : 
 
 And them He helps, as claimed ; 
 He comforts them in their distress; 
 Nor are they made ashamed. 
 
 6 The poor man cries : And, with kind heed, 
 
 He hears him, as he craves ; 
 The Lord him hears ; and, at his need, 
 From out his troubles saves. 
 
 7 About all them, those Him that fear 
 
 And heed to do His will, 
 
 The Angel of The Lord bides near, 
 Delivering from their ill. 
 
 8 O taste and see, as ye shall deem, 
 
 How gracious still He is : 
 Blest is the man who trusts in Him, 
 And makes that refuge his. 
 
 9 O fear The Lord, all ye the just, 
 
 All ye His saints that are! 
 
 For they, that fear and on Him trust, 
 Shall have in plenteous share. 
 
 10 The lions lack, and fail, for food : 
 
 But they, that seek The Lord, 
 Shall nothing want of whatso good, 
 . \lmndani to them pourM. 
 
THE PSALMS. 57 
 
 11 Now, come ye, children! give me ear; 
 
 Now hearken unto me : 
 And I will teach you The Lord's fear, 
 As should your service be. 
 
 12 What man is he, that lists to live; 
 
 Desiring many days ; 
 That joyfulness may to him give, 
 With pleasantness of ways 
 
 13 Thy tongue from evil keep in all; 
 
 Nor speak whateer untrue. 
 
 Shun evil: and do good withal. 
 
 Seek peace, and that pursue. 
 
 14 The Lord's eyes on the righteous bend, 
 
 Still making them His care; 
 To hear their prayer, His ears attend 
 And ever open are. 
 
 15 His face is set, them thrusting forth, 
 
 'Gainst those that evil do ; 
 To cut their memory off from Earth, 
 Outrooting them thencethro. 
 
 16 The Lord is ever nigh to them, 
 
 That mercy from Him crave ; 
 Nor He the contrite will condemn, 
 But the repentant save. 
 
 17 The righteous' troubles, to endure, 
 
 Are many and great withal : 
 But him The Lord, with succour sure, 
 Delivers out of all : 
 
 18 He guides him in the path to go, 
 
 And guards from hurtful stroke; 
 The Lord keeps all his bones, that so 
 Not one of them is broke'. 
 
 19 But, evil on them shall alight, 
 
 And shall the ungodly slay ; 
 And they, that persecute the upright, 
 Shall be cast out away. 
 
 20 The Lord His servants will redeem, 
 
 And will their souls set free : 
 And none, that put their trust in Him, 
 Shall disappointed be. 
 
58 THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM XXXV. 
 
 gTRIVE Thou for me, Lord GOD of might ! 
 
 With them that with me strive ; 
 Fight Thou 'gainst them, that 'gainst me fight 
 And would my fall contrive. 
 
 2 Of shield and buckler take Thou hold, 
 
 Thereon now lay Thy hand ; 
 Now with Thy succour me enfold ; 
 Now for my help upstand. 
 
 3 Bring out the spear, and bar the way 
 
 'Gainst those oppressing me : 
 
 Say to my soul "I am thy stay, 
 
 "To save and set thee free." 
 
 4 Be they turn'd back and put to shame, 
 
 That for my life have sought; 
 Let them, that mischief 'gainst me frame, 
 Be to confusion brought. 
 
 5 Be they as chaff before the wind, 
 
 Off-scatter'd from Earth's face ; 
 And the Angel of The Lord behind, 
 To drive them and off-chase. 
 
 6 Be dark their way, and slippery-floor'd, 
 
 Before them all unknown ; 
 And let the Angel of The Lord 
 Pursue and beat them down. 
 
 7 For, with no cause provoking it, 
 
 Their toils they for me lay ; 
 They for my soul have digg'd a pit, 
 Without a cause, to slay. 
 
 8 But let destruction, all unthought, 
 
 Come on them unawares ; 
 Let them in their own net be caught, 
 And fall in their own snares. 
 
 9 While thou, my soul! in safety clad, 
 
 Shalt joy and comfort thee ; 
 Shalt in The Lord rejoice, and glad 
 In Mi- salvation be. 
 
XXXV. THE PSALMS. 59 
 
 10 My every sense shall say 4 O Lord! 
 
 Who like to Thee is there? 
 * Who 's like to Thee, Lord GOD ador'd ! 
 'Who may with Thee compare?' 
 
 11 ' 'T is Thou deliverest the poor 
 
 ' From him that does him wrong ; 
 ' And feeble one from the evil-doer, 
 'That for him is too strong/ 
 
 12 False witnesses against me rose, 
 
 Declaring what untrue ; 
 They to my charge did things depose, 
 Whereof I nothing knew. 
 
 13 They crooked render'd me for straight, 
 
 And evil paid for good ; 
 E'en to my soul's discomfort great, 
 And grievousness of mood. 
 
 14 Yet I, when they with sickness ail'd, 
 
 In sackcloth me array 'd ; 
 With fasting humbling me, I wail'd, 
 And fervent for them pray'd. 
 
 15 As tho my friend or brother 'twere, 
 
 With grief was I down-bent; 
 As one his mother mourns, in care, 
 With heaviness I went. 
 
 16 Yet in my affliction they rejoiced, 
 
 And thronging round me came ; 
 
 The very abjects e'en loud-voiced 
 
 Came, putting me to shame. 
 
 17 Yea table-flatterers carne therewith, 
 
 And hypocrites deep-wiled ; 
 They gnash'd upon me with their teeth, 
 And mock'd me and reviled. 
 
 18 But, Lord! how long, nor them controul, 
 
 Wilt Thou this see, ere cease ? 
 From 'mong the lions save my soul; 
 O save me and release. 
 
 19 So I my voice, the People 'mong, 
 
 In thanks to Thee will raise ; 
 In the great Congregation's throng 
 Thee loudly will 1 praise. 
 
60 THE PSALMS. XXXV. 
 
 20 Let not my enemies thus, elate, 
 
 Boast o'er me in their pride; 
 Nor them, that causelessly me hate, 
 Contemn me and deride. 
 
 21 For, their communings, underhand, 
 
 Are not in peaceful wise ; 
 And, 'gainst the quiet in the land, 
 They evil things devise. 
 
 22 They with their mouths upon me gape ; 
 
 And ' Fie on thee ! ' say they. 
 * Now art thou caught ; nor shalt thou 'scape : 
 ' We 've found thee out ! ' they say. 
 
 23 But Thou seest all. Then, rouse Thee, Lord! 
 
 Nor longer silent be : 
 Be near me now ; Thy help afford ; 
 Release and set me free. 
 
 24 Up, Lord ! now for me, to defend ; 
 
 Thee on my side arouse; 
 My Lord and GOD ! for me contend ; 
 Do Thou my cause espouse. 
 
 25 As is Thy justice judge me Thou; 
 
 Now for me raise Thy voice ; 
 O Lord my GOD ! them ne'er allow 
 Here o'er me to rejoice. 
 
 26 Ne'er let them, boasting inwardly, 
 
 Say ' Now he 's in our power : 
 
 ' T is as we would/ Nor let them say 
 * Him will we now devour.' 
 
 27 Let them confounded be and shamed, 
 
 That at my hurt are glad ; 
 Let them, that have my ruin framed, 
 Be with dishonour clad. 
 
 28 But him, who my just cause affects, 
 
 Let shout, in gladsome mood 
 ' Blest be The Lord ! who His protects, 
 ' Rejoicing in their good.' 
 
 29 So shall my tongue, to laud and bless, 
 
 Untiring talk of Thee ; 
 Thy praises and Thy righteousness 
 Its day-long theme shall be. 
 
THE PSALMS. 6l 
 
 PSALM XXXVI. 
 
 HPHE ungodly one him still applies 
 
 To working wickedness : 
 For he has not, before his eyes, 
 GOD'S fear, to ne'er transgress. 
 
 2 For he self-flatters him therein, 
 
 As if in nought amiss ; 
 Till his abominable sin 
 At length detected is. 
 
 3 All his mouth's words unrighteous are, 
 
 And with deceit imbued ; 
 He walks not wisely nor with care, 
 Nor heeds to follow good. 
 
 4 He on his bed, by night as day, 
 
 Imagines mischief still ; 
 He sets himself in no good way, 
 Nor hates he what is ill. 
 
 5 Thy mercy, Lord ! far reaching high, 
 
 E'en to the Heavens ascends ; 
 And to the clouds, remote as nigh, 
 Thy faithfulness extends. 
 
 6 Like the strong mountains, rooted low, 
 
 Thy righteousness doth stand. 
 Like the great deep, beyond to know, 
 Thy judgements are, unscann'd. 
 
 7 O GOD! how excellent withal 
 
 Thy loving- mercies are ! 
 Preserving them, Thou, Lord ! mak'st all, 
 Both man and beast, Thy care. 
 
 8 So men, for succour and for stay, 
 
 On Thee their hopes still base ; 
 And so, 'neath Thy wings' shadow, they 
 Their trust do ever place : 
 
 9 So, with Thy House's plenteousness, 
 
 Shall they be satisfied ; 
 And they Thy pleasures shall possess, 
 As from a stream supplied. 
 
62 THE PSALMS. 
 
 10 For life's well-fountain is witli Thee : 
 
 Thencefrom shall we be fed. 
 And in Thy light we light shall see, 
 And shall be comforted. 
 
 xxxvn. 
 
 1 1 Thy loving-kindness still impart 
 
 To them all Thee that know; 
 
 And, on the upright and true of heart, 
 Thy favour still bestow. 
 
 12 Let not pride's foot rne e'er assail, 
 
 Nor let its tongue reprove ; 
 Nor let the ungodly 's hand prevail, 
 To shake me or remove. 
 
 13 There lie they low, the wicked all, 
 
 Who iniquity devise ; 
 Cast down they are, and made to fall ; 
 Nor ever more to rise. 
 
 PSALM XXXVII. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 JTOR the ungodly ones' success 
 
 Ne'er fret ; nor feel thou enviousness 
 
 'Gainst evil-doers, tho prosperous they : 
 For soon they, like the morning's grass, 
 Shall be cut down ; so shall they pass, 
 As withers the green herb away. 
 
 2 Trust in The Lord, thro whom thou 'st stood ; 
 And still be doing that which good: 
 
 So shalt thou have the land, and live. 
 Delight thou ever in The Lord : 
 And He shall feed* thee, plenteous stor'd, 
 
 And thee thy heart's desire shall give. 
 
 3 Thy path unto The Lord commit ; 
 Still trust in Him : And, leading it, 
 
 Thy way shall He promote and aid: 
 Thy righteousness shall He make clear 
 As is the light, and make appear 
 
 Thy truth as the noon day display 'd. 
 
xxxvii. THE PSALMS. 63 
 
 4 Hold in The Lord, whate'er betide ; 
 And patiently in Him abide ; 
 
 Whatso thy expectation balks. 
 But, howso prosperous he therein, 
 Ne'er grieve thee for the man of sin, 
 
 That after evil counsels walks. 
 
 5 Leave off from wrath ; from anger cease ; 
 Fret not thyself : but keep at peace : 
 
 Lest thence to evil moved and strife. 
 The ungodly ones shall forth be thrust: 
 But they, upon The Lord who trust, 
 
 Shall the Earth inherit and have life. 
 
 6 Soon and the wicked gone shall be: 
 
 Thou for his place shalt look, to see ; 
 
 And he shall sudden be away. 
 But the upright shall the land possess ; 
 And, with full peace and plenteousness, 
 
 Shall be refresh'd, nor e'er decay. 
 
 7 Against the just, devising hurts, 
 The wicked secretly concerts ; 
 
 He with his teeth them gnashes on. 
 But him The Lord, to whom all shows, 
 Shall laugh at here : for He foreknows 
 
 His day is coming and anon. 
 
 8 The ungodly have drawn out the sword, 
 And bent the bow : With wrath outpour'd, 
 
 They for destruction them prepare; 
 The weak and helpless one to kill ; 
 And such to slay as, shunning ill, 
 
 Of upright conversation are. 
 
 9 But, broken all shall be their bow ; 
 
 Thro their own heart their sword shall go ; 
 
 They by themselves shall be undone ; 
 The ungodly's arms shall broken be. 
 But, leading him along, hurt free, 
 
 The Lord upholds the righteous one. 
 10 The just man's little, howso small, 
 Is better, and more worth withal, 
 
 Than is a many wicked's store. 
 The Lord approves the godly's ways : 
 And their inheritance of days 
 
 Shall them endure for evermore : 
 
64 THE PSALMS. xxxvii, 
 
 11 They, in the evil time, im blamed, 
 Shall not confounded be nor shamed ; 
 
 And in dearth's day shall want for nought. 
 The blest of GOD the land shall share ; 
 But they, that cursed of Him are, 
 
 Shall be cut off and rooted out. 
 
 12 Yea the unrighteous ones shall fall : 
 And so GOD'S enemies, they all 
 
 Shall perish and be cast away ; 
 E'en as the fat of lambs consumed, 
 And, as the smoke of fire off-fumed, 
 
 As these off vanish so shall they. 
 
 13 The ungodly seeks dishonest gain ; 
 He borrows, nor repays again ; 
 
 Nor he the needy 's want relieves. 
 But the upright man clean-handed is ; 
 He nought retains that is not his ; 
 
 He is merciful to all, and gives. 
 
 14 The Lord a good man's way directs ; 
 Therein He guards him and protects; 
 
 And with His saving care enfolds : 
 
 Yea, tho he stumble walking ill, 
 
 Ne'erless shall he not fall: for still 
 
 The Lord him with His hand upholds?. 
 
 15 The righteous piteous is, and lends : 
 Arid blessing so his seed attends. 
 
 The Lord doth aye the just bestead : 
 I now am old ; yet, whereso been, 
 Him ne'er have I forsaken seen, 
 
 Nor seen his children beg their bread. 
 
 16 Shun evil; and do good; still cleave 
 To that which right : So shalt thou live. 
 
 The Lord loves justness Him before : 
 His godly ones He ne'er forsakes ; 
 But them in His own keeping takes ; 
 
 And so are they preserv'd e'ermore. 
 
 17 Trangressors shall be punish'd all. 
 As for the wicked's seed, it shall 
 Be rooted out and cast aside. 
 
XXXvii. THE PSALMS. 6$ 
 
 The righteous shall the land possess ; 
 It shall be theirs for lastingness, 
 
 E'en for their dwelling where to bide, 
 
 18 The righteous' mouth, as well advised, 
 Is still in wisdom exercised; 
 
 His tongue doth of just judgement talk : 
 The love of GOD is in his heart; 
 He ne'er shall from His law depart, 
 
 Nor be backsliding in his walk. 
 
 19 The ungodly watch the perfect's way, 
 And seek occasion him to slay : 
 
 But him The Lord will not forsake ; 
 He will not leave him in their hand ; 
 But, when he is judg'd, will by him stand 
 
 And him from condemnation take. 
 
 20 Still hope thou in The Lord : Him serve ; 
 And keep His way, nor thencefrom swerve : 
 
 And He shall raise thee and promote 
 To have the land e'en as its heir, 
 Thou shalt inherit it for e'er ; 
 
 And thou the wicked's fall shalt note. 
 
 21 Yea I myself have in great power 
 
 The ungodly seeu ; him seen high tower, 
 And, like a bay-tree, shade the ground : 
 
 Then went I by and lo was none! 
 
 I sought him there : but he was gone* ; 
 His place no whither could be found ! 
 
 22 Heed thou the thing that righteous is ; 
 And innocency keep : for this 
 
 Shall peace procure thee at the last. 
 
 But as for the transgressors they 
 
 Shall perish all, offswept away; 
 
 The wicked all shall be outcast. 
 
 23 The righteous's salvation still 
 Comes of The Lord : in time of ill 
 
 He too their strength and stay will be: 
 Because they put their trust in Him, 
 The Lord shall save them and redeem, 
 
 And from the ungodly ones set free. 
 
66 THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM XXXVII. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 J^E'ER thro the ungodly fret, 
 
 Nor therefor anger thee ; 
 Nor the evil-doers envy yet, 
 How prosperous so they be. 
 
 2 For, like the grass are they, 
 
 So soon to be cut down ; 
 As the green herb to pass away, 
 And wither'd be anon. 
 
 3 But trust thou in The Lord ; 
 
 And do that which is good : 
 So shalt thou live ; and, plenteous stor'd, 
 Fed with His treasures' food. 
 
 4 And in The Lord withal 
 
 Delight and please thee still : 
 And He, thine heart's desire in all 
 Shall give thee, to thy will. 
 
 5 To Him, whereso it lead, 
 
 Thy way commit and leave ; 
 Trust thou in Him : And He shall speed, 
 And make its end achieve. 
 
 6 Thy righteousness shall He 
 
 Make as the light appear ; 
 And thy just-dealing, plain to see, 
 Show as the noon-day clear. 
 
 7 Rest in The Lord throughout; 
 
 On Him thy trust still lay : 
 Nor at the wicked grieve thee aught, 
 How prosperous so their way. 
 
 8 Leave wrath ; from anger cease : 
 
 So shunning strife therethro. 
 Ne'er fret thyself; but keep at peace : 
 Lest evil moved to do. 
 
 9 They, who to ill them give, 
 
 Shall be cut off, thrust forth : 
 But they, who serve The Lord, shall live, 
 Inheriting the Earth. 
 
XXXvil. THE PSALMS. 67 
 
 10 For, yet a little space, 
 
 And be but shall have been : 
 Thou close shalt seek the wicked's place, 
 And no where find it seen. 
 
 11 But the humble shall possess 
 
 The land ; and those upright ; 
 And shall, in peace's plenteousness, 
 Refresh them and delight. 
 
 12 The ungodly, striving with, 
 
 Still plots against the just; 
 He gnashes on them with his teeth, 
 And would them forth out-thrust. 
 
 13 But him The Lord on high 
 
 Shall laugh at and deride : 
 He sees his day is drawing nigh, 
 But little more to bide. 
 
 14 To cast the needy down, 
 
 And perfect one o'erthrow, 
 
 The ungodly have the sword outdrawn, 
 And they have bent the bow. 
 
 15 But they their craft and art 
 
 Turn'd 'gainst themselves shall see ; 
 Their sword shall enter their own heart, 
 And bow shall broken be. 
 
 16 The righteous man's, tho small, 
 
 More worth and better is 
 Than many a wicked's store, and all 
 Their wealth, whatever this. 
 
 17 The ungodly's arms, contronl'd, 
 
 Shall broken be. But still 
 The Lord the perfect shall uphold, 
 And guard from every ill. 
 
 18 He notes the godly's ways, 
 
 Still walking Him before : 
 And their inheritance of days 
 Shall be for evermore. 
 
 19 In the evil time, they nought 
 
 Shall be disquieted ; 
 And, in the days of dearth, full fraught, 
 They stintless shall be fed. 
 
68 THE PSALMS. XXXVH. 
 
 20 As for the wicked ones 
 
 They thence shall be thrust forth ; 
 All The Lord's enemies, mischief's sons, 
 Shall perish from the Earth : 
 
 21 E'en as the fat of lambs, 
 
 Upburnt shall they consume ; 
 E'en as the smoke before the flames, 
 Shall they to nought off-fume. 
 
 22 The ungodly breaks his trust, 
 
 Nor renders what he owes : 
 But the upright man is ever just, 
 Is bounteous, and bestows. 
 
 23 The blest of GOD shall share 
 
 And have the land throughout : 
 But they, that cursed of him are, 
 Shall thence be rooted out. 
 
 24 A good man's steps in all 
 
 Are order'd by The Lord ; 
 Therein He pleasure takes withal, 
 And will them aid afford. 
 
 25 E'en stumble tho he may ; 
 
 He shall not fall, but stand : 
 For still The Lord supports his way, 
 Upholding with His hand. 
 
 26 I now am aged grown ; 
 
 Yet never, whereso led, 
 
 Have known the righteous want, nor known 
 His offspring beg their bread : 
 
 27 He ever heeds his ways ; 
 
 He is merciful, and gives : 
 And so, enjoying length of days, 
 His seed is blest and lives. 
 
 28 Pursue that which is good ; 
 
 From evil flee before : 
 
 So shalt thou stand, as still thou 'st stood, 
 And live fur evermore. 
 
 29 The Lord loves righteousness; 
 
 Nor He His saints forsakes : 
 
 But the evil ones all who transgress, 
 
 Them He oVnhrmvs and breaks: 
 
xxxvii. THE PSALMS. 69 
 
 30 So shall their seed not stand. 
 
 But, given him, as its heir, 
 The just one shall possess the land, 
 To dwell therein for e'er. 
 
 31 The righteous' mouth is still 
 
 In wisdom exercised ; 
 His tongue eschews whate'er of ill, 
 Discreet and well-advised : 
 
 32 Thencefrom to not depart, 
 
 But in whate'er observe, 
 
 GOD'S law is set within his heart ; 
 Nor shall his goings swerve. 
 
 33 The wicked lie in wait 
 
 About the righteous' way ; 
 They seek to find him when in strait, 
 And watch for when to slay. 
 
 34 But thence The Lord will free, 
 
 Nor in their hands him leave; 
 Nor him condemn, tho judg'd he be; 
 But from their power retrieve. 
 
 35 Rest in The Lord for all : 
 
 And thee shall He promote 
 To have the land : And thou the fall 
 Shalt of the ungodly note. 
 
 36 Yea I myself have seen 
 
 The wicked towering round ; 
 As flourishes the bay-tree green, 
 O'er-shading wide the ground : 
 
 37 Anon then I did pass 
 
 And lo he was not there ! 
 
 I sought him : but his place, where was, 
 Could now be found no where ! 
 
 38 Mark thou the perfect man ; 
 
 Observe him, till he cease; 
 The upright one behold and scan : 
 For that man's end is peace. 
 
 39 But the transgressors all 
 
 Shall be cut off from Earth : 
 Such is the wicked's end withal, 
 Outrooted and cast forth. 
 
70 THE PSALMS. XXXviiL 
 
 40 The righteous' safety-way 
 
 Comes ever of The Lord ; 
 In trouble's time He is their stay, 
 And helps them, as implor'd. 
 
 41 Yea them The Lord shall aid, 
 
 Arid from the unjust redeem ; 
 He shall deliver them, as pray'd ; 
 Because they trust in Him. 
 
 PSALM XXXVIII. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 TORD ! in Thy wrath rebuke me not, 
 
 Nor in Thine ire chastise ; 
 Ne'er smite in Thy displeasure hot, 
 Nor let it 'gainst me rise. 
 
 2 For in me fast Thine arrows stick, 
 
 And hand me presses sore ; 
 Whence I am wounded to the quick, 
 E'en to my inmost core. 
 
 3 Thro Thy displeasure, there within 
 
 My flesh no health is left ; 
 My bones, by reason of my sin, 
 Are of all rest bereft. 
 
 4 My wickednesses are so great, 
 
 They whelm me and outwear; 
 They like a burden are, of weight 
 Too much for me to bear. 
 
 5 My wounds corrupt are, past relief; 
 
 Thro mine own foolish wrong : 
 So troubled am I, bow'd with grief, 
 I mourn the whole day long. 
 
 6 My loins with painfulness are fill'd ; 
 
 With hurts 1 'm cover'd o'er; 
 I 'm faint and weak : with cries iinst.il I'd, 
 For inward smart I roar. 
 
 7 Thou, Lord! my inmost thoughts dost know; 
 
 My groaning 's heard by Thee : 
 My heart beats small; my strength 's laid low; 
 Minr eyes n-t'iiM- to see. 
 
XXXviii. THE PSALMS. 7* 
 
 8 My neighbours, and associates all, 
 
 Unmov'd in my behoof, 
 Look on my trouble; and, withal, 
 My kinsmen stand aloof. 
 
 9 My foes, also, my life who seek, 
 
 Their snares still for me lay ; 
 And they, who seek my hurt, still speak 
 Of mischief all the day. 
 
 10 For me I list them not ; e'en as 
 
 One that is deaf of ear ; 
 As one that dumb, nor utterance has ; 
 And one that cannot hear. 
 
 11 I am as one whose lips are shut, 
 
 Whence no reproofs proceed. 
 But, still in Thee my trust 1 put : 
 Thou, Lord! shalt for me plead. 
 
 12 To Thee, O Lord my GOD! I call; 
 
 To Thee uplift my voice : 
 Lest, when 1 slip, they mark my fall, 
 And o'er me so rejoice. 
 
 13 For now I faint: my wickedness 
 
 Is still mine eyes before ; 
 My iniquity do I confess, 
 And all my sin deplore. 
 
 14 My enemies lively are and strong, 
 
 Nor to assail me cease ; 
 And they, that hate me, tho with wrong, 
 Are many, and still increase. 
 
 15 For good they evil to me pay, 
 
 And my adversaries are ; 
 Because 1 follow the upright way, 
 And keep my footsteps there. 
 
 16 O Lord, my GOD! be near me now; 
 
 Forsake me not, nor leave ; 
 Lord GOD of my salvation, Thou ! 
 Now haste Thee to relieve. 
 
72 THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM XXXVIII. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 T ET not Thy wrath against me stand, 
 
 Nor, Lord ! me in Thine anger chide : 
 For heavy on me lies Thy hand, 
 And in me fast Thine arrows bide. 
 
 2 Thy chastening makes my flesh to fail ; 
 
 Nor rest I know beneath Thy frown ; 
 My iniquities I ceaseless wail, 
 
 Their weight o'erwhelming bows me down. 
 
 3 My wounds with loathsomeness offend, 
 
 Through mine own wrong and deeds amiss ; 
 'Neath suffering and disease I bend, 
 Nor in me any soundness is. 
 
 4 Sore broken and oppress'd with ill, 
 
 1 troubled am, dow-n humbled low ; 
 Thro my heart's anguish, wailing still, 
 The whole day long I mourning go. 
 
 5 But, Lord! Thou seest all my desires, 
 
 My groaning is not hid from Thee ; 
 My strength is gone ; my heart expires ; 
 Tear-dimm'd, mine eyes refuse to see. 
 
 6 My friends and followers stand aloof, 
 
 Far off my kindred from me stand ; 
 My enemies taunt with keen reproof, 
 They seek my hurt on every hand. 
 
 7 But I am e'en as deaf of ear ; 
 
 As one, that, dumb, can nought declare ; 
 I am as one that cannot hear, 
 
 And in whose mouth no chidings are. 
 
 8 For, Lord ! on Thee I wait in all : 
 
 O Lord my GOD ! Thou hear'st my suit : 
 Let them not joy to see me fall, 
 
 Nor boast, should haply slip my foot. 
 
 i) Yea now I fail with my distress ; 
 
 My pain is still mine eyes before : 
 My iniquity will I confess, 
 
 And pardon for my sin implore. 
 
XXxix. THE PSALMS. 73 
 
 10 Mine enemies numerous are and strong, 
 
 And they that good with ill repay ; 
 Because I that eschew which wrong, 
 Still following in the righteous way. 
 
 1 ] O Lord my God ! forsake me not, 
 
 Nor from me turn now in my smart ; 
 Be quick to help me, as besought : 
 For Thou all my salvation art. 
 
 PSALM XXXIX. 
 
 T SAID ' I to my ways will tend, 
 
 * Lest speak whate'er unright ; 
 ' My mouth I '11 bridle, lest offend 
 'Before the wicked's sight.' 
 
 2 From whatso speech did I refrain, 
 
 Nor any to except ; 
 Yea, tho 't was grief to me and pain, 
 E'en from good words I kept. 
 
 3 My heart was with a heat possess'd ; 
 
 Then, musing, it outbroke, 
 
 The fire upkindled in my breast, 
 And with my tongue I spake. 
 
 4 Lord ! make me Thou my end to know, 
 
 That number'd are my days* : 
 That I may feel my frailness so, 
 And heed unto my ways. 
 
 5 Behold Thou 'st made my life to be 
 
 But as a passing thought ; 
 Yea verily, in respect of Thee, 
 My age is all as nought. 
 
 6 Man walks as a vain shadow here, 
 
 Still vex'd with fruitless cares : 
 He heaps up wealth, for moments mere ; 
 Nor knows he for what heirs. 
 
 7 And now, O Lord! what wait I for? 
 
 What is my hope, past this ? 
 
 Yea still, all else above and o'er, 
 In Thee alone it is. 
 
74 THE PSALMS. xl. 
 
 8 Deliver me from all my sin 
 
 And every evil done : 
 Nor make me a reproach therein 
 Unto the foolish one. 
 
 9 I dumb became ; I open'd not 
 
 My mouth, nor whatso said : 
 For 't was Thy doing ; it was wrought 
 By Thee : and I obey'd. 
 
 10 O Lord ! relieve me from Thy rod, 
 
 Nor more its weight to know ; 
 For, 'neath Thy heavy hand down bow'd, 
 Now am I stricken low. 
 
 11 When man, Thou, for iniquity, 
 
 Dost chasten, dustlike made, 
 
 E'en as the moth*, with swift decay, 
 Thou mak'st his beauty fade. 
 
 12 When Thou rebuk'st him,_made to fall, 
 
 He passes and is gone : 
 Yea every living man is all 
 But vanity alone! 
 
 13 Lord ! hear my prayer ; and, with Thine ears, 
 
 Consider Thou my cry : 
 Hold not Thy peace to see my tears ; 
 But to my call reply. 
 
 14 For I 'm with Thee, but transient here 
 
 Thro life's brief way to fare, 
 A stranger and sojourner mere ; 
 As all my fathers were. 
 
 15 Thy wrath turn from me : that I may 
 
 Be gladden'd Thee before*; 
 Ere I go hence, to pass away, 
 And here be seen no more. 
 
 PSALM XL. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 patience, to His will resigned, 
 1 waited for The Lord : 
 And to me He His ear inclined, 
 And heard me ;ts itnplor'd. 
 
xl. THE PSALMS. 7 
 
 2 He brought me out of th' horrid pit, 
 
 Out of the mire and clay ; 
 Upon the rock He set my feet, 
 And stablish'd there my way. 
 
 3 And He, with a new song and loud, 
 
 Hath given my voice to raise ; 
 A song, unto The Lord our GOD, 
 Of thankfulness and praise. 
 
 4 Yea many this shall see, and fear ; 
 
 His hand they here shall trace ; 
 And in The Lord, as ever near, 
 Their certain trust shall place. 
 
 5 Yea blessed is the man, whose trust 
 
 Upon The Lord relies ! 
 That nowise turns to the unjust 
 And them that deal in lies. 
 
 6 How many are, and greatness-fraught, 
 
 That do Thy power declare, 
 
 The wondrous works Thou 'st for us wrought, 
 And thoughts that us-ward are ! 
 
 7 None can ascribe Thee their amount, 
 
 Such is their numerousness ; 
 If I would tell them and upcount, 
 My tongue could not express. 
 
 8 Meat-offerings hast Thou not desired, 
 
 Nor sacrifice for sin ; 
 Thou no burnt-offerings hast required, 
 Thy pardon so to win. 
 
 9 Mine ears* didst Thou unclose thereto: 
 
 Then said I 'Yea, now look: 
 
 1 1 come, O Lord ! Thy will to do, 
 'As written in the book.' 
 
 10 Of me 't is in the volume writ' 
 
 That I should do Thy will : 
 
 And I delight to accomplish it ; 
 
 Thy law my heart doth fill. 
 
 1 1 I still, before the People all, 
 
 Have Thy uprightness shown ; 
 
 Nor will I thence refrain withal : 
 
 As, Lord! to Thee is known. 
 
76 THE PSALMS. xl. 
 
 12 Thy righteousness have I, and ruth, 
 
 Not hid' my heart within ; 
 Of Thy salvation and Thy truth 
 My talk has ever been. 
 
 13 From the great Congregation ne'er 
 
 Have I kept back nor hid' 
 
 Thy loving-kindness; but, wheree'er, 
 Declared it loud amid. 
 
 14 Thy tender mercies, then, O Lord! 
 
 Now from me not withhold ; 
 But let Thy goodness, as implor'd, 
 Preserve me and enfold. 
 
 15 For numerous troubles now constrain, 
 
 Encompassing around ; 
 My ills such hold have on me ta'en, 
 They bow me to the ground. 
 
 16 So many are they a countless store, 
 
 They weigh me down beneath; 
 Than my head's hairs they 're numerous more; 
 
 That fails my heart therewith. 
 17* O be it Thy pleasure, Lord ! as pray'd, 
 
 Thencefrom to set me free : 
 O haste Thee, Lord ! to give me aid ; 
 Haste, and deliver rne. 
 
 18 Let them be foil'd and put to shame, 
 
 That would my life attack ; 
 Let them, that mischief 'gainst me frame, 
 Be turn'd and driven back. 
 
 19 Let shame and sorrow them repay, 
 
 That cast reproaches on ; 
 Them desolate make, that to me say 
 ' Fie on Thee : fie upon ! ' 
 
 20 Let all, that seek Thee, joyful prove : 
 
 With gladsome voice high raised, 
 Let such, as Thy salvation love, 
 Still say_'The Lord be praised!' 
 
 21 For me, I afflicted* am ; but still 
 
 I on Thy care am stay'd : 
 Thou art my helper in my ill : 
 O haste Thee to my aid. 
 
 * From this Vtirse to the end is also 1's : LXX. 
 
THE PSALMS. 77 
 
 PSALM XL. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 TV/T Y prayer I to The Lord preferr'd ; 
 
 1 patiently did for Him wait : 
 And to me He inclin'd, and heard ; 
 And rescued me from out my strait : 
 
 2 Me out from th' horrid pit He brought ; 
 
 And set me on a rock, and stay'd ; 
 And a new song hath He me taught 
 Of Praise to GOD of saving aid. 
 
 3 Yea many this shall see, and fear ; 
 
 And in The Lord their trust shall place : 
 Blest they, who trust in Him still near, 
 And shun the proud and wicked race. 
 
 4 Many, O Lord ! nor wondrous less, 
 
 Thy works, and thoughts that us-ward are : 
 If I their number would express, 
 
 They 're more than could my speech declare. 
 
 5 Not sacrifice hast Thou desired ; 
 
 But Thou hast oped mine ears to Thee : 
 Thou no sin-offering hast required, 
 But a pure heart from evil free. 
 
 f) Behold I come, my bidden part, 
 
 That of me written, to fulfil : 
 Yea, Lord ! Thy law is in my heart, 
 'T is my delight to do Thy will. 
 
 7 Still, in the Congregation's throng, 
 
 Thy righteousness have I forth shown : 
 Thou know'st how, still, them all among, 
 I Thy salvation have made known. 
 
 8 Now, Lord! deny me not Thy ruth, 
 
 Nor from me keep Thy bounties all ; 
 Still let Thy mercy and Thy truth 
 Preserve me, nor allow to fall. 
 
 9 For countless ills beset me sore; 
 
 My sins down weigh me them beneath ; 
 Than my head's hairs they 're numerous more ; 
 That fails my heart, oppress'd therewith. 
 
78 THE PSALMS. xli, 
 
 10 O GOD ! now haste Thee to my aid ; 
 
 Now, in uiy strait, Thy succour ive; 
 O Lord ! be not Thy help delay'd, 
 Now haste Thee to me and relieve. 
 
 1 1 Repel Thou them, that me attack, 
 
 All, that deride me and defame; 
 Let those, that seek my hurt, turn'd back, 
 Confounded be and put to shame. 
 
 12 Let all, that them on Thee employ 
 
 Thee seeking, gladsome in Thee be ; 
 All, that in Thy salvation joy, 
 
 Still tune their praiseful songs to Thee. 
 
 13 I 'm low down-bow'd, in heaviness : 
 
 But Thou wilt hear me, as I crave ; 
 Thou 'rt my redeemer, in distress ; 
 Thou wilt not tarry me to save. 
 
 PSALM XLI. 
 
 TTE is blest, that doth regard the poor 
 
 And them who afflicted are : 
 In trouble's time, him watching o'er, 
 The Lord will give him care. 
 
 2 The Lord will aid him and relieve, 
 
 Preserving him thro all : 
 He shall be blest on Earth, and live ; 
 Nor to his enemies fall. 
 
 3 When sick and languishing he lies, 
 
 The Lord will comfort him ; 
 When to Him thence for ease applies, 
 His bed will for him trim. 
 
 4 Be merciful, I pray Thee, Lord ! 
 
 And piteous to me be ; 
 Heal Thou my soul, with health restor'd : 
 For I have sinn'd 'gainst Thee. 
 
 5 My enemies talk despitefully, 
 
 While on me casting shame. 
 
 'When will he die? when die (they say) 
 * And perish, with his name?' 
 
xlii. THE PSALMS. 79 
 
 6 They come to see me ; but on fraud 
 
 Alone and mischief bent ; 
 Then go, and 'gainst me spread abroad 
 The lies themselves invent. 
 
 7 All they, that hate me and would wrong, 
 
 Some charge against tne seek; 
 They against me whisper them among, 
 And to my hurting speak : 
 
 8 ' There to him (say they) cleaves an ill, 
 
 ' An evil thing and sore : 
 ' Now is he down ; there lie he still, 
 ' Thericefrom to rise no more.' 
 
 9 Yea e'en my own familiar friend*, 
 
 My bread who with me shared, 
 
 Whom I did trust on and depend, 
 
 His heel hath 'gainst me reared. 
 
 10 But, Lord! have mercy on me now; 
 
 And raise, in their despite ; 
 Now raise me up, and strengthen Thou: 
 So shall I them requite. 
 
 11 By this I know Thou favourest me, 
 
 That my enemy, in his pride, 
 Not o'er me triumphs : nor shall he, 
 While Thou art on my side. 
 
 12 For me, whilst t uprightly go, 
 
 Thou dost me still upbear ; 
 Before Thy face, approving so, 
 Thou settest me for e'er. 
 
 13 Blest be The Lord, as e'er before, 
 
 So now for aye, as then ! 
 Blest Israel's GOD for evermore ! 
 Amen ! Amen ! Amen ! 
 
 PSALM XLII. 
 
 AS pants, for running waters free, 
 
 The heated hart adry*, 
 
 So pants my soul, O GOD ! for Thee, 
 Its craving to supply. 
 
80 THE PSALMS. xlH, 
 
 2 For GOD e'en for The living GOD 
 
 It thirsts, to be Him near : 
 O when, before Thy throne down-bow'd, 
 My GOD! shall I appear? 
 
 3 My tears are still my only meat, 
 
 My food by night and day ; 
 
 While to me still my foes repeat 
 
 4 Where 's now thy GOD?' they say. 
 
 4 My soul I inwardly outpour, 
 
 With mournfulness and pain ; 
 
 Meanwhile the past I ponder o'er ; 
 
 And think, me when again 
 
 5 I, with the multitude, may go, 
 
 The joyful song to raise ; 
 E'en to GOD'S House, them leading so 
 To worship Him and praise. 
 
 6 O why, my soul ! so sad art thou, 
 
 With heaviness down-weigh'd ? 
 And why within me art thou now 
 So much disquieted ? 
 
 7 Hope thou in GOD ; put there thy trust : 
 
 So shall He make thee live : 
 And, for His help, who is ever just, 
 Thou yet Him thanks shalt give. 
 
 8 My GOD ! my soul is vex'd with ills : 
 
 Yet still, upcheering me, 
 From Jordan's land and Hermon's hills, 
 Will I remember Thee. 
 
 9 Deep calls to deep with answering call, 
 
 At Thy dread torrents' roar ; 
 Yea all Thy waves, and billows all, 
 Have covering swept me o'er. 
 
 10 The Lord His loving-kindness still, 
 
 By day will to me show : 
 With songs to Him the night I '11 fill; 
 To Him in prayer bend low : 
 
 1 1 Wherefor (to my strength's GOD I '11 cry) 
 
 ' Dost cast me off and leave ? 
 ' 'Neath the enemy's oppression, why 
 1 Thus mourning muet I grieve?' 
 
xliii. THK PSALMS. 81 
 
 12 My enemies' taunts cut thro my bones, 
 
 As with a sword to slay ; 
 While ceaseless, in reproachful tones, 
 * Where 's now thy GOD?' they say. 
 
 13 O why, my soul ! so sad art thou, 
 
 With heaviness down-weigh'd? 
 And why within me art thou now 
 So much disquieted? 
 
 14 Trust thou in GOD : For yet, with this, 
 
 I thanks will to Him give ; 
 
 My countenance's health who is, 
 
 My GOD, thro whom 1 live. 
 
 PSALM XLIII. 
 
 */^AlNST an ungodly People now 
 
 Thou my defender be ; 
 From the unjust man and false, do Thou, 
 
 GOD ! deliver me. 
 
 *2 O why, my GOD ! in my distress, 
 
 Dost cast me off and leave ? 
 Why still, while enemies oppress, 
 Thus mourning must 1 grieve? 
 
 3 Send out Thy light and truth, whence still 
 
 My guidances proceed ; 
 To bring me to Thy Holy Hill, 
 And to Thy Temple lead. 
 
 4 Then to Thy altars will I go, 
 
 My thankful voice to raise : 
 Yea on the harp, extolling so, 
 My GOD ! Thee will I praise. 
 
 5 O why, my soul! so sad art thou, 
 
 With heaviness down weigh'd? 
 And why within me art thou now 
 So much disquieted ? 
 
 6 Trust thou in GOD : For yet, with this, 
 
 1 thanks to Him will give ; 
 My countenance's health who is, 
 
 My GOD, thro whom I live. 
 
82 THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM XLIV. 
 
 Ci GOD! we 've heard, attent thereto, 
 
 Our Fathers us have told, 
 
 The deeds Thou in their days didst do, 
 And in the times of old : 
 
 2 How Thou the Heathen, with Thy hand, 
 
 Didst smite and put to rout ; 
 And, for them _ planting in the land, 
 Didst cast the Nations out. 
 
 3 For not with their own sword it was 
 
 That they possession gained ; 
 Nor their own arm, that in that pass 
 Them succour'd arid sustained : 
 
 4 But Thy right hand, Thy arm withal, 
 
 And countenance's light* : 
 Because Thou, favouring them in all, 
 Didst aid them with Thy might. 
 
 5 O GOD! Thou art my King: do Thou 
 
 Protect him and defend ; 
 Deliverances command him now, 
 And help to Jacob send. 
 
 6 Thro Thee our enemies we '11 confound, 
 
 That do our fall devise ; 
 
 Them, thro Thy Name, we '11 tread to ground, 
 That up against us rise. 
 
 7 For not upon our bows we 're stay'd, 
 
 Nor do we trust therein ; 
 'T is not our swords shall give us aid, 
 Nor victory for us win : 
 
 8 T is Thou dost for us them oppose 
 
 And from our enemies save, 
 And to confusion put all those 
 That us in hatred have. 
 
 9 All the day long, extolling GOD, 
 
 Our voices do we raise; 
 And so Thy Name, with homage loud, 
 Continually will praise. 
 
xliv. THE PSALMS. 83 
 
 10 But from Thee now Thou 'st cast us off, 
 
 Nor tightest on our side ; 
 Thou mak'st us be a butt for scoff, 
 For whoso to deride. 
 
 11 Thou mak'st us turn our backs upon, 
 
 And fly our foes before ; 
 That they, who hate us, trampling on, 
 Despoil us of our store. 
 
 12 As sheep Thou mak'st us; slaughtered thus, 
 
 And given to them for meat; 
 Thou 'st 'mong the Heathen scatter'd us, 
 As prey for them to eat. 
 
 13 Thou sell'st* Thy People e'en for nought, 
 
 Nor price dost for them take ; 
 Nor for a value are they bought, 
 Nor given for money's sake. 
 
 14 Thou mak'st us a reproach for bad 
 
 To our neighbours every where ; 
 In scorn and in derision had 
 Of all that round us are. 
 
 15 Thou 'mong the Heathen, mock'd thereof, 
 
 A by-word mak'st us be ; 
 The Nations at us jeer and scoff, 
 And wag their heads, to see. 
 
 16 So my confusion daily is 
 
 Before me, bow'd beneath : . 
 And so my face's shame, for this, 
 Has cover'd me therewith : 
 
 17 Because of the utterer's of lies, 
 
 Of the blasphemer's voice, 
 And of the vengeful enemy's, 
 That o'er us now rejoice. 
 
 18 Yet, tho all this upon us fall, 
 
 Thee do we nought forget ; 
 Nor we Thy covenant mock withal, 
 In aught aside to set. 
 
 19 Our heart in nothing is gone back, 
 
 Now from Thee turn'd astray ; 
 Nor have we wander'd off the track? 
 Declining from Thy way. 
 
84 THE PSALMS. 
 
 20 Nay not, tho 'midst the dragons* Thou 
 
 Hast pitiless out-thrust; 
 And, with death's shadow covering, now 
 Hast laid us in the dust. 
 
 21 If to strange gods we have bow'd down, 
 
 Or our GOD'S Name forgot', 
 
 Shall He, to whom the heart is known, 
 All-seeing out-search it not? 
 
 22 Yea for Thy sake we ceaseless weep, 
 
 With daily death consumed ; 
 We are accounted e'en as sheep 
 That for the slaughter doomed. 
 
 23 Up, Lord! awake; and rescue us: 
 
 Why sleep'st Thou so? awake ! 
 Cast us not off for ever thus, 
 Nor utterly forsake. 
 
 24 Lord ! wherefor dost Thou hide Thy face, 
 
 And from us turn away ? 
 Wherefor forget our hapless case, 
 Our trouble and misery? 
 
 25 For see our soul is brought down low, 
 
 Down-bow'd e'en to the dust; 
 We 're on the ground, in overthrow, 
 Down- trodden and out-thrust. 
 
 26 Arise, and help us now, O Lord ! 
 
 Now pity on us have ; 
 And, for Thy mercy's sake implor'd, 
 Deliver us and save. 
 
 PSALM XLV. 
 
 QF a good matter here my heart 
 
 Doth to The King indite; 
 My tongue is as one's pen of art 
 With readiness to write. 
 
 2 O King! Thou 'rt more than mortals fair; 
 
 Thy lips with grace are stored : 
 For GOD hath blessed Thee for eVr, 
 And 'stablish'd Thee firm-floored. 
 
xlv. THE PSALMS. 85 
 
 3 O Thou most honour'd one and high ! 
 
 O Thou, for power elect ! 
 Gird Thee Thy sword upon Thy thigh, 
 With gloriousness bedeckt. 
 
 4 Ride on: and prosper Thou, to stand: 
 
 For mercy truthful speech 
 
 And righteousness : and Thy right hand 
 Thee terrible things shall teach. 
 
 5 Thine arrows sharp are, piercing thro, 
 
 In midst Thy foes pursued : 
 The Nations so, obedient to, 
 Shall to Thee be subdued. 
 
 6 Thy throne is for Thee rear'd of GOD, 
 
 As everlasting this ; 
 
 Thy Kingdom's sceptre, thence bestow'd, 
 A righteous sceptre is. 
 
 7 Thou righteousness hast loved, sin-free ; 
 
 Therefor hath GOD withal 
 With gladness' oil anointed Thee 
 Above Thy fellows all. 
 
 8 Myrrh aloes cassia scent Thy dress; 
 
 In perfum'd garments clad ; 
 From out the ivory palaces*, 
 
 Wherewith they make Thee glad. 
 
 9 Kings' Daughters 'rnong Thy handmaids are ; 
 
 And near on Thy right hand, 
 
 In golden-tissued vesture, there, 
 
 The Queen bright- robed doth stand. 
 
 10 O Daughter! listen, and be taught; 
 
 Thine ear for this be set : 
 Put thine own People from thy thought ; 
 Thy Father's House forget. 
 
 11 So in thy beauty, owning now, 
 
 The King shall pleasure take : 
 For He is thy Lord : Him reverence thou ; 
 All leaving for His sake. 
 
 12 Tyre's Daughter, so, Thee homaging, 
 
 There with a gift shall be; 
 Their presents so the rich shall bring, 
 And favour sue from Thee. 
 
86 THE PSALMS. xlvi. 
 
 13 Lo The King's Daughter, brought for His, 
 
 All glorious is to sight; 
 All of wrought-gold her clothing is, 
 Resplendently bedight. 
 
 14 She to The King shall be brought there, 
 
 In raiment needle-wrought : 
 The Virgins, that her fellows are, 
 Shall to Thee there be brought. 
 
 15 With joy and gladness, homaging, 
 
 There bring they Him His Bride ; 
 Into the Palace of The King 
 They enter, where to bide. 
 
 16 Instead thy Fathers thou henceforth 
 
 Shalt Children have for thine ; 
 Whom thou shalt Princes make on Earth, 
 To rule in royal line. 
 
 17 Thy Name will I in memory raise, 
 
 All latest time unto : 
 The Nations Thee shall bless and praise, 
 All generations thro. 
 
 PSALM XLVI. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 >D is our hope ; our strength is this : 
 In trouble a present help He is : 
 
 Therefor we will not be afraid. 
 Yea, tho the Earth removed be, 
 And th' hills be carried midst the sea, 
 
 We will not fear ; by Him upstay'd : 
 
 2 Yea let the waters troubled roar ; 
 And, at their rage, resounding o'er, 
 
 The mountains shake to their deep base. 
 A river* is, in fulness clad; 
 Whose streams still make GOD'S City glad, 
 
 His Tabernacle's holy place : 
 
 3 GOD in her midst is, guarding her ; 
 So' shall she not be moved whate'er; 
 
 Her shall He help, nor with delay. 
 
xlvi. THE PSALMS. 87 
 
 Let the Heathen rage the Nations fret 
 
 The Kingdoms in array them set : 
 
 He speaks and Earth straight melts away ! 
 
 4 The Lord Of Hosts still with us is, 
 E'en Jacob's GOD ; our refuge this : 
 
 Therefor will we not fear for aught. 
 O corne, and The Lord's works behold ! 
 See what His marvels there unfold, 
 
 What wonders He on Earth hath wrought! 
 
 5 So makes He wars to cease wheree'er: 
 He breaks the bow ; He snaps the spear, 
 
 And chariot burns ; from strife set free. 
 " Be still : (He saith) know me for GOD. 
 " The Nations 'mong, of all avow'd, 
 
 "O'er Earth will I exalted be." 
 
 6 GOD is our hope : In whatso ill 
 On Him we rest ; in trouble still 
 
 Our present help ; on Him we 're stay'd. 
 The Lord Of Hosts still with us is, 
 E'en Jacob's GOD : our refuge this. 
 
 Therefor will we not be afraid. 
 
 PSALM XLVI. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 is our strength, our refuge is; 
 In trouble's time a present aid : 
 This is our hope, our comfort this : 
 On Him we 're stay'd. 
 
 2 So will we have no fear nor care : 
 
 Yea tho the Earth remov'd should be, 
 And tho the mountains carried were 
 In midst the sea : 
 
 3 Yea let its waters swell within, 
 
 Loud raging with tumultuous roar; 
 While shake the hills at their dread din, 
 Resounding o'er. 
 
 4 A river is, that, gladdening it, 
 
 Still pours its streams GOD'S City nigh ; 
 The Tabernacle's Holy Seat 
 
 Of The Most High. 
 
88 THE PSALMS. xlvi. 
 
 5 GOD in her midst is : Thence secured, 
 
 She shall not be remov'd nor fall : 
 GOD shall her help ; with aid assured, 
 And prompt withal. 
 
 6 Let the Heathen rage, the Nations fret, 
 
 The Kingdoms set them in array : 
 
 He utters forth His voice and straight 
 
 Earth melts away ! 
 
 7 The Lord Of Hosts still with us is ; 
 
 The GOD of Jacob is our shield ; 
 
 This is our tower our fortress this ; 
 
 On Him we build. 
 
 8 Come, see ye The Lord's power displayed : 
 
 Behold His works all Earth throughout ; 
 See what e'erwhere His marvels made, 
 What wonders wrought ! 
 
 9 See too now makes He wars to cease : 
 
 He breaks the bow, He snaps the spear 
 
 The chariot burns : He makes be peace 
 O'er Earth wheree'er. 
 
 10 " Be still : and know ye me for GOD. 
 
 " The Nations shall bow down to me. 
 " O'er Earth will I, of all avow'd, 
 "Exalted be." 
 
 1 1 The Lord Of Hosts still with us is ; 
 
 The GOD of Jacob is our shield : 
 
 This is our tower our fortress this : 
 
 On Him we build. 
 
 PSALM XLVI. 
 
 Third Version. 
 
 (j}OD our strength and refuge is ; 
 
 When in trouble, ever near ; 
 Still a present help is His. 
 Therefor will we nothing fear. 
 
 2 Tho the Earth remov'd should be, 
 
 Turn'd the hills amidst the wave: 
 Fearless either should we see, 
 
 Mountains <|tiake or billows rave. 
 
xlvii. THE PSALMS. 89 
 
 3 Floods around unharming beat : 
 
 For GOD'S City is His care. 
 There has The Most High His Seat, 
 There His Tabernacles are. 
 
 4 GOD is in her midst, to guard : 
 
 So she nothing shall be moved. 
 GOD shall help her, nor retard : 
 As shall by her foes be proved. 
 
 5 Rage the Heathen ; Nations fret ; 
 
 Kingdoms set them in array. 
 
 He but utters forth His threat 
 
 He but speaks .... Earth melts away ! 
 
 6 Heedless of their vaunting boasts, 
 
 We our -foes defy with this : 
 With us is The Lord Of Hosts ; 
 Jacob's GOD our refuge is. 
 
 7 O now come ye, and behold ; 
 
 See His works how wonder- fraught ; 
 See His marvels all unfold, 
 
 All The Lord on Earth has wrought. 
 
 8 Wars He makes to cease wheree'er ; 
 
 Strife to pencefulness He turns, 
 Breaks the bow, and snaps the spear, 
 In the fire the chariot burns. 
 
 9 " Hush ye : know ye me for GOD. 
 
 " O'er the Heathen, bow'd to me ; 
 " O'er the Earth, of all avow'd, 
 " High exalted will I be." 
 
 10 Whatso spoiler o'er us boasts, 
 Still a present help is His : 
 With us is The Lord Of Hosts ; 
 Jacob's GOD our refuge is. 
 
 PSALM XLVII. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 QLAP clap your hands, ye People all ! 
 
 Loud shout ye in accord ; 
 With triumph's voice unto Him call, 
 Sing unto GOD The Lord. 
 
90 THE PSALMS. 
 
 2 For He is excellent in worth ; 
 
 He aweful is and high ; 
 He Sovereign is o'er all the Earth, 
 And governs far and nigh. 
 
 3 He under us, to own our sway, 
 
 The Nations shall subdue, 
 Beneath our feet the Heathen lay 
 And make our mercy sue. 
 
 4 For us He our inheritance 
 
 Shall choose, where bide unmoved ; 
 The excellency and eminence 
 Of Jacob, whom He loved. 
 
 5 With shout and with the trumpet's sound, 
 
 On high is GOD upgone. 
 To GOD, e'en to our King encrown'd, 
 Sing lauds of loudest tone. 
 
 6 For, GOD o'er all the Earth is King: 
 
 To Him all voices raise ; 
 His lauds, with understanding, sing ; 
 Him, as His greatness, praise. 
 
 7 GOD makes whome'er to Him submit ; 
 
 He o'er the Nations reigns : 
 GOD sits upon His holy Seat ; 
 
 Thencefrom He all ordains. 
 
 8 The People's Princes, here down-bow'd, 
 
 Conjoin'd together are ; 
 The People's Tribes of Abraham's GOD, 
 Here gather'd, Him declare. 
 
 9 For GOD o'er all sits high among; 
 
 Earth's Rulers all are His ; 
 Yea all things to The Lord belong ; 
 Who greatly exalted* is. 
 
 PSALM XLVII. 
 
 Second Version. 
 QLAP your hands, ye People all ! 
 
 Sing to GOD with triumph's voice; 
 On The Lord Most Highest call ; 
 In His Holy Nairn- rejoice. 
 
xlviii. THE PSALMS. 91 
 
 2 For to Him our fear is due. 
 
 O'er all Earth He is a great King. 
 He shall for us them subdue, 
 
 'Neath our feet The Nations bring. 
 
 3 He for us, where nought com moves, 
 
 Our inheritance shall choose ; 
 E'en for Jacob, whom He loves, 
 Nor His favour e'er to lose. 
 
 4 With a trumpet's sound The Lord, 
 
 GOD is with a shout up gone : 
 GOD, who sits on high, ador'd, 
 On His holiness's throne. 
 
 5 Sing ye praises unto GOD ; 
 
 Loud to Him your voices raise ; 
 Unto GOD, Earth's King avow'd, 
 Sing your loudest songs of praise. 
 
 6 Him their Princes all and trains, 
 
 Him GOD'S People here attend. 
 Earth He, whence on high He reigns, 
 Doth as with a shield defend. 
 
 PSALM XLVIII. 
 
 Q.REAT is The Lord; most great avow'd, 
 
 And greatly to be praised ; 
 E'en in the City of our GOD, 
 His Holy Hill where raised. 
 
 2 Yea Sion's Hill is a fair place, 
 
 That Earth's all joy supplies: 
 Upon its North, of steadfast base, 
 The great King's City lies. 
 
 3 GOD in her bulwarks, 'gainst aggress, 
 
 Hath Him a surety shown ; 
 He still is, in her palaces, 
 For a sure refuge known. 
 
 4 For lo, Earth's Kings assembled were : 
 
 In league did they ally ; 
 They gather'd them together there. .... 
 Then sudden pass'd they by. 
 
92 THE PSALMS. 
 
 5 They saw : and, sudden, struck with dread, 
 
 Amaz'd and in dismay, 
 They troubled were ; they turn'd and fled, 
 And hasted them away. 
 
 6 There fear upon them came, and chilled, 
 
 With sorrowriess and pain : 
 
 As on a woman, anguish-filled, 
 
 When in her travail ta'en : 
 
 7 As fear the ships, when, swept adrift, 
 
 Thou inak'st them suffer wreck; 
 When, with th' East wind, Thou dost in rift 
 The ships of Tarshish break. 
 
 8 E'en as we heard, we 've seen displayed ; 
 
 In The Lord's City fair, 
 Our own GOD'S City : He, fast stayed, 
 Hath stablish'd it for e'er. 
 
 9 We still, O GOD ! remember Thee 
 
 And all Thy mercies great ; 
 Still, midst Thy Holy Temple, we 
 Thy loving-kindness wait. 
 
 10 Thy praise, O GOD ! as is Thy Name, 
 
 To Earth's all ends extends ; 
 And righteousness, with truth, the same, 
 On Thy right hand attends. 
 
 1 1 Be Sion with rejoicing clad, 
 
 Now she Thy judgements sees ; 
 Let Judah's daughters now be glad, 
 Because of Thy decrees. 
 
 12 'Bout Sion walk ; her circuit make, 
 
 And round about her go ; 
 
 Account of her defences take ; 
 
 Her towers upnumber so : 
 
 13 Her mansions count and palaces; 
 
 Her bulwarks notice well : 
 That them, and her deliverances, 
 Ye to your sons may tell. 
 
 14 This is our GOD, us ever with ; 
 
 Our GOD for aye is He : 
 He with us here, and over death, 
 Our guide and gunrd will be. 
 
THE PSALMS. 93 
 
 PSALM XLIX. 
 
 \ HEAR ye me, ye Peoples all ! 
 
 The Earth's all dwellers ! hear : 
 Hear, rich and poor ! hear, great and small ! 
 Together give ye ear. 
 
 2 My mouth shall here of wisdom speak, 
 
 And words of knowledge use ; 
 My heart, shall here, intent to seek, 
 On understanding muse. 
 
 3 I, to the lesson inly told*, 
 
 Will hend mine ear, to know ; 
 And on the harp will I unfold 
 And my instruction show. 
 
 4 Why let me fear in the evil days ; 
 
 Tho iniquities abound, 
 And tho the wicked-doers' ways 
 Encompass me around ? 
 
 5 They, who, in their much treasures' hoard, 
 
 Repose them and confide ; 
 And, in their riches' heaps upstor'd, 
 W T ho boast themselves and pride. 
 
 6 But, vain their wealth to shun the grave, 
 
 Or ransom for them give ; 
 None whoso thencefrom can him save, 
 Beyond his hour to live. 
 
 7 Yea see they that the wise die too, 
 
 Nor thence exempted more ; 
 E'en as the fool and brutish do ; 
 And to others leave their store : 
 
 8 Yet think their houses* ne'er shall fall; 
 
 And, of continuance sure, 
 Their lands by their own names they call, 
 As if to e'er endure. 
 
 9 But, tho in honour, Man for this 
 
 Nought longer biding stays : 
 Herein but like the beasts he is, 
 That end when done their days. 
 
94 THE PSALMS. 
 
 10 'This is the foolish way they go, 
 
 Nor seek to find the true ; 
 And, unreclairn'd, their children so 
 The self-same path pursue. 
 
 1 1 Like sheep there cast, throughout its night, 
 
 Death feeds on in the grave : 
 But the upright, at the morning's light, 
 Shall lordship o'er them have. 
 
 12 Their beauty withers in the dust; 
 
 Nor aught can them retrieve : 
 But GOD thencefrorn shall free the just, 
 And shall his soul receive. 
 
 13 Ne'er thou repine, tho, gotten ill, 
 
 To riches one attain ; 
 Nor tho his house's glory still 
 Increase, and honour gain. 
 
 14 For, when he dies, he with him hence 
 
 Can carry nought away ; 
 Nor shall his pomp and consequence 
 Him hence accompany. 
 
 15 Howe'er in life himself he bless'd, 
 
 And happy him esteem'd : 
 And tho, for his much goods possess'd, 
 He worshipful was deem'd : 
 
 16 His fathers' generation he 
 
 Shall follow, in his sin : 
 But they the light shall never see, 
 Nor thence redemption win. 
 
 17 Man, that in honour, yet, with this, 
 
 Not wise to heed his ways, 
 
 But like the beasts that perish is, 
 So ending with his days. 
 
 PSALM L. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 LORD, e'en The most mighty GOD, 
 Hath spok'n : His voice is gone abroad : 
 
 He summons all afar and near ; 
 From its uprising, whither run 
 Its race, to setting of the sun, 
 
 He to Him calls the Earth, to lir;ir. 
 
1. THE PSALMS. 95 
 
 2 From out of Zion beauty-dress'd*, 
 
 Our GOD shines forth : He comes confess'd ; 
 
 Our GOD now conies, nor silence keeps. 
 Before Him a consuming fire ; 
 And round about Him, raging dire, 
 
 A mighty-sounding tempest sweeps. 
 
 3 He th' Heavens on high, and Earth withal, 
 Doth to His People's judgement call. 
 
 Gather to me all them I bade : 
 Gather to me my saints (saith He) 
 In compact bound, that have with me, 
 
 By sacrifice, a covenant made. 
 
 4 And the Heavens shall proclaim it there, 
 And shall His righteousness declare. 
 
 For GOD Himself is Judge avow'd. 
 Hear, O my People ! Israel ! I, 
 Myself, will 'gainst thee testify : 
 
 For I am GOD e'en thine own GOD. 
 
 5 Not for thy sacrifices aught 
 
 I thee reprove : for, duly brought, 
 
 They 've still before me been unscant : 
 
 Nor thy burnt offerings ask withal; 
 
 Nor bullock more from out thy stall, 
 Nor goat from out thy folds I want. 
 
 6 Need I of aught Earth's bounds confine ? 
 For all the forest ones are mine, 
 
 And cattle on a thousand hills : 
 The mountains' every fowl I know; 
 The field's all beasts before me show ; 
 
 All to my view itself reveals. 
 
 7 If hungry, should I tell it thee? 
 For the whole World belongs to me, 
 
 And all therein. Are so thy thoughts? 
 
 Think'st thou that I require of meat, 
 That I the flesh of bulls will eat, 
 
 Or need to drink the blood of goats? 
 
 8 Offer thanksgiving unto GOD : 
 And unto The Most High, as ow'd, 
 
 Pay thou thy vows ; so Him to raise. 
 And call on me in trouble's day : 
 And I will hear thee, and upstay : 
 
 And thou shalt honour me and praise. 
 
96 THE TSALMS. 
 
 9 But GOD thus to the wicked says 
 Why preachest thou my ordinances, 
 
 And in thy mouth my covenant take ? 
 Since thou instruction spurn'st; and hast 
 My counsel's words behind thee cast, 
 And no account dost of them make. 
 
 10 Thou appro vest sin, instead condemn ; 
 When thou see'st thieves thou joinest them, 
 
 And mak'st adulterers thine allies ; 
 Thou lett'st thy mouth speak wickedness ; 
 And with thy tongue dost thou transgress, 
 
 Still setting forth deceit and lies. 
 
 1 1 Thy brother cast'st thou shame upon ; 
 Thou slanderest thine own mother's son, 
 
 And speak'st against, maligning him. 
 Thou 'st done these things. Yet said 1 nought 
 So, wickedly, within thy thought, 
 
 One as thyself thou didst me deem. 
 
 12 But thee will I convict; and lay 
 These things before thee in array ; 
 
 E'en I will thine accuser be. 
 Consider this, ye who GOD forget ! 
 Lest hence He pluck you, spar'd as yet ; 
 
 And there be none to set you free. 
 
 13 Who to me offers thanks and praise, 
 So fitly does my honour raise, 
 
 And fitly glorifies me so. 
 And whoso, that before my sight 
 His conversation orders right, 
 
 Him my salvation will I show. 
 
 PSALM L. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 LoRD__e'en The Most Mighty GOD 
 
 Hath spoken, and His voice put forth : 
 His summons hath He sent abroad : 
 From its uprising, whither run 
 Its race, to setting of the sun, 
 He calls unto the Earth. 
 
1. THE PSALMS. 97 
 
 2 From Zion beauty's perfectness, 
 
 Our GOD shines forth, nor silence keeps : 
 He comes, nor will His speech suppress : 
 Before Him a consuming fire ; 
 And round Him is a tempest dire, 
 That fiercely raging sweeps. 
 
 3 The Heavens on high, and here Earth all, 
 
 Thereto He summons ; them to this, 
 His People's judgement, doth He call. 
 And the Heavens shall proclaim it there, 
 And shall His righteousness declare : 
 For GOD Himself Judge is 
 
 4 Assemble ye : (now doth He say) 
 
 Gather to me all them I bade ; 
 Gather to me my saints, all they 
 That in alliance with me own'd ; 
 That have, by sacrifice, a bond 
 
 And covenant with me made. 
 
 5 Hear, O my People ! and I will speak : 
 
 Thy paths will I accuse where trod' ; 
 Myself will I thy sins outseek ; 
 Myself thee, Israel ! will I try ; 
 Against thee will I testify : 
 
 For I am GOD thy GOD. 
 
 6 Not for thy sacrifices aught 
 
 I thee reprove, nor faulty hold : 
 For, thy burnt-offerings, duly brought, 
 Have still before me been, unscant : 
 Nor bullock from thy stall I want, 
 Nor goat from out thy fold. 
 
 7 For, all the forest ones are mine, 
 
 And cattle on a thousand hills : 
 Mine are whatever its bounds confine ; 
 The mountains' every fowl I know, 
 The field's all beasts before me show; 
 Earth to me all reveals. 
 
 8 If hungry, should I- tell it thee? 
 
 For, the whole World land, sky, and flood, 
 
 And all therein, belongs to me. 
 
98 THE PSALMS. 1. 
 
 Think'st thou that I require of meat? 
 That I the flesh of bulls will eat, 
 
 Or drink the goatlings' blood? 
 
 9 Offer thanksgiving unto GOD ; 
 
 And pay thy vows to The Most High. 
 And, when in trouble thou 'rt down-bow'd, 
 Call upon me; and I will raise 
 And free thee : And thou shalt me praise, 
 And shalt me glorify. 
 
 10 But, to the wicked GOD thus saith 
 
 To what dost thou my statutes preach, 
 And on my covenant spend thy breath ? 
 Since thou dost hate reproof, and hast 
 My instruction's words behind thee cast, 
 Nor wilt that I should teach. 
 
 11 When thou saw'st thieves in theft declared, 
 
 Thou joined'st with them to commit; 
 And with adulterers hast thou shared : 
 Thou lett'st thy mouth speak wickedness ; 
 And with thy tongue dost thou transgress, 
 Still setting forth deceit. 
 
 12 Thou 'gainst thy brother speakest ill ; 
 
 Thou slanderest thine own mother's son*. 
 Thou 'st done these things, offending still : 
 While wickedly, with disesteem, 
 One as thyself thou didst me deem, 
 That silent I look'd on. 
 
 13 But I '11 accuse thee, and will set 
 
 These things before, convicting thee. 
 Consider this, ye who GOD forget ! 
 Lest in your sin He pluck you away ; 
 And there be none who in that day 
 Can save and set you free. 
 
 14 Who to me offers thanks and praise, 
 
 He honours and exalts me so : 
 And him will I promote and raise. 
 And I to him, who in my sight 
 His conversation orders right, 
 Will my salvation show. 
 
THE PSALMS. 99 
 
 PSALM LI. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 Thy great goodness is, O Lord! 
 Thy mercy to rne now display; 
 As Thy compassion is full-stor'd, 
 Now my offences do away. 
 
 2 Wash me from all my wickedness, 
 
 And cleanse me from whate'er amiss. 
 For my transgressions I confess ; 
 And still my sin before me is. 
 
 3 Yea I 'gainst Thee have sinn'd* 'gainst Thee, 
 
 And done this evil in Thy sight : 
 But here Thou justified shalt be, 
 
 And shown in all Thy judgements right. 
 
 4 I in wickedness was fram'd ere lived, 
 
 In evil shapen ere my birth* ; 
 In sin my mother me conceived, 
 And in iniquity brought forth. 
 
 5 But Thou requirest truth within, 
 
 In the inward parts and in the heart. 
 Then teach me Thou ; so shunning sin ; 
 And wisdom to my soul impart. 
 
 6 With hyssop* do Thou purify 
 
 And cleanse me, Lord ! renewing so : 
 Yea do Thou wash me ; so thereby 
 Shall I be whiter than the snow. 
 
 7 Now send me tidings, to console ; 
 
 A message send me, and a voice, 
 Of joy and gladness ; that, made whole, 
 The bones Thou 'st broken may rejoice. 
 
 8 See not my sin, thence turn Thy view ; 
 
 All mine iniquities blot out; 
 Within me a clean heart renew, 
 And a right spirit pure of thought. 
 
 9 Ne'er from Thee cast me; nor away 
 
 Thy holy spirit from me take ; 
 Give me again Thy saving stay, 
 
 And 'stablish me and steadfast make. 
 
100 THE PSALMS. li, 
 
 10 That to transgressors I may show 
 
 Thy ways, them bringing back to Thee ; 
 And sinners may Thy goodness know, 
 And to Thy law converted be. 
 
 1 1 Deliver me from guilt of blood, 
 
 Thou, my salvation's GOD and King ! 
 So shall my tongue, on loudest rnood, 
 Of Thy great righteousness still sing. 
 
 12 Ope Thou my lips unto the task: 
 
 So shall my mouth Thy praise declare. 
 Not but burnt-offerings dost Thou ask ; 
 Or I to give them would not spare : 
 
 13 Thine is, O GOD! from the inward part, 
 
 A troubled spirit's sacrifice ; 
 A broken and a contrite heart, 
 
 Thou, gracious Lord! wilt not despise. 
 
 14* O GOD! to Thee Thy Sion calls: 
 Now piteous to her be, and aid ; 
 Build up Jerusalem her walls, 
 
 And be her strength in Thee upstay'd. 
 
 15 So to Thine altar shall they then 
 
 Bring victims, and oblations make : 
 And so shalt Thou, well pleas'd, from men 
 Their righteous sacrifices take. 
 
 PSALM LI. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 AS is Thy goodness, Lord ! 
 
 That to me now display ; 
 As are Thy mercies numerous-stor'd, 
 Do my offence away. 
 
 2 Now wash me from my ill, 
 
 And cleanse from all amiss: 
 For I my faults confess, and still 
 My sin before me is. 
 
 3 O Lord ! I 've sinn'd 'gainst Thee, 
 
 Doing evil in Thy sight. 
 So just Thy judgements shown shall be, 
 And prov'd Thy ?rntrnce right. 
 
11. THE PSALMS. 101 
 
 4 Lo I was shapen in 
 
 Iniquity ere birth ; 
 In sin was I conceiv'd, in sin 
 My mother brought me forth. 
 
 5 But Thou dost truth require 
 
 In the inward parts and heart : 
 With knowledge so do Thou inspire, 
 And teach me wisdom's art. 
 
 6 Do Thou, Lord ! make me clean ; 
 
 With hyssop purify ; 
 Thou wash me : so I whiter e'en 
 Than snow shall be thereby. 
 
 7 Make me to hear the voice 
 
 Of gladness and of joy : 
 That so my mourning may rejoice, 
 And glee my woe employ. 
 
 8 Blot out my guilt of late, 
 
 And my past sin efface ; 
 Within me a new heart create, 
 And a right spirit place. 
 
 9 Lord ! cast me not away, 
 
 Nor wholly me forsake ; 
 Ne'er from me, reaving of Thy stay, 
 Thy holy spirit take. 
 
 10 Direct my goings each, 
 
 And keep Thou me from hurt : 
 So I '11 Thy ways to sinners teach, 
 And to Thee them convert. 
 
 11 Wash out my stain blood-hued, 
 
 O Thou, my GOD and King! 
 So, of Thy mercy still renewed, 
 My tongue shall ever sing. 
 
 12 Ope Thou my lips, O Lord ! 
 
 So shall I tell Thy praise ; 
 To Thee, my Saviour GOD ador'd! 
 My laudful voice I '11 raise. 
 
 13 Thou dost not but desire 
 
 Burnt-offerings to receive ; 
 Thou dost not only gifts require ; 
 Else would I them Thee give : 
 
102 THE PSALMS. Hi. 
 
 14 A spirit under smart 
 
 Is Thy best sacrifice ; 
 A broken and a contrite heart, 
 O GOD! Thou 'It not despise. 
 
 15 In Thy good pleasure, Lord! 
 
 O'er Zion cast Thy shield ; 
 Make Thou her gates to be restor'd, 
 Thy Salera's walls upbuild. 
 
 16 Then, on Thy altar laid, 
 
 Shall gifts for Thee be kept ; 
 And righteousnesses offerings paid 
 Well-pleas'd shalt Thou accept. 
 
 PSALM LIT. 
 
 "WHY, Tyrant! in thy malice thus 
 
 Dost boast thyself and pride? 
 GOD'S goodness yet, protecting us, 
 In thy despite shall bide. 
 
 2 Thy tongue still wickedness forth puts, 
 
 On mischief bent and guile ; 
 It like a sharpen'd razor cuts*, 
 Still working some new wile. 
 
 3 Thou evil more than good dost love; 
 
 Thee wrongness gratifies; 
 And, truth and righteousness above, 
 Thou lov'st to talk of lies. 
 
 4 Thou lov'st detraction ere all else, 
 
 And hurtful words to speak. 
 O thou deceitful tongue and false! 
 That injury still dost seek. 
 
 5 So GOD shall thee destroy for e'er, 
 
 Shall pluck thee from thy place, 
 Out of the living's land shall tear, 
 Outroot thee and erase. 
 
 6 The righteous too this thing shall see, 
 
 This shall they see, and fear ; 
 Thee shall they mock, deriding thee, 
 Shall laugh at thee and jeer: 
 
liii. THE PSALMS. 103 
 
 7 ' Lo this the man is (shall they say) 
 
 * That made not GOD his guard ; 
 ' But on his riches did him stay, 
 
 ' To be his strength and ward.' 
 
 8 But I am e'en as, in GOD'S Courts, 
 
 An olive tree still green ; 
 And on His mercy, that supports, 
 I trust and ever lean. 
 
 9 For all Thy doings, gracious Lord ! 
 
 I '11 praise Thee evermore; 
 And on Thy Name I '11 rest, firm-floor 'd ; 
 As good Thy saints before. 
 
 PSALM LIII. 
 
 fool within his heart hath said 
 
 * There is no GOD.' Now, astray, 
 In wickedness's paths all tread, 
 
 Pursuing the evil way. 
 
 2 GOD, on the sons of men close scann'd, 
 
 From Heaven look'd down below ; 
 To see if none would understand, 
 And seek for Him, to know. 
 
 3 But all have sinful paths pursued, 
 
 And from the right way gone ; 
 There is not one that follows good, 
 No__-not a single one. 
 
 4 Then do they nought me know, nor dread ? 
 
 Such wicked-doers all ; 
 My People eating up like bread; 
 Nor on The Lord they call. 
 
 5 But greatly shall they be dismay 'd, 
 
 Where deeming nought to fear* ; 
 They with great fear shall be afraid, 
 Tho no fear's cause be near. 
 
 6 For GOD shall crush their bones; shall quell, 
 
 And put thy foes to rout: 
 Thou shalt confound them and repel : 
 For He hath cast them out. 
 
104 THE PSALMS. Hv. 
 
 7 O* would that her salvation now 
 
 Were out of Sion come ! 
 Would He her children might allow 
 Again to see their home ! 
 
 8 Yea when The Lord, in His kind choice, 
 
 Shall set His People free, 
 
 Then Jacob greatly shall rejoice, 
 And Israel glad shall be. 
 
 PSALM LIV. 
 
 Q SAVE me, Lord ! for Thy Name's sake ; 
 
 And justify Thy word : 
 O hear my prayer ; my cause uptake, 
 And aid me, as implor'd. 
 
 2 For, 'gainst me do oppressors rise; 
 
 And tyrants, loving strife, 
 That set not GOD before their eyes, 
 Now seek to take my life. 
 
 3 But, lo ye! He sustains in this; 
 
 His mercies me enfold : 
 The Lord with them assisting is, 
 That stay me and uphold. 
 
 4 With evil He, and like annoy, 
 
 Mine enemies shall requite ; 
 He in His truth shall them destroy, 
 And recompense their spite. 
 
 5 Thee, Lord ! I, with a willing heart, 
 
 Will sacrifice unto ; 
 
 And praise Thy Name with my best art ; 
 As meet it is to do. 
 
 6 For, out of all my troubles dire, 
 
 Thou wilt deliver me; 
 And on my enemies its desire 
 Shalt give mine eye to see. 
 
 PSALM LV. 
 (~) GOD ! unto my prayer give ear, 
 
 Nor turn Thee thence away ; 
 O now my supplication hear, 
 Nor Thy relief delay. 
 
THE PSALMS. 105 
 
 2 To Thee, O Lord! in my distress, 
 
 I my complaints outpour : 
 For the enemy doth on me press, 
 With shouts exulting o'er. 
 
 3 The ungodly ones press on me fast, 
 
 With wrathful hate incens'd ; 
 They ceaseless seek how down to cast, 
 Devising mischief 'gainst. 
 
 4 My heart within me sinks dismay'd, 
 
 Oppress'd its load beneath ; 
 Are on me fall'n, therethro down-weigh'd, 
 The terrors e'en of death : 
 
 5 Are fear and trembling on me come, 
 
 Enwrapping me around ; 
 And secret horrors, burthensome, 
 O'erwhelm me and confound. 
 
 6 * O, like the dove (then do I say) 
 
 ' O that I wings possess'd ! 
 ' Then hasting would I flee away, 
 ' And so should be at rest : 
 
 7 * Lo then, where shelter to obtain, 
 
 ' Far off would I retire ; 
 'And in the wilderness remain, 
 ' To 'scape the tempest's ire.' 
 
 8 Lord ! mar their counsels and divide ; 
 
 Confound Thou them therein : 
 For in the city, on every side, 
 Are strife and violence seen. 
 
 9 Yea day and night, devising ill, 
 
 'T is all her walls about ; 
 And in her midst, offending still, 
 Is wickedness throughout. 
 
 10 Yea iniquity in midst her is, 
 
 And every fraudful art ; 
 Nor from her streets, in all amiss, 
 Deceit and guile depart. 
 
 11 T was not from one my foes among, 
 
 Or enemies declared : 
 For then I could have borne the wrong ; 
 Or from him turn'd, awared : 
 
106 THE PSALMS. Iv. 
 
 12 But thou, on whom I wont to lean ; 
 
 My associate guide and friend ! 
 With whom I *d in sweet counsel been, 
 And wont GOD'S House attend. 
 
 13 But Death shall on them seize for his, 
 
 Down hurrying to the grave : 
 For wickedness among them is, 
 Where they their dwelling have. 
 
 14 For me, whatever ills enfold, 
 
 I still on GOD will call : 
 The Lord shall stay me and uphold, 
 And free me from them all. 
 
 15 At evening as at morn, down-bow'd, 
 
 At noon, I '11 wake His ear ; 
 To Him I '11 pray, and cry aloud : 
 And He my voice shall hear. 
 
 16 Tho 'gainst me be the battle waged, 
 
 He thence will rescue me ; 
 Tho many 'gainst me be engaged, 
 He thence will set me free. 
 
 17 Yea GOD, The Eternal, hears my cry; 
 
 And He shall bring them low : 
 For they 're perverse ; and they deny, 
 Nor seek they Him to know. 
 
 18 They those at peace with them attack, 
 
 And hands upon them lay ; 
 Their covenant break, thence drawing back ; 
 Still seeking to bewray. 
 
 19 Their mouth more soft than butter is; 
 
 But war is in their heart : 
 Their words are oil, more smooth than this, 
 But very swords for smart. 
 
 20 Still on The Lord thy burthen cast : 
 
 And He shall thee sustain : 
 He still will keep the righteous fast, 
 For ever to remain. 
 
 21 For those who wickedness commit, 
 
 They shall not 'scape Thy frown : 
 Thou, Lord! into destruction's pit 
 Shalt cast the ungodly down. 
 
Ivi. THE PSALMS. 107 
 
 22 The bloody and deceitful all 
 
 Not half their days shall see. 
 For me, O Lord ! whate'er befal, 
 Still will I trust in Thee. 
 
 PSALM LVI. 
 
 J^ORD ! help me Thou, lest man prevail ; 
 
 And save me from his power : 
 For foes continually assail, 
 And seek me, to devour. 
 
 2 Mine enemies daily, every where, 
 
 Their wiles against me bend : 
 
 Thou Most High ! they many are, 
 Against me that contend. 
 
 3 Ne'erless,, if I 'm at times afraid, 
 
 Thy word my stay shall be ; 
 
 1 still await Thy promis'd aid ; 
 My trust is still in Thee. 
 
 4 GOD'S saving aid is ever near: 
 
 And still I look thereto. 
 In GOD I place my trust ; nor fear 
 What man can to me do. 
 
 5 My words they ceaselessly pervert 
 
 And wrest, in their ill-will ; 
 Their every thought is to my hurt, 
 And how to do me ill. 
 
 6 In secretness they gather them, 
 
 And set them 'bout my way ; 
 My steps they mark with murderous aim, 
 And for me watch, to slay. 
 
 7 Then shall they, in their wickedness, 
 
 Escape, despite Thy frown? 
 Nay, in Thine anger, pardonless, 
 Thou, Lord ! shalt cast them down. 
 
 8 On all my wanderings Thou dost look : 
 
 My tears* before Thee are: 
 
 Are they not noted in Thy book? 
 
 Is all not written there ? 
 
108 THE PSALMS. 
 
 9 Yea whensoe'er on Thee I call, 
 
 My foes will turn nor bide : 
 
 I this do know ; nor fear to fall : 
 For GOD is on my side. 
 
 10 GOD'S saving aid is ever near: 
 
 And still 1 look thereto. 
 In GOD I place my trust ; nor fear 
 What man can to me do. 
 
 1 1 To Thee, O GOD ! my vows I '11 pay, 
 
 To Thee I thanks will give ; 
 Thee will I serve and e'er obey, 
 Thee praise while e'er I live. 
 
 12 From death hast Thou deliver'd me : 
 
 Thou 'It now my tread assure : 
 So, in the living's light, with Thee, 
 I still shall walk secure. 
 
 PSALM LVIL. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 gracious to me be, O Lord! 
 Now gracious to me be. 
 For still on Thee I rest, firm-floor'd ; 
 My soul still trusts in Thee. 
 
 2 'Neath Thy wings' shadow, broadly cast, 
 
 My refuge will I make ; 
 Till these calamities be past, 
 There shelter will I take. 
 
 3 I still to The Most High will call, 
 
 For succour in my need ; 
 I to my GOD will cry for all, 
 Who all shall for me speed. 
 
 4 From Heaver, shall He my cause defend, 
 
 And save me from my foes ; 
 His mercy and truth He forth shall send, 
 And from me ward their blows. 
 
 5 'Mong lions do I lie ; fierce men, 
 
 Of fiery wrath outpour'd ; 
 Whose lips are spears and arrows keen, 
 And tongue is a sharp sword. 
 
Ivil. THE^ PSALMS. 109 
 
 6 A net they for my feet have spread, 
 
 To take themselves within ; 
 They Ve digg'd a pit before my tread, 
 Themselves to fall therein. 
 
 7* Above the Heavens, O GOD all great! 
 
 Be Thou exalted high ; 
 Above the Earth Thy glory set, 
 O'er all afar and nigh. 
 
 8 O GOD ! my heart is fix'd and vow'd : 
 
 Thereto my voice I '11 raise : * 
 
 To Thee, O Lord ! extolling loud, 
 
 I '11 sing, and give Thee praise. 
 
 9 Awake, my glory ! wake your play, 
 
 Harp psaltery all , awake ! 
 
 At earliest I '11 prevent the day, 
 And loud the song uptake. 
 
 10 Thee 'mong the Peoples, loud outpour'd 
 
 Will I give thanks unto : 
 To Thee, among the Nations, Lord ! 
 I '11 sing, and homage do. 
 
 11 For to the Heavens' extremest ends 
 
 Thy mercy's greatness spreads ; 
 Thy truth unto the clouds extends, 
 E'erwhere its fulness sheds. 
 
 12 Above the Heavens, O GOD all great ! 
 
 Be Thou exalted high ; 
 Above the Earth Thy glory set, 
 O'er all afar and nigh. 
 
 PSALM LVII. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 O GOD ! now gracious be ; 
 Now, in my strait, Thy mercy to me yield 
 For Thou art still my shield ; 
 
 My soul still trusts in Thee : 
 
 * Ps : cvin. v : 1 to 5. 
 
110 THE PSALMS. Ivii. 
 
 2 On Thee me will I cast ; 
 
 Neath Thy wings' shadow will I shelter take, 
 My refuge there will make ; 
 Till that be overpast. 
 
 3 I unto GOD will call ; 
 
 To GOD, who me will from my enemies save; 
 To Him, who, as I crave, 
 
 Will further me in all. 
 
 4 I lions am among ; 
 
 Fierce men of fiery wrath ; whose teeth are e'en 
 As spears and arrows keen, 
 
 And a sharp sword their tongue. 
 
 5 But He shall send His power, 
 
 His truth and mercy forth from Heaven shall send ; 
 And me shall He defend 
 
 From those who would devour. 
 
 6 They 've for me pits prepared, 
 Wherein themselves to fall ; and, in the net 
 That they for me have set, 
 
 Shall their own feet be snared. 
 
 7 O GOD ! above the Sky 
 
 Above the Heavens be Thou exalted high ; 
 
 Above the inferior Earth 
 Thy glory be set forth. 
 
 8 O GOD ! my heart is aimed ; 
 
 My heart is fix'd, thereto prepared and framed : 
 Attun'd my song for Thee, 
 Thy praise its theme shall be. 
 
 9 Upwake, my voice ! with day : 
 
 Wake psaltery harp each instrument of play ! 
 
 Myself, my part to take, 
 At earliest will awake. 
 
 10 To Thee my voice I '11 raise: 
 
 Among the Peoples, Thee, O Lord! I '11 praise; 
 Thee, loudly publishing, 
 Among the Nations sing. 
 
 1 1 For great Thy mercy is ; 
 
 Unto the Heavens extending high is this : 
 Thy truth, to space's ends, 
 Unto the clouds extends. 
 
Iviii. THE PSALMS. Ill 
 
 12 O GOD! above the Sky_ 
 
 Above the Heavens be Thou exalted high ; 
 
 Above the inferior Earth 
 
 Thy glory be set forth. 
 
 PSALM LVIII. 
 
 men of might ! to righteousness 
 Do ye in judgement cleave? 
 Ye exalted ones*! your sentences 
 Do ye uprightly give? 
 
 2 Nay, in your hearts, on wrong intent, 
 
 Ye imagine mischief still ; 
 And still your hands, to violence bent, 
 Work wickedness and ill. 
 
 3 From e'en the womb estrang'd away, 
 
 The ungodly fro ward are; 
 So soon as born they go astray, 
 And lies for truth declare. 
 
 4 Their poison as the serpent's is, 
 
 So venomous in wrong : 
 
 They 're like the adder, deaf for this 
 
 That stops her ear to song : 
 
 5 That nought the charmer's voice will hear, 
 
 Charm ne'er so wisely he ; 
 Nor to him lists, nor lends an ear, 
 How skilful so be be. 
 
 6 But, smite them, Lord! break Thou their teeth; 
 
 Nor let them Thee withstand : 
 Smite Thou the lions' jaws therewith, 
 And crush them 'neath Thy hand. 
 
 7* Thou, Lord ! shalt 'gainst them bend Thy bow, 
 
 Thine arrows 'gainst them lay. 
 Like waters that off-running flow, 
 So shall they waste away. 
 
 8 They shall dissolve 'neath Thy pursuit ; 
 
 As wax, the flames make run ; 
 And as the womb's untimely fruit, 
 That ne'er shall see the sun. 
 
THE PSALMS. lix. 
 
 9 More quick than, 'neath their pots allumed, 
 
 The crackling thorns upblaze ; 
 They in Thine ire shall be consumed ; 
 As dust, the whirlwinds raise. 
 
 10 The just shall joy to see, as good, 
 
 The vengeance on them wrought ; 
 His feet he in the ungodly's blood 
 Shall wash, where low down brought. 
 
 1 1 That men shall say ' Yea, of a truth, 
 
 * The righteous, as their worth, 
 
 1 Have a reward : There is, in sooth, 
 
 * A GOD, who judges Earth.' 
 
 PSALM LIX. 
 
 TORD ! save me from my foes, and them 
 
 Who up against me rise ; 
 Save me from them of wicked aim, 
 Who mischief still devise. 
 
 2 For lo, they for me lie in wait; 
 
 The mighty ones combine ; 
 
 Against me they together get: 
 
 Yet for no wrong of mine. 
 
 3 Then wake Thee up, Thou Lord Of Hosts ! 
 
 Thou GOD of Israel ! 
 Put down the wicked's haughty boasts, 
 And their fierce malice quell. 
 
 4 Spare not to smite the ungodly ones, 
 
 Who dare 'gainst Thee contend ; 
 Nor mercy show to mischief's sons, 
 Who wickedly offend. 
 
 5 At evening, running to and fro, 
 
 Still come they back to prowl ; 
 And round about the city go; 
 While snarl like dogs and growl. 
 
 6 Lo with their mouths they fiercely speak ; 
 
 Their tongues are swords to slay ; 
 Their prey with boastings loud they seek : 
 ' For who doth hear?' they say. 
 
lix. THE PSALMS. 113 
 
 7 But Thou, O Lord ! shalt at them laugh, 
 
 'Neath Thy strong hancl controul'd ; 
 The wicked shalt Thou turn to scoff, 
 And in derision hold. 
 
 8 O GOD! Thou art my strength and power; 
 
 On Thee do I depend : 
 Thou art my refuge's high tower ; 
 Thou wilt me still defend. 
 
 9 Thy mercy and loving-kindnesses 
 
 Shall still before me be; 
 And Thou shalt on my enemies 
 Give my desire to see. 
 
 10 Yet slay them not : lest, pass'd from hence, 
 
 My people this forget : 
 But cast them down : Thou, our defence ; 
 Thou, Lord ! our help in strait. 
 
 11 Let them be ta'en, for their mouth's sin, 
 
 E'en in their power and pride, 
 Their cursings and their lies, wherein 
 They boast them and confide. 
 
 12 Yea foil them, in Thy wrath outpour'd, 
 
 Each who 'gainst Thee contends : 
 That men may know 't is Thou, The Lord, 
 
 Who rul'st to Earth's all ends. 
 13* At evening, running to and fro, 
 
 Then come they back to prowl ; 
 And round about the city go ; 
 
 While snarl like dogs and growl : 
 
 14 Then run they here and there about, 
 
 With hunger unsupplied ; 
 Thro night for meat remaining out, 
 Nor ever satisfied. 
 
 15 For me, I '11 of Thy greatness sing, 
 
 Thee praise at early day : 
 For in my trouble, comforting, 
 
 Thou 'rt still my staff and stay. 
 
 16 O GOD ! Thou art my strength and power ; 
 
 To Thee my voice I '11 raise : 
 Thou art my refuge's high tower; 
 Thee will 1 ever praise. 
 
114 THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM LX. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 Q GOD ! Thou 'st with us been displeas'd ; 
 
 Thou 'st scatter'd us and slain ; 
 Thou 'st cast us off: But, now appeas'd, 
 O turn to us again ! 
 
 2 Thou 'st mov'd the land, dividing it; 
 
 T is rent Thy hand beneath : 
 
 O heal its wounds, its parts refit : 
 
 For lo it shakes therewith. 
 
 3 Thou 'st shown us heavy things ; Thy shafts 
 
 Have pierc'd us thro in this ; 
 Thou 'st made us drink of poison'd drafts, 
 Of wine* that deadly is. 
 
 4 Ne'erless, to those who Thee obey, 
 
 Thy servants Thee who fear, 
 Thou 'st given a banner*, to display 
 And make Thy truth appear. 
 
 5 So Thy belov'd, assisted thus, 
 
 Deliverance thence shall have. 
 
 hear us, Lord ! and rescue us ; 
 With Thy right* hand us save. 
 
 6f GOD in His Sanctuary hath said, 
 He hath spoken with His voice : 
 'T is His decree, to be obey'd : 
 Therefor will I rejoice 
 
 7 Dominion 's mine the land throughout ; 
 
 Thereo'er will I preside: 
 
 1 Succoth's Valley will mete out, 
 And Shechem will divide. 
 
 8 Manasseh mine mine Gilead is. 
 
 Me Ephraim obeys; 
 
 T is my head's strength my helm is this. 
 
 And Judah for me sways. 
 
 9 On Edom I my foot* will place, 
 
 My wash-pot Moab make : 
 Philistia so will 1 abase ; 
 In her my song 1 '11 wake. 
 
 t Ps: cvin. v : 7 to end. 
 
Ix. THE PSALMS. 115 
 
 10 Who into the strong City now 
 
 Shall lead me, as its King? 
 
 Who thither lead me, to downbow ; 
 And into Edom bring ? 
 
 11 E'en Thou, Lord! who, as nothing worth, 
 
 Didst cast us off arid leave ; 
 Thou with our armies wilt go forth, 
 And victory to them give. 
 
 12 Still Thou our help in trouble be: 
 
 For that of man is nought. 
 Thro Thee shall we o'ercome ; thro Thee 
 Our foes shall be down brought. 
 
 PSALM LX. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 GOD! Thou 'st shown us pain; 
 Thou 'st cast us off: Thou 'st with us been displeased : 
 But be Thou now appeased, 
 
 And turn to us again. 
 
 2 Thou 'st made the Earth to quake ; 
 
 Thou 'st mov'd it from its place : alarm it fills : 
 O heal its wounds and ills ; 
 
 For all its mountains shake. 
 
 3 Thou heavy things, sustain'd, 
 
 Hast to Thy People shown ; a deadly wine, 
 A cup of gall and brine, 
 
 Thou 'st made them drink updrain'd. 
 
 4 But, to them Thee who fear, 
 
 A banner hast Thou given ; from Thee display 'd ; 
 To prove Thy proinis'd aid, 
 
 And make Thy truth appear. 
 
 5 O hear us, as we crave : 
 
 That Thy belov'd may so deliver'd be. 
 O Lord ! now set us free, 
 
 With Thy right hand us save. 
 
 6 GOD from on high hath said 
 
 Now joy for me ! on Shechem will I tread ; 
 Her will I part throughout, 
 And Succoth's Vale mete out. 
 
116 THE PSALMS. Ixi. 
 
 7 Gilead is mine ; mine now 
 
 Manasseh. Ephraim guards with strength my brow. 
 Now Judah is my own, 
 And shall my law make known. 
 
 8 Moab my washpot is. 
 
 On Edom will I trample. Hear thou this, 
 Philistia ! list, and fear ; 
 My triumph's shout now hear. 
 
 9 Her to me subjecting, 
 
 Who into the strong City shall me bring ? 
 
 My way who thither speed, 
 Arid into Edom lead ? 
 
 10 Yea Thou, O Lord! again 
 
 Wilt to us turn, and still our cause maintain ; 
 Thou lead, the battle in, 
 And victory for us win. 
 
 11 Our GOD shall give us aid: 
 
 For vain is the aid of man. By Him upstay'd, 
 Our foes shall we confound ; 
 Them shall He tread to ground. 
 
 PSALM LXI. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 C\ GOD! my crying hear; 
 
 Thereto Thine audience lend ; 
 O now to my complaint give ear, 
 And to my prayer attend. 
 
 2 Now grief weighs down my heart, 
 
 And I am nigh to fall, 
 
 E'en from the land's* extremest part, 
 On Thee now do 1 call. 
 
 3 O set me up, and stay, 
 
 Upon the rock of height : 
 
 For to me, 'gainst my enemy, 
 
 Thou art a tower of might. 
 
 4 Thy Tabernacle in, 
 
 Still will I dwell with Thee; 
 The covering of Thy wings therein 
 Shall my sure refuge be. 
 
Ixi. THE PSALMS. 117 
 
 5 For Thou, O Lord my GOD ! 
 
 Hast heard the vows I frame : 
 And Thou giv'st me the gifts bestow'd 
 On those that fear Thy Name. 
 
 6 Thou wilt his life extend, 
 
 And the King's days assure; 
 That, thro long ages ere to end, 
 His years may still endure. 
 
 7 So shall He, Thee before, 
 
 Still dwell, nor thence to swerve : 
 O mercy and truth for him upstore, 
 To guard him and preserve, 
 
 8 So to Thy Name, O GOD ! 
 
 I still my voice will raise ; 
 So still perform my vows, as ow'd, 
 And daily sing Thy praise. 
 
 PSALM LXI. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 J^ORD ! hear my cry, my prayer attend ; 
 
 From my far way I Thee implore : 
 Now, in my strait, Thy succour lend ; 
 Thencefrom release nie, and restore. 
 
 2 Thou 'rt still my stay, whereon to lean ; 
 
 My safety's rock, where stand secure : 
 Thou 'st still a shelter for me been, 
 From all my ills a refuge sure. 
 
 3 Thou 'gainst my foes art a strong tower ; 
 
 'Neath Thy wing's covert will I bide : 
 Thou 'st given me, as my prayer, the dower 
 Of them that in Thy Name confide. 
 
 4 Thou still shalt guide my steps and talk ; 
 
 And give me life e'en long to live. 
 
 So still before Thee will I walk, 
 
 And thanks and praises to Thee give. 
 
 5 Preserving us thro life's each storm, 
 
 O for us mercy and truth prepare ! 
 So will we still our vows perform, 
 And still Thy Holy Name declare. 
 
118 THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM LXIl. 
 
 GOD my soul doth ever wait, 
 On Him it waits e'ermore : 
 From Him my succour comes in strait, 
 To raise me and restore. 
 
 2 He my salvation is and stay, 
 
 He is my strength withal, 
 He is my defence ; that, come what may, 
 I shall not greatly fall. 
 
 3 But, O ye wicked ones ! how long 
 
 Will 'gainst a man ye strive? 
 How long him 'gainst, intent on wrong, 
 Will mischief ye contrive ? 
 
 4 To cast the righteous from his seat, 
 
 Still seek they some pretence ; 
 Him* as a bowing wall they treat, 
 And as a broken fence : 
 
 5 They think but how him to depress, 
 
 And from his height subverse. 
 They in lies delight; with words they bless, 
 But with their heart they curse. 
 
 6 Ne'erless, my soul ! on Him e'er wait ; 
 
 Wait Thou on GOD, still near : 
 
 In Him my hope is, in my strait ; 
 
 With Him I nought shall fear. 
 
 7 He my salvation is and stay, 
 
 He is my strength withal, 
 He is my defence ; that, come what may, 
 I shall not greatly fall. 
 
 8 In GOD my health and glory is ; 
 
 On Him am 1 firm-based : 
 He 's my might's rock, my refuge this ; 
 In Him my trust is placed. 
 
 9 Ye People ! trust in Him ; nor doubt ; 
 
 Still in His help secure : 
 Your hearts before Him pour ye out: 
 For GOD X 's our hope e'er sure. 
 
Ixiii. THE PSALMS. 119 
 
 10 As for the sons of men, whoe'er, 
 
 They 're vanity alone; 
 
 Weigh'd in the scales they 're very air ; 
 
 They 're e'en as nought and none. 
 
 11 Trust not in robbery nor in wrong, 
 
 Nor build on fraudful art ; 
 Tho wealth increase, ne'er deem ye strong, 
 Nor set thereon your heart. 
 
 12 GOD once has spoken and aloud: 
 
 And twice I 've heard the same 
 That " Power belongs alone to GOD/' 
 From His own mouth this came. 
 
 13 The Lord likewise doth all things scan ; 
 
 Jle is merciful to sue ; 
 And, as his works, to every man 
 He renders his just due. 
 
 PSALM LXlil. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 C\ GOD ! my soul with thirst doth cry, 
 
 My flesh, so, longs for Thee; 
 As doth a barren land and dry, 
 Where water lacks to be. 
 
 2 Still do I seek Thee; as of old, 
 When to me turn'd Thy face ; 
 Thy power and glory to behold. 
 As in Thy Holy Place. 
 
 3 Thy loving-kindness better is 
 than life, and far before : 
 So Thee will I extol for this, 
 And praise Thee evermore. 
 
 4 Yea, while I live, Thee will I bless; 
 
 My lips Thee still shall praise ; 
 And in Thy Name, with ceaselessness, 
 My hands will I upraise. 
 
 5 As if with marrow and fatness had, 
 
 My soul shall full be fill'd ; 
 The while, my joyful lips and glad 
 Thee praise, with voice unstill'd. 
 
120 THE PSALMS. Ixiii, 
 
 6 While on my bed, still turn'd thereto 
 
 My thoughts wont on Thee be ; 
 And still, the night's all watches thro, 
 I meditate on Thee. 
 
 7 Because Thou 'st been my helper still, 
 
 Will I lift up my voice : 
 'Neath Thy wings' shadow, safe from ill, 
 Will I e'ermore rejoice. 
 
 8 My soul still hangs on Thee ; in cares 
 
 To Thee it looks for aid : 
 Yea Thy right hand me still upbears ; 
 Thereon am I firm-stay'd. 
 
 9 But my enemies, and they, whoso, 
 
 That seek me to destroy, 
 To Earth's lower parts themselves shall go, 
 And meet their own annoy : 
 
 10 They by the sword themselves shall fall, 
 
 Its edge shall so them slay ; 
 They for the foxes* shall be all 
 A portion and a prey. 
 
 1 1 So shall the King in GOD rejoice : 
 
 And they, by Him who swear, 
 Shall glory. But the liar's voice 
 Shall silenc'd be for e'er. 
 
 PSALM LXIII. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 f) GOD! my GOD! with earliest day 
 Still Thee I seek, for Thee still pray ; 
 
 My flesh still for Thee longs, to see : 
 As doth a barren land and dry, 
 Where water lacks to its supply, 
 My soul desiring thirsts for Thee. 
 
 2 Still do I seek Thee, as of old, 
 Thy power and glory to behold, 
 
 As in Thy House, down-bow'd before. 
 
 Thy loving-kindness better is 
 
 Ami more than life, surpassing this: 
 
 So will I praise Thee evermore 
 
Ixiil. THE PSALMS. 
 
 3 Yea while I live, proclaim'd abroad, 
 Thee will I magnify and laud ; 
 
 While in Thy Name my hands upraise. 
 As if with marrow and fatness 't were, 
 My soul shall of all fulness share, 
 
 While Thee with joyful lips I praise. 
 
 4 While on my bed, my thoughts thereto 
 Still turn ; and, all its watches thro, 
 
 At night I meditate on Thee. 
 Thou 'st still my succour been and aid : 
 Therefor, 'neath Thy wings' shadow stay'd, 
 
 Wilt I rejoice and gladsome be. 
 
 5 On Thee I hang: still Thy right hand 
 Doth hold me up and make me stand. 
 
 But, those, that seek my soul to slay, 
 To Earth's lower parts themselves shall go ; 
 They by the sword shall perish so, 
 
 And for the foxes be a prey. 
 
 6 So shall the King in GOD rejoice : 
 And they, to Him who lift the voice, 
 
 His servants all, by Him who swear, 
 Shall glory. But, the wicked's mouth, 
 And lips of malice and untruth, 
 
 Shall be made mute and clos'd for e'er. 
 
 PSALM LXIII. 
 
 Third Version. 
 
 Q GOD ! at late as early tide, 
 
 Thee ceaseless do I seek, with Thee to bide : 
 As in a barren land and dry, 
 
 My soul still thirsts my flesh still longs for Thee ; 
 
 As in Thy Sanctuary Thine altar by, 
 
 Thy glory and Thy power to see. 
 
 2 Yea Thee will I e'er praise for this ; 
 
 For more than life Thy loving-kindness is : 
 Thee will I laud with voice unstill'd ; 
 
 E'er in Thy Name my hands will I upraise ; 
 .My soul shall as with choicest cates be fill'd, 
 While Thee with joyful lips I praise. 
 
THE PSALMS. Ixiv. 
 
 3 Thee still will I in mind retain, 
 
 Still think on Thee when on my couch down lain ; 
 My waking thoughts shalt Thou employ. 
 
 Thou still hast been my help : So, as of old, 
 'Neath Thy wings' shadow will I ever joy : 
 
 For Thy right hand shall me uphold. 
 
 4 The ungodly ones still plotting hurt, 
 
 All they that seek the righteous to subvert, 
 Into destruction's pit shall fall ; 
 
 They shall for ever be cast out away ; 
 The sword shall smite them ; they shall perish all, 
 And be the forest foxes' prey. 
 
 5 We in our GOD will still rejoice, 
 
 To Him will we still lift the praiseful voice : 
 They shall exult, who Him confess ; 
 
 Yea they shall glory, all by Him who swear. 
 But, stopp'd shall be their mouths who in lies transgress; 
 They shall be silenc'd, and for e'er. 
 
 PSALM LXIV. 
 
 J^ORD ! hear the voice of my complaint : 
 
 O GOD! my prayer hear: 
 Preserve my life from their attaint, 
 And from the enemy's fear. 
 
 2 Hide me from the rebellious ones, 
 
 That secret plots devise; 
 And from the wicked, mischief's sons, 
 That up against me rise. 
 
 3 In secretness they lurk about ; 
 
 And whet their tongues, as swords ; 
 And seek to shoot their arrows out, 
 E'en sharp and bitter words. 
 
 4 They at the just aim privily, 
 
 Him wounding as they like ; 
 Yea laying wait for, suddenly, 
 Nought fearing, him they strike. 
 
 5 They still, some evil thing to do, 
 
 Among themselves agree ; 
 They one another prompt thereto ; 
 And say * Who shall us see!' 
 
1XV. THE PSALMS. 
 
 6 They wickedness imagine still, 
 
 And practise it conceal'd ; 
 They secret keep their schemes of ill, 
 In the heart's depths upseal'd. 
 
 7 But GOD shall at them unawares 
 
 With a swift arrow shoot : 
 They shall be caught in their own snares, 
 And reap their self-sown fruit. 
 
 8 Yea their own tongues shall make them fall 
 
 That those, who look upon, 
 Shall from them turn, and fly withal, 
 In awe to see o'erthrown. 
 
 9 And all, this seeing, shall greatly fear; 
 
 And say ' GOD hath done this!' 
 
 They plainly shall discern, as clear, 
 That His hands' work it is. 
 
 10 The righteous still in Him shall trust, 
 
 And lift to Him their voice ; 
 And all the true of heart and just 
 Shall in The Lord rejoice. 
 
 PSALM LXV. 
 
 Q GOD ! Thee praise in Sion waits ; 
 All there to Thee down bow: 
 To Thee, within Thy Salem's gates, 
 Shall be perform'd the vow. 
 
 2 O GOD ! Thou hearest them that pray : 
 
 All flesh shall come to Thee : 
 Yea Thou shalt wash our sins away, 
 And from them set us free. 
 
 3 Blest they, O Lord ! Thou dost select, 
 
 With Thee thenceforth to live ; 
 W T hom Thou dost chuse for Thine elect, 
 And unto Thee receive. 
 
 4 With Thee, while still Thy praise employs, 
 
 They in Thy Courts shall dwell ; 
 And, with Thy Holy Temple's joys, 
 Be fed and pleasur'd well. 
 
THE PSALMS. IxV. 
 
 5 With wond'rous things Thou answerest us, 
 
 In that great mercy Thine: 
 Lord! in Thy righteousness, still thus 
 Thee to our prayers incline. 
 
 6 O GOD of our salvation, Thou ! 
 
 The hope of all thereon, 
 The Earth's all ends Thy Name avow ; 
 The far-spread seas Thee own. 
 
 7 Thou, in Thy strength, its depths throughout, 
 
 Hast set the mountains fast. 
 With power Thou 'rt girded round about, 
 And might is o'er Thee cast. 
 
 8 Thou still'st the sea's fierce raging loud, 
 
 And hush'st its billows' noise; 
 Thou quell'st the Nations' tumult proud, 
 And silencest their voice. 
 
 9 They, in remotest parts who dwell, 
 
 Thy tokens see and fear. 
 The farthest East, and West as well, 
 
 Thou mak'st to shout with cheer. 
 
 10 Thou visitest and bless'st the earth, 
 
 With rain to enrich the field ; 
 Thou mak'st it bring in plenty forth, 
 Abundant meat to yield. 
 
 1 1 GOD'S river still full-water'd is ; 
 
 Still flows its plenteous tide : 
 The glebe renewing aye for this, 
 
 Man's food dost Thou provide : 
 
 12 Thou fill'st its furrows from aloft, 
 
 Thou waterest it with streams, 
 With moistening showers Thou mak'st it soft; 
 That it with increase teems. 
 
 13 Thou with Thy goodness crown'st the year ; 
 
 Thy paths drop fatness round : 
 With green the wilderness shows fair, 
 The hills with glee resound : 
 
 14 With flocks they 're cloth'd ; full crops adorn, 
 
 The fields their wealth deploy ; 
 The vallies all stand thick with corn : 
 They shout and sing for joy ! 
 
THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM LXVI. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 JN GOD be joyful, all ye Lands! 
 To Him your voices raise : 
 Give His Name honour, as demands ; 
 And glorious make His praise. 
 
 2 Say unto GOD^_' In Thy works all 
 
 ' How wonderful art Thou ! 
 ' To Thee, thro Thy dread power made fall, 
 ' Thine enemies shall down-bow. 
 
 3 * Yea all the Earth, Thee worshipping, 
 
 'Shall Thy applauses frame; 
 ' Unto Thee ceaseless shall they sing, 
 ' And ceaseless praise Thy Name/ 
 
 4 O come, ye ! and behold : them scan, 
 
 And see GOD'S works forth spread: 
 How wondrous in His ways to man, 
 In all His doings how dread ! 
 
 5 Into dry land He turn'd the sea. 
 
 And thro the flood on foot 
 Our People went. Then glad were we ; 
 Thus 'scap'd the foe's pursuit. 
 
 6 He by His power for ever rules; 
 
 He all beholds wheree'er; 
 And the rebellious He controuls, 
 Nor lets them them uprear. 
 
 7 O bless our GOD, ye Peoples all! 
 
 And loud His praises wake : 
 Who gives our lives, arid guards withal ; 
 And shows our way to take. 
 
 8 Thou, Lord ! as silver trialling, 
 
 Didst prove us and assay ; 
 Into the net Thou didst us bring, 
 And trouble upon us lay. 
 
 9 Thou mad'st men o'er our heads to ride : 
 
 We went thro fire and flood : 
 Yet didst Thou bring us out, to bide, 
 Into a place of good. 
 
126 THE PSALMS. 
 
 10 I, with burnt-offerings, Thee to sue, 
 
 Into Thy House will go ; 
 To Thee I '11 pay my homage due : 
 My vows performing so : 
 
 11 Which with my lips I promis'd Thee, 
 
 When in affliction's pass; 
 And with my mouth engag'd for me, 
 When I in trouble was. 
 
 12 Burnt sacrifices Thee I '11 give, 
 
 And fatness of the meat; 
 Thou goats and bullocks shalt receive, 
 And rams, with incense sweet. 
 
 1 3 O come ye hither ; hear my call ; 
 
 Ye, GOD that fear, each one! 
 Come hither : and I '11 tell you all 
 He for my soul hath done. 
 
 14 To Him I with my mouth did cry, 
 
 To Him pour'd out my soul ; 
 Him did I praise and magnify, 
 And with my tongue extol. 
 
 15 l If unto wickedness (I said) 
 
 4 I turn my heart, and sin, 
 ' He will not hear my suit, as pray'd, 
 'Nor answer me therein.' 
 
 16 But GOD hath heard me : gracious e'er, 
 
 He listen'd when i cried ; 
 He hath attended to my prayer, 
 And to its voice replied. 
 
 17 Blessed be GOD! who hath not spurn'd 
 
 Nor put my prayer away; 
 Nor hath His mercy from me turn'd, 
 Nor reav'd me of His stay. 
 
 PSALM LXVI. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 r<OME, all ye Lands, all Earth ! 
 
 And unto GOD a joyful shout upraise; 
 His holy Name's high honour sing ye forth, 
 And glorious make His praise. 
 
THE PSALMS. 127 
 
 2 Say unto Him Dread Lord ! 
 
 In all Thy works how terrible art Thou ! 
 To Thee, thro Thy power's greatness, GOD ador'd ! 
 Thine enemies shall down bow. 
 
 3 All Earth shall worship Thee, 
 
 To Thee shall sing. Lo all the marvels His ; 
 
 Come and GOD'S works behold ; His wonders see, 
 
 To men how dread He is. 
 
 4 The sea did He dispart. 
 
 Into dry land He turn'd it for our way 
 
 That thro the flood on foot we went athwart. 
 Then joy'd we in His stay. 
 
 5 He rules for evermore; 
 
 His eyes behold the Nations wheresoe'er: 
 Let none rebellious lift them Him before, 
 None 'gainst Him them uprear. 
 
 6 Him bless, ye Peoples all ! 
 
 All, bless our GOD ! His praises make ye heard : 
 Who holds our souls in life ; and keeps from fall, 
 Nor lets our foot be stirr'd. 
 
 7 Thou 'st tried us, Lord ! unspared, 
 
 Assayed us e'en as silver is assayed : 
 Into the net Thou brought'st us, with fullshared 
 Affliction on us laid. 
 
 8 Thou mad'st men o'er us ride, 
 
 E'en o'er our heads ; thro flood and flame we pass'd : 
 But Thou, into a wealthy place and wide, 
 Didst bring us out at last. 
 
 9 With offerings will I go 
 
 Into Thy House ; to Thee my vows there pay ; 
 As promis'd Thee, when I was down -brought low, 
 In trouble's darksome day. 
 
 10 With incense, to adore, 
 
 With sacrifices will I come to Thee ; 
 With chosen victims will I come before, 
 And to Thee bend the knee. 
 
 HO come ye all, and hear; 
 
 All ye, that fear Him ! and I '11 tell you all 
 He for my soul has done ; how gives me ear, 
 And answers to my call. 
 
128 THE PSALMS. Ixvil. 
 
 12 If in my heart I bear 
 
 Iniquity, He will not hear me aught : 
 But GOD has heard me; He my voice's prayer 
 Has answer'd, as besought. 
 
 13 Blessed be GOD, true proved ! 
 
 For from my prayer He has not turn'd away ; 
 Nor from me He His mercy has removed, 
 Nor reav'd me of His stay. 
 
 PSALM LXVII. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 Lord ! to us incline ; 
 
 Now bless us, Thee we crave ; 
 Now on us make Thy face to shine, 
 And mercy on us have. 
 
 2 That so may upon Earth 
 
 Thy holy way be known ; 
 Thy saving health, presented forth, 
 To all the Nations shown. 
 
 3 Let Thee the Peoples praise ; 
 
 Let all praise Thee, O GOD ! 
 To Thee let all their voices raise, 
 In praisefulness and laud. 
 
 4 Let wake the joyful strain : 
 
 For, Thee shall all obey; 
 O'er Earth's all Nations shalt Thou reign, 
 And righteously them sway. 
 
 5 Let Thee the Peoples praise : 
 
 Let all praise Thee, O GOD! 
 To Thee let all their voices raise, 
 In praisefulness and laud. 
 
 6 So shall, full-stor'd for this, 
 
 The Earth her increase yield : 
 And GOD, e'en our own GOD who is, 
 Shall bless us arid o'ershield. 
 
 7 Yea GOD shall us still bless : 
 
 And all remote or near, 
 
 The World's all ends, shall Him confess, 
 Shall worship Him and fear. 
 
THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM LXVII. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 GOD His mercy to us show, 
 Us bless, and gracious to us be : 
 That all the Earth His way may know, 
 All Nations His salvation see. 
 
 2 Thee let the Peoples praise, O GOD ! 
 
 Yea Thee let all the Peoples praise ; 
 Let every tongue express Thy laud, 
 To Thee their loudest accents raise. 
 
 3 For joy now let the Nations sing : 
 
 For He shall judge them righteously : 
 Them shall He govern as their King, 
 And Earth's all Peoples justly sway. 
 
 4 So shall the land its increase yield ; 
 
 And GOD, even our own GOD, us bless : 
 Our GOD shall bless us, and o'ershield ; 
 And Earth's all ends shall Him confess. 
 
 PSALM LXVIII. 
 
 ^O, GOD arises : and, straightway, 
 
 His enemies turn, as see ; 
 And they, that hate Him, in dismay, 
 Forth-driven before Him flee. 
 
 2 As vanishes the smoke off-blown, 
 
 So they off-scatter'd are ; 
 As wax that to the furnace shown, 
 Before Him fade they there. 
 
 3 Yea at His presence, made to fall, 
 
 The ungodly shall be sad : 
 But, Him before, the righteous all 
 Shall joyful be and glad. 
 
 4 Sing unto GOD, who rides the cloud ; 
 
 His Name with songs adore ; 
 By His Name JAH Him praise ; arid loud 
 Rejoice ye Him before. 
 
 K 
 
130 THE PSALMS. Ixviil. 
 
 5 GOD, in His Holy Palaces, 
 
 All with His care enfolds; 
 He 's father of the fatherless. 
 The widow He upholds. 
 
 6 He in families sets up the lone*, 
 
 He sets the prisoners free ; 
 But the rebellious heeds He none, 
 And lets in scarceness be. 
 
 7 O GOD ! when Thou Thy aid them lent'st, 
 
 Thy People to upstay ; 
 When thro the wilderness Thou went'st, 
 Them leading on their way : 
 
 8 Earth shook : and, at Thy presence bow'd, 
 
 The Heavens did drop* disinay'd : 
 
 Yea, ut Thy presence Israel's GOD, 
 
 Was Sinai mov'd, afraid. 
 
 9 Therewith refreshing it again, 
 
 When weary and adry, 
 Thou, GOD ! didst, with abundant rain, 
 Thy inheritance supply. 
 
 10 There have Thy People dwelt, O Lord! 
 
 And shar'd of plenty there: 
 For, of Thy goodness, Thou a board 
 For th* hungry didst prepare. 
 
 1 1 The Lord declar'd the victory. 
 
 Was spread the word among : 
 Great was the singers'* company, 
 And loud they sung the song 
 
 12 'Kings with their armies fled o'erthrown ; 
 
 1 They fled on every side : 
 
 * And th' household ones made all their own, 
 * And did the spoil divide/ 
 
 13* 'Yea, tho among the pots ye 've lien, 
 
 * Ye stainless are, renewed ; 
 ' As the dove's wings, of silver sheen 
 
 1 And feathers golden-hued.' 
 14 * When, for your sake*, The Almighty One 
 
 ' Offscattering Kings did smite, 
 
 * As light thro darkling gloom, ye shone, 
 
 ' As snow resplendent white.' 
 
kviii. THE PSALMS. 
 
 15 GOD'S hill as Bashan's hill is high ; 
 
 High is the hill that His, 
 E'en a high hill, to th' Heavens nigh ; 
 As Bashan's hill it is. 
 
 16 Why, ye high hills! exalt ye thus? 
 
 This GOD'S is ; all before ; 
 Wherein He dwells ; and where, with us, 
 To bide for evermore. 
 
 17 GOD'S chariots, that scor'd thousands count, 
 
 With thousands Angels were ; 
 E'en as on Sinai's holy Mount, 
 The Lord was 'mong them there. 
 
 18 Thou art gone up on high. Thou 'st sped. 
 
 Thou victory hast achieved. 
 Thy captives hast Thou captive led ; 
 And gifts * from men received. 
 
 19 A ransom hast Thou ta'en, as well, 
 
 E'en for Thine enemies : 
 
 That The Lord GOD might 'mong them dwell, 
 E'en with the People His. 
 
 20 Blest be The Lord ! on whom we 're stay'd ; 
 
 Whom still we rest upon; 
 
 The GOD, who daily gives us aid 
 
 And pours His benefits on. 
 
 21 GOD is The Lord who guides our path : 
 
 Salvation is with Him ; 
 With Him the issues are of death, 
 Thence doth He us redeem. 
 
 22 But <JOD shall wound His enemies' head ; 
 
 E'en theirs, who live in sin ; 
 Who wickedness's paths still tread, 
 Continuing therein. 
 
 23 The Lord hath said "Thee back 1 '11 bring, 
 
 "As from the sea's begirt; 
 " As erst from Bashan, rescuing, 
 " I '11 bring thee back unhurt. 
 
 24 "That, in Thine enemies' blood outpour'd, 
 
 " Thy foot may planted be ; 
 " And Thy dogs' tongues, therewith o'ergor'd, 
 16 Thou may'st enredden'd see." 
 
132 THE PSALMS. 
 
 25 Now is it seen, with bright ado 
 
 And gloriousness of show, 
 
 How Thou, my GOD and King! into 
 Thy Sanctuary dost go. 
 
 26 The singers first; and, at next hand, 
 
 The minstrels lead the way ; 
 While in the midst the damsel band, 
 That on the timbrels play. 
 
 27 Now Israel's Chiefs! in thankfulness, 
 
 To GOD The Lord give praise ; 
 Let all, adoring, Him to bless, 
 Their loudest voices raise. 
 
 28 There Benjamin, their ruler 'neath ; 
 
 There Judah's Princes are; 
 There Zebulun, their council with, 
 And Naphthali's are there. 
 
 29 Thy GOD, O Israel! to uphold, 
 
 Hast sent forth strength for thee. 
 O GOD! that 'stablish, which of old 
 Thou for us wrought'st to be. 
 
 30 E'en for Thy Holy Temple's sake, 
 
 Where at Jerusalem, 
 
 Shall Kings to Thee their presents make, 
 In homage bringing them. 
 
 31 The wild beast of the reed* repel, 
 
 And bulls' fierce company; 
 Our enemies' herds repress and quell, 
 Off sweeping from our way. 
 
 32 Them scatter, that in war delight, 
 
 Their hosts discomfiting ; 
 Till, humbling them before Thy might, 
 They tribute* to Thee bring. 
 
 33 Then shall from Egypt, turn'd to Thee, 
 
 Their Princes come down-bow'd ; 
 Then shall the Morians' land we see 
 Stretch out her hands to GOD. 
 
 34 O all ye Kingdoms of the Earth ! 
 
 Sing unto GOD ador'd ; 
 With loudest voices pouring forth, 
 Sing praises to The Lord. 
 
THE PSALMS. 133 
 
 35 He on the Heaven of Heavens high rides, 
 
 Of old His seat and stead : 
 
 Lo sends He out His voice, whence bides ; 
 
 A mighty voice and dread ! 
 
 36 Ascribe GOD strength and power as His : 
 
 Him gloriousness enshrouds; 
 His excellency o'er Israel is, 
 
 His might is in the clouds, 
 
 37 He in His Holy Seats e'er lives, 
 
 All wondrous as high raised : 
 He strength and power His People gives. 
 Our GOD be blest and praised ! 
 
 PSALM LXIX. 
 
 gAVE me, O GOD ! where fiercely pour, 
 
 And lest I sink therein : 
 E'en to my soul, and covering o'er, 
 The waters are come in. 
 
 2 In the deep mire do I stick fast, 
 
 Where is no bottom ground ; 
 Into deep waters am I cast, 
 O'erflowing me around. 
 
 3 I 'm worn with calling on aloud ; 
 
 My throat is parch'd with wail ; 
 With so long looking for my GOD, 
 Mine eyes outwearied fail. 
 
 4 My foes, who hate me causelessly, 
 
 Both many and mighty are ; 
 Than my head's hairs more numerous they, . 
 Pursuing rne every where. 
 
 5 I 've that replac'd I never took, 
 
 Thro their false charges' show : 
 But, Thou, Lord ! in my heart dost look, 
 And my true sinnings know. 
 
 6 Let none, who wait on Thee, the just, 
 
 Thro me be put to shame ; 
 None, Israel's GOD ! in Thee who trust, 
 On my account bear blame. 
 
134 THE PSALMS. Ixix, 
 
 7 I, for Thy sake, endure reproof 
 
 Derision and disgrace ; 
 I, for Thy sake, am put aloof: 
 
 Whence shameness clothes my face. 
 
 8 Yea I unto my brethren ones 
 
 A stranger am become, 
 An alien to my mother's sons, 
 And outcast from my home. 
 
 9 Zeal for Thine House is wasting me, 
 
 Thy foes opposing e'er ; 
 And their rebukes, rebuking Thee, 
 Still fall on me to bear. 
 
 10 With fasting, so, in painfulness, 
 
 Me chastening with concern, 
 I weeping go : And this not less 
 To my reproach they turn. 
 
 1 1 When sackcloth also I put on, 
 
 T is to me made a shame : 
 Among them I 'm a proverb grown, 
 A by-word, and ill-name. 
 
 12 The idlers in the streets*, with- slurs, 
 
 Their heads do at me shake ; 
 The drunkards and the revellers, 
 Their songs upon me make. 
 
 13 But still, in fitting time outpour'd, 
 
 To Thee I make my prayer : 
 Now in Thy truth and mercy, Lord ! 
 O hear me, and upbear. 
 
 14 From out the mire, lest sink therein, 
 
 O GOD ! deliver me ; 
 
 From out the depths ere drowning in, 
 
 And my haters, set me free. 
 
 15 Let not the water-flood o'erflow, 
 
 Nor let the deep englut ; 
 Nor let the pit, therein laid low, 
 Her month upon me shut. 
 
 16 Hear me, O Lord ! in my distress : 
 
 For Thou art ever good : 
 As is Thy mercies' numerousuess, 
 Now to me turn, as sued. 
 
Ixix. THE PSALMS. 135 
 
 17 Nor from Thy servant hide Thy face: 
 
 For I 'm in trouble brought : 
 
 haste Thee to me, speed apace; 
 And hear me, as besought. 
 
 18 Draw nigh unto my soul, ere drown'd, 
 
 Redeeming from the wave ; 
 From my enemies, e'erwhere around, 
 Deliver me and save. 
 
 19 Thou my dishonour seest, my shame, 
 
 And my reproach, laid bare: 
 Nor less before Thy sight, the same, 
 Mine adversaries are. 
 
 20 Thencefrom I no where find relief; 
 
 Reproachings rend my heart : 
 
 1 'm full of heaviness and grief; 
 With none that cheer impart. 
 
 21 I seek for some to pity me ; 
 
 But all around are none : 
 I look for comforters to see, 
 Nor find I even one. 
 
 22 When I am fainting, nigh to sink, 
 
 They give me gall* to take; 
 
 They give me vinegar for drink, 
 
 Therewith my thirst to slake. 
 
 23* But, be their table made a snare, 
 
 Themselves to take withal ; 
 And for them be their wealth of fare 
 A trap, wherein to fall. 
 
 24 Their eyes be darken'd with a cloud, 
 
 So that they cannot see ; 
 Their backs be evermore down-bow'd, 
 And loins still shaking be. 
 
 25 Pour out thine indignation on, 
 
 Them with Thy wrath enfold ; 
 Let Thy hot anger seize upon, 
 And of them take fierce hold. 
 
 26 Make Thou their habitation void, 
 
 And desolate within ; 
 Make Thou their tents unoccupied, 
 And none to dwell therein. 
 
136 THE PSALMS. 
 
 27 For, him they persecute, whom sore 
 
 Thou 'st smitten and down cast ; 
 And seek how they may vex still more 
 Those whom Thou wounded hast. 
 
 28 Them smite in Thy displeasure hot, 
 
 And from Thee forth out-thrust ; 
 From out the living's book them blot, 
 Not written with the just. 
 
 29 For me, howe'er by grief dowri-weigh'd, 
 
 Thou still art to me nigh : 
 Lord ! give me Thy salvation's aid, 
 To set me up on high. 
 
 30 My GOD! I, with a song, and loud, 
 
 Will Thy just praises frame ; 
 I, with thanksgiving, still avow'd, 
 Will magnify Thy Name. 
 
 31 This too shall better please The Lord 
 
 Than bullocks to Him slain, 
 And more than victims' blood outpour'd 
 And sacrificial train. 
 
 32 The stricken shall consider this, 
 
 And joy shall thence receive : 
 Yea seek ye GOD, to be of His ; 
 
 And so your souls shall live, 
 
 33 For He the afflicted hears, and them 
 
 He in His care will take ; 
 Nor He the imprisoned will contemn, 
 
 That suffer for His sake. 
 Then praise Him, Heaven and Earth ; Earth's throng, 
 
 The Sea and all therein : 
 Let the whole World, with loudest song, 
 
 Conjoin the tuneful din. 
 
 35 For GOD will His own Sion save, 
 
 And Judah's cities build ; 
 That His may in possession have, 
 There dwelling 'neath His shield. 
 
 36 Their seed, too, shall inherit it; 
 
 And they, that Him adore 
 And love His Name, therein shall sit 
 And dwell for evermore. 
 
THE PSALMS. 137 
 
 PSALM LXX. 
 
 r\ HASTE Thee, Lord ! now to me speed ; 
 
 Make haste and set me free ; 
 Come Thou to help me, in my need : 
 My GOD! deliver me. 
 
 2 Let them be foil'd and put to shame, 
 
 That would my life attack ; 
 Let them, that mischief 'gainst me frame, 
 Be turn'd and driven back. 
 
 3 Let them, who insult me and revile, 
 
 Reproaching me for nought, 
 
 In recompense, to pay their guile, 
 To shame and grief be brought. 
 
 4 All, Thee that seek, let gladness move; 
 
 With joyful voice high raised, 
 Let such, as Thy salvation love, 
 Still say 'The Lord be praised!' 
 
 5 For me I afflicted am ; down-bow'd, 
 
 In misery and distress : 
 O haste Thee to me : haste, my GOD ! 
 Relieve me and redress. 
 
 6 Thou art my stay, my helper Thou ; 
 
 Thou my deliverer art : ' 
 Make no long tarrying, Lord ! but now 
 Thy aid to me impart. 
 
 PSALM LXXI. 
 
 JN Thee, O Lord! in Thee 
 My trust I ever place : 
 O let me ne'er confounded be, 
 Nor made asham'd of face. 
 
 2 But, in Thy righteousness, 
 
 Compassion on me have ; 
 Now hear me, Lord ! in my distress ; 
 Deliver me and save. 
 
 3 Thou be rny refuge now, 
 
 Whereto I may resort : 
 Thou 'st promis'd me Thy help : for Thou 
 My stronghold art and fort. 
 
138 THE PSALMS. 
 
 4 From out the ungodly 's hand, 
 
 Deliver me, O GOD! 
 The unrighteous and the cruel band, 
 Mine enemies avow'd. 
 
 5 Thou 'st been ray stay in all, 
 
 My staff whereon to lean ; 
 E'en from my youth, ne'er let to fall, 
 Thou still my hope hast been. 
 
 6 Thou, Lord ! art He, thro whom 
 
 E'en from my birth upheld ; 
 Thou took'st me from my mother's womb 
 Thee will I praise unquell'd. 
 
 7 I, to the crowd, am grown 
 
 A sign whereat to stare : 
 
 But still in Thee, relying on, 
 
 My trust and refuge are. 
 
 8 Thy praises, Lord ! shall fill 
 
 My mouth the whole day long ; 
 Thy greatness and Thy glory still 
 Shall occupy my song. 
 
 9 Now, at my latter stage, 
 
 O cast me not away ; 
 When fails my strength, and in my age, 
 Ne'er reave me of Thy stay. 
 
 JO My enemies 'gainst me speak, 
 
 And mischief ceaseless make ; 
 And they, laying wait, my life who seek, 
 Together counsel take : 
 
 11 Saying ' GOD hath cast him off, 
 
 ' He hath forsaken him : 
 ' Now take and vex him ; sure thereof : 
 * For none will him redeem.' 
 
 12 O Lord ! now low down-bow'd, 
 
 On Thee alone I 'in stay'd : 
 Go not far from me, O my GOD ! 
 But haste Thee to my aid. 
 
 13 Let them confounded be, 
 
 That would contrive my fall; 
 Let them, that seek to injure me, 
 With shame be cover'd all. 
 
IXXI. THE PSALMS. 139 
 
 14 For me I will abide, 
 
 And rest on Thee, ne'er less ; 
 And more and more, whate'er betide, 
 Thee will 1 praise and bless. 
 
 15 I daily will set forth 
 
 And Thy salvation show, 
 And tell Thy faithfulness to Earth : 
 For I their bounds not know. 
 
 16 Still in Thy strength, O Lord! 
 
 Will I go forth and walk : 
 Thy righteousness shall be my word ; 
 Of that alone I '11 talk. 
 
 17 T is Thou, that from my youth 
 
 Hast taught me, guiding well : 
 So, of Thy wondrous works and truth, 
 I evermore will tell. 
 
 18 Now in my age, O GOD! 
 
 Ne'er from me turn away ; 
 
 Forsake me not, with years down-bow'd 
 
 Now that my hairs are grey : 
 
 19 Nor till Thy strength I Ve to 
 
 This generation shown, 
 
 And all Thy power what Thou canst do_ 
 
 To them to come made known. 
 
 20 Thy righteousness, far set, 
 
 Is high beyond to see ; 
 
 Thou marvellous things hast done and great : 
 O GOD, who is like to Thee! 
 
 21 Great troublousness and pain 
 
 Thou show'dst me abandoning : 
 Yet to me didst Thou turn again, 
 And from Earth's depths upbring. 
 
 22 Thou 'st made me to abide, 
 
 Arid to great honour brought ; 
 Thou 'st comforted on every side, 
 Nor let me be o'erwrought. 
 
 23 So, with hosannahs loud, 
 
 To Thee my voice I '11 raise ; 
 Thee and Thy faithfulness, O GOD! 
 Loud hymning, will I praise. 
 
140 THE PSALMS. Ixxii. 
 
 24 With voice, and harp as well, 
 
 With instruments of string, 
 O Holy One of Israel ! 
 
 Unto Thee will I sing. 
 
 25 My lips shall greatly joy, 
 
 While singing unto Thee ; 
 And so my soul, which, 'stead destroy, 
 From death hast Thou set free. 
 
 26 My tongue, likewise, shall still 
 
 Thy righteousness declare. 
 For they, that sought to do me ill, 
 Sham'd and confounded are. 
 
 PSALM LXXII. 
 
 give Thy justice to The King* ; 
 And give Him, fearing Thee, 
 Thy righteousness : that, governing, 
 His rule reproachless be. 
 
 2 So shall He judge Thy People all 
 
 According unto right ; 
 And guard the weak, nor let them fall 
 Beneath the oppressor's might. 
 
 3 Then shall the mountains* bring them peace, 
 
 And with abundance bless; 
 And to the People, with increase, 
 The hills bring righteousness. 
 
 4 The prostrate shall He set erect, 
 
 And children of the poor, 
 The wrong'd and the oppress'd protect, 
 And smite the evil-doer. 
 
 5 While last the sun and moon, shall all 
 
 Thee reverence and obey ; 
 Throughout all generations shall 
 Thee serve, and own Thy sway. 
 
 6 As rain upon the thirsty ground, 
 
 As water-drops thereon, 
 As showers refreshing all around, 
 Shall bounteous He come down. 
 
Ixxii. THE PSALMS. 
 
 7 Then righteousness, in Him secure, 
 
 Shall give its fruits to see ; 
 And peace, while doth the moon endure, 
 Abundantly shall be. 
 
 8 He His dominion shall, afar, 
 
 From sea to sea extend ; 
 And, from the river's* distant bar, 
 To Earth's remotest end. 
 
 9 They, in the wilderness who dwell, 
 
 Shall kneeling Him adore; 
 His enemies so, all whom to quell, 
 Shall lick the dust before. 
 
 10 The Kings of Tarshish and the Isles 
 
 Shall presents to Him bring ; 
 The Sheban give Him gifts and spoils, 
 And so the Seban King. 
 
 1 1 All Kings before Him shall down-bow, 
 
 All Nations own His sway; 
 All shall His sovereignty avow, 
 All serve Him and obey. 
 
 12 He, when the afflicted to Him cry, 
 
 Will hear and give them aid ; 
 The needy's want will He supply, 
 And help those whom unstay a. 
 
 13 He to the friendless and the poor 
 
 His favour shall extend, 
 Protect them 'gainst the wicked-doer, 
 And from the proud defend. 
 
 14 From violence and from fraudful might 
 
 The lowly will He free ; 
 And ever precious in His sight, 
 And dear, their blood shall be. 
 
 15 He e'er shall live : And to Him e'er 
 
 Shall Sheba's gold be given : 
 He daily shall be prais'd, and prayer 
 For Him be made to Heaven. 
 
 16 Then harvests to the mountain-tops 
 
 Their rich return shall make ; 
 And waving corn*, in plenteous crops, 
 Like Liban's cedars shake. 
 
THE PSALMS. 
 
 17 The City, so, shall flourish, as 
 
 The herbage, in its throng; 
 Its habitants, e'en as the grass, 
 Shall numerous be and strong. 
 
 18 While lasts the sun, His Name withal 
 
 Shall last, of all confess'd ; 
 All Nations Him shall blessed call ; 
 All men thro Him be bless'd. 
 
 19 Blest be The Lord ! The King of Kings, 
 
 E'en Israel's GOD The Lord : 
 
 Alone who doeth wondrous things, 
 Alone who is ador'd. 
 
 20 Blest be His glorious Name, reveal'd, 
 
 For e'er among all men ! 
 All Earth be with His glory fill'd! 
 Amen ! Amen ! Amen ! 
 
 PSALM LXXIII. 
 
 Lord loves Israel, 
 And keeps him in His care : 
 He good to all is, that do well 
 And that pure-hearted are. 
 
 2 For me, I 'd nearly tripp'd; 
 
 My feet were almost gone ; 
 My steps had nigh beneath me slipp'd, 
 And failing laid me prone. 
 
 3 For, envy troubled me, 
 
 To see the wicked thrive, 
 And so the ungodly ones to see 
 To prosperousness arrive. 
 
 4 For they 're secure from ill ; 
 
 Nor death seems them to threat' ; 
 But they are strong and steadfast still, 
 Firm-bas'd and lastly set. 
 
 5 They no afflictions share, 
 
 As other men do all ; 
 They are not tried, as others are, 
 
 icy 
 
 Nc 
 
 or into evils fall. 
 
Ixxiii. THE PSALMS. 143 
 
 6 So, as a chain about, 
 
 Them pride encompasses ; 
 And violence, covering them without, 
 Engarbs as with a dress. 
 
 7 All fatness and full blood, 
 
 Their eyes stand out therethro : 
 They 're ever plotting on ungood, 
 And evil only do. 
 
 8 They teach to act amiss, 
 
 And after mischief seek ; 
 'Gainst The Most High their talking is; 
 And loftily they speak. 
 
 9 Against the Heavens, in pride, 
 
 Their mouth do they put forth ; 
 Their tongue gpes thro it far and wide, 
 And walks athwart the Earth. 
 
 10 So, falsely taught to think, 
 
 His People to them turn : 
 Whence they, as from full cups to drink, 
 No small advantage earn*. 
 
 11 And 'Tush! (they say) What then: 
 
 * Must GOD thus knowing be? 
 'With The Most High resides such ken, 
 4 That He should all things see?' 
 
 12 Lo these the ungodly are: 
 
 They in the world succeed ; 
 They riches have in plenteous share, 
 Nor lack they aught they need. 
 
 13 Then I, as GOD'S commands, 
 
 Have cleans'd my heart, in vain? 
 
 In innocency wash'd my hands, 
 My pureness to maintain? 
 
 14 From morning's early ray, 
 
 I 've suffer'd chastenings keen ; 
 And, thuswise thro and all the day, 
 My bitterness has been 
 
 15 Yea thus I 'd almost said, 
 
 And spoken so the same : 
 But lo I should have then betray'd 
 And done His servants shame. 
 
144 THE PSALMS. 
 
 16 Then this, how to regard 
 
 And understand, I sought : 
 But for me it was all too hard, 
 And it surpassed my thought. 
 
 17 Till in GOD'S Holy Place 
 
 I sued, to comprehend : 
 And then I saw these men's true case, 
 And understood their end: 
 
 18 How doth The Lord them set 
 
 On slippery places steep ; 
 
 Then cast them down, e'en from their height, 
 Into destruction's deep. 
 
 19 O how, and instantly, 
 
 Do they consume to nought! 
 
 They sudden perish, swept away ; 
 To a fearful ending brought ! 
 
 20 As dreams, that, baseless floor'd, 
 
 At waking sudden fade, 
 When Thou in wrath arisest, Lord ! 
 
 They vanish like a shade.*' 
 *21 Thus had I no content; 
 
 And thus my heart was grieved ; 
 E'en thro my veins my sorrow went, 
 
 By things' false show deceived. 
 
 22 So foolish was I thence, 
 
 Of knowledge destitute, 
 I was before. Thee, void of sense, 
 E'en as the unreasoning brute. 
 
 23 Yet still Thy wings enfold ; 
 
 Thou 'rt ever at my side ; 
 By my right hand Thou dost me hold, 
 To guard my paths and guide. 
 
 24 Yea, with Thy counsel, still 
 
 Shalt Thou direct me here; 
 And after this, at Thy good will, 
 Receive me in glory's sphere. 
 
 25 In Heaven I 've none but Thee ! 
 
 And there on Earth is none, 
 
 Whom I desire with whom to be, 
 
 Save only Thou alone ! 
 
IXXIV. THE PSALMS. 
 
 26 Tho fail my heart and frame, 
 
 Yet Thou art still my strength ; 
 
 Thou art my portion, still the same, 
 
 For aye thro time's all length. 
 
 27 Lo they shall perish all, 
 
 Who turn from Thee away : 
 All them shalt Thou destroy, that fall 
 And faithless from Thee stray. 
 
 28 Still my best good I deem 
 
 Unto Him to draw near, 
 To hold GOD fast and trust on Him, 
 Still walking in His fear. 
 
 29 So still, whatever my straits, 
 
 I '11 praise The Lord e'erwhere ; 
 And still, in Sion's daughter's gates, 
 His wondrous works declare. 
 
 PSALM LXXIV. 
 
 C\ GOD! why still thus absent keep, 
 
 And wrathful from us turn ? 
 Why still, against Thy pasture's sheep, 
 Let Thy hot anger burn? 
 
 2 Thy Congregation think upon, 
 
 Thou didst redeem of eld ; 
 The inheritance's tribe Thy own ; 
 And Sion, where Thou 'st dwell'd. 
 
 3 Lift up Thy hand on the enemy, 
 
 And lay the spoiler prone ; 
 Where he, within Thy Sanctuary, 
 Such wickedness hath done. 
 
 4 In midst Thy Tabernacles e'en 
 
 Thine adversaries roar; 
 And set their banners up therein, 
 For signs, exulting o'er. 
 
 5 Yea seem they there, with rage incens'd, 
 
 As, midst the forest tall, 
 The woodmen lift their axes'* 'gainst, 
 Before them felling all. 
 
146 THE PSALMS. 
 
 6 They, round despoiling, nought to spare, 
 
 Their impiousness to crown, 
 With bills and hammers, ruthless there, 
 All its carv'd work break down! 
 
 7 Devouring it with fire and flame, 
 
 Thy Sanctuary they 've burned ; 
 The dwelling-place of Thy high Name 
 They Ve to the ground o'erturned. 
 
 8 * Destroy we them on every hand/ 
 
 Within their hearts they say ; 
 While all GOD'S Houses thro the land 
 In ashes do they lay. 
 
 9 Our tokens now no more we see ; 
 
 Nor Prophets have we more ; 
 
 We 've none to tell us when shall be 
 
 How long release before. 
 
 10 O GOD ! how long, despoiling us, 
 
 Shall the enemy put to shame? 
 How long shall he, defying thus, 
 Contemn Thy holy Name ? 
 
 11 Why keep'st Thou back Thy hand from Earth, 
 
 E'en Thy avenging right? 
 Nay pluck it from Thy bosom forth, 
 And prove its fearful might. 
 
 12 For, GOD ! Thou art our King, of old ; 
 
 Thou keep'st us from to fall : 
 Throughout the Earth, while them uphold, 
 Thou safety work'st for all. 
 
 13 Thou, thro Thy power, didst part in two, 
 
 Thou didst the Sea divide ; 
 Thou brak'st the dragons' heads therethro, 
 That in the waters bide. 
 
 14 And Thou leviathan's* heads, as well, 
 
 Didst break, Thine anger in, 
 And give for meat to them that dwell 
 The wilderness within. 
 
 15 From the hard rocks, in full supply, 
 
 Thou brought'st the fountains out ; 
 Thou mighty waters didst updry, 
 Where flowing round about. 
 
1XXV. THE PSALMS. 147 
 
 16 The day is Thine, and Thine the- night; 
 
 The times alike are Thine; 
 Thou hast prepar'd the cheerful light, 
 And sun of glorious shine. 
 
 1 7 Earth's borders hast Thou set wheree'er ; 
 
 The summer hast Thou made, 
 And winter Thou ; Thou rul'stxthe year : 
 All is as Thy word bade. 
 
 18 Remember, Lord! how the enemy 
 
 Still on Thee have cast blame; 
 And how the wicked ones gainsay 
 And still blaspheme Thy Name. 
 
 19 O give not up Thy dove*, Thine own, 
 
 Into the ungodly's power ; 
 Nor leave Thy feeble ones o'erthrown, 
 For the impious to devour. 
 
 20 Thy covenant bear in mind withal, 
 
 Towards us kindly will'd : 
 For now the Earth's dark places all 
 With cruelty's seats are fill'd. 
 
 21 Let not the oppress'd return ashamed ; 
 
 But let the afflicted one 
 Give Thy Name praise, aloud proclaimed, 
 For all Thou 'st for him done. 
 
 22 Arise, O GOD! Thy cause maintain, 
 
 And prove Thyself supreme ; 
 Remember how the wicked's train 
 Thee ceaselessly blaspheme. 
 
 23 'T is time Thine enemies to chastise, 
 
 And their rebellions quell : 
 Their threatenings, who against Thee rise, 
 Still more and more upswell. 
 
 PSALM LXXV. 
 
 Thee, O GOD on high! 
 Will we give thanks, nor spare. 
 For, that Thou* 'rt ever to us nigh, 
 Thy wond'rous works declare. 
 
148 THE PSALMS. IxXV. 
 
 2 " *When, at the judgement-seat, 
 
 " My People I receive, 
 
 " In righteousness, to all, as meet, 
 " There sentence will I give. 
 
 3 " Earth's bands are all offcast, 
 
 " With all its dwellers' train : 
 " T is I who keep its fabric fast, 
 "Its pillars I sustain." 
 
 4 "' Be not so madly naught/ 
 
 To the profane I Ve said ; 
 
 And to the ungodly ' Be not haught ; 
 
 ' Lift not so high the head/ 
 
 5 ' Pride is to fall still nigh, 
 
 ' And shall receive its check ; 
 'Yea lift not up your horn on high, 
 * Nor speak with a stiff neck/ 
 
 6 For neither from the East 
 
 Nor West nor from the South 
 
 Promotion comes : The Lord, where least, 
 Can give the greatest growth. 
 
 7 GOD is the Judge alone; 
 
 He wears the kingly crown ; 
 
 As pleases Him He sets up one, 
 
 And puts another down. 
 
 8 In The Lord's hand there is 
 
 A cup, of direful power ; 
 His wrath's dread wine; *admixtur'd this, 
 For His avengement's hour. 
 
 9 For all He pours it forth, 
 
 To drink as may be fain : 
 But the ungodly ones of Earth 
 Its bitterest dregs shall drain. 
 
 10 I in His way will walk, 
 
 And loud His Name declare ; 
 Of Jacob's GOD I still will talk, 
 And speak His praise e'erwhere. 
 
 11 The ungodly's horns also 
 
 I '11 break, for all to see: 
 But fair the righteous's shall show, 
 And high exalted be. 
 
THE PSALMS. . 149 
 
 PSALM LXXVI. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 TN Judah GOD is known and well; 
 His Name is great in Israel; 
 
 Theirs are the Congregations His : 
 His Tabernacle, worshipped wher^. 
 At Salem is ; and, biding there, 
 His dwelling-place in Sion is. 
 
 2 There brake He the arrows of the bow 
 
 The sword and shield, there turn'd the blow; 
 
 And there the battle did He stay. 
 Thou, Lord! art terrible in war; 
 In power and might Thou 'rt greater far 
 
 And more than are the hills of prey. 
 
 3 The spoilers in their turn are spoil'd; 
 
 They 've slept their sleep ; the strong are foil'd ; 
 
 The mighty find their hands no more. 
 At Thy rebuke, O Jacob's GOD ! 
 The chariot and the horse down-trod' 
 
 Are fall'n, low humbled Thee before. 
 
 4 Thou 'rt greatly to be fear'd : When ired, 
 When thou, O Lord! art anger-fired, 
 
 Who ever in Thy sight may stand ! 
 Thou mak'st man's wrath Thy praise maintain ; 
 Yea Thou his fierceness dost restrain, 
 
 Controuling it with Thy strong hand. 
 
 5 When, Lord ! Thou stand'st in judgement forth, 
 To save the afflicted of the Earth 
 
 And guard the lowly ones from ill : 
 
 Thou utterest from on high Thy word ; 
 
 Thou mak'st from Heaven Thy voice be heard : 
 
 Earth straightway trembles and is still ! 
 
 6 All ye, that round about Him are! 
 
 Pay GOD your vows, His praise declare ; 
 
 Him fear, and bring Him offerings due. 
 He whatso power down bends to His; 
 He to Earth's Kings all-fearful is, 
 
 And Princes' spirits shall subdue. 
 
150 THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM LXXVI. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 JN Judah GOD doth dwell; 
 
 He there hath made Him known ; 
 His Name is great in Isr ''1 ; 
 All there His lordship own. 
 
 2 The Tabernacle His 
 
 At Salem is, fix'd there ; 
 His dwelling-place in Sion is, 
 Of old abiding where. 
 
 3 The weapons there He brake, 
 
 The arrows of the bow, 
 The shield, the sword ; there did He make 
 The battle to forego. 
 
 4 Thou 'rt terrible in war : 
 
 Thou 'rt mightier far than they ; 
 Thou of more honour art and far 
 Than are the hills of prey. 
 
 5 The spoilers now are spoiled ; 
 
 They 're slain, who slew before; 
 They Ve slept their sleep : the strong are foiled ; 
 They find their hands no more. 
 
 6 O GOD of Jacob, Thou ! 
 
 At Thy rebuke o'erthrown, 
 The horse and chariot, made to bow, 
 Are fall'n and prostrate shown. 
 
 7 Thou 'rt greatly to be feared ; 
 
 And heavy is Thy hand : 
 When Thou art angry, Lord revered ! 
 Who in Thy sight may stand ! 
 
 8 Thou utterest forth the word : 
 
 And all attends Thy will. 
 
 From Heaven Thou mak'st Thy judgement heard : 
 Earth trembles and is still 
 
 9 When for them Thou stand 'st forth, 
 
 In Thy regard to have ; 
 To help the lowly ones of Earth, 
 And the afflicted save. 
 
Ixxvii. THE PSALMS. 151 
 
 10 Man's wrath Thou makest vain, 
 
 And turn'st itjfco Thy praise ; 
 Yea Thou his fierceness shalt restrain, 
 And Thee thereo'er high raise. 
 
 1 1 Come, ye, that round Him are ! 
 
 With vows- $he Lord now sue ; 
 To Him, who fear claims everywhere, 
 Bring gifts and offerings due. 
 
 12 He makes the proud to fall, 
 
 And bends the stiff of neck : 
 He 's fearful to Earth's Kings withal, 
 And Princes keeps in check. 
 
 PSALM LXXVII. 
 
 GOD I with my voice applied, 
 
 On Him I call'd to hear; 
 E'en with my voice to GOD I cried : 
 
 And to me He gave ear. 
 
 2 In my hour of trouble I sought The Lord ; 
 
 And still, the night throughout, 
 I made my prayer, and Him implor'd, 
 To Him my hands stretch'd out. 
 
 3 My soul would not be comforted ; 
 
 Yet still on GOD I thought; 
 With heaviness was I down weigh'd; 
 But Him I still besought. 
 
 4 Mine eye He waking holds from rest : 
 
 I feeble am and weak ; 
 So troubled am I, grief-oppress'd, 
 That e'en I cannot speak. 
 
 5 Within me I 've consider'd on 
 
 The years of heretofore ; 
 The days of old I 've thought upon, 
 And goneby times of yore. 
 
 6 My former songs to mind I call; 
 
 And, thro the night, close scann'd, 
 Therein do I inquire withal, 
 His ways to understand. 
 
THE PSALMS. Ixxvii, 
 
 7 Hath then The Lord quite cast me off, 
 
 And will no more He hear? 
 Then fails His promise, turn'd to scoff; 
 And clos'd to me His ear? 
 
 8 Hath GOD His goodness then forgot', 
 
 Nor more will gracious be? 
 Will He, in His displeasure hot, 
 His mercies shut to me? 
 
 9 Then said I ' This my proving is : 
 
 1 But I His former aid 
 * Will recollect, and think of this, 
 1 How by His hand upstay'd.' 
 
 10 Yea, Lord! Thy works I '11 call to mind, 
 
 And wonders done of old ; 
 I '11 think on all Thy mercies kind, 
 And all Thy acts unfold. 
 
 1 1 Thy ways are holy : Who Thy powers 
 
 Can scan, that all transcend! 
 
 Who is so great a GOD as ours ! 
 
 Who with Him can contend ! 
 
 12 Thou art The GOD who wonders dost : 
 
 With Thee may none compare : 
 Thou show'dst Thee 'mong Nations' host, 
 
 And didst Thy strength declare. 
 33 Thou, with Thine arm, Thy chosen ones 
 
 Didst rescue and relieve; 
 To Jacob's Thou to Joseph's sons 
 
 Deliverance didst Thou give. 
 
 14 The waters Thee, O GOD! yea Thee 
 
 The waters saw, dismay 'd ; 
 The deeps were troubled Thee to see ; 
 They saw, and were afraid. 
 
 15 The clouds with outpour'd water flow'd ; 
 
 The skies sent forth a sound ; 
 Thine arrows also went abroad, 
 Discattering them around. 
 
 16 Thy thunder's voice thro air was heard; 
 
 The ground with lightnings gleam'd : 
 The Earth was mov'd; it shook, upstirr'd ; 
 And, trembling, parted seem'd. 
 
Ixxviii. THE PSALMS. 153 
 
 1 7 Thy way was in the sea ; e'en there 
 
 Was Thy dread presence shown ; 
 Thy paths in the great waters were ; 
 Nor were Thy footsteps known. 
 
 18 Like sheep, Thou ledd'st them thro the land; 
 
 E'en like a flock, fe feed ; 
 By Moses' and by Aaron's hand, 
 
 Thy People "^idst Thou lead. 
 
 PSALM LXXVIII. 
 
 Q YE, my People ! hear my speech ; 
 
 Now my instruction hear ; 
 To my mouth's words, as I shall teach, 
 Incline ye now your ear. 
 
 2 Of antient times will I declare, 
 
 And things occurr'd of old ; 
 Which we have heard and known, that were, 
 . As us our fathers told. 
 
 3 Nor from their children them to hide ; 
 
 Showing forth to every one 
 The Lord's just praise, His power spread wide, 
 And wondrous works He has done. 
 
 4 A covenant He with Jacob made ; 
 
 And to Israel* gave, forth shown, 
 A law : which He our fathers bade 
 Make to their children known : 
 
 5 That so likewise they, in their turn, 
 
 And their posterity, 
 And children yet unborn, might learn 
 And know it, in like way 
 
 6 That they on GOD their hope should lean ; 
 
 Nor e'er His works forget; 
 But keep His laws, still walking in 
 The paths He for them set : 
 
 7 Nor be, as their fore-fathers erst, 
 
 A stiff-neck'd stubborn race, 
 A generation evil-nurs'd, 
 And aliens to His grace : 
 
154 THE PSALMS. Ixxviii. 
 
 8 That to Him not obedient bow'd, 
 
 Nor set their heart aright ; 
 Whose spirit cleav'd not fast to GOD, 
 Not resting on His might. 
 
 9 (So Ephraim's children*; who, self-stay 'd, 
 
 Tho arm'd and carrying bows, 
 In battle's day tnrn'd back dismay 'd, 
 And fled before their foes.) 
 
 10 GOD'S covenant likewise kept they not; 
 
 Nor walk'd they in His law ; 
 But all His wondrous works forgot, 
 Which for them done they saw. 
 
 1 1 Yea for them marvellous works did He, 
 
 E'en to their fathers shown ; 
 In Egypt's land, when thence set free, 
 And in the field of Zoan. 
 
 12 He cleft the sea ; and made them pass 
 
 Therethro as on dry land ; 
 
 And, as a heap, in solid mass, 
 
 He made the waters stand. 
 
 13 So with a cloud, by day when light, 
 
 Their way He to them show'd ; 
 And, with a light of fire, thro night, 
 Them guided on their road. 
 
 14 When in the wilderness's steeps, 
 
 The rocks He for them clave ; 
 
 And, as if out of the great deeps, 
 
 To drink therefrom them gave. 
 
 15 Yea, from the stony rock and hard, 
 
 He brought the waters out ; 
 That gush'd they forth, like floods unbarr'd, 
 Wide flowing round about. 
 
 16 Yet for all this, and in its view, 
 
 They 'gainst Him sinn'd and spoke ; 
 And, in the wilderness, anew, 
 Did The Most High provoke. 
 
 17 With hearts that evil thoughts inspired, 
 
 Him tempted they and tried ; 
 And for their lust they meat required, 
 Nor on His care relied. 
 
Ixxviii. THE PSALMS. 
 
 18 'Gainst GOD they spoke ; and, reverenceless, 
 
 Thus said they, as in doubt: 
 
 'Can GOD here, in the wilderness, 
 'A table furnish out?' 
 
 19 ' 'T is true He smote the rock* (they jjaid) 
 
 "* That thence gush'd forth a tide : " 
 ' But, can He give His people bread, 
 * And for them flesh provide?' 
 
 20 When this He heard was wroth The Lord : 
 
 And now, 'gainst Israel 
 And Jacob, e'en as fire outpour'd, 
 Did anger fierce upswell. 
 
 21 Because they not in GOD believed, 
 
 Nor but on Him were stay'd ; 
 Nor, spite all for them He 'd achieved, 
 Relied they on His aid. 
 
 22 Ne'erless the sky did He ordain, 
 
 Commanding for its stores ; 
 The clouds He for them did constrain, 
 And open'd Heaven's doors : 
 
 23 And manna* pour'd He down upon,, 
 
 E'en Heaven's own corn for food : 
 That angels' meat men feasted on, 
 E'en stintless as they would. 
 
 24 Then caus'd He the Eastern wind* to blow; 
 
 And, by His power, the same, 
 He the South wind call'd forth also ; 
 That thro the Heavens it came. 
 
 25 And, thick as dust, on every hand 
 
 He flesh upon them rain'd ; 
 E'en feather'd fowls, as the sea's sand, 
 In numbers unrestrain'd. 
 
 26 Among their tents He let it fall, 
 
 And in their camp around, 
 And 'bout their habitations all; 
 That it bestrew' d the ground. 
 
 27 So did they eat, and they were fill'd : 
 
 For unto them He gave 
 Their own desire, e'en as they will'd ; 
 As was their lust to have. 
 
156 THE PSALMS. Ixxviii. 
 
 28 But lo, while yet thereon engag'd, 
 
 And in their mouths the meat, 
 
 GOD'S wrath upon them came fierce-raged, 
 Arresting from to eat. 
 
 29 He slew the chiefest them among ; 
 
 And smote He down all there 
 The chosen men of old and young, 
 In Israel that were. 
 
 30 Yet sinn'd they on; nor aught His ways 
 
 Nor wondrous works believed. 
 
 So He, with cheated hopes their days, 
 
 And years with trouble, grieved. 
 
 31 Then, when He. smote them, anger-fired, 
 
 They to Him turn'd subdued ; 
 They turn'd, and after GOD inquired, 
 And for His mercy sued. 
 
 32 And they remember'd, in that pass, 
 
 That GOD was their strong stay ; 
 That The Most High their Saviour was, 
 Them guarding on their way. 
 
 33 Ne'erless they were but flattering Him 
 
 With words of falsehood mere ; 
 And with their tongues but making seem, 
 Dissembling, insincere. 
 
 34 For with Him was their heart not right ; 
 
 Nor in His covenant aught 
 Continued they, nor in His sight 
 They walk'd, but evil wrought. 
 
 35 Yet in His mercy He forgave, 
 
 Nor them destroy 'd from Earth : 
 Yea oft He turn'd His wrath, to save; 
 Nor all His ire put forth. 
 
 36 For, piteous still, He calVd to mind 
 
 They were but flesh but men; 
 
 A breath^ e'en as the passing wind 
 That cometh not again. 
 
 37 How often in the wilderness 
 
 They against Him did contend ; 
 And in the desert, while transgress, 
 Aggrieve Him and offend ! 
 
Ixxviii. THE PSALMS. 157 
 
 38 Yea, turn'd they back and tempted GOD; 
 
 And Israel's Holy One 
 They limited, and disallowed ; 
 Spite all He 'd for them done. 
 
 39 They thought not of His hand and heed ; 
 
 Nor call'd to mind the day, 
 
 When from their^enemies them He freed, 
 And brought unhurt away : 
 
 40 How He, in Egypt, show'd to all 
 
 His signs, when thence forth brought ; 
 And, in the field of Zoan withal, 
 His wonders for us wrought. 
 
 41 He turn'd its waters into'-blood, 
 
 Corrupting every where ; 
 So that, of river or of flood, 
 They might not drink all there. 
 
 42 He sent them vermin, to torment, 
 
 And flies of dire annoy ; 
 And insects He among them sent, 
 
 And reptiles, to destroy. 
 43* He let the caterpillars have 
 
 The increase of the soil ; 
 And He to the grasshoppers gave 
 
 Their labour and their toil. 
 
 44 With crushing hail their vines He broke, 
 
 With frost their fig-trees chill'd ; 
 
 And, with His lightnings' fiery stroke, 
 
 Their flocks and herds He kill'd. 
 
 45 He all the fierceness of His wrath 
 
 Upon them pour'd in ire ; 
 And, to perplex them on their path, 
 Sent evil angels dire! 
 
 46 He for His anger made a way ; 
 
 Nor them from death would save; 
 But, to the pestilence's sway, 
 Their life unsparing gave. 
 
 47 And their first-born in Egypt all 
 
 He smote, nor one to spare ; 
 Their chief of strength, both great and small, 
 That in Ham's dwellings were. 
 
158 THE PSALMS. Ixxviii, 
 
 48 But His own People, like to sheep, 
 
 He carried forth, and fed ; 
 And thro the wilderness, to keep, 
 Them like a flock He led. 
 
 49 He led them safely, journeying with ; 
 
 So that no fear they knew. 
 (But with the sea, them whelming 'neath, 
 Their enemies o'erthrew.) 
 
 50 And, by His Sanctuary, them He 
 
 Within its borders brought ; 
 E'en to the Mountain, His to be, 
 Which His right hand had bought. 
 
 51 Before them also, making room, 
 
 And for them clearing space, 
 He cast the Heathen out therefrom, 
 And set them in their place. 
 
 52 And, 'mong them, for inheritance^ 
 
 Their land did He divide ; 
 And in their tents, ejected whence, 
 Made Israel's Tribes reside. 
 
 53 Yet still they anger'd Him, and aimed 
 
 To tempt The Most High GOD ; 
 Nor kept His statutes as proclaimed, 
 Nor to His mandates bow'd : 
 
 54 But, as their fathers, fell away, 
 
 And from Him turning went: 
 E'en as a failing bow were they, 
 That starts aside when bent. 
 
 55 For they, with their idolatries, 
 
 His frequent anger woke; 
 And, with their graven images, 
 Did grieve Him and provoke. 
 
 56 When GOD this saw, with all as well 
 
 Wherein they 'd sinn'd before, 
 He wroth was, and at Israel 
 He took displeasure sore. 
 
 57 So that His Tabernacle He 
 
 At Shiloh did forsake : 
 The tent He 'd pitch'd, with men to be; 
 Where His abode to make : 
 
Ixxviii. THE PSALMS. 159 
 
 58 And He into captivity 
 
 His brightness gave ; and so, 
 Into the enemy's hands for prey, 
 He let His glory go. 
 
 59 'Gainst His inheritance, The Lord 
 
 Was wroth and mov'd with ire; 
 And gave them up e'en to the sword 
 And to devouring fire. 
 
 60 The flames their youths upburn'd ; unwed, 
 
 Their maidens bode forlorn; 
 Their priests were slain ; nor for the dead 
 Were widows* left to mourn. 
 
 61 Then, as one waking out of sleep, 
 
 Or giant from carouse 
 Doth wine-refresh 'd with shouts upleap, 
 The Lord did Him arouse: 
 
 62 With ignominious blow, behind*, 
 
 His enemies He smote ; 
 Them to perpetual scorn consigned, 
 And made of shameful note. 
 
 63 Nor Joseph's Tabernacle He, 
 
 Nor Ephraim's Tribe, approved : 
 But Judah's Tribe chose His to be, 
 Sion's Mountain, that He loved : 
 
 64 And there His Sanctuary He placed, 
 
 E'en as the Heavens to rear; 
 And as the Earth, that, firmly-based, 
 He establish'd hath for e'er. 
 
 65 He His servant David too did chuse ; 
 
 Him taking from his crook, 
 Where following he the bearing ewes, 
 Him from the sheepfolds took : 
 
 66 That he might, as in all advance, 
 
 His People Jacob feed, 
 And Israel His inheritance ; 
 And them in safety lead. 
 
 67 So, as his faithfulness of heart, 
 
 He fed them and purvey 'd ; 
 And wisely so, with prudent art, 
 O'ergovern'd them and sway'd. 
 
160 THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM LXXIX. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 Q GOD! The Heathen, raging wild, 
 
 Thy inheritance invade; 
 Thy Holy Temple they Ve defil'd, 
 And Salem waste have made. 
 
 2 Thy servants' bodies have they thrown 
 
 E'en to the fowls of Heaven ; 
 And Thy saints' flesh, Thy slaughter'd own, 
 To the land's beasts have given : 
 
 3 Like water, round Jerusalem, 
 
 Their blood about the way 
 They Ve pour'd: was none to bury* them; 
 Unhonour'd there they lay. 
 
 4 We 're to our neighbours everywhere 
 
 Become a scorn and shame; 
 To them, that round about us are, 
 A by-word and ill name. 
 
 5 How long, O Lord ! wilt Thou in ire, 
 
 Thy face still from us turn ? 
 Shall thus Thy jealousy, like fire, 
 For ever 'gainst us burn? 
 
 6 But, let Thine indignation fall 
 
 On whom have Thee not known ; 
 On th' Heathen, and the Nations all, 
 Who Thy blest Name disown. 
 
 7 For they 've destroy'd on every side, 
 
 And made of death to taste; 
 Thy Jacob they 've devour'd; and, wide, 
 His dwelling place laid waste. 
 
 8 Remember not our sins of old ; 
 
 But mercy on us have: 
 
 We 're low doflpwb caught : us now uphold ; 
 O help us now, and save. 
 
 9 Thou, our salvation's QoD.J relieve; 
 
 For Thy Name's glory ,t aid; 
 For Thy Name's sake, our sins forgive, 
 And rescue us, as pray'd. 
 
Ixxix. THE PSALMS. l6l 
 
 10 Why shall the Heathen, tin withstood, 
 
 ' Where 's now their GOD ? ' still say ? 
 The avenging of Thy servants' blood 
 Now in our sight display. 
 
 1 1 And, for their blasphemies, O Lord ! 
 
 Wherewith blaspheming Thee ; 
 Sevenfold into their bosom pour'd, 
 Reward them, in full fee. 
 
 12 Let not the oppressor him devour ; 
 
 Hear Thou the prisoner's sigh : 
 As is the greatness of Thy power, 
 Save them ordain'd to die. 
 
 13 So we, Thy flock, led at Thy will, 
 
 Will thank Thee evermore; 
 And, thro all generation?, still 
 Thy praise them set before. 
 
 PSALM LXX1X. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 ^ GOD ! the Heathen, raging wild, 
 
 Thy inheritance invade ; 
 Thy Holy Temple they 've defil'd ; 
 And Salem, ruin'd and revil'd, 
 
 A heap of stones have made. 
 
 2 Thy servants' bodies have they thrown 
 
 E'en to the fowls of Heaven ; 
 The ground they 've with their limbs distrown ; 
 And Thy saints' flesh, Thy slaughter'd own, 
 To the land's beasts have given : 
 
 3 Their blood, around Jerusalem, 
 
 Like water out away, 
 
 They 've pour'd : Them foes did round inheni : 
 Were none in death to bury them ; 
 Unhonour'd there they lay ! 
 
 4 We to our neighbours every where 
 
 Are a reproach become ; 
 To them, that round about us are, 
 A scorn and a derision there, 
 
 Where aliens from our home. 
 
162 THE PSALMS. 
 
 5 How long, O Lord ! wilt Thou, in ire, 
 
 Still from Thy People turn ? 
 Wilt Thou for ever wrath respire ? 
 And shall Thy jealousy, like fire, 
 For ever 'gainst us burn ? 
 
 6 But pour Thine anger out, to fall 
 
 On whom have Thee not known ; 
 On th' Heathen, and the Nations all, 
 Who on Thy Name refuse to call, 
 Nor Thee for GOD will own. 
 
 7 They 've Jacob's dwelling-place laid waste, 
 
 O'erturn'd it, and made nought. 
 O count not our old sins : but haste ; 
 And soon Thy mercy let us taste : 
 
 For low are we down-brought. 
 
 8 O GOD of our salvation Thou ! 
 
 Now pity on us take : 
 Our sins forgive, that us down bow ; 
 For Thy Name's glory help us now, 
 And save for Thy Name's sake. 
 
 9 Why shall the Heathen, unwithstood, 
 
 4 Where 's now their GOD?' still say? 
 But, so outpouring theirs in flood, 
 The avenging of Thy servants' blood 
 Now in our sight display. 
 
 10 Hear Thou his sighs; in sorrow's hour, 
 
 Be to the prisoner nigh : 
 Let not the oppressor them devour ; 
 As is the greatness of Thy power, 
 Save those ordain'd to die. 
 
 11 Arid, for their blasphemies abhorr'd, 
 
 Wherewith blaspheming Thee ; 
 Seven-fold into their bosom pour'd, 
 Repay Thou them ; and let, O Lord ! 
 Thy foes requited be. 
 
 12 So we, Thy flock, led at Thy will, 
 
 Thy pasture's sheep that are, 
 Shall with Thy lauds our voices fill ; 
 And, to all generations, still 
 
 Will we Thy praise declare. 
 
THE PSALMS. 1 63 
 
 PSALM LXXX. 
 
 Q THOU, o'er Joseph leading him, 
 
 Thou, Israel's Shepherd ! hear. 
 Thou, sitting 'tween the Cherubim*! 
 Forth shine Thou, and appear. 
 
 2 Now Ephraim Benjamin before, 
 
 Before Manasseh now, 
 Stir up Thy strength : Us now restore ; 
 O come, and save us Thou ! 
 
 3 Turn us again, O GOD of might! 
 
 Deliver us, as craved : 
 Show us Thy countenance's light : 
 And so shall we be saved. 
 
 4 Lord GOD Of Hosts! how long thus e'er 
 
 Wilt Thou be anger-fired? 
 Still thus, against Thy People's prayer, 
 How long wilt Thou be ired? 
 
 5 Thou feed'st them with affliction's bread ; 
 
 In woe that nought upcheers ; 
 And giv'st them for their drink, still shed, 
 A plenteousness of tears. 
 
 6 Thou mak'st us, to the Nations round, 
 
 A booty, to divide: 
 
 Our enemies, where we 're cast to ground, 
 Insult us and deride. 
 
 7 Turn us again, O GOD of might! 
 
 Deliver us, as craved : 
 Show us Thy countenance's light: 
 And so shall we be saved. 
 
 8 From Egypt didst Thou bring a vine ; 
 
 And, th' Heathen casting out, 
 Didst plant it, in their stead, for Thine, 
 Round fencing it about. 
 
 9 Before it didst Thou room prepare, 
 
 And make it to take root : 
 That soon it fill'd the land e'erwhere, 
 Producing plenteous fruit. 
 
164 THE PSALMS. IxXX. 
 
 10 Its shadow far extended was, 
 
 E'en o'er the hills and leas ; 
 Its arms, o'ercovering them, were as 
 The goodly cedar trees. 
 
 1 1 Her boughs, outstretched on every side, 
 
 Unto the sea she sent; 
 And so her branches, spreading wide, 
 Unto the river went 
 
 12 Why hast Thou, then, laying bare to scoff, 
 
 Her hedges prostrate laid ? 
 That all, who pass, her grapes pluck off, 
 Her preying on unstay'd. 
 
 13 The forest's boar doth waste it all, 
 
 Uprooting from the soil ; 
 The field's wild beasts, where laid in fall, 
 Devour it and despoil. 
 
 14 O GOD Of Hosts! now, as of old, 
 
 Thee turn, and look on Thine : 
 From Heaven look down on and behold, 
 And visit Thou this vine: 
 
 15 And vineyard's place, for Thee where grown, 
 
 Where planted e'en by Thee ; 
 
 And branch, which, for Thyself Thine own, 
 
 Thou mad'st so strong to be. 
 
 16 T is burnt with fire ; yea 't is cut down. 
 
 But, smite Thou those annoyers:* 
 E'en so, at Thy dread anger's frown, 
 Make perish' her destroyers. 
 
 17 But, on Thy chosen one be now 
 
 Thy hand, to lead along ; 
 On Thy elected one, whom Thou 
 For Thine own self mad'st strong. 
 
 18 So from Thee will we nothing swerve, 
 
 Nor aughtwise from Thee fall. 
 O save us, Lord ! and we, while serve, 
 Still on Thy Name will call. 
 
 19 Turn us again, Lord GOD of might! 
 
 Deliver us, as craved : 
 Show us Thy countenance's light : 
 And so shall we be saved. 
 
THE PSALMS. 1 65 
 
 PSALM LXXXI. 
 
 TV'OW unto GOD, our strength and stay, 
 
 Lift up the gladsome voice ; 
 To Jacob's GOD, in praiseful lay, 
 Now sing we and rejoice. 
 
 2 Wake voice and string, the psalin awake ; 
 
 Thereto let nought be mute ; 
 The pleasant harp and tabret take, 
 The psaltery, and the lute. 
 
 3 In the New Moon*, now at her prime, 
 
 The trumpet loud up blow ; 
 
 Now at the due appointed time, 
 
 Our Feast of solemn show. 
 
 4 For, this a statute was, unswerved, 
 
 Of old for Israel framed ; 
 And for a law, to be observed ; 
 By Jacob's GOD proclaim'd. 
 
 5 In Joseph this did He command, 
 
 For witness of His word : 
 When went we forth from Egypt's land ; 
 What time strange tongues* we heard. 
 
 6 Then, from the burthen that oppress'd, 
 
 I eas'd his shoulder there ; 
 And, from the labour that distressed, 
 His hands deliver'd were. 
 
 7 Yea in trouble thou didst on me call : 
 
 And I thy ill removed ; 
 I in secret* answer'd thee withal, 
 And at Strife's- Waters proved. 
 
 8 Now hear me, O my People! hear; 
 
 Attend ye to my speech ; 
 O Israel! give me now thine ear: 
 And so thee will I teach 
 
 9 There in thee no strange god shall be : 
 
 Thou shall bow down to none 
 
 Nor any other god but me: 
 For I am (TOD alone. 
 
166 THE PSALMS. IxXXU, 
 
 1 I am The Lord Thy GOD : who brought 
 
 Thee out of Egypt's land. 
 Thou op'dst thy mouth : and, as besought, 
 I fill'd it with with free hand. 
 
 1 1 But, to my voice they would not list, 
 
 Nor would they me obey: 
 Yea Israel did my will resist, 
 And from me turn'd away. 
 
 12 So e'en unto their own hearts' lusts 
 
 I gave them up, to rue ; 
 And their own counsels and false trusts 
 I left them to pursue. 
 
 13 O that my People, when I talk'd, 
 
 Had heark'd to me and heard! 
 
 And Israel in my ways had walk'd, 
 Obedient to my word ! 
 
 14 Their enemies, then, e'en at their call, 
 
 I soon should have repell'd ; 
 And, 'gainst their adversaries all, 
 Have turn'd my hand, and quell'd. 
 
 15 My haters, then, with howso feign'd 
 
 Should with submission fair 
 Have to me bow'd : and ye, maintain'd, 
 Should have endur'd for e'er. 
 
 16 I with fine wheat, in plenteous stock, 
 
 Had fed thee full supplied ; 
 
 And thee, with honey* from the rock, 
 I would have satisfied. 
 
 PSALM LXXXII. 
 
 in the Mighty 's Courts, e'erwhere, 
 Is present, seeing all ; 
 He is Judge among the Judges there, 
 And trying them withal 
 
 2 "How long will truth ye intercept, 
 "And wrongful judgement givi; '( 
 14 How long the unjust will ye aecv 
 "And \\ickcd out's? ivceive? 
 
Ixxxiii. THE PSALMS. l6y 
 
 3 " But, the orphan and the poor defend, 
 
 " And aid the helpless one ; 
 " To the unbefriended's cause attend, 
 "That right be to them done. 
 
 4 " The fallen raise, and make to stand ; 
 
 " Help them of low degree; 
 " Release them from the ungodly 's hand, 
 "And from the oppressor free." 
 
 5 Ye will not see; but shun the light, 
 
 And walk in darkness still. 
 The Earth's foundations, truth and right, 
 Are out of course, with ill. 
 
 6 * Ye like to gods are (have I said) 
 
 ' Ye GOD'S vicegerents are ; 
 'The Most High's children; in His stead, 
 ' His judgements to declare. 
 
 7 ' But ye, like other men, shall die ; 
 
 4 E'en as the lowly fall ; 
 ' Ye in the common pit shall lie, 
 'Alike the great as small.' 
 
 8 Arise, O GOD ! and judge the Earth : 
 
 Thy righteous path pursue. 
 All there is Thine. So go Thou forth, 
 And to Thee all subdue. 
 
 PSALM LXXXI1I. 
 
 Q GOD ! no longer Thee refrain, 
 But rouse Thee and be stirr'd ; 
 No longer silence now maintain, 
 But rise and make Thee heard. 
 
 2 For lo, Thine enemies them disclose, 
 
 With open threatenings loud; 
 And they, that hate Thee and oppose, 
 Uplift the head avow'd. 
 
 3 Against Thy People, craftily, 
 
 They counsel take, for hurt ; 
 Against Thy chosen ones do they 
 In secretness concert. 
 
168 THE PSALMS. Ixxxiii. 
 
 4 ' Come (say they) make we them as not ; 
 
 ' Outrooting as a race : 
 * That Israel's name may be forgot', 
 1 Outblotted from its place/ 
 
 5 Together them they congregate, 
 
 From every where around ; 
 Against Thee they 're confederate, 
 And in alliance bound. 
 
 6 The tents of Edom, the Ishmaelites, 
 
 All one another aid ; 
 The Hagarenes, and Moabites, 
 Against Thee are array 'd. 
 
 7 Gebal and Ammon with them are, 
 
 And Amalek as well ; 
 Philistia's men are also there, 
 And they at Tyre who dwell. 
 
 8 Assur also is with them joined, 
 
 'Gainst Thee together fenc'd : 
 They with Lot's children have combined, 
 Rebelling Thee against. 
 
 9 But, Lord ! do to them, as, ere now, 
 
 The Midianites unto; 
 As Jabin to, and Sisera, Thou 
 At Kishon's brook didst do. 
 
 10 Yea, Lord! deal with them, their whole band, 
 
 As those, who, for the same, 
 At Endor perish'd 'neath Thy hand, 
 And as earth's dung became. 
 
 1 1 As Zeeb arid Oreb, laying low, 
 
 Their Nobles bend to Thee : 
 As Zebah and Zalmunna, so 
 Make all their Princes be: 
 
 12 Who said * Our own them let us make: 
 
 1 Now let us (dar'd they say) 
 ' GOD'S Houses in possession take, 
 ' To be our spoil and prey.' 
 
 13 Make them, O GOD ! before- Tlur >trown, 
 
 As dust in air* round spinn'd ; 
 And as the scallcr'd rliati', off blown 
 I'M loir I In- driving wind. 
 
IXXXJV. THE PSALMS. 169 
 
 14 As burns the parch 'd-up wood, that feels 
 
 The fire around allumed ; 
 And, as the flame upburns the hills; 
 So let them be consumed. 
 
 15 Dismay them with Thy storms, in flight 
 
 Pursuing them therewith ; 
 Them with Thy hurricanes affright, 
 Unshelter'd where beneath. 
 
 16 Let them be humbled and down-bow'd ; 
 
 Their faces fill with shame : 
 That they may know that Thou art GOD, 
 And so may seek Thy Name. 
 
 17 Let them be troubled and perplex'd ; 
 
 Confound them on their way ; 
 Let them be made asham'd and vex'd, 
 And perish utterly. 
 
 18 That men may see and know henceforth 
 
 That Thou and sole Thou this 
 
 Art The Most High o'er all the Earth: 
 Whose name JEHOVAH is. 
 
 PSALM LXXXIV. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 JJOW amiable, O Lord Of Hosts ! 
 
 Thy Tabernacles are ; 
 What pleasantness Thy Temple boasts, 
 And all how lovely there ! 
 
 2 For The Lord's Courts my soul doth sigh ; 
 
 It for them faints, without : 
 
 For GOD The living GOD on high, 
 
 My heart and flesh cry out. 
 
 3 The sparrow hath a place of rest, 
 
 A house, wherein to stay : 
 The swallow for her hath a nest, 
 Wherein her young to lay.* 
 
 4 So, Lord Of Hosts ! Thy Holy Hill 
 
 Be my sufficient space; 
 My GOD and King ! Thine altars still 
 Be my abiding place. 
 
170 THE PSALMS. 
 
 5 Blest they, whose trust is bas'd on Thee, 
 
 Whose hearts on Thee repose : 
 They, travelling on Thy road hurt- free, 
 Unhinder'd reach its close. 
 
 6 They, going thro sorrow's* arid vale, 
 
 With wells still find it stor'd ; 
 There pools for them, to never fail, 
 Abundant tides afford. 
 
 7 From strength to strength they ever go, 
 
 Still walking in Thy fear : 
 And, Thee before, they each one so 
 In Sion do appear. 
 
 8 Lord GOD Of Hosts ! my prayer attend ; 
 
 Now hear me, nor deny : 
 Thine ear, O GOD of Jacob ! lend ; 
 And hearken to my cry. 
 
 9 O Thou, on whom our trust we base ; 
 
 O GOD, our shield! behold; 
 Now look on Thine Anointed's face, 
 And with Thy care enfold. 
 
 10 One day, passd in Thy Courts, far o'er, 
 
 May for a thousand tell : 
 I 'd rather at Thy Houses door, 
 
 Than with the wicked, dwell. 
 
 1 1 For The Lord GOD 's a sun and shield : 
 
 He glory and grace will give ; 
 Nor aught good thing will He not yield 
 To those who uprightly live. 
 
 12 Lord GOD Of Hosts ! Thy all behests 
 
 My law shall ever be. 
 Blest is the man thereon who rests, 
 And puts his trust in Thee. 
 
 PSALM LXXXIV. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 ,ORD, what beauty Thy Temple invests! 
 
 Still inviting there Thee to adore; 
 
 With Thy Saints there to make our 
 
 And Thy plentiful favour implore. 
 
THE PSALMS. 17 1 
 
 2 Blessed they, who, Thy servants among, 
 
 In Thy House still attend Thee with praise. 
 As the bird finds a nest for her young, 
 Where in peaceful secureness them raise. 
 
 3 A day pass'd in Thy Courts is far o'er 
 
 Whatever years of enjoyments elsewhere; 
 Yea far better a crust at their door, 
 Than the feasts of the wicked to share. 
 
 4 Blessed they, who, their strength based on Thee, 
 
 Life's drear journey pursue to its close ; 
 
 Safe upheld, till, redeem 'd as sin-free, 
 
 They with Thee in Thy Sion repose. 
 
 5 Gracious Lord ! now Thy suppliants hear ; 
 
 Now towards us inclining Thy face, 
 To our prayers and petitions give ear, 
 And vouchsafe us Thy comforting grace. 
 
 6 Thou *rt a sun and a shield to the Just ; 
 
 Thou dost glory and grace to them give. 
 Blessed they who in Thee put their trust, 
 Sure with Thee to eternally live ! 
 
 PSALM LXXXIV. 
 
 Third Version. 
 
 JJOW fair the sacred seats 
 
 Where, Lord ! Thy dwelling-place : 
 My heart with longing beats 
 
 There still to sue Thy grace ; 
 Where in my GOD I may rejoice, 
 To Him uplift my praiseful voice. 
 
 2 Blest they, who, 'mong its train, 
 
 Thee in Thy House still praise ; 
 Who still, in laudful strain, 
 
 To Thee their voices raise: 
 So joys the bird her nest to make, 
 Where safe her blitheful song awake. 
 
 3 A day pass'd in Thy Courts 
 
 Worth thousands is elsewhere i 
 Who seek these blest resorts, 
 Unequall'd pleasures share ; 
 
THE PSALMS. IxXXV. 
 
 Yea better at their door to bide, 
 Than 'neath the wicked 's roofs reside. 
 
 4 Blest they, whose strength Thou art ; 
 
 Who Thee well-pleasing serve ; 
 Who write them in their heart, 
 
 Nor from Thy precepts swerve : 
 To them, as on life's journey move, 
 Its bitterest waters healthful prove. 
 
 5 Therethro they onward go, 
 
 Enstrengthen'd more and more ; 
 Till in Thy Zion so 
 
 They Thee appear before. 
 Thus guide our way ; that, at its close, 
 With Thee, O Lord ! we may repose. 
 
 6 Thou art their sun and shield ; 
 
 Thou glory and grace dost give; 
 Nor aught wilt Thou not yield 
 
 To those who uprightly live. 
 Blest they, whose path Thy aids assure ; 
 In Thee they trust, in Thee secure. 
 
 PSALM LXXXV. 
 
 unto Thy land, O Lord ! 
 Thou 'st gracious pleas'd to be ; 
 From his captivity, restor'd, 
 Thou Jacob hast set free. 
 
 2 Thou 'st pardon'd their iniquity, 
 
 And hid' Thy People's sin ; 
 Thou 'st from them turn'd Thy wrath away, 
 And rein'd Thine anger in. 
 
 3 O, our salvation's GOD ! do Thou 
 
 Now wholly us release ; 
 And let Thy fierce displeasure now 
 For always from us cease. 
 
 4 Thou wilt not ever, Lord ! with u- 
 
 Be angry and displeased ; 
 Nor thro all generations thus 
 Continue unappeused ? 
 
THE PSALMS, 
 
 5 Yea shalt Thou turn to us again, 
 
 And comfort with Thy voice : 
 That in Thee may Thy People then 
 Be gladsome and rejoice. 
 
 6 Thy aid, as promis'd us, afford, 
 
 And our distress relieve ; 
 Thy mercy show us, gracious Lord ! 
 And Thy salvation give. 
 
 7 I will attend what GOD shall say : 
 
 For to His People now, 
 And saints, shall He speak peace ; so they 
 No more to sin down bow. 
 
 8 To them, that fear Him serving well, 
 
 Is His salvation 'nigh : 
 That in our land may glory dwell, 
 Bestow'd us from on high. 
 
 9 Now mercy and truth together meet, 
 
 And side by side them place ; 
 And righteousness and peace, as greet, 
 Each other now embrace. 
 
 10 Now truth forth springs from out the Earth, 
 
 With blessings all to crown ; 
 And justice, so, of Heavenly birth, 
 Looks from the Skies adown. 
 
 11 The Lord His loving-kindness now 
 
 Shall to us show reveal'd : 
 He richly shall our land endow, 
 Her increase store to yield. 
 
 12 Before Him righteousness shall go, 
 
 Attendant on His way : 
 And He shall guide our goings so, 
 Nor suffer thence to stray. 
 
 PSALM LXXXVI. 
 
 r\ HEAR me, LORD ! in piteousness, 
 
 Bow down to me Thine ear: 
 
 For I 'm in misery and distress, 
 
 With none my woe to cheer. 
 
174 THE PSALMS. IxXXVL 
 
 2 Preserve my soul : Thy help I crave ; 
 
 As still Thou favourest me : 
 My GOD! do Thou Thy servant save, 
 Who puts his trust in Thee. 
 
 3 Be merciful unto me, Lord ! 
 
 And to my call reply : 
 For unto Thee, with plaint outpour'd, 
 Continually I cry. 
 
 4 Thy servant comfort ; him upbear ; 
 
 And make him to rejoice : 
 For unto Thee, in humble prayer, 
 Do I lift up my voice. 
 
 5 For, Lord ! Thou good and gracious art, 
 
 And ready to forgive ; 
 Of mercy great to all in smart, 
 That ask Thee to relieve. 
 
 6 Lord ! Thee to my complaint down bend ; 
 
 Now my petition hear ; 
 My supplication's voice attend, 
 And to my prayer give ear. 
 
 7 For, in my trouble's time, for aid, 
 
 On Thee will I still call : 
 For Thou dost hear me; and, as pray'd, 
 Wilt answer me withal. 
 
 8 None 'mong the mighty may compare, 
 
 There 's none like unto Thee ; 
 Nor any whatso works there are, 
 With Thine may liken'd be. 
 
 9 Thou mad'st the Nations all ; and they 
 
 To Thee shall come down-bow'd ; 
 Thee shall they worship and obey, 
 And glorify as GOD. 
 
 1 For Thou art great, like whom is none ; 
 
 And wondrous things dost Thou : 
 
 Yea Thou art GOD e'en Thou alone : 
 
 And all to Thee shall bow. 
 
 1 1 Teach me Thy way and truth withal, 
 
 Therein my walk to frame ; 
 Lord ! knit my heart to Thee in all ; 
 So still to fear Thy Name. 
 
THE PSALMS. 175 
 
 12 O Lord my GOD! with my whole heart, 
 
 Thee will I bless and praise ; 
 And evermore, with my best art, 
 Thy Name on high upraise. 
 
 13 For, ever great, and prompt to save, 
 
 Thy mercy to me is ; 
 
 And, from death's mansions e'en the grave, 
 
 Thou 'st set me free by this. 
 
 14 The proud have 'gainst me risen, O Lord ! 
 
 And sought my soul, to slay; 
 The violent men, who mock Thy word 
 And turn them from Thy way. 
 
 15 But Thou, Lord! art a GOD of ruth, 
 
 Long suffering still, and kind, 
 Plenteous in goodness and in truth, 
 To mercy still inclin'd. 
 
 16 O turn Thee to me, and relieve; 
 
 Me now have pity on ; 
 Thy strength unto Thy servant give, 
 And save Thine hand-maid's* son. 
 
 17 Some token show me, Lord ! for good ; 
 
 Before my foes displayed : 
 For still at need Thou 'st by me stood, 
 And help'd me and upstayed. 
 
 PSALM LXXXVII. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 IJPON the Holy Hills, past fall, 
 
 Are His foundations nought removes : 
 
 Ere Jacob's other dwellings all, 
 THE LORD the gates of Zion loves. 
 
 2 Of thee, thou City of GOD His own ! 
 
 Most excellent things are said, known well. 
 " *Of Rahab, and of Babylon, 
 
 " 'Mongst those who know me, will I tell." 
 
 3 " Lo there shall all learn me to know : 
 
 " The Nations' names shall her adorn : 
 " Philistia, Moria, Tyre also, 
 
 " These all within her shall be born." 
 
176 THE PSALMS. IxXXvii, 
 
 4 Yea it of Zion shall be said 
 
 " This man and that in her had birth." 
 And THE MOST HIGH Himself, her stead 
 And stay, shall 'stablish her on Earth. 
 
 5 Upcounting People each and Tribe, 
 
 When He their names shall register, 
 
 THE LORD shall on His rolls? inscribe 
 
 " Full many a one had birth in her." 
 
 6 Thou City of GOD, our Zion's Hill! , 
 
 Our joyness centres all in thee : 
 On thee shall still our songs* and still 
 On thee our meditations be. 
 
 PSALM LXXXVIl. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 UPON the Holy Hills, past fall, 
 
 Are His foundations nought removes : 
 
 Ere Jacob's other dwellings all, 
 THE LORD the gates of Zion loves. 
 
 Of thee, O City of GOD His own! 
 
 Most excellent things are said, wide known. 
 
 2 " Of Rahab, and of Babylon, 
 
 " 'Mongst those who know me, will I tell 
 " Yea there me shall they call upon : 
 
 " Philistia, Moria, Tyre as well ; 
 "These names her records shall adorn; 
 "These all within her shall be born." 
 
 3 Yea it of Zion shall be said 
 
 " This man and that, in her had birth." 
 And THE MOST HIGH Himself, her stead 
 
 And stay, shall 'stablish her on Earth. 
 When He the Nations' rolls inscribes, 
 Upcounting Peoples when and Tribes : 
 
 4 When He their names shall register, 
 
 THE LORD shall write it to her fame 
 " Full many a one had birth in her." 
 
 Our Zion i lion, of honour'd name ! 
 On thee shall still our songs on ihee 
 Shall still our meditations be. 
 
THE PSALMS. 177 
 
 PSALM LXXXVII. 
 
 Third Version. 
 
 Q.LORIOUS things of thee are spoken, 
 
 Zion, City of our GOD ! 
 Thine, displayed in many a token, 
 Is His favour, thine avow'd. 
 
 2 On the Holy Mountains founded, 
 
 Zion sits : THE LORD, withal, 
 Loves her gates, with love unbounded, 
 More than Jacob's dwellings all. 
 
 3 " Babylon's and Rahab's glory, 
 
 "Me as knowing, will I tell: 
 
 " Lo Philistia, Tyre, and Moria, 
 
 " These were in her born, as well." 
 
 4 Yea of Zion shall be noted 
 
 "This and that in her had birth." 
 And, by THE MOST HIGH promoted, 
 He shall 'stablish her on Earth. 
 
 5 He shall, when all names recording, 
 
 Say " There many a one was born.'' 
 
 Still His living streams affording, 
 Her shall still His saints adorn. 
 
 6 Favour'd thou among the Nations, 
 
 Thou our burthen still shalt be ; 
 Still on thee our meditations, 
 Still our songs shall be on thee. 
 
 PSALM LXXXVI1I. 
 
 Q THOU, my Saviour GOD ! e'ermore 
 
 To Thee I 've rais'd rny cry : 
 O let my prayer come Thee before; 
 And to my call reply. 
 
 2 For full of troubles is my soul, 
 
 Nought seeing that thence can save ; 
 My life, beneath their strong controul, 
 Draws nigh unto the grave. 
 
178 THE PSALMS. IxXXviii, 
 
 3 I 'm counted e'en as one of those 
 
 That to the pit go down ; 
 I 'm as a man at his days' close, 
 That strengthless lies o'erthrown : 
 
 4 Cast as the dead amidst decay ; 
 
 E'en as the slain laid there ; 
 That from Thy hand are cut away, 
 Nor more remembered are. 
 
 5 Thou 'st laid me in the lowest pit, 
 
 In darkness and the deep ; 
 Thy wrath doth heavy on me sit, 
 Thy billows o'er me sweep. 
 
 6 Thou from me hast my acquaintance put, 
 
 And made me loath'd of all: 
 So fast am I in prison shut, 
 I cannot forth from thrall. 
 
 7 For my afflictedness, ne'er dried 
 
 Mine eye doth fail to see ; 
 To Thee, O Lord! I 've ceaseless cried, 
 My hands stretch'd out to Thee. 
 
 8 Wilt Thou, among the life-deprived, 
 
 Thy wonders show to gaze? 
 Or shall the dead, anew revived, 
 Rise up and give Thee praise? 
 
 9 Shall in the grave be, noticeless, 
 
 Thy loving-kindness shared? 
 Or, in destruction's emptiness, 
 Thy faithfulness declared? 
 
 10 And shall the marvels of Thy hand 
 
 Be in the darkness shown ? 
 Or, in forge tfulness's land, 
 
 Thy righteousness made known ? 
 
 1 1 Lord ! unto Thee I still have cried ; 
 
 Thy aid I still implore; 
 And early doth, to Thee applied, 
 My j>rayer come Thee before. 
 
 12 O wherefor, Lord ! my soul thus spurn, 
 
 Thus from Thee casting off? 
 And why Thy face, dost from me turn, 
 Bereaving me thereof? 
 
THE PSALMS. 179 
 
 13 I afflicted am, as one nigh dead 
 
 And to the grave down brought : 
 E'en from rny youth Thy terrors dread 
 I 've suffer'd, mind-distraught. 
 
 14 Thy fierce displeasure o'er me goes; 
 
 Thine anger lays me prone : 
 Thy terrors strike me, midst my woes ; 
 Thy fear hath me undone : 
 
 15 All day about me, un withstood, 
 
 They come; they fill the ground; 
 They about me come, e'en as a flood, 
 Encompassing around. 
 
 16 Lovers and friends Thou 'st from me put, 
 
 All them that my delight ; 
 And mine acquaintance, all outshut, 
 Thou 'st hidden from my sight! 
 
 PSALM LXXXIX. 
 
 jyjY song shall evermore make known 
 
 The mercies of The Lord : 
 And, to all generations shown, 
 Thy truth will I record. 
 
 2 Yea mercy is set up henceforth, 
 
 For evermore to last ; 
 Thy truth, e'en in the Heavens, as Earth, 
 Shalt Thou establish fast. 
 
 3 " Now* with my chosen one (said 'st Thou) 
 
 " I 've covenanted by oath ; 
 " Unto my servant David now 
 
 " I 've sworn, and pledg'd my troth : 
 
 4 "Thy seed will I, for e'er and e'er, 
 
 " Establish in the land ; 
 " And so thy throne will I uprear, 
 " Throughout all time to stand." 
 
 5 Yea, Lord ! the Heavens, in loud concents, 
 
 Thy wondrous works shall praise ; 
 And, to Thy truth, the gather'd saints 
 Their praiseful voices raise. 
 
180 THE PSALMS. IxXXlX. 
 
 6 For who, that in the realms on high, 
 
 With Him compares avow'd ? 
 
 And, 'mong the mighty, who comes nigh 
 
 Who is there like to GOD ? 
 
 7 GOD, in the saints' assembled throng, 
 
 Is greatly to be feared ; 
 And, of all round Him where among, 
 Is He to be revered. 
 
 8 Who 's like to Thee, Lord GOD Of Hosts ? 
 
 Whose strength like Thine abounds? 
 Or faithfulness like Thine who boasts, 
 That Thee e'erwhere surrounds ? 
 
 9 Thou rul'st the raging of the sea, 
 
 Thou bidd'st the turmoil cease; 
 
 When rise its waves they 're still'd by Thee, 
 
 Thou mak'st them be at peace. 
 
 10 Thou 'st tumbled Rahab from his height, 
 
 Thou 'st broken him in his pride; 
 Them smiting with an arm of might, 
 
 Thy foes Thou 'st scatter'd wide. 
 
 1 1 Thine are the Heavens, Thou dost them sway ; 
 
 The Earth also is Thine ; 
 
 Thou didst the World's foundations lay, 
 
 And all therein combine. 
 
 12 Thou mad'st the North and South, anon 
 
 Created at Thy voice : 
 Tabor* and Hermon, calling on, 
 Shall in Thy Name rejoice. 
 
 13 Thine is a mighty arm strength-dower'd, 
 
 Thy hand, dread Lord! is strong; 
 Yea, Thy right hand is high, great-power'd, 
 Exalted all among. 
 
 14 Justice and judgement are Thy seat, 
 
 Thy throne's unshaken base ; 
 Mercy and truth, in consort meet, 
 Still go before Thy face. 
 
 15 Blest are the People, Lord of might! 
 
 That them rejoice in Thee : 
 They in Thy countenance's light 
 
 >hall walk, ;m<l L-ludsoine be: 
 
Ixxxix. THE PSALMS. 181 
 
 16 Their joy is ever in Thy Name; 
 
 That praiseful they declare : 
 And in Thy righteousness, the same, 
 They still exalted are. 
 
 17 For, Thou, Lord! their strength's glory art, 
 
 Adorning them with this : 
 And, in Thy favour holding part, 
 Our horn exalted is. 
 
 18 For, The Lord GOD, supporting well, 
 
 Is our defence and stay ; 
 The Holy One of Israel 
 
 Our King is, o'er to sway. 
 
 19 In vision* once of Thine, thus Thou. 
 
 I power on one of might 
 Have laid ; out of the People now 
 I one have rais'd to height. 
 
 20 My servant David have I found : 
 
 Him meet thereto I deem ; 
 And with my holy oil, for crown'd, 
 Have I anointed him. 
 
 21 Him will I guide, and lead along; 
 
 With him shall be my hand ; 
 My arm also shall make him strong, 
 And firmly make to stand. 
 
 22 The ungodly shall him not devour, 
 
 Nor greatly do him hurt ; 
 Nor shall the wicked one have power 
 Him wholly to subvert. 
 
 23 Before his face I '11 bow their necks, 
 
 And beat his enemies down ; 
 And them, that hate him, will I vex 
 And plague them 'neath my frown. 
 
 24 My truth and mercy still shall go 
 
 And with him e'er be nigh ; 
 And, in my Name, his horn also 
 Shall be exalted high. 
 
 25 His hand, for lordship to its shores, 
 
 I on the sea will lay ; 
 And far, to where the river pours, 
 Set his right hand, for sway. 
 
182 THE PSALMS. 
 
 26 Me shall he hail his Lord avow'd, 
 
 For ward 'gainst every shock : 
 * Thou art my Father and my GOD, 
 * And my salvation's rock.' 
 
 27 Him also for my son I '11 take, 
 
 To inherit of my things ; 
 And him I my first-born * will make, 
 Set higher than Earth's Kings. 
 
 28 My mercy with him shall abide 
 
 For ever, to the last; 
 My covenant with, ne'er set aside, 
 Shall stand for ever fast. 
 
 29 His seed, for evermore there placed, 
 
 I '11 'stablish in the land ; 
 And, as the days of Heaven, firm-based, 
 I '11 make his throne to stand. 
 
 30 But, if his children break my law, 
 
 And from rny statutes swerve : 
 If from my judgements they withdraw, 
 Nor my decrees observe : 
 
 31 I their transgressions will repay 
 
 With chastisement, as ow'd ; 
 And visit their iniquity 
 
 With scourges and the rod. 
 
 32 My loving-kindness I, ne'erless, 
 
 Not all will from him take, 
 Nor suffer that my faithfulness 
 Him utterly forsake : 
 
 33 I will not break in aught my pact 
 
 And covenant with him done ; 
 Nor will in aught the thing retract, 
 That from my lips is gone. 
 
 34 For, " By my holiness as GOD." 
 
 I unto David sware, 
 That I would not him fail, as vow'd, 
 Nor disappoint him there. 
 
 35 His seed, establish'd in the land, 
 
 For ever shall endure ; 
 And, as the sun, his throne shall stand 
 Before me, still secure : 
 
THE PSALMS. 183 
 
 36 Yea it shall be establish'd fast, 
 
 For ever, as the moon ; 
 As in the heavens, e'ermore to last, 
 The faithful witness* shown. . 
 
 37 Yet dost Thou him abhor and loath', 
 
 And turnest him to scoff; 
 Thou 'st been with Thine Anointed wroth, 
 And from Thee cast him off. 
 
 38 Thou 'st made Thy servant's covenant nought, 
 
 Whereto Thou hadst Thee bound; 
 Thou shame upon his crown hast brought, 
 Down casting to the ground. 
 
 39 Thou 'st broken down his hedges all, 
 
 Him leaving guard-bereft; 
 Thou 'st all his strongholds made to fall, 
 And him defenceless left. 
 
 40 All, that go by, do him contemn, 
 
 And spoil him where forlorn ; 
 He to his neighbours, spurn'd of them, 
 Is a reproach and scorn. 
 
 41 His enemies' right hand Thou 'st clad 
 
 In strength, and rais'd their voice; 
 Thou 'st made his adversaries glajd, 
 And o'er him to rejoice. 
 
 42 Thou his sword's edge hast tak'n away, 
 
 And helpless dost him leave ; 
 Nor more Thou, in the battle day, 
 Dost victory to him give. 
 
 43 Thou 'st quench 'd his glory : Thou hast cast 
 
 His throne down to the ground ; 
 His days of youth Thou shorten'd hast, 
 And him with shame embound. 
 
 44 How long still wilt Thou, ired against, 
 
 Thy face thus from him turn? 
 And shall Thy wrath, wherewith incens'd, 
 Like fire for ever burn? 
 
 45 Remember, Lord! how brief the span 
 
 How short his season here ; 
 What nothingness hast Thou made Man, 
 But nought and vainness mere! 
 
184 THE TSALMS. XC. 
 
 46 Who is he, that lives, to shun decease, 
 
 Or that shall death not see ? 
 From the grave's hand, that waits to seize, 
 Who shall his soul set free? 
 
 47 Where, Lord ! is now Thy former ruth 
 
 And mercies' wonted store; 
 Which unto David, in Thy truth, 
 Thou to him swar'st of yore? 
 
 48 Remember the reproaches, Lord ! 
 
 So of Thy servants born' ; 
 And how I in me bear, upstor'd, 
 The many Nations' scorn: 
 
 49 The taunts, wherewith Thy enemies 
 
 Have Thee reproach'd and blamed, 
 Wherewith they Thine Anointed's ways 
 Have slander'd and defamed. 
 
 50 Blest be The GOD whom we adore! 
 
 Prais'd every where of men ! 
 Blest be THE LORD for evermore ! 
 Amen ! Amen ! Amen ! 
 
 PSALM XC. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 C\ LORD, our GOD! since e'er to now, 
 
 Our stay whereon to lean ; 
 
 Throughout all generations, Thou 
 
 Our refuge still hast been. 
 
 2 Before was Earth, from all time past, 
 
 Before was all's aught part, 
 Thou, as from everlasting wast, 
 To everlasting art. 
 
 3 Thou to destruction turnest Man; 
 
 Thou dost him hence out-thrust : 
 " Return :"* Thou say'st : " Ye 've spent your span: 
 " Return ye to your dust." 
 
 4 Yea in Thy sight a thousand years 
 
 As yesterday but are ; 
 As but a night-watch past appears, 
 Nor au^lit thereof uware. 
 
XC. THE PSALMS. 185 
 
 5 Thou scatterest them ; Thy floods offsweep : 
 
 They vanish like a shade; 
 They 're nought ; they 're even as a sleep : 
 Like grass, they sudden fade : 
 
 6 Like grass, that in the morning grows, 
 
 At morning showing green ; 
 Ere evening, where the scythe down mows, 
 Up-dried and wither'd seen. 
 
 7 At Thy displeasure we 're struck down, 
 
 For fear eonsum'd away ! 
 At Thy just indignation's frown, 
 We tremble in dismay ! 
 
 8 Thou our misdeeds before Thy sight 
 
 Dost set, at full display 'd; 
 Before Thy countenance's light 
 Our secret sins are laid. 
 
 9 For, when Thy wrath against us is, 
 
 Our days come straight to nought ; 
 
 As a told tale and o'er like this, 
 
 Our years to end are brought. 
 
 10 Man's days are three-score years and ten: 
 
 And, tho some reach four-score, 
 But toil and pain 't is with them then. 
 So soon are we no more! 
 
 11 Yet who Thy wrath's dread power regards, 
 
 And feels it ever near? 
 Or who, as are Thy just awards, 
 4 Thine anger holds in fear? 
 
 12 O teach us, Thou ! whose grace imparts ; 
 
 Our days swift passing by 
 
 To number so, that we our hearts 
 To wisdom may apply. 
 
 13 Turn Thee, O Lord ! relenting Thee ; 
 
 Nor let Thine anger last ; 
 But to Thy servants gracious be, 
 As ever in time past. 
 
 14 Now with Thy mercies comfort us, 
 
 Now early hear our voice : 
 
 Thus gladden'd shall we be, and thus 
 All our life's days rejoice. 
 
186 THE PSALMS. XC. 
 
 15 For late, when Thou didst us distress, 
 
 Now comfort us again; 
 
 For all our years of sorrowness 
 
 Of suffering and of pain. 
 
 16 Thy mighty works, beheld array 'd, 
 
 Now to Thy servants show ; 
 And to their children, bright display 'd, 
 Thy glory give to know. 
 
 17 GOD'S glorious majesty outpour'd 
 
 Be on us, shining fair ! 
 O prosper Thou our work, dread Lord ! 
 And 'stablish it for e'er. 
 
 PSALM XC. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 C\ LORD our GOD ! from e'er to now, 
 
 Thou 'st been our shelter ever sure ; 
 Throughout all generations, Thou 
 Hast been our refuge, where secure. 
 
 2 Before was Earth, from all time past, 
 
 Before the World's or all's aught part, 
 As Thou from everlasting wast, 
 Thou, GOD ! to everlasting art. 
 
 3 Thou Man returnest to his clay : 
 
 " Return." Thou say'st. Yea, in Thy sight, 
 A thousand years are as a day, 
 E'en as a gone-by watch of night. 
 
 4 Thou effacest him : he is no more seen ; 
 
 He is as a dream ; he is e'en as grass, 
 As grass at morning growing green, 
 At night cut down it wither'd has. 
 
 5 Yea in Thine anger we 're effaced, 
 
 And in Thy wrath we wither'd are. 
 
 Before Thee Thou our sins hast placed, 
 
 Our secret sins Thou settest there. 
 
 6 For, when Thine ire against us is, 
 
 Our days are done their sum to spend ; 
 
 As a told tale and o'er like this, 
 
 Our years come sudden to an end. 
 
Xci. THE PSALMS. 187 
 
 7 Mans days are three-score years and ten : 
 
 And tho, thro strength, some reach four-score ; 
 'T is only toil and sorrow then: 
 
 So soon life 's past, and we 're no more. 
 
 8 Yet Thy wrath's power who heeds, to flee ?. . . . 
 
 O teach us, swiftly passing by 
 
 Our days to number so, that we 
 Our hearts to wisdom may apply. 
 
 9 Lord ! to us turn ; Thy servants cheer ; 
 
 Arid to us speak, with mercy's voice ; 
 O help us soon ! So, free from fear, 
 All our -life's days shall we rejoice. 
 
 1 Now comfort us and cheer us Thou ; 
 
 For our past ills some good to know : 
 Thy power show to Thy servants now, 
 Thy glory to their children show. 
 
 HO Lord our GOD ! now to us turn : 
 
 Henceforth Thy favour on us shed ; 
 Us prosper with Thy kind concern; 
 And 'stablish us, and still bestead. 
 
 PSALM XCI. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 , 'neath His shelter, shunning ill, 
 With The Most High resides : 
 Who, 'neath The Almighty's shadow, still 
 In innocence abides : 
 
 2 Who of The Lord doth ever say 
 
 ' Thou art my refuge sure ; 
 ' My GOD, on whom I put my stay ; 
 ' My hope, whereon secure.' 
 
 3 He still shall keep thee in His care, 
 
 And be thy sure defence, 
 Shall save thee from the secret snare 
 And noisome pestilence. 
 
 4 He with His wings shall cover thee, 
 
 And shelter to thee yield ; 
 His truth and faithfulness shall be 
 Thy buckler and thy shield. 
 
188 THE PSALMS. X 
 
 5 Thou, for no terror of the night, 
 
 Shalt be at all dismay'd ; 
 Nor, for the deathful arrow's flight, 
 By day be aught afraid : 
 
 6 Nor for the pestilence malign, 
 
 That walks in darkness' hours ; 
 Nor for the sickness, giving sign, 
 That in broad day devours. 
 
 7 A thousand at thy side shall fall, 
 
 At thy right hand thee by 
 
 Ten thousand so : but thee it shall 
 Nor touch nor come thee nigh. 
 
 8 But them shalt thou then see controul'd, 
 
 Who GOD do disregard ; 
 Yea with thine eyes shalt thou behold 
 The wicked's just reward. 
 
 9 For that thou say'st 'The Lord is great; 
 
 ' He my sure refuge is ; 
 'With Him my abiding place I 've set; 
 ' Secure am I in this.' 
 
 10 No evil e'er shall thee befal, 
 
 Abroad nor yet at home ; 
 Nor plague, nor sickliness withal, 
 Shall nigh thy dwelling come. 
 
 11 For He, with plenteous mercies large, 
 
 Shall watch thy course of days : 
 And o'er thee give His Angels charge, 
 To keep thee in all thy ways* : 
 
 12 They in their hands shall thee upbear, 
 
 As His protected one; 
 Lest dash at any time whate'er 
 Thy foot against a stone. 
 
 13 The lion and the adder thou 
 
 Shalt, treading on, down beat; 
 The serpent and young lion bow, 
 And trample 'neath thy feet. 
 
 14 " Because he hath lov'd me (saith GOD) 
 
 " Him will I magnify ; 
 " Because he hath my Name avow'd, 
 " Him will I set on high. 
 
THE PSALMS. 189 
 
 15 " So shall he ever call on me : 
 
 " And I will answer him : 
 " In trouble I will with him be, 
 "And save him and redeem. 
 
 16 "To him will I grant long to live, 
 
 " And length of days bestow : 
 "And to him will I mercy give, 
 "And my salvation show." 
 
 PSALM XCI. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 under The Most High's defence, 
 Doth dwell and make his residence ; 
 Who 'neath His shadow doth abide : 
 
 Who to The Lord doth ever say 
 
 'Thou art my strong-hold and my stay; 
 In Thee I trust, on Thee relied/ 
 
 2 Thee shall He from the secret snare 
 Deliver, thee shall keep with care, 
 
 And from the pestilence set free ; 
 'Neath His wings' shadow shall He guard; 
 His truth and faithfulness, for ward, 
 
 Thy buckler and thy shield shall be. 
 
 3 Thou, for no terror of the night, 
 Nor for by day the arrow's flight, 
 
 Shalt be at any time afraid; 
 Nor for the plague by dark that walks, 
 Nor sickness at noon day that stalks, 
 
 Shalt thou be any way dismay 'd. 
 
 4 A thousand by thee shall lie low, 
 At thy right hand ten thousand so ; 
 
 Yet shall it not e'er come thee near. 
 But with thine eyes shalt thou behold 
 And see the ungodly paid full fold ; 
 
 His recompense shall plain appear. 
 
 5 For that thou say'st < The Lord is great : 
 
 ' He is my defence ; with Him I 've set 
 
 ' My abiding place secure on high.' 
 
 No ill shall ever thee befal; 
 Nor plague, nor sickliness withal, 
 
 Shall ever come thy dwelling nigh. 
 
190 THE PSALMS. Xci. 
 
 6 For He His Angels charge shall give 
 Concerning thee ; by thee to cleave, 
 
 And keep in all thy ways' pursuit: 
 They in their hands shall thee upbear ; 
 So that, preserv'd from harm whate'er, 
 
 Against no stone thou hurt thy foot. 
 
 7 On the adder and young lion thou 
 Shalt tread; the serpent shalt thou bow, 
 
 And lion trample 'neath thy feet. 
 " Because (saith GOD) he 'th hoped in me, 
 "And known my Name, him will I free, 
 
 "And set him up on a high seat: 
 
 8 "He on me shall call : And I will hear : 
 " Yea in trouble I am to him near; 
 
 " On him deliverance I '11 bestow ; 
 " Him to high honour will I raise ; 
 " Him I '11 endow with lengthen'd days, 
 
 " And my salvation to him show." 
 
 PSALM XCI. 
 
 Third Version. 
 
 makes The Almighty his retreat, 
 Who 'neath His shadow doth abide : 
 
 Saying ' He is my rock and safety-seat ; 
 
 ' 1 still will in my GOD confide.' 
 
 2 Thee shall He in thy way direct, 
 
 Thee from the secret snare set free ; 
 His covering wings shall thee protect, 
 His truth thy shield and buckler be. 
 
 3 Thou for no terrors of the night 
 
 Shalt fear, nor arrow's flight by day, 
 Nor the dark's danger, nor by light 
 When bared destruction stalks its way. 
 
 4 A thousand at thy side shall fall, 
 
 At thy right hand ten thousand so ; 
 But thee shall it not nigh withal : 
 While thou the wicked seest laid low. 
 
 5 Because thou on The Lord didst rest, 
 
 And put thy trust in The Most High, 
 No ill shall ever thee molest, 
 
 Nor sickness come thy dwelling nigh. 
 
Xcii, THE PSALMS. 191 
 
 6 To keep thee in all thy ways wheree'er, 
 
 He His Angels shall appoint thee round ; 
 Thee shall they in their hands upbear, 
 Lest 'gainst a stone thy foot to wound. 
 
 7 The lion and the adder thou 
 
 Shalt tread on, bow'd to thy pursuit ; 
 The dragon and young lion bow, 
 
 Them shalt thou trample under foot. 
 
 8 " Because he has lov'd me (saith GOD) 
 
 " Him will I rescue and set free : 
 " Because he has my Name avow'd, 
 " Him will I set on high to be: 
 
 9 " I to his call will answer give, 
 
 " From trouble free him when brought low, 
 " To honour bring, give long to live, 
 " And to him my salvation show." 
 
 PSALM XCII. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 "J 1 IS good to give Thee thanks, O Lord ! 
 
 Thy eulogies to frame ; 
 And, O Most High ! in joint accord, 
 Sing praises to Thy Name : 
 
 2 At early morning forth to show 
 
 Thy loving-kindness rare ; 
 And ever at night's season so 
 Thy faithfulness declare : 
 
 3 Thee on a ten-string'd instrument, 
 
 On psaltery harp and lute, 
 
 With solemn sound, in full concent, 
 Loud hymning, to salute. 
 
 4 For, thro Thy wondrous works, O Lord! 
 
 Thou 'st made me to rejoice : 
 For Thy hands' doings, loud outpour'd, 
 I '11 lift my praiseful voice. 
 
 5 Dread Lord ! how glorious all Thou 'st wrought ! 
 
 How deep Thy thoughts and ends! 
 The brutish man regards this nought, 
 The fool nought comprehends. 
 
192 THE PSALMS. xcii. 
 
 6 Tho green as grass the ungodly sprout, 
 
 And wicked flourish fair, 
 
 Yet shall they all be rooted out, 
 
 From Earth destroy 'd for e'er. 
 
 7 Thou, Lord! Most Highest art; withal, 
 
 For evermore to bide : 
 Thine enemies shall be made to fall, 
 The wicked scatter'd wide. 
 
 8 But, like the unicorn's, my horn 
 
 Shall high exalted be ; 
 Green freshness shall my age adorn, 
 Like oil anointing me. 
 
 9 On my enemies, who Against me rise, 
 
 Mine eye shall look, nor fear; 
 And the ungodly ones, likewise, 
 Mine ear shall heedless hear. 
 
 10 The righteous, like the palm-tree, fair, 
 
 Shall prosper and up-grow ; 
 Shall high, like Liban's cedars, rear, 
 And spread with goodly show : 
 
 11 In The Lord's House, they, planted fast, 
 
 Shall in His Courts take root ; 
 They shall be flourishing, to last, 
 And bear to late their fruit. 
 
 12 To show that GOD, my fortress strong, 
 
 Upright and perfect is; 
 And no unrighteousness, nor wrong, 
 Nor aught ungood, is His. 
 
 PSALM XCIt. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 5f p IS good and meet, O Lord! 
 
 To give Thee thanks forthpour'd; 
 And, O Most High ! to Thee approaching nigh, 
 
 With hearts and tongues in joint accord, 
 As fit Thy lauds to frame, 
 Sing praises to Thy Name : 
 
THE PSALMS. 193 
 
 2 Before Thy Throne down-bow'd, 
 On harp and psaltery loud, 
 
 At early day, with music's soundful play, 
 
 Thy loving kindness make avow'd ; 
 And, at night's season, so, 
 Thy faithfulness forth show. 
 
 3 In waking, or in sleep, 
 
 Thou, Lord ! us still dost keep. 
 With praiseful voice therefor will we rejoice. 
 
 How great Thy works Thy thoughts how deep! 
 
 These things the unwise not scans, 
 The fool not understands. 
 
 4 Tho them the wicked rear, 
 As grass up springing fair ; 
 
 Tho, flourishing, the ungodly ones upspring ; 
 
 Yet shall they be cut down for e'er. 
 Thou Lord ! art, of all yore, 
 Most High for evermore. 
 
 5 Thine enemies, Lord ! shall fall ; 
 Yea they shall perish all, 
 
 The ungodly ones, and wickedness's sons. 
 
 But them Thou hear'st, on Thee who call : 
 Them shalt Thou high exalt ; 
 And put their foes at fault. 
 
 6 As palm-trees, fair of show, 
 The righteous shall upgrow ; 
 
 As cedars green, on Lebanon that seen: 
 
 In The Lord's House they still shall blow ; 
 In our GOD'S Courts, fast stayed, 
 Shall flourish undecayed : 
 
 7 They to old age shall dure, 
 And yield their fruit mature ; 
 
 They, fair to see, and flourishing, shall be ; 
 
 To show The Lord is true and sure. 
 He is my strength and might : 
 In Him is nought unright. 
 
THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM XCIII. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 Lord is King: He reigns o'er all, 
 
 In majesty bedight. 
 The Lord, Him girding therewithal, 
 
 Is cloth'd in strength and might. 
 
 2 The World hath He established fast, 
 
 That not to be subvers'd : 
 His Throne is 'stablish'd from all past; 
 He is, from time's all first. 
 
 3 The floods, O Lord ! have lifted them ; 
 
 The floods their voice uplift; 
 The floods forth pour, for nought to stem ; 
 Their waves resistless rift. 
 
 4 The sea's waves mighty are, fierce pour'd ; 
 
 And rage they horribly : 
 Bat He, who dwells on high, The Lord, 
 Far mightier is than they. 
 
 5 Thy testimonies, Lord! have stayed, 
 
 And they are ever sure : 
 Thy House, in holiness arrayed, 
 Shall evermore endure. 
 
 PSALM XCIII. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 QLOTH'D with power, and strength-bedight, 
 
 Reigns THE LORD, o'er all supreme ; 
 Deck'd in majesty and might, 
 Rules He to extent's extreme. 
 
 2 He the World has stablish'd fast, 
 
 Moveless where its base to hold. 
 Thou from everlasting wast ; 
 Stablish'd is Thy throne of old. 
 
 3 LORD ! the floods have lifted them ; 
 
 Lift they up their voice thereo'er; 
 Lift their waves, for nought to stem ; 
 Fearful is their voice's roar. 
 
XCiv. THE PSALMS. 195 
 
 4 Swell the billows, threatening nigh ; 
 
 Fierce the many waters' fray : 
 But THE LORD, who dwells on high, 
 Mightier is and far than they. 
 
 5 LORD ! Thy greatness baffles bourns ; 
 
 Sure Thy testimonies are : 
 Holiness Thy House adorns ; 
 Thou for ever shinest there. 
 
 PSALM XCIV. 
 
 J^ORD GOD! avenger Thou of wrong: 
 
 Now show Thyself avow'd : 
 Rise, Judge of Earth ! shine forth among, 
 And recompense the proud. 
 
 2 How long, O Lord! triumphant thus, 
 
 Shall vaunt the ungodly host? 
 
 How long, O Lord ! insulting us, 
 
 Thus proudly shall they boast ? 
 
 3 Thine heritage do they oppress; 
 
 They on Thy servants prey ; 
 They put to death the fatherless, 
 The widow and stranger slay. 
 
 4 And still say they 'Tush! who shall wot? 
 
 4 The Lord will give no ward : 
 'The GOD of Jacob sees it not; 
 'He will it nought regard.' 
 
 5 But, take ye heed, ye insensate ones! 
 
 Or ere The Lord chastise : 
 
 O fools ! ye wickedness's sons ! 
 
 O when will ye be wise? 
 
 6 Shall He who made the ear, not hear? 
 
 Who form'd the eye not see? 
 Shall He, who makes the Nations fear, 
 Not an avenger be? 
 
 7 Shall He, who teaches him, not scan 
 
 And punish him withal ? 
 
 The Lord knows all the thoughts of man, 
 That they are vainness all. 
 
196 THE PSALMS. 
 
 8 Blest is the man, Thou dost redeem 
 
 And to Thy service draw ; 
 Whom, Lord ! Thou chastenest, guiding him, 
 And teachest him Thy law : 
 
 9 For, in adversity's dark hour, 
 
 Thou peace shalt to him give ; 
 While d.igg'd the pit, that, to devour, 
 The ungodly shall receive. 
 
 10 GOD ne'er His People will reject, 
 
 Nor leave them all unstay'd : 
 But justice shall His hand direct ; 
 
 And the upright own His aid. 
 
 11 Who else for me, their schemes to thwart, 
 
 Shall 'gainst the wicked rise? 
 Who 'gainst the ungodly take my part, 
 And for their sins chastise ? 
 
 12 Unless The Lord, when nigh o'erthrown, 
 
 Had been my help therein, 
 It had not fail'd but that, laid prone, 
 My soul had silenc'd been : 
 
 13 But, when ' My foot hath slipp'd.' I said, 
 
 And would for succour call, 
 
 Thy mercy, Lord! upheld my tread, 
 Nor suffer'd me to fall. 
 
 14 Yea, still, howe'er enduring grief, 
 
 By whatso sorrows fill'd, 
 
 Thy comfortments, with sure relief, 
 Have sooth'd my soul and still'd. 
 
 15 With wickedness's sons our GOD 
 
 No fellowship will hold ; 
 Who frame iniquity avow'd, 
 E'en as a law enroll'd. 
 
 16 Together do they gather them, 
 
 Against the righteous' life ; 
 The innocent blood do they condemn, 
 With wicked schemes still rife. 
 
 17 But still, to whatso length oppress'd, 
 
 The Lord is my defence ; 
 GOD is my refuge and my rest, 
 My strength of confidence. 
 
XCV. THE PSALMS. 197 
 
 18 In their own wrongfulness repaid, 
 
 And in their own annoy, 
 The Lord our GOD, on whom we 're stay'd, 
 Shall break them and destroy. 
 
 PSALM XCV. 
 
 Q COME now, and, to Him forth pour'd, 
 
 Sing we with cheerful voice ; 
 In our salvation's strength, The Lord, 
 Now let us loud rejoice. 
 
 2 Before Him come we now, in throng, 
 
 With thanksgiving and praise; 
 With psalms to Him, in pious song, 
 Our cheerful voices raise. 
 
 3 For that He is The Lord our GOD; 
 
 Whom all creation lauds ; 
 And He is great, supreme avow'd, 
 A King above all gods. 
 
 4 For in His hands, its deepness all, 
 
 Earth's lowest bases are ; 
 His are the hills' high summits tall, 
 
 The mountains heights e'erwhere. 
 
 5 The sea is His ; He did it make, 
 
 The watery fabric rear'd : 
 His hands too made its form to take, 
 He the dry land prepar'd. 
 
 6 O come now, bend we down, and now 
 
 Him worship and adore ; 
 Before The Lord our Maker bow, 
 And kneel we Him before. 
 
 7 For that The Lord our GOD He is ; 
 
 And we 're His chosen band, 
 The People of the pasture His*, 
 
 The sheep of His own hand. 
 
 8 Saith GoD__If ye my voice will hear, 
 
 Now harden not your heart, 
 As when your fathers, 'stead to fear, 
 Did anger me and thwart: 
 
198 THE PSALMS. XCVU 
 
 9 When, in the wilderness, they moved 
 
 My wrath, provoking me ; 
 And when they tempted me and proved ; 
 Tho fain my works to see. 
 
 10 Forty years long they griev'd me still. 
 
 And said I "Error sways; 
 
 "They are a People bent to ill, 
 " That will not know my ways." 
 
 11 To whom so in my wrath I sware, 
 
 To punish for their sin, 
 
 That they should never enter there, 
 Nor to my rest go in. 
 
 PSALM XCVI.f 
 
 First Version. 
 
 Q SING ye to The Lord, all Earth! 
 To Him sing a new song : 
 Show daily His salvation forth, 
 
 And His Name's praise prolong. 
 
 2 His honour to the Nations show; 
 
 Say what His glories are ; 
 Among all Peoples, making know, 
 His wondrous works declare. 
 
 3 For He is great ; nor can be peer'd, 
 
 Nor worthily be praised ; 
 Above all gods He is to be fear'd, 
 Above all gods He is raised. 
 
 4 As for the Heathen's gods they 're nought : 
 
 They 're idols nothing worth. 
 But 't is The Lord who all things wrought ; 
 He made the Heavens and Earth. 
 
 5 Before Him glory and greatness go ; 
 
 And, in His Sanctuary, 
 
 Are beauty strength all power whatso 
 
 All might and majesty. 
 
 6 Ye Peoples all! ascribe ye this, 
 
 As is The Lord's of right ; 
 Ascribe ye to The Lord, as His, 
 
 All worship power and might. 
 
 t 1 Chronicles, xvi. 2233. 
 
XCvi. THE PSALMS. 199 
 
 7 Ascribe ye to The Lord, as due, 
 
 The honour ow'd His Name : 
 
 Come into His Courts; with offerings sue, 
 
 And loud His praises frame. 
 
 8 Within His Holy Temple now, 
 
 Him worship and adore; 
 
 Let the whole Earth before Him bow ; 
 
 Let all Him fear before. 
 
 9 Among the Nations tell it forth, 
 
 That 't is The Lord who reigns ; 
 That moveless He has made the Earth, 
 And justice there ordains. 
 
 10 Yea let the Heavens on high rejoice: 
 
 Let Earth be glad for this : 
 Let roar the sea, with praiseful voice, 
 And all that therein is. 
 
 11 Yea let the floods and all therein, 
 
 The field and all its hoard, 
 The wood's all trees, with gladsome din, 
 Rejoice before The Lord. 
 
 12 For lo He comes: severe, ne'erless 
 
 To judge the world in ruth ; 
 The World shall He with righteousness, 
 Arid Peoples judge with truth. 
 
 PSALM XCVI. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 GING a new song unto The Lord : 
 All, with joint voice aloud outpour'd, 
 
 Sing to The Lord, and praise His Name. 
 Sing to The Lord, all the whole Earth! 
 Show daily His salvation forth, 
 
 And ceaseless His just praises frame. 
 
 2 His glory among the Heathen show, 
 His wonders let the Nations know : 
 
 For He is great, and all unpeer'd ; 
 He cannot worthily be praised ; 
 And far, as high above them raised, 
 Above all gods is to be fear'd. 
 
'200 THE PSALMS. XCvi. 
 
 3 As for the Heathen's gods they 're nought; 
 
 Vain idols mere, that hands have wrought. 
 
 But 't is The Lord the Heavens who made : 
 Before Him strength and glory are ; 
 And power and honour, dwelling there, 
 
 Are in His Sanctuary display'd. 
 
 4 Ye Nations all! Earth's every Tribe! 
 Worship and power to Him ascribe ; 
 
 Before Him come with homagring; : 
 
 O O 
 
 Ascribe unto The Lord, as GOD, 
 The honour to His Name that ow'd ; 
 
 Come into His Courts, and offerings bring. 
 
 5 Where in His Holy Sanctuary, 
 Adore, and worship to Him pay : 
 
 Let the whole Earth stand in His awe: 
 
 Among the Heathen tell it out 
 
 That He is King all Earth throughout, 
 
 That He all governs 'neath His law. 
 
 6 Tell it that all is as He bade; 
 That He it was the World who made, 
 
 And 'stablish'd, moveless so to be ; 
 That He shall, nor with mercy less, 
 The Nations judge with righteousness ; 
 
 And He shall come, for all to see. 
 
 7 Let th' Heavens be mirthful and rejoice; 
 Let the Earth lift up her gladsome voice; 
 
 Let roar the Sea and all therein : 
 Let all be joyful, lands and leas ; 
 Be glad the field, the wood's all trees; 
 
 Let all resound with gleeful din. 
 
 8 With blithesome voice aloud outpour'd, 
 Let all rejoice before The Lord : 
 
 For lo He comes, and speeds withal : 
 
 From out His Heavens, lo comes He forth ; 
 
 With righteousness to judge the Earth, 
 
 And judge with truth the Nations all. 
 
THE PSALMS. 
 
 201 
 
 PSALM XCVI. 
 
 Third Version. 
 
 C\ SING to The Lord 
 
 Come all, Him that serve; 
 O sing to The Lord, 
 From day unto day 
 
 2 His glory proclaim 
 
 The Peoples among 
 All beauty and strength 
 Before Him all honour 
 
 3 For great is The Lord, 
 
 Above whatso gods 
 The Heathen's are nought, 
 But HE is The GOD 
 
 4 Ye Peoples' all tribes! 
 
 All glory and strength 
 Give unto His Name 
 Come into His Courts, 
 
 5 Where in His high seat, 
 
 Him fear, all the Earth ! 
 Say, the Heathen among, 
 The World hath He made, 
 
 6 Let the Earth all be glad, 
 
 Let roar all the sea 
 
 Be joyful the fields. 
 Let all to The Lord 
 
 7 For lo now He comes, 
 
 He comes, Earth to judge, 
 The World shall He so 
 The Peoples He so 
 
 a song of new frame, 
 come, all the whole Earth! 
 and praise ye His Name ; 
 His salvation show forth, 
 the Heathen among, 
 His wonders declare : 
 to His Temple belong, 
 and majesty are. 
 to greatly be praised ; 
 is He to be feared : 
 mere idols so raised : 
 the Heavens who reared, 
 with worship Him sue ; 
 give Him as your King; 
 the glory that due ; 
 an offering there bring, 
 be still He ador'd; 
 Him serve where He reigns : 
 He sole is The Lord : 
 and moveless maintains, 
 let the Heavens rejoice, 
 its fulness all roar, 
 the woods lift their voice, 
 their praises forth pour, 
 in mercy withal ; 
 yet sentence in ruth ; 
 with righteousness all, 
 shall judge with His truth. 
 
 PSALM XCVII. 
 
 JEHOVAH reigns: The Lord is King: 
 
 Thereat let Earth rejoice ; 
 Thereat let all the Islands* sing, 
 All lift the gladsome voice. 
 2 Heaven's clouds and darkness round enfold, 
 
 Encompassing Him there ; 
 Justice and mercy, to uphold, 
 
 His Throne's foundations are. 
 
THE PSALMS. XCvl. 
 
 3 Before Him goes a raging fire, 
 
 That fiercely burning glows ; 
 On every side, with vengeful ire, 
 Devouring up His foes. 
 
 4 His lightnings flash ; the dazzling gleam 
 
 Unto the World gives light : 
 
 Earth sees and trembles at the beam, 
 
 Amaz'd, and in affright. 
 
 5 Before the coming of The Lord, 
 
 At His dread presence felt 
 
 The whole Earth's GOD, like wax outpour'd, 
 
 The hills dissolving melt. 
 
 6 The Heavens on high, proclaiming loud, 
 
 His righteousness declare; 
 The Nations all behold, avow'd, 
 His glory everywhere. 
 
 7 All they, upon vain gods who call 
 
 And idols bow before, 
 Shall be made sham'd. Creation all ! 
 Him worship and adore. 
 
 8 Sion hears, rejoicing ; and, to hear, 
 
 Are Judah's daughters glad; 
 For Thy protection ever near, 
 
 And judgements mercy-clad. 
 
 9 For, Thou, O Lord ! from all apart, 
 
 Above all Earth art high ; 
 Above all gods Thou exalted art; 
 
 To Thee comes nothing nigh. 
 
 10 They, Him who love, hate the evil thing, 
 
 Nor fear the ungodly band : 
 He His saints' souls will guard, and bring 
 Out of the wicked's hand. 
 
 11 Now for the righteous is a light, 
 
 Them comforting in this; 
 And, for the godly and upright, 
 
 There plenteous gladness is. 
 
 12 Ye righteous all, that Him confess! 
 
 Now in The Lord rejoice; 
 And, memorying His holiness, 
 
 Him thank with gladsome voice. 
 
THE PSALMS. 203 
 
 PSALM XCVIII. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 C\ SING ye to The Lord ; 
 
 To Him sing a new song; 
 Let every voice, in joint accord, 
 
 The praiseful strain prolong. 
 
 2 For, stilling all alarm, 
 
 He marvellous things hath done; 
 His own right hand, and holy arm, 
 Have victory for Him won. 
 
 3 The Lord hath, in display, 
 
 Made His salvation known ; 
 His righteousness He openly 
 
 In the Heathen's sight hath shown. 
 
 4 His truth and mercy great 
 
 To Israel prov'd have been ; 
 And Earth's all ends have, in their strait, 
 Our GOD'S salvation seen. 
 
 5 To Him sing, all the Earth! 
 
 Give thanks, sing, and rejoice ; 
 With harps and psalms, loud pouring forth, 
 Awake the praiseful voice. 
 
 6 With shawms and trumpets loud, 
 
 Rejoice ye Him before; 
 
 Before The Lord The King avow'd, 
 
 Rejoice ye, and adore. 
 
 7 Now let the sea resound, 
 
 And all whatso within ; 
 All Earth, to its extremest bound, 
 And they that dwell therein. 
 
 8 Yea let the floods outpour'd 
 
 Now clap their hands with glee ; 
 Now let the hills, before The Lord, 
 Together joyful be. 
 
 9 For lo He comes ; nor less 
 
 His mercy to display ; 
 The World to judge with righteousness, 
 And Peoples justfully. 
 
204 THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM XCVtII. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 Q SING ye to The Lord, 
 
 Sing to Him a new song; 
 His marvellous acts record, 
 
 His praises' strain prolong. 
 His hand and holy arm have gained, 
 The victory for Him have obtained. 
 
 2 The Lord now, to all Earth, 
 
 Hath His salvation shown; 
 In the Heathen's sight, shown forth, 
 
 His righteousness made known ; 
 To Israel's House, His saving aid 
 His inercy and His truth display 'd. 
 
 3 The harp and psaltery wake; 
 
 Give praises to our GOD : 
 For Him sweet music make, 
 
 To Him give thanks and laud. 
 With trumpets' sound, with reed and string, 
 Rejoice before The Lord The King. 
 
 4 Let roar the sea deep- voiced, 
 
 Let all its fulness roar; 
 Let shout the floods rejoiced, 
 
 All clap their hands thereo'er : 
 The World, and all that therein dwell, 
 Conjoin, the gladsome din to swell. 
 
 5 The hills, the vallies so, 
 
 Now come with solemn mirth 
 Before The Lord : For lo_ 
 
 He comes, to judge the Earth : 
 With righteousness the World shall He, 
 And Peoples judge with equity. 
 
 PSALM XC1X. 
 
 JEHOVAH reigns: Adoring Him, 
 
 Let quake the Nations and down bow : 
 He sits between the Cherubim*: 
 
 Let Earth, with trembling, Him avow. 
 
C. THE PSALMS. 205 
 
 2 He 's great in Sion ; and high raised 
 
 All mortals o'er: For all is His. 
 By all His holy Name be praised : 
 For great and terrible He is. 
 
 3 Thou justice lov'st, and to redress ; 
 
 Thou equity hast 'stablish'd fast: 
 In Jacob, so, Thou righteousness 
 
 And judgement executed hast. 
 
 4 O magnify The Lord our GOD ; 
 
 His footstool fall ye down before : 
 For He is holy: low down-bow'd, 
 
 Him humbly worship and adore. 
 
 5 Moses and Aaron, 'mong His Priests, 
 
 And Samuel, sued His Name for aid ; 
 On Him they call'd with their requests: 
 
 And them He answer'd, as they pray'd. 
 
 6 He to them, gracious to accept, 
 
 From out the cloudy pillar spake : 
 For they His testimonies kept, 
 
 And the ordinances that He did make. 
 
 7 O Lord our GOD ! Thou answeredst them ; 
 
 Thou didst them from their sin relieve: 
 Tho fain for justice to condemn, 
 
 Thou their transgressions didst forgive. 
 
 8 O magnify The Lord our GOD ; 
 
 Him on His Holy Hill adore! 
 For He is holy, GOD avow'd : 
 
 All, bow ye down His Throne before! 
 
 PSALM C. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 rjOME, Nations, Lands, yea all the Earth! 
 
 Now come, and in The Lord rejoice; 
 Before Him come with pious mirth, 
 
 And lift in songs your gladsome voice. 
 
 2 Know ye that He The Lord is GOD. 
 
 'Tis He, who, for His own, us made*: 
 We His People are, led 'neath His rod, 
 
 The sheep that eat His pasture's blade. 
 
206 THE PSALMS. C. 
 
 3 Go in His Gates with worshipping, 
 
 And enter ye His Courts with praise; 
 Your thankful homage to him bring, 
 
 And high His holy Name upraise. 
 
 4 For He The Lord is ever good; 
 
 His mercy stands for ever sure ; 
 And so His truth, as still has stood, 
 Shall thro all ages still endure. 
 
 PSALM C. 
 
 Second Version. 
 QOME, Nations, Lands, corne all the Earth! 
 
 And in The Lord rejoice; 
 Before Him come with pious mirth, 
 And lift in songs the voice. 
 
 2 Assure ye that The Lord is GOD. 
 
 He for His own us made : 
 We His People are ; sheep 'neath His rod, 
 That eat His pasture's blade. 
 
 3 With thanks now go ye in His Gates, 
 
 And in His Courts with praise ; 
 Him bless ; and, where He homage waits, 
 His Name on highest raise. 
 
 4 For gracious is The Lord and good ; 
 
 His mercy is of all yore; 
 And so His truth, as still has stood, 
 Shall stand for evermore. 
 
 PSALM C. 
 
 Third Version.^ 
 
 QOME, all ye Lands! and in 
 The Lord now joyful be ; 
 With gladness serve Him; come now ye 
 His courts within ; all come, in throng, 
 
 Before Him with a song. 
 2 Know ye The Lord is GOD. 
 
 T is He who did us make, 
 Not we ourselves : us doth He take, 
 Led 'neath His rod, to be His sheep, 
 And in His pastures keep. 
 
 f This may besung with any Short Metre Tune ; only repeat- 
 ing that part of it which plays with the Third or long Line. 
 
C. THE PSALMS. 207 
 
 3 Join, all ! the song to raise : 
 
 And with thanksgiving go 
 Into His Gates, and enter so 
 His Courts with praise ; His lauds there frame, 
 And high exalt His Name. 
 
 4 For He is good ; and ruth, 
 
 And graciousness, are His : 
 His mercy everlasting is ; 
 And so His truth, for ever sure, 
 Shall to all time 'endure. 
 
 PSALM C. 
 
 Fourth Version. 
 
 QOME, all Lands! O now come, the whole Earth! 
 
 Praise The Lord, and Him joyful adore. 
 Him with gladsomeness serve ye and mirth, 
 And with singing now come ye before. 
 
 2 Be ye sure that The Lord He is GOD. 
 
 It is He, for His own who us made : 
 We His People are, led 'neath His rod, 
 His own pasture's sheep eating its blade. 
 
 3 Seek His Gates, with thanksgiving outpour'd ; 
 
 Seek His Courts, where His praises to frame; 
 Give Him thanks, in conjointful accord ; 
 
 And Him bless, and speak good of His Name. 
 
 4 For The Lord is all gracious and good ; 
 
 And His mercy is fail-lessly sure ; 
 And His truth, as for ever has stood, 
 Shall for ever and ever endure. 
 
 PSALM C. 
 
 Fifth Version. 
 
 QOME now to The Lord, rejoiced ; 
 
 Come, all Lands! and Him adore: 
 Joyful serve Him ; and, loud-voiced, 
 Singing come ye Him before. 
 
208 THE PSALMS. C. 
 
 2 Know ye that The Lord is GOD : 
 
 He 't is for His own us made : 
 We 're His People, 'neath His rod, 
 Sheep that eat His pasture's blade. 
 
 3 Seek His Gates with thankfulness, 
 
 Enter ye His Courts with praise: 
 Unto Him your thanks address, 
 Loud His Name on highest raise. 
 
 4 For The Lord is ever good ; 
 
 Is His mercy ever sure ; 
 So His truth, as still has stood, 
 Shall for evermore endure. 
 
 PSALM C. 
 
 Sixth Version. 
 
 ye Lands! now come in throng; 
 B e ye joyful in THE LORD ; 
 C ome before Him with a song, 
 D o Him homage, in accord. 
 E arth's all Nations! Him adore; 
 F ear and serve Him evermore. 
 
 2 G OD provides for all our needs: 
 H e 't was made us ; His we are : 
 
 I n His pastures J AH us feeds, 
 K eeps us with a shepherd's care. 
 L oud to Him raise every voice ; 
 M irthful in THE LORD rejoice. 
 
 3 N ow Him in His Temples sue; 
 O ffer up your thanks and praise; 
 P ay Him your oblations due. 
 
 Q uickeniug ye, your voices raise ; 
 R aising high, His praises frame ; 
 S inging, bless His holy Name. 
 
 4 T ruth and mercy are THE LORD'S, 
 U nto everlastingness ; 
 
 V ast His works are, W ise His words: 
 
 'X cellent Him all confess. 
 
 Y ield Him homage, and adore; 
 
 Z ealous serve Him evermore. 
 
THE PSALMS. 209 
 
 PSALM CI. 
 
 mercy and judgement will I sing, 
 And sing, O Lord ! to Thee : 
 For just and righteous governing, 
 My prayer shall to Thee be. 
 
 2 O let me understanding have 
 
 In godliness's way : 
 So shall I wisely me behave, 
 Nor thencefrom go astray. 
 
 3 Deign Thou and come to ine and lead, 
 
 To guide my path and talk : 
 So, with a perfect heart, sin-freed, 
 I in my house will walk. 
 
 4 I to no wicked thing, in aught, 
 
 My countenance will give : 
 I hate the works and ways of naught ; 
 Nor such shall to me cleave. 
 
 5 A froward heart shall from me go ; 
 
 None such will T endure : 
 A wicked man will I not know, 
 Nor any that impure. 
 
 6 The slanderer so will I destroy, 
 
 And him of guileful art ; 
 I will not suffer in my employ 
 The proud and high of heart. 
 
 7 Mine eye shall on the faithful look, 
 
 That they may dwell with me; 
 The righteous only will I brook, 
 My servants shall they be. 
 
 8 There no deceitful one untrue 
 
 Shall in my house reside ; 
 The liar, who doth wrong pursue, 
 Shall in my sight not bide. 
 
 9 The land's ungodly ones 'mong us 
 
 Will I destroy throughout; 
 From The Lord's City will I thus 
 All wicked-doers root out. 
 
THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM GIL 
 
 First Version. 
 
 C\ LIST my prayer; now, when implor'd, 
 
 Ne'er from me turn aside ; 
 Now in my troublous time, O Lord ! 
 Thy face ne'er from me hide. 
 
 2 O to me now incline Thine ear ; 
 
 Now hear, and answer me ; 
 Now, when I call, my crying hear ; 
 
 haste, and set me free. 
 
 3 For, e'en as smoke, to vapour turn'd, 
 
 My days consume away ; 
 As 't were a brand with fire up-burn'd, 
 My wasting bones decay. 
 
 4 My heart is stricken down, as dead, 
 
 Like wither'd grass and dry ; 
 That I forget to eat my bread, 
 Nor seek my food's supply. 
 
 5 I sorrow with incessant moans ; 
 
 1 nothing do but grieve ; 
 
 Thro my continued plaint, my bones 
 Seem to my skin to cleave. 
 
 6 I 'm like the wilderness's fowl, 
 
 The pelican, become; 
 And like unto the desert's owl, 
 Where in his lonely home. 
 
 7 I 've watch 'd, till wearied and outworn; 
 
 I 'm like the sparrow*, where 
 She on the house-top sits forlorn, 
 All solitary there. 
 
 8 Yea all the day, with rage incens'd, 
 
 Mine enemies me revile; 
 And they that hate me, sworn against, 
 Upon me wreak their guile. 
 
 9 For, still, on grief and sorrow fed, 
 
 In mournfulness nought cheers, 
 I 've eaten ashes as my bread, 
 Ami mix'd my drink with tears: 
 
Cll. THE PSALMS. 
 
 10 Because of Thy dread wrath, and thro 
 
 Thine indignation's frown : 
 For Thou didst set me up* : so, too, 
 Thou now hast cast me down. 
 
 11 As fades a shadow lengthening out, 
 
 My days consume away ; 
 I 'm e'en as grass, distrewn about, 
 Cut down and in decay. 
 
 12 But Thou, O Lord ! for aye as now, 
 
 Mak'st Thy memorial sure ; 
 Throughout all generations Thou 
 Shalt evermore endure. 
 
 13 Now shalt Thou rise, O gracious Lord ! 
 
 And mercy on Sion have : 
 Her time is come to be restor'd, 
 Thy appointed time to save. 
 
 14 Yea do Thy servants love her stones* ; 
 
 They mourn her sunk degree ; 
 And them, where in the dust she moans, 
 It pitieth sore to see. 
 
 15 So shall the Heathen fear Thy Name, 
 
 Thereof with dread shall hear ; 
 And every where Earth's Kings, the same, 
 Thy majesty shall fear : 
 
 16 For Thou Thy Sion shalt upbuild, 
 
 And shalt Thou make Thee known : 
 And shall Thy glory be reveal'd, 
 In all its brightness shown : 
 
 17 Then Thou, no longer pass'd unheard 
 
 Shalt list the wretched's prayer; 
 Nor shalt reject their suit preferr'd, 
 But the depress'd upbear. 
 
 18 For after times shall this be writ', 
 
 O'er Earth His lauds to raise ; 
 And unborn Nations, telling it, 
 
 Shall bless The Lord and praise 
 
THE PSALMS. ci 
 
 19 ' Yea, from His Sanctuary on high, 
 
 * Adown did He look forth ; 
 
 * From out His Heaven, still to us nigh, 
 
 'The Lord beheld the Earth. 
 
 20 ' Thence He the prisoners' groans did hear, 
 
 1 And bade their thraldom cease ; 
 
 * Thence did to the eondemn'd give ear, 
 
 * And them from death release.' 
 
 21 So they The Lord's great Name avow'd 
 
 In Sion shall declare ; 
 And in Jerusalem, aloud, 
 
 His praise proclaim all there : 
 
 22 Together when the Peoples all 
 
 Assembled there attend ; 
 To worship Him, upon Him call, 
 And at His altars bend. 
 
 23 He, on my journey, had my strength 
 
 Brought down and prostrate laid ; 
 My days, abridging of their length, 
 He in their course had stay'd. 
 
 24 But O (I said) in midst my days 
 
 Now take me not away. 
 For Thee, O GOD ! Thy time still stays, 
 Thy years have no decay. 
 
 25 'T was Thou in the beginning first 
 
 That Earth's foundations laid'st ; 
 The Heavens are Thy hands' work from erst; 
 Thou all Creation rnad'st. 
 
 26 They all shall perish with impair : 
 
 While Thou dost still abide : 
 They, as a vesture, shall outwear ; 
 Decayed, and cast aside. 
 
 27 Yea Thou shalt change them, and new frame, 
 
 E'en as a raiment piece. 
 But Thou art ever, still the same; 
 Nor shall Thy years e'er cease. 
 
 28 Here let Thy servants' children last, 
 
 Firm settled in the land ; 
 And, in Thy sight, establish'd fast, 
 Their seed for ever stand. 
 
THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM OIL 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 TORD! hear my prayer, my crying hear; 
 
 Nor from me turn Thy face away ; 
 Now in my trouble give me ear, 
 Nor in Thy answering make delay. 
 
 2 For, e'en as smoke, my days off-fume ; 
 
 My heart, like grass, dry wither'd lies; 
 My limbs, like upburn'd brands, consume ; 
 For rest my soul incessant cries. 
 
 3 My food do I forget, with ill ; 
 
 With woe oppress'd, I ceaseless grieve; 
 Thro ray complaining, moaning still, 
 My skin seems to my bones to cleave. 
 
 4 I 'm like the wilderness's bird, 
 
 The desert's fowl, where silent flits; 
 E'en as the sparrow*, mournful heard, 
 That lonely on the housetop sits. 
 
 5 My foes still taunt me : sorrow-fed, 
 
 In ceaseless wail, me nothing cheers ; 
 I 've eaten ashes as my bread, 
 
 And with my drink commingled tears : 
 
 6 Thro Thy dread anger threatening nigh, 
 
 And thro Thine indignation's frown : 
 For Thou didst set me up on high; 
 
 And Thou, O Lord ! hast cast me down. 
 
 7 As wither'd grass, so quickly past, 
 
 Like evening shadows are my days. 
 
 But Thou 'rt for ever, 'stablish'd fast; 
 
 And Thy remembrance ne'er decays. 
 
 8 Now shalt Thou rise ; nor more defer, 
 
 But mercy on Thy Zion have : 
 Is come the time for succouring her, 
 Is come her promis'd time to save. 
 
 9 Her dust is to Thy servants dear, 
 
 And pleasure in her stones they take 
 So shall His Name the Heathen fear, 
 
 And Earth's all Kings before Him quake 
 
THE PSALMS. c. 
 
 10 For He His Zion shall upbuild : 
 
 In all His glory when to rise, 
 He o'er the oppress' d will cast His shield, 
 Nor will the wretched's prayer despise. 
 
 1 1 This, for the generations all 
 
 To come, the writers shall record ; 
 And o'er all Earth, for this withal, 
 
 The yet unborn shall praise The Lord 
 
 12 4 Yea, from His Sanctuary's height, 
 
 * He lookM adown with pitying eye ; 
 4 To cheer the prisoner's darksome night, 
 ' And save the appointed ones to die.' 
 
 13 Shall Zion so His Name declare, 
 
 And so Jerusalem His praise; 
 When there the Peoples gather'd are, 
 To Him their homage-songs to raise. 
 
 14 My days Thou 'st shortened of their length, 
 
 My powers enfeebled with decay : 
 In midst my path, and in my strength, 
 O Lord ! now take me not away. 
 
 15 Thy years throughout all ages last. 
 
 All comes of Thee : Thou all things mad'st ; 
 The Heavens are Thy hands' work; bas'd fast, 
 Of old Thou Earth's foundations laid'st. 
 
 16 They end : but Thou continuest still : 
 
 They, as a garment, old shall grow; 
 Thou, as a vesture, at Thy will, 
 
 Shalt change them ; and they chang'd shall show. 
 
 17 Thou 'rt still the same, whate'er betide; 
 
 Thy years shall no conclusion see. 
 Lord ! let Thy servants' children bide, 
 Their seed before Thee stablish'd be. 
 
 PSALM CIII. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 C\ BLESS The Lord ; my soul ! Him bless ; 
 All in me! bless His holy Name; 
 Still think on all His bounteousness, 
 
 And still His loudest praises frame. 
 
Cll. THE PSALMS. 
 
 2 He thine iniquities forgives; 
 
 He heals thy infirmities and wounds ; 
 He from destruction thee retrieves, 
 
 And with His guardian care surrounds. 
 
 3 Abundance He upon thee pours, 
 
 And sets thee plenteousness among ; 
 With youth renew'd, thee He restores, 
 
 And makes thee like an eagle strong. 
 
 4 To Moses He His ways made known, 
 
 His acts to Israel's children show'd : 
 
 The Lord stands forth to guard His own, 
 
 And ease the afflicted of their load. 
 
 5 Gracious and merciful is He, 
 
 Long suffering, and to vengeance loth ; 
 He will not always chiding be, 
 Nor keep His anger, howso wroth. 
 
 6 Not as our sins are, prone to spare, 
 
 He with us hath not dealt o'erhard ; 
 Nor, as our wickednesses are, 
 Hath He assign'd us our reward. 
 
 7 As Heaven 'bove Earth is high, so great 
 
 His mercy is to whom Him fear; 
 Our sins He from us far hath set, 
 
 As East from West, us thence to clear. 
 
 8 As fathers spare their children, thus 
 
 He mercy shows to whom implore: 
 For He our frame knows, pitying us, 
 
 Remembering we 're but dust nor more. 
 
 9 Man's days are but as grass, so last: 
 
 As the field's flower is his brief show ; 
 
 Whereo'er the wind blows and 't is past, 
 
 Nor more its place there shall it know ! 
 
 10 But The Lord's mercy is for e'er 
 
 On them that fear him and obey ; 
 And so His goodness, failing ne'er, 
 
 Shall with their children's children stay. 
 
 1 1 All such as keep His law declared 
 
 The Lord acknowledges for His : 
 He in Heaven hath His seat prepared ; 
 And over all His Kingdom is. 
 
THE PSALMS. Clll. 
 
 12 O bless The Lord; Him bless and praise; 
 
 Ye His angels, that in strength excel ! 
 To Him your praiseful voices raise, 
 
 Ye, that in His blest presence dwell ! 
 
 13 Bless ye The Lord; ye His hosts on high! 
 
 Ye His servants, that His pleasure do! 
 Ye all His works, afar and nigh! 
 
 Him bless, His all dominions thro. 
 
 14 O bless The Lord; my soul! Him bless; 
 
 All in me! bless His holy Name; 
 Still think on all His bounteousness, 
 
 And still His loudest praises frame. 
 
 PSALM CIIL 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 C\ BLESS The Lord, my soul! my heart! 
 
 All that informs my frame ! 
 O bless The Lord, my being's each part! 
 And praise His holy Name. 
 
 2 O praise The Lord, my soul ! still call 
 
 His benefits to mind ; 
 
 Who knows thy sins forgives them all, 
 
 And doth thy wounds up-bind : 
 
 3 Thy life who from destruction saves, 
 
 And with His care surrounds ; 
 Who gives thy need whate'er it craves, 
 And thee with mercy crowns : 
 
 4 Who with abundance fills thy mouth, 
 
 All plenteousness among ; 
 And makes, renewing thee thy youth, 
 E'en like an eagle strong. 
 
 5 The Lord will justice institute, 
 
 To succour the distress'd ; 
 And judgement will He execute, 
 For all that are oppress'd. 
 
 6 His ways did He to Moses show, 
 
 And wondrous works made known : 
 And, unto Israel's children, so, 
 He made His acts be shown. 
 
c. THE PSALMS. 
 
 7 The Lord full of compassion is ; 
 
 His mercy is ever sure; 
 Long-suffering, piteousness, are His; 
 And much doth He endure. 
 
 8 He will not always chiding be, 
 
 Nor still His wrath pursue; 
 Nor, as our wickedness, doth He 
 Reward us with our due. 
 
 9 To whom Him fear, His mercy is great 
 
 As Heaven 'bove Earth is high ; 
 Our sins He from us far hath set 
 As the East and West unnigh. 
 
 10 As on his children, to him dear, 
 
 A father pity hath, 
 
 The Lord, on them that Him do fear, 
 Hath pity in His wrath. 
 
 1 1 For He doth know whereof we 're made, 
 
 Remembering we 're but dust. 
 Man's days are as the grass; so fade, 
 Before the passing gust : 
 
 12 He 's as the field's brief-dated flower; 
 
 Whereo'er the wind but blows, 
 And lo 't is gone; where late an hour, 
 Its place no more it knows. 
 
 13 But, on them who Him fearing know, 
 
 His mercy will endure : 
 And, on their children's children, so, 
 His righteousness is sure : 
 
 14 On such His covenant as observe, 
 
 Nor thencefrom turn away ; 
 And ne'er from His commandments swerve, 
 But keep them and obey. 
 
 15 The Lord His judgement-seat and throne 
 
 Hath in the Heavens prepared ; 
 O'er all, His Kingdom rules alone, 
 With sovereignty unshared. 
 
 16 O ye of might, that do His will, 
 
 Ye His angels ! praise The Lord ; 
 Ye, His commandments that fulfil, 
 And that attend His word ! 
 
8 THE PSALMS.' c. 
 
 17 O praise The Lord, ye His hosts! Him bless: 
 
 Your voices lift thereto; 
 Ye, His servants all, that Him confess ; 
 Ye, that His pleasure do ! 
 
 18 All ye His works! His Name extol, 
 
 His all dominions o'er. 
 O bless thou still The Lord, my soul ! 
 And still His praise forth pour. 
 
 PSALM CIII. 
 
 Third Version. 
 
 C\ BLESS The Lord: my soul! my frame! 
 All in me, bless His holy Name ! 
 My soul ! Him bless ; and ever all 
 His benefits to mind recall. 
 
 2 All thy transgressions He forgives, 
 All thy infirmities relieves ; 
 
 Thy life He from destruction saves, 
 And gives thy need whate'er it craves. 
 
 3 His loving-kindness thee supplies, 
 With all good things thee satisfies ; 
 Thy days does with new youth prolong, 
 Thee making as an eagle strong. 
 
 4 The Lord assists whome'er distressed, 
 And justice does for all the oppress'd. 
 To Moses were His ways made known, 
 His works to Israel's children shown. 
 
 5 The Lord is bountiful and good ; 
 He is piteous, and of kindly mood ; 
 He will not always stand to chide ; 
 Nor does His anger still abide. 
 
 O 
 
 6 As Heaven o'er Earth is high, so great 
 His mercy o'er whom on Him wait ; 
 
 As the East from West, far sunder'd they, 
 He from us puts our sins away. 
 
 7 E'en as a father spares his sons, 
 
 Has pity on his children-ones, 
 
 E'en so The Lord, a parent as, 
 On them who fear Him pity has. 
 
Civ. THE PSALMS. 21 9 
 
 8 Us not, as are our sins, He smites ; 
 Nor, as our wickedness, requites: 
 
 For He our structure knows how wrought, 
 
 Remembering we 're but dust and nought. 
 
 9 Man's days are as the grass ; an hour 
 To flourish ; as the fields' brief flower, 
 
 Whereo'er the wind sweeps, and off-blown 
 
 'T is past, nor more its place is known. 
 
 10 But The Lord's blessing is for aye 
 On those who fear Him and obey ; 
 And on their children's children so 
 His bounties will He still bestow. 
 
 1 1 His mercy will He still extend 
 
 To those His covenant who attend ; 
 To those who His commandments heed, 
 To keep them, walking as they lead. 
 
 12 The Lord, with sovereignty unshared, 
 His Throne has in the Heavens prepared : 
 Thence His observance all surveys : 
 
 And, over all, His Kingdom sways. 
 
 13 O bless The Lord; ye His angels all! 
 Supreme in strength ; obeying His call, 
 On His commands attendant still, 
 
 To execute whate'er His will. 
 
 14 Ye His servants all, obeying His word ; 
 Ye all His armies! bless The Lord. 
 All ye His realms, that Him confess! 
 
 O bless The Lord : my soul ! Him bless. 
 
 PSALM CIV. 
 
 Q PRAISE The Lord, my soul! Him bless. 
 
 O Lord my GOD ! Thou 'rt wondrous great : 
 With honour cloth'd and gloriousness, 
 Might majesty do on Thee wait. 
 
 2 As with a garment cast about, 
 
 Thou deck'st Thyself in light arrayed : 
 Like to a curtain open'd out, 
 The Heavens Thou spreadest forth displayed. 
 
THE PSALMS. civ. 
 
 3 Thy chambers' beams, firm planted there, 
 
 Thou in the watery deeps dost lay : 
 The rolling clouds Thy chariots are, 
 The winds Thee on their wings convey. 
 
 4 Thou spirits dost Thy angels make ; 
 
 Thy ministers are flaming fires; 
 Abroad Thy dread commands they take, 
 They signify Thy high desires. 
 
 5 Thou Earth's foundations laid'st, to stand. 
 
 Thou with the deep, in covering flood, 
 As with a vesture, cloth'd'st the land : 
 Above the hills the waters stood : 
 
 6 Again, at Thy rebuke, they fled ; 
 
 At Thy dread thunder's voice, in fear, 
 
 They hasted them away they sped ; 
 
 Nor tarried they, dismay'd to hear : 
 
 7 Upflowing to the hills they go ; 
 
 Down in the valleys course they free ; 
 E'en to the place for each, whatso, 
 Where Thou 'st appointed them to be. 
 
 8 Thou to the deep its bounds hast set, 
 
 Thou 'st fix'd its limits; nor allow'd 
 To overpass ; nor is it let 
 
 Again to turn and Earth o'ershroud. 
 
 9 Thou send'st the valleys springs, to fill ; 
 
 That run among the hills dispers'd : 
 There the field's beasts do drink at will ; 
 There the wild asses quench their thirst : 
 
 10 The feather'd fowls, thro air that wing, 
 
 Beside them their abodes uptake ; 
 Among the branches do they sing, 
 
 Rejoicing, where their dwellings make. 
 
 11 With Thy works' fruits Thou fill'st all Earth; 
 
 The hills Thou waterest from on high ; 
 Grass for the cattle bringing forth : 
 And the green herb for man's supply : 
 
 12 That food he thence may bring ; and wine, 
 
 Wine, that the heart of man makes glad ; 
 And oil, to make his countenance shine ; 
 And bread, wherewith he in strength is clad. 
 
Cv. THE PSALMS. 
 
 13 The trees too of The Lord are quick; 
 
 They 're full of sap nor moisture want; 
 
 The cedar-trees, green-foliag'd thick, 
 Of Libanus, which He did plant : 
 
 14 Therein the birds their nests do build ; 
 
 The storks among the fir-trees bide : 
 The wild-goats 'mong the hills them shield ; 
 The conies 'rnong the rocks reside. 
 
 15 The Moon, for certain seasons, so, 
 
 Hast Thou appointed, giving light. 
 The Sun its going down doth know : 
 
 Thou darkness mak'st, that it be night : 
 
 16 Then, from the forest, each his way, 
 
 The beasts go prowling forth abroad ; 
 And the young lions for their prey 
 
 Do roar, and seek their meat from GOD. 
 
 17 Forth beams the Sun: when all retire, 
 
 Back to their lairs again they wend : 
 Man to his work, where may require, 
 To his labour goes, till day-time end. 
 
 18 How numerous are Thy works, O Lord ! 
 
 In wisdom hast Thou made them all : 
 All Earth is with Thy riches stor'd ; 
 The land full-treasur'd is withal : 
 
 19 And so the spacious sea ; wherein 
 
 Are moving things beyond to tell ; 
 Great beasts and small, disporting in, 
 Innumerable therein do dwell. 
 
 20 There sail the ships* : There is, likewise, 
 
 Leviathan, whom Thou didst make ; 
 Leviathan, the huge of size, 
 
 Therein his pastime for to take. 
 
 21 These all, O Lord ! on Thee do wait ; 
 
 Thy creatures all, they wait on Thee : 
 That Thou may'st give them, small as great, 
 Their meat, when shall the season be : 
 
 22 Thou giv'st it them, at their demand; 
 
 They gather it, e'en as all as wilFd : 
 Thou to them openest out Thy hand ; 
 And they with plenteous good are fill'd. 
 
222 THE PSALMS. CV. 
 
 23 When from them Thou Thy face dost hide, 
 
 Then are they troubled in concern : 
 Thou reav'st them of their breath : none bide ; 
 They die, and to their dust return. 
 
 24 When Thou Thy spirit sendest forth, 
 
 Then they created are and live. 
 Thy breathing renovates the Earth : 
 From Thee doth all its life receive. 
 
 25 The Lord His greatness doth display, 
 
 For ever to continue fast ; 
 His might and glorious majesty 
 Shall to all time enduring last. 
 
 26 The Lord doth in His works rejoice. 
 
 His frown is fearful to provoke; 
 Earth trembles at His look His voice; 
 If He but touch the hills, they smoke. 
 
 27 While I have being, my GOD I '11 praise; 
 
 To Him I '11 sing while life 's with me; 
 To Him my laudful voice I '11 raise : 
 
 My joy shall in The Lord still be. 
 
 28 But, as for sinners, they shall fall ; 
 
 They shall be punish'd who transgress ; 
 The ungodly ones shall perish all. 
 
 Bless thou The Lord, my soul! Him bless. 
 
 PSALM CV.f 
 
 (~) GIVE ye thanks unto The Lord, 
 
 And call upon His Name; 
 His deeds throughout all lands record, 
 And still His praises frame. 
 
 2 Sing unto Him with loudest voice ; 
 
 His wondrous works declare : 
 Let them that seek The Lord, rejoice ; 
 Exalt Him everywhere. 
 
 3 Still in His holy Name delight 
 
 And glory ; sue His grace ; 
 
 Seek ye The Lord His strength and might; 
 
 Seek evermore His face. 
 
 t V : I to 12 (B:V: 15) 1 Chronicles xvi. 
 
CV. THE PSALMS. 
 
 4 His marvels keep ye still in thought ; 
 
 His acts to mind recall ; 
 His wondrous works that He hath wrought, 
 And His mouth's judgements all. 
 
 5 O ye, His servant Abraham's seed ! 
 
 Ye Jacob's children His! 
 His laws are o'er all Earth decreed : 
 The Lord our GOD He is. 
 
 6 His covenant, and His word as given, 
 
 Hath He remember'd still ; 
 To a thousand generations even, 
 As promis'd, to fulfil. 
 
 7 The covenant, whereto pledg'd His troth, 
 
 To keep for evermore, 
 
 That He with Abraham made ; and the oath 
 Fie unto Isaac swore : 
 
 8 Which, as a law, He did enact 
 
 For Jacob, e'er to last ; 
 
 And unto Israel, as a pact, 
 
 To stand for ever fast : 
 
 9 Saying " Unto you, there whither brought 
 
 " Your portion to receive ; 
 " As your inheritance's lot, 
 " I Canaan's land will give." 
 
 10 When in the land they all as yet 
 
 But few and strangers were; 
 Going from one People, 'gainst them set, 
 To another Nation there : 
 
 1 1 He suffer'd none, in whatso things 
 
 Or howso 'gainst them moved, 
 To do them hurt ; yea even Kings 
 He for their sakes reproved. 
 
 12 He let them be oppress'd of none, 
 
 Them shielding with His arm ; 
 Saying__" Touch not mine Anointed one, 
 " Nor do my prophets harm." 
 
 13 But now a dearth and famine sore 
 
 He call'd for on the land ; 
 Their staff of bread for victuals' store 
 He brake from out their hand. 
 
THE PSALMS. CV. 
 
 14 Now He before them one had sent, 
 
 Thereafter to uphold ; 
 E'en Joseph, who, to bondage bent, 
 Was for a servant sold : 
 
 15 Whose feet they did with fetters gall. 
 
 In irons laying him : 
 The Lord thus trying him withal, 
 Till when He should redeem. 
 
 16 Then sent the King, straight, and ordain'd 
 
 That he releas'd should be : 
 The People's ruler, whence enchain'd, 
 Did loose and set him free : 
 
 17 And o'er his house him set, for sway; 
 
 To rule his substance-hoards, 
 To guide his princes in their way, 
 And wisdom teach his lords. 
 
 18 Then into Egypt Israel 
 
 For sojourn came to bide ; 
 And, in the Land of Ham, to dwell, 
 Came Jacob, and reside. 
 
 19 And greatly He, in numerous throng, 
 
 Increas'd His People there ; 
 And made more than their masters strong ; 
 So multiplied they were. 
 
 20 Now those were turn'd, in enmity, 
 
 GOD'S People to contemn ; 
 And with His servants treacherously 
 They dealt, oppressing them. 
 
 21 Then Moses He and Aaron sent, 
 
 With power from Him bestowed : 
 Who there among them, whither went, 
 His signs and tokens showed. 
 
 22 And, in the Land of Ham throughout, 
 
 His wonders they displayed : 
 As His word order'd, brought about ; 
 Nor was it disobeyed. 
 
 23 He darkness sent; that, nought discern 'tl, 
 
 'T was all obscure to view ; 
 Their waters into blood He tiirnM ; 
 And all their fish 11< 
 
CV. THE PSALMS. 
 
 24 Their land engender'd frogs all o'er, 
 
 E'en their King's chambers in. 
 
 He spake And flies did countless pour, 
 
 And vermin all therein. 
 
 25 He gave them storms and tempests dire, 
 
 And hail-stones 'stead of rain; 
 And o'er their land fierce flames of fire, 
 Upburning hill and plain. 
 
 26 Their fig-trees and their vines, also, 
 
 He smote, all making void ; 
 
 And on their borders, whitherso, 
 
 He all their trees destroy 'd. 
 
 27 He spake And caterpillars straight 
 
 And locusts came all there ; 
 They countless came, in numbers great, 
 Thick-swarming everywhere : 
 
 28 And all the herbs throughout the land, 
 
 Like fire thereon down-showered, 
 Did they eat up on every hand ; 
 And the ground's fruit devoured, 
 
 29 Throughout the land, in its whole length, 
 
 He their first-born did strike ; 
 He smote the chief of all their strength, 
 Both man and beast alike. 
 
 30 With silver, also, and with gold, 
 
 His People forth He brought : 
 'Morig all the Tribes was not one told 
 Infirm or ailing aught. 
 
 31 At their departing Egypt, all 
 
 Was glad, and joy'd therefor ; 
 For that their fear did on it fall, 
 And terror came thereo'er. 
 
 32 He for them, as a covering, spread 
 
 A cloud, to guide by day; 
 And in the night a fire, that led, 
 Them lighting on their day. 
 
 33 They ask'd : And quails He brought, as will'd ; 
 
 Their craving He supplied ; 
 He with the bread of Heaven them fill'd ; 
 That they were satisfied. 
 
 Q 
 
THE PSALMS. CVL 
 
 34 He oped the rock : when straight, set loose, 
 
 The waters did gush out; 
 In the dry places they, profuse, 
 Like rivers, flowed about. 
 
 35 For He His holy promise now 
 
 Remember'd, to redeem ; 
 And Abraham His servant, how 
 He 'd covenanted with him. 
 
 36 And thence His People, as besought, 
 
 With gladness brought He forth : 
 His chosen ones thencefrom He brought, 
 With joyfulness and mirth. 
 
 37 And He the Heathen's land them gave : 
 
 And they inherited 
 And did the Nations' labour have 
 For their's, and in their stead. 
 
 38 That they His statutes should observe, 
 
 According to His word ; 
 And keep His law, nor thence to swerve. 
 O praise ye praise The Lord. 
 
 PSALM CVI. 
 
 C\ GIVE ye thanks unto The Lord ! 
 
 For graciousness is His ; 
 His mercy is on all outpour'd, 
 And everlasting is. 
 
 2 Who can His mighty acts express, 
 
 His greatness give to know! 
 Who tell The Lord's all faithfulness, 
 And all His praise forth show ! 
 
 3 Blest they, that still His laws obey, 
 
 And righteously still do ; 
 That walk in His commandments' way, 
 And guide their steps thereto ! 
 
 4 As is the favour, Lord ! by Thee 
 
 Towards Thy people shown, 
 Remember me : and to me be 
 
 Thy saving grace made known : 
 
CV. THE PSALMS. 
 
 5 The good Thou dost on every hand 
 
 For Thine elect prepare, 
 Thy inheritance's glory, and 
 
 Thy people's joy, to share. 
 
 6 Yea with our fathers have we sinn'd, 
 
 And wrought iniquity ; 
 We 've done amiss, us ill demean 'd, 
 And acted wickedly. 
 
 7 His wonders did they nought regard, 
 
 In Egypt for them wrought ; 
 But anger' d Him, who for them warr'd 
 At the Red Sea where brought. 
 
 8 He ne'ertheless, for His Name's sake, 
 
 Deliver'd them, as craved ; 
 His mighty power so known to make, 
 He succour'd them and saved. 
 
 9 He the Red Sea rebuk'd also, 
 
 That it updrying fled : 
 As thro a desert dry to go, 
 Them thro the deeps He led. 
 
 10 And, from their adversaries' hand, 
 
 His People rescued He ; 
 And, out of their oppressors' land, 
 Redeem'd and set them free. 
 
 1 1 For their pursuers, as took their way, 
 
 Where He the waters cleft, 
 
 O'erwhelm'd they were their whole array ; 
 
 Nor one of them was left. 
 
 12 Then they awhile His words believed, 
 
 And unto Him sang praise : 
 That He their rescue had achieved, 
 And did them now upraise : 
 
 13 But soon His works forgot ; and spurned, 
 
 Nor would His counsel bide ; 
 And, in the wilderness, they turned 
 To their own lusts aside. 
 
 14 They in the desert tempted GOD, 
 
 Still craving, uncontent : 
 And He them their desires allow'd ; 
 And them abundance sent.* 
 
228 THE PSALMS. Cvi. 
 
 15 Then Moses also in the tents 
 
 They anger'd and provoked, 
 And Aaron chief of The Lord's saints ; 
 And at GOD'S statutes mocked. 
 
 16 So the Earth, opening at His call, 
 
 Did Dathan up devour ; 
 Abiram's congregation all 
 It swallowed in that hour. 
 
 17 And, midst their company, His fire 
 
 Upkindling was allumed ; 
 The flame, fierce burning, as with ire, 
 The ungodly ones consumed. 
 
 18 A calf in Horeb did they make, 
 
 And down before it bow'd ; 
 The molten image did they take 
 And worship as a God. 
 
 19 Thus, with degradement gross and rude, 
 
 Their GLORY turned they 
 Into a calfs similitude, 
 An ox that eateth hay ! 
 
 20 And GOD their Saviour they forgot ; 
 
 Who for them had, to free, 
 Such wondrous works in Egypt wrought 
 And so by the Red Sea. 
 
 21 Therefor, them seeing thus trespassing, 
 
 His statutes making void, 
 He said, in auger menacing, 
 He them would have destroy'd : 
 
 22 Had Moses not, His chosen one, 
 
 Then in the gap stood forth ; 
 To turn his wrath ; lest, sparing none, 
 He 'd cut them off from Earth. 
 
 23 Yea they that pleasant land despised, 
 
 Nor would His word believe; 
 But, murmuring in their tents, nought prised, 
 Nor ear would to him give. 
 
 24 Then, lifting up His hand* thereto, 
 
 He swore, compassionless, 
 To overthrow them, scattering thro, 
 Wherr in the wilderness : 
 
Cv. THE PSALMS. 
 
 25 Among the Nations, wandering there, 
 
 Their seed to so cast out; 
 And, in the lands, so, everywhere, 
 Disperse them all about. 
 
 26 They join'd to Baal-Peor likewise, 
 
 Him worshipping instead ; 
 And ate the meats of sacrifice 
 And offerings of the dead.* 
 
 27 With their inventions thus to wrath 
 
 They movM The Lord o'erlong : 
 When, them arresting on their path, 
 A plague broke out among. 
 
 28 Was then done judgement by Phineas : 
 
 When ceas'd the sickness sore : 
 Which unto him as righteousness 
 Was held for evermore. 
 
 29 So, at ' Strife's- Waters', murmuring, 
 
 Had they His anger moved ; 
 When, thro their faults, him punishing, 
 He Moses there reproved : 
 
 30 Because, with their rebellions, they 
 
 His spirit did provoke ; 
 So that he unadvisedly, 
 With indiscretion, spoke. 
 
 31 Nor did the Heathen they destroy, 
 
 As bidden by The Lord ; 
 But with them mix'd, in like employ, 
 And learn'd their ways abhorr'd. 
 
 32 Their idols worshipp'd they likewise, 
 
 Them for their gods to have ; 
 And unto devils, in sacrifice, 
 Their sons and daughters gave : 
 
 33 Yea their own children's blood they shed 
 
 (That innocent blood unguiled) 
 To Canaan's idols ; and, made red, 
 The land therewith defiled. 
 
 34 They, with their own inventions, thus 
 
 Polluted were and stained ; 
 
 And, in their lusts iniquitous, 
 
 Went revelling unrefrained. 
 
230 THE PSALMS. Cvi 
 
 35 Therefor was the anger of The Lord 
 
 Upkindled them against, : 
 That His own People He abhorr'd, 
 With vengeful wrath incens'd : 
 
 36 And gave them up, thus left unstayed, 
 
 Into the Heathen's hand : 
 That those, who hated them, o'erswayed, 
 And lorded o'er the land. 
 
 37 Their enemies, as masters there, 
 
 Oppress'd them and o'erwrought: 
 And, 'neath their hand bow'd down, they were 
 Into subjection brought. 
 
 38 Yea many a time He them released : 
 
 But still again they sinn'd ; 
 And, for their wickedness unceased, 
 Were they brought low and thinn'd. 
 
 39 Ne'erless He, when their cry He heard, 
 
 Gave their affliction heed ; 
 He thought upon His covenant word, 
 And look'd upon their need : 
 
 40 As His great mercies e'er to all, 
 
 It griev'd Him to condemn; 
 Yea, even those that led in thrall, 
 He made to pity them. 
 
 41 O Lord our GOD! deliver us; 
 
 Us gather, and retrieve, 
 From 'mong the Heathen out : That thus 
 We Thee our thanks may give : 
 
 42 That thus unto Thy Holy Name 
 
 Uplift our grateful voice; 
 And in Thy praises, while to frame, 
 With boastfulness rejoice. 
 
 43 Be Israel's GOD still blest of men ! 
 
 Thereto all voices raise ; 
 And let thereto all say Amen! 
 
 All bless The Lord and praise ! 
 
THE PSALMS. 23J 
 
 PSALM CVII. 
 
 Q GIVE ye thanks unto The Lord ! 
 
 For graciousness is His; 
 His mercy is on all outpour'd, 
 And everlasting is. 
 
 2 Let His redeem'd, for this, unceased, 
 
 Give praise, and thankful be : 
 Those He from the enemy has released, 
 And from their hand set free : 
 
 3 And gather'd them from out all lands, 
 
 From the East and from the West 
 
 And North and South, and loos'd their bands, 
 
 And brought them to their rest. 
 
 4 They, in the wilderness astray 
 
 Who roam'd, unknowing where ; 
 Nor city found wherein to stay, 
 Unshelter'd wandering there. 
 
 5 Anhunger'd and athirst they pined ; 
 
 Their soul did in them faint; 
 Nor knew they succour where to find, 
 Beneath their ills' constraint. 
 
 6 Then, in their trouble, for relief, 
 
 They cried unto The Lord : 
 And them, from their distress and grief, 
 He rescued, as implor'd. 
 
 7 By the right way He led them forth, 
 
 And on their path did guide ; 
 Where they should find a home and hearth, 
 A city where to bide. 
 
 8 O let men, for His goodness, then, 
 
 Still praise The Lord e'erwhere ; 
 And all, wrought for the sons of men, 
 His wondrous works declare. 
 
 9 For th' hungry 's needing He supplies, 
 
 Relieving in their ills ; 
 The empty soul He satisfies, 
 
 And with all goodness fills. 
 
THE PSALMS. CVH- 
 
 10 They who had 'gainst His word rebell'd, 
 
 Nor would The Lord obey ; 
 And The Most Highest's counsels held 
 For nought, nor heeded they : 
 
 J 1 Who, bound in chains, and, 'ueatli His frown, 
 
 In death's dark shadow laid ; 
 They, hearts afflicted, when fell down ; 
 With none to give them aid : 
 
 12 When, in their trouble, for relief, 
 
 They cried unto The Lord : 
 He them, from their distress and grief, 
 Deliver'd, HS implor'd. 
 
 13 Them out of darkness did He take, 
 
 And from death's shadow bring ; 
 Their bonds in sunder so He brake, 
 Them thence enfranchising. 
 
 14 O let men, for His goodness, then, 
 
 Still praise The Lord e'erwhere ; 
 And all, wrought for the sous of men, 
 His wondrous works declare. 
 
 15 For He lias burst the gates of brass, 
 
 And made their bolts undo ; 
 And He the bars of iron has 
 In sunder smitten thro. 
 
 16 Because of their transgressions great, 
 
 And of their wickedness, 
 The evil-doers them get in strait, 
 And brought into distress. 
 
 17 They loathe whatever food ; down born', 
 
 They 're feeble and o'erwrought; 
 They 're e'en exhausted and outworn, 
 And to death's gates are brought. 
 
 18 Then, in their trouble, for relief, 
 
 They cry unto The Lord ; 
 And them, from their distress and grief, 
 He rescues, as implor'd. 
 
 19 He sends His word : and, as they crave, 
 
 He succours them and heals ; 
 From their destruction doth them save, 
 And frees from all their ill-. 
 
Cv. THE PSALMS. 
 
 20 O let men, for His goodness, then, 
 
 Still praise The Lord e'erwhere ; 
 And all, wrought for the sons of men, 
 His wondrous works declare. 
 
 21 And let thanksgiving's sacrifice 
 
 Them pay Him Earth throughout; 
 With gladness and rejoicing's voice, 
 His works tell loudly out. 
 
 22 They, that do to the sea go down 
 
 In ships, thereoer to ply ; 
 And in great waters, sailing on, 
 Their business occupy : 
 
 23 These The Lord's works see: these behold 
 
 His wonders in the deep : 
 
 For at His word the winds unfold, 
 
 And lift the waves on heap. 
 
 24 They to the Heavens are carried up, 
 
 Then down the depths beneath ; 
 Their souls do drink of troubles cup, 
 And melt away therewith. 
 
 25 Unsteady to and fro they reel, 
 
 They stagger here and there ; 
 Ei' en like a drunken man they feel, 
 And all bewildered are. 
 
 26 Then, in their trouble, for relief, 
 
 They cry unto The Lord: 
 And them, from their distress and grief, 
 He rescues, as implord. 
 
 27 For, instant calming, at His will, 
 
 He makes the storm to cease: 
 So that the troubled waves are still, 
 Down settling them to peace. 
 
 28 Then are they glad, and joyful go ; 
 
 For that they are at rest : 
 And to their wisJid for haven, so, 
 He brings them, as their quest. 
 
 29 O let men, for His goodness, then, 
 
 Still praise The Lord e'erwhere; 
 And all, wrought for the sons of men, 
 His wondrous works declare. 
 
THE PSALMS. evl, 
 
 30 Yea praise Him niidst the People's throng, 
 
 Exalt Him and high raise; 
 Him praise the Assembly all among, 
 In the Elders' seat Him praise. 
 
 31 He turns into a wilderness 
 
 The rivers flowing round ; 
 The lakes and water-springs not less 
 Converts into dry ground. 
 
 32 So, likewise, for its People's sin, 
 
 And as their just deserts, 
 Into a barren one and lean 
 He a fruitful land converts. 
 
 33 Again the wilderness He makes 
 
 Be rivers of full urns; 
 And so the water-springs and lakes 
 Into dry ground He turns. 
 
 34 And there the hunger'd and distress'd 
 
 He sets ; for to reside, 
 And build a City for their rest, 
 Wherein to dwell and bide. 
 
 35 That they may no provision want, 
 
 Nor produce of the field ; 
 But sow the land, and vineyards plant, 
 Their increase-fruit to yield. 
 
 36 He blesses them ; that they not cease, 
 
 But greatly multiply : 
 Nor He their cattle lets decrease, 
 Nor lack of full supply. 
 
 37 Again, when they diminish'd are, 
 
 Down-trodden and brought low, 
 
 Thro oppression sorrow whatso care, 
 
 In trouble or overthrow : 
 
 38 He cheeks their haughty Tyrants' sway, 
 
 Them in their pride down bends; 
 
 And o'er the waste, where is no way, 
 
 Them homeless wandering sends. 
 
 39 But He doth for the poor provide, 
 
 And them in safety keep ; 
 And makes them households where to bide, 
 And folds, e'en as for sheep. 
 
cv. THE PSALMS. 
 
 40 The righteous likewise this shall see, 
 
 And shall thereat rejoice : 
 And wickedness shall silenc'd be, 
 Nor let uplift her voice. 
 
 41 The wise, that seek The Lord to know, 
 
 These things will ponder on ; 
 And they His loving kindness so 
 Shall see all clearly shown. 
 
 PSALM CVIII. 
 
 Q GOD ! thereto my heart is framed ; 
 
 Thereto my voice I '11 raise : 
 Thy justful lauds, aloud proclaimed, 
 
 I '11 sing and give Thee praise. 
 
 2 Awake, all instruments of play ! 
 
 Harp psaltery all, awake ! 
 
 At earliest I '11 prevent the day, 
 And loud the song uptake. 
 
 3 Thee 'mong the Peoples, loud outpour'd, 
 
 Will I give thanks unto; 
 To Thee, among the Nations, Lord ! 
 I '11 sing and homage do. 
 
 4 For, to the Heavens' extremest ends, 
 
 Thy mercy's greatness spreads; 
 Thy truth unto the clouds extends, 
 E'erwhere its fulness sheds. 
 
 5 Above the Heavens, O GOD all great ! 
 
 Be Thou exalted high ; 
 Above the Earth Thy glory set, 
 O'er all afar and nigh. 
 
 6 That Thy belov'd may rescued be, 
 
 Deliverance thence to have : 
 O hear me, Lord! and answer me; 
 With Thy right hand me save. 
 
 7 GOD from His Sanctuary hath said, 
 
 He hath spoken with His voice : 
 'T is His decree, to be obey'd : 
 Therefor will I rejoice. 
 
236 THE PSALMS. 
 
 8 Dominion 's mine the land throughout; 
 
 Thereo'er will I preside : 
 I Succoth's valley will mete out, 
 And Shechem will divide. 
 
 9 Manasseh mine, mine Gilead is. 
 
 Me Ephraim obeys; 
 
 T is my head's strength my helm is this. 
 
 And Judah for me sways. 
 
 10 On Edom 1 my foot will place; 
 
 My wash-pot Moab make. 
 Philistia so will I abase ; 
 
 My song I '11 o'er her wake. 
 
 1 1 Who into the strong City now 
 
 Shall lead me, as its King? 
 Who thither lead me, to down-bow ; 
 And into Edom bring? 
 
 1*2 Lord! from us turn Thee not away; 
 
 But with our hosts go forth ; 
 In trouble us with Thy help upstay ; 
 For man's is nothing worth. 
 
 13 Thro GOD we valiantly shall do : 
 
 T is He will trample on, 
 
 For He it is He only who 
 
 Doth tread our enemies down. 
 
 PSALM CIX. 
 
 Q GOD! now rise in my defence; 
 
 Nor longer silent be. 
 For, knowing tho my innocence, 
 Are they maligning me. 
 
 2 The wicked's and deceitful's mouths 
 
 Upon me open'd are ; 
 With lying tongues, they all untruths 
 Speak 'gainst me every where. 
 
 3 With words of hatred, falsely cloked, 
 
 They 've compass'd me about; 
 Without a cause and unprovoked 
 Against me have they fought. 
 
. THE PSALMS. 237 
 
 4 E'en for the love I did them bear, 
 
 They against me are array'd. 
 But still 1 give myself to prayer, 
 And trust to Thee for aid. 
 
 5 They Ve evil render'd me for good, 
 
 My payment from them earn'd ; 
 And, for my love I to them show'd, 
 They hatred have return'd. 
 
 6 Be o'er him set the Judge : (they say*) 
 
 And let, at his right hand, 
 False charges 'gainst him tho to lay, 
 His adversary stand. 
 
 7 When sentence on him shall be given, 
 
 Be he condemn'd therein ; 
 And let his prayer for mercy even 
 Be counted him for sin. 
 
 8 Be few his days; his office let 
 
 Another one possess; 
 Be his wife a widow and in strait, 
 His children fatherless. 
 
 9 Be his offspring vagabonds on earth, 
 
 Thereo'er to beg their bread ; 
 E'en let them want for home and hearth, 
 Unshelter'd and unfed. 
 
 10 Let the extortioner him spoil, 
 
 Till nothing be him left; 
 And let the produce of his toil 
 Be by the stranger reft. 
 
 1 1 Let there be none to succour him ; 
 
 And none, where lying low, 
 His orphan children to redeem, 
 Or pity to them show. 
 
 12 Be his posterity destroy 'd ; 
 
 And, ere its second heir, 
 Be e'en his very name made void, 
 And blotted out for e'er. 
 
 13 Be his father's wickedness still in 
 
 Remembrance with The Lord : 
 Nor e'er forgot' his mother's sin, 
 Still in His mind upstor'd : 
 
38 THE PSALMS. 
 
 14 Let them before The Lord still be, 
 
 And in His mind have place : 
 That from the Earth, outrooting, He 
 Their memory may efface. 
 
 15 For that his mind was turri'd to ill; 
 
 Nor mercy e'er he show'd ; 
 But wrong' d the poor, and sought to kill 
 The bowed 'neath sorrow's load. 
 
 16 He cursing lov'd ; and so it shall 
 
 Be with him, to repay: 
 He lov'd not blessing; so withal 
 It far shall from him stay. 
 
 17 He cloth'd himself therewith ; and so 
 
 Shall cursing, in recoil, 
 Like water into his bowels flow, 
 And into his bones like oil : 
 
 18 E'en as his raiment worn, let this 
 
 Be unto him, to wear; 
 And as, wherewith he girded is, 
 His girdle, worn for e'er 
 
 19 Yea thus my haters, to my hurt, 
 
 Would from The Lord require ; 
 And, in their malice, to subvert, 
 Against me thus desire. 
 
 20 But, O Lord GOD! deal with me Thou, 
 
 As is Thy mercy great ; 
 For Thy Name's sake relieve me now, 
 And free from out my strait. 
 
 21 Deliver me : For I 'm distress'd, 
 
 With none to give me aid ; 
 My heart within me sinks oppress'd, 
 Sore wounded, and down weigh'd. 
 
 22 As the evening shadow lengthening out, 
 
 I fade to nought away ; 
 E'en as the locust toss'd about, 
 I 'm driven from stay to stay. 
 
 23 My knees thro fasting fail, outspent ; 
 
 They their support deny : 
 My flesh, for want of nourishment, 
 Is wither'd up and dry. 
 
CX. THE PSALMS. 239 
 
 24 I 'ra to my foes become a game, 
 
 A butt for their reproof; 
 They toss the head, to see my shame, 
 And from me keep aloof. 
 
 25 O Lord my GOD ! relieve me Thou : 
 
 Thy succour do I crave : 
 According to Thy mercy, now 
 Deliver me and save : 
 
 26 That they may know this is Thy hand ; 
 
 That Thou, Lord ! this hast done ; 
 And see that none can Thee withstand, 
 That like to Thee is none. 
 
 27 E'en let them curse : but bless Thou me. 
 
 Let them, that would destroy, 
 And 'gainst me rise, confounded be : 
 But let Thy servant joy, 
 
 28 Let my enemies with shame be cloth'd ; 
 
 In their own wiles entrapp'd ; 
 And in their own reproach, self-loath'd, 
 As with a cloak be wrapp'd. 
 
 29 For me, I '11 greatly thank The Lord, 
 
 And loudly Him I '11 praise ; 
 And, 'mong the multitude, outpour'd, 
 His lauds will I high raise. 
 
 30 For He still at the poor's right hand 
 
 Shall be ; to succour them, 
 And save them from the unrighteous baud, 
 That wrongly would condemn. 
 
 PSALM CX. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 '"THE LORD unto my Lord thus said 
 
 ' At my right hand sit Thou : 
 4 While, for a footstool, 'neath Thy tread, 
 
 ' Thine enemies I down bow.' 
 2 THE LORD the sceptre of Thy power 
 
 Shall send from Sion out. 
 In midst Thine enemies, ruling o'er, 
 Then govern, Earth throughout. 
 
240 THE PSALMS. CX, 
 
 3 Thy People, in Thy rule's day as King*, 
 
 Shall countless Thee attend ; 
 Their freewill offerings to Thee bring, 
 And at Thy Throne down bend. 
 
 4 THE LORD hath sworn : nor will HE break 
 
 His oath, nor HIM forswear 
 
 'As the order of Melchizedek*, 
 ' Thou art a Priest for e'er/ 
 
 5* The Lord, at His right hand who is, 
 
 Shall smiting them requite ; 
 In His wrath's day, outpouring this, 
 He Kings shall wounding smite. 
 
 6 Among the Nations shall He sit, 
 
 To judge them where around : 
 With the dead bodies, covering it, 
 Shall He o'erstrew the ground. 
 
 7 He many and mighty Chiefs shall slay ; 
 
 And He shall, whereso led, 
 Drink of the waters* in the way 
 And high uplift the head. 
 
 PSALM CX. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 r |^HE LORD unto my Lord did say 
 
 1 Sit Thou on my right hand, for sway ; 
 
 ' While I Thy foes Thy footstool make.' 
 THE LORD shall out of Zion forth 
 Thy sceptre send: Rule Thou on Earth; 
 
 E'en in their midst, their throne to take. 
 
 2 In Thy power's day, with offerings free, 
 Thy People, as dew-drops numerous, Thee 
 
 Shall in Thy Sanctuary adore. 
 THE LORD hath sworn, nor the oath will break : 
 ' As the order of Melchisedek, 
 
 'Thou art a Priest for evermore.' 
 
 3 THE LORD, Who still beside Thee is, 
 In His wrath's day, outpouring this, 
 
 Down casting them e'en Kings shall wound : 
 
Cx. THE PSALMS. 
 
 The Nations sball HE judge among; 
 And, sentencing, in numerous throng, 
 With the dead bodies fill the ground. 
 
 4 HE many and mighty Chiefs shall smite. 
 Thy enemies shall HE then requite, 
 
 And make Thee on their necks to tread. 
 HE of the waters in the way 
 Shall make Thee drink unstintedly 
 
 And lift victorious up the head. 
 
 PSALM CXI. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 my whole heart, unto The Lord 
 Will I give thanks and praise ; 
 Yea every where, aloud outpour'd, 
 Thereto my voice I '11 raise. 
 
 2 Great are His works, and good withal : 
 
 He in wisdom did them make : 
 With carefulness sought out, of all 
 Who pleasure in them take. 
 
 3 His work is worthy to be placed 
 
 And honour'd all before ; 
 And so His righteousness, firm-based, 
 Endures for evermore. 
 
 4 And He His wondrous works that wrought 
 
 Will have remember'd be. 
 The Lord is gracious, kindness-fraught, 
 And mercy shows stint-free. 
 
 5 He, them that fear Him, still provides, 
 
 And feeds as His own sheep ; 
 He of His covenant, that abides, 
 Will mindful be, to keep. 
 
 6 He, in His works' display, His power 
 
 Hath for His People shown ; 
 
 The Heathen's heritage, in dower, 
 
 To give them for their own. 
 
 7 Judgement and verity, as due, 
 
 The works are of His hand ; 
 So His commandments all are true, 
 And ever fast they stand : 
 
THE PSALMS. CXi, 
 
 8 Yea do they stand for ever fast, 
 
 In righteousness as ruth ; 
 For they are done, e'ermore to last, 
 In equity and truth. 
 
 9 His covenant is for e'er the same : 
 
 He His People hath redeem'd : 
 Holy and reverend is His Name, 
 Above all names esteeui'd. 
 
 10 In The Lord's fear hath wisdom birth. 
 
 They wise are, all before, 
 Who do His will. Him laud, all Earth ! 
 Him praise ye evermore. 
 
 PSALM CXI. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 \\TITH my whole heart out-pour'd, 
 Still will I praise The Lord : 
 
 To Him my voice I '11 raise : 
 The faithful ones among, 
 And Congregation's throng, 
 
 Him will I bless and praise. 
 
 2 The Lord's works all are great : 
 Their purposes they wait, 
 
 For which He did them make 
 They 're wonderful withal ; 
 With care sought out, of all 
 
 Who pleasure in them take. 
 
 3 All glorious, as He frames, 
 His work all honour claims, 
 
 And stands for ever sure : 
 And so His righteousness, 
 As from all time, ne'er less, 
 
 Shall to all time endure. 
 
 4 And He, wrought us to save 
 
 His wondrous works will have 
 
 To be remember'd e'er. 
 The Lord still gracious is, 
 Compassion-full with this, 
 
 And open-ear'd to prayer. 
 
CX. THE PSALMS. 
 
 5 To them, that Him do fear, 
 He hath given plenteous cheer ; 
 
 And will them still provide : 
 And, of His covenant, He 
 Will ever mindful be, 
 
 Nor thencefrom turn aside. 
 
 6 He His works' power, made known, 
 Hath to His People shown : 
 
 Thereof to make them heirs, 
 
 That He, throughout all age, 
 The Heathen's heritage 
 
 Might give them, to be theirs. 
 
 7 All His hands' works, as sure, 
 Are truth and justice pure. 
 
 His statutes are to last : 
 They 're done, as with all might, 
 In equity and right; 
 
 And stand for ever fast. 
 
 8 Unto His People He 
 Hath sent redemption free : 
 
 His covenant is for e'er. 
 His Name is holiest ; 
 It reverend is and blest, 
 
 All dignity to bear. 
 
 9 Fear ye The Lord : Therein 
 Doth wisdom still begin. 
 
 Good knowledge, all before, 
 Have they His will who do. 
 Him laud all ages thro, 
 
 Him praise ye evermore ! 
 
 PSALM CXI. 
 
 Third Version. 
 
 pRAISE The Lord! The Just among, 
 In the Congregation's throng, 
 Where to Him their voices raise, 
 Him with my whole heart I '11 praise. 
 2 Great The Lord is, past to say : 
 
 Great His works, and marvellous they; 
 Carefully sought out by those 
 Whom to they His hand disclose. 
 
244 THE PSALMS. CXli, 
 
 3 All He does, whatever His, 
 Honourable and glorious is. 
 So His righteousness is sure, 
 And for ever to endure. 
 
 4 He His wondrous works has wrought, 
 Still to be retain'd in thought. 
 Gracious is The Lord, and good, 
 Piteous, and of kindly mood. 
 
 5 He His covenant e'er will heed ; 
 Those who fear Him will He feed; 
 He to His has shown His power, 
 Giving them the Heathen's dower. 
 
 6 His hands' works for e'er endure. 
 His commandments all are sure; 
 Done in .truth and justice all, 
 Fast they stand, defying fall. 
 
 7 Fast His covenant ever stands. 
 He shall loose His People's bands. 
 He, as aye, is still the same. 
 Holy and reverend is His Name. 
 
 8 Fear The Lord : T is this makes wise : 
 Wisdom in His fear has rise. 
 
 Still with laudings Him adore, 
 Speak His praises evermore! 
 
 PSALM CXIl. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 AT man is blest, who fears The Lord, 
 Still walking in His sight : 
 In His commandments, and His word, 
 He greatly does delight. 
 
 2 His seed shall upon Earth be great, 
 
 And lengthen'd days shall see. 
 The faithful's race, ne'er put to strait, 
 Shall blest and prosperous be. 
 
 3 He riches likewise shall possess, 
 
 And plenteousness of store ; 
 And, handed down, his righteousness 
 Endures for evermore. 
 
Cx. THE PSALMS. 
 
 4 Unto the godly man there light 
 
 Doth out of darkness rise : 
 
 He is kindly piteous and upright, 
 
 And doth him well advise. 
 
 5 A good man bounteous is, and lends; 
 
 Nor ever turns aside 
 From them that want : and he his ends 
 Doth with discretion guide. 
 
 6 He never shall be mov'd ; still fast, 
 
 In strength's secureness clad : 
 And in remembrance, e'er to last, 
 The righteous shall be had. 
 
 7 For evil tidings, come what may, 
 
 He will not be afraid; 
 His heart firm stands: thereon his stay, 
 He trusts The Lord for aid. 
 
 8 His heart is 'stablish'd, shrinking nought 
 
 Nor he concern'd will be ; 
 Assur'd he, on his enemies wrought, 
 Shall his just vengeance see. 
 
 9 He largely hath dispens'd abroad, 
 
 And given it of his store : 
 His righteousness, therefor, and laud, 
 Endure for evermore. 
 
 10 His horn shall be exalted high, 
 
 And honour thence receive. 
 The ungodly, made asham'd thereby, 
 Shall see it and shall grieve : 
 
 11 They with their teeth shall gnash in ire, 
 
 And melt consum'd away : 
 Still foil'd, the wicked ones' desire 
 Shall come to sure decay. 
 
 PSALM CXII. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 man is blest who fears The Lord, 
 Who loves His statutes and His word: 
 The Earth his seed in power shall see ; 
 The faithful's race shall blessed be : 
 
246 THE PSALMS. cxiii. 
 
 2 His house shall plenteousness possess : 
 For e'er endures his righteousness. 
 
 The just sees light thro darkness shin'd ; 
 He 's bounteous, merciful, and kind. 
 
 3 The good man helps, and aid provides; 
 His ends he with discretion .guides : 
 
 Him nought shall move : ne'er thence expell'd, 
 He in memory ever shall be held. 
 
 4 He for no ill shall be afraid : 
 
 His heart is fast, on GOD firm stay'd ; 
 His heart is fast, no fears to know ; 
 He his enemies shall see brought low. 
 
 5 He of his substance has bestow'd, 
 And largely has the poor endow'd : 
 His righteousness endures for e'er : 
 
 His horn, high-rais'd, shall flourish fair. 
 
 6 The wicked this shall see unfold ; 
 And it shall grieve them to behold ; 
 They in their rage shall be down brought : 
 The ungodly 's ends shall come to nought. 
 
 PSALM CXIII. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 PRAISE ye The Lord! your voices raise; 
 
 Ye His servants ! praise The Lord ; 
 The Lord's blest Name together praise ; 
 Him laud with one accord. 
 
 2 From this, to time's remotest end, 
 
 The Lord's great Name be blest! 
 The praises of His Name extend, 
 
 From East to farthest West! 
 
 3 The Lord is o'er all Nations high ; 
 
 His glory above the clouds: 
 Who to The Lord our GOD comes nigh, 
 
 Where the Heaven Him enshrouds! 
 
 4 On high exalted doth He dwell : 
 
 Himself vet humbleth He 
 The things that are in earth, as well, 
 From His high Heaven to see. 
 
cx. THE PSALMS. 
 
 5 He from the dust uplifts th' abased, 
 
 And poor ones from the ground ; 
 And them with Princes sets, high placed, 
 His People's Princes crown'd. 
 
 6 He makes the barren woman bear; 
 
 Her silent house upwakes; 
 And her, with children, as her prayer, 
 A joyful mother makes. 
 
 PSALM CXIII. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 C\ YE His servants ! praise The Lord : 
 His Name be prais'd with one accord ; 
 
 Be with one voice His lauds express'd. 
 From this time forth for evermore, 
 Bless'd be The Lord whom we adore ! 
 The Lord's eternal Name be bless'd ! 
 
 2 From this to time's remotest end, 
 
 From East to where West's bounds extend, 
 The Lord's eternal Name be praised! 
 
 The Lord is o'er all Nations high : 
 
 His glory is above the Sky, 
 
 Above the Heavens His greatness raised. 
 
 3 Who 's like unto The Lord our GOD, 
 That dwells so high? yet low is bow'd, 
 
 From Heaven to see the things of Earth. 
 The humble He high-station'd makes : 
 The simple out of the dust He takes, 
 
 And poor out of the mire lifts forth : 
 
 4 And them with Princes doth He set, 
 E'en with His People's Princes great; 
 
 Exalting those of low degree. 
 He makes the barren woman bear, 
 And makes her, gracious to her prayer, 
 
 A children's joyful mother be. 
 
248 THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM CXIil. 
 
 Third Version. 
 
 pRAfSE The Lord, ye His servants all! 
 On His Name with praises call. 
 Blest His Name be, all before, 
 Henceforth and for evermore. 
 
 2 From the East to farthest West, 
 Prais'd His Name be, ever blest. 
 High The Lord o'er mortals is ; 
 O'er the Heavens the glory His. 
 
 3 Who The Lord our GOD comes nigh ? 
 Who like Him, that dwells on high? 
 Low Himself yet humbles He, 
 
 Earth from His high Heaven to see. 
 
 4 He the poor takes whence out-thrust, 
 Lifts the needy from the dust ; 
 Them with Princes high to set, 
 With His People's Princes great. 
 
 5 He the barren wife upwakes, 
 And a joyful mother makes. 
 All to Him your voices raise ; 
 Praise The Lord, Him ever praise! 
 
 PSALM CXIV. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 \\fHEN came from Egypt Israel's band, 
 And Jacob from the stranger's* land: 
 /Was Judah for His Sanctuary; \ 
 
 VAnd Israel own'd His sovereign sway./ 
 
 2 The sea beheld, and fled, afraid ; 
 Was Jordan driven back, dismay'd ; 
 Like rams the lofty mountains skipp'd, 
 And lesser hills like lambkins leap'd. 
 
 tt But, what commov'd thee then, O sea! 
 That thus thou Hcdd'st? and, Jordan! thee, 
 That back wast driven ? and, like to rams, 
 Ye, mountains! skipp'd? and, hills! likr 
 
CXV. THE PSALMS. 24-9 
 
 4 Yea tremble, at His presence, Earth! 
 
 THE LORD, e'eri Jacob's GOD, shown forth : 
 Who the hard rock made flow full urn'd, 
 The flint into a fountain turn'd. 
 
 PSALM CXIV. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 Israel forth from Egypt went; 
 And, from a strange-speech'd People bent, 
 
 Did Jacob's House withdraw : 
 (Was Judah in that day 
 His chosen Seat and Sanctuary, 
 
 And Israel own'd His law.) 
 
 2 The Sea beheld, and frighted fled. 
 W 7 as Jordan backward driven, in dread, 
 
 Impauick'd at the sight. 
 Like rams the Mountains skipp'd ; 
 And lesser Hills like lambkins leap'd, 
 Amaz'd, and in affright. 
 
 3 What then commov'd thee, O thou Sea! 
 That, thus thou fledd'st? and, Jordan, thee! 
 
 That backward driven? What you, 
 Ye Mountains ! that like rams 
 Ye skipp'd ? and, lesser Hills ! like lambs 
 Ye leap/d, in dire ado ? 
 
 4 Yea tremble, Earth ! to HIM down-bowed, 
 THE LORD e'en Jacob's GOD avowed : 
 
 The arid rock Who bade 
 A teeming tide supply, 
 HE Who the flinty stone and dry 
 A welling waters made. 
 
 . 
 
 PSALM CXV. 
 
 MOT for our sakes, Lord! not for us, 
 
 But Thy Name's sake, Thy glory show ; 
 And, for Thy loving-kindness, thus, 
 
 And truth, Thy greatness give to know. 
 
&50 THE PSALMS. 
 
 CXV. 
 
 2 No longer shall the Heathen say 
 
 ' Where 's now their GOD?' For they shall see 
 Our GOD is in the Heavens, to sway ; 
 And, whatso pleaseth Him, doth He. 
 
 3 Their idols silver are and gold, 
 
 The work but of men's hands, and wrought; 
 Eyes have they, but they nought behold ; 
 
 And mouths they have, but speak they nought : 
 
 4 They nostrils have, but cannot smell ; 
 
 Ears but not hear, tongues but not talk ; 
 
 Hands, but not feeling have as well ; 
 They feet have, but they do not walk. 
 
 5 So are they, but of lifeless frame, 
 
 Nor them have any sense within : 
 And they, that make them, are the same ; 
 And so are all that trust therein. 
 
 6 But, Israel's House ! trust in The Lord : 
 
 Ye House of Aaron! all ye His! 
 Trust ye in Him : For He, implor'd, 
 Your helper and defender is. 
 
 7 All ye, that fear The Lord ! Him trust : 
 
 He your defence and help will be ; 
 He is the safeguard of the just, 
 Their helper and defender He. 
 
 8 He of us still, in thought to bear, 
 
 Hath mindful been, and will ne'er less : 
 He Israel's house will bless, as e'er ; 
 The house of Aaron will He bless. 
 
 9 Them will He bless, both great and small, 
 
 That fear Him ; and will swell their store : 
 The Lord too will increase you all, 
 
 You and your children, more and more. 
 
 10 Ye blessed are of Him henceforth, 
 
 The Lord who made both Earth and Heaven. 
 The Heavens are all The Lord's : hut Earth 
 He to the sons of men has given. 
 
 1 1 The dead, O Lord ! in death, to Thee 
 
 Cannot their praiseful voices raise : 
 But that for evermore will we. 
 
 O praise The Lord ! Him ever praise ! 
 
THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM CXVI. 
 
 "WELL-pleasM am I, that He hath heard 
 
 My supplication's voice ; 
 The Lord hath heark'd my prayer preferr'd : 
 Therefor will I rejoice. 
 
 2 He to me hath inclin'd His ear, 
 
 And answer'd me withal : 
 So all my days, assur'd He '11 hear, 
 I still will on Him call. 
 
 3 The snares of death did me enfold, 
 
 Encompassing around ; 
 The pains of hell gat on me hold ; 
 I trouble and sorrow found. 
 
 4 Then did I call upon The Lord, 
 
 Upon His Name I called : 
 4 O Lord ! I Thee beseech, implor'd : 
 ' Release me whence enthralled.' 
 
 5 The Lord is gracious : yea our GOD 
 
 Is merciful in need ; 
 He helps the helpless : When down-bow'd, 
 He uplifted me and freed. 
 
 6 Then, O my soul ! unto thy rest 
 
 Return thee now again : 
 For He hath rais'd thee whence depress'd, 
 And loos'd thee from thy chain. 
 
 7 Yea, Lord ! delivering in my fears, 
 
 Thou 'st freed my hands from thrall 
 
 My soul from death mine eyes from tears. 
 
 And feet from lest to fall. 
 
 8 He hath upheld me with His hand, 
 
 Nor let me stumble more : 
 So still I, in the living's land, 
 Will walk The Lord before. 
 
 9 As I believ'd so will I speak, 
 
 And my firm faith declare : 
 But in my trouble I said, o'erquick, 
 1 All men mere liars are.' 
 
THE PSALMS. CXV11, 
 
 10 What shall I render unto GOD, 
 
 How pay The Lord His own, 
 
 For all His benefits bestow'd 
 And mercies to me shown .' 
 
 1 1 Salvations cup will I receive, 
 
 And on His Name still call ; 
 My offerings to The Lord I 'II yive, 
 Before His People all. 
 
 12 The Lord them ever keeps therewith, 
 
 And with His care enfolds : 
 Dear in His sight is His saints' death, 
 And precious them He holds. 
 
 13 Lo, I 'm Thy servant, Lord! indeed, 
 
 Thine handmaid's son, all Thine : 
 For Thou 'st deliver'd me and freed, 
 Nor more let bonds confine. 
 
 14 Thanksgiving's sacrifice, as due, 
 
 To Thee 1 '11 offer still ; 
 Still call upon Thy Name, Thee sue, 
 And e'er attend Thy will. 
 
 15 Before His People all, I now 
 
 To Him my vows will pay : 
 Before The Lord will I down bow, 
 To serve Him and obey. 
 
 16 He in His House shall by me be 
 
 And in His Courts ador'd, 
 In midst, Jerusalem ! of thee. 
 O praise ye praise The Lord! 
 
 PSALM CXVII. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 Q PRAISE The Lord, ye Nations all ! 
 Ye Peoples all ! Him praise ; 
 To Him, with laud and thanks withal, 
 
 Your praiseful voices raise. 
 2 For, to us, gracious, He assures 
 
 His mercies' boundless store : 
 His truth for evermore endures. 
 O praise Him evermore! 
 
THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM CXVII. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 ^LL ye Nations! praise The Lord; 
 
 Come with hymnings Him before ; 
 Still with loudest voice outpour'd, 
 Praise Him, now arid evermore. 
 
 2 Great His loving-kindness is; 
 
 Great to us, and ever pure : 
 Great the truth and goodness His; 
 So for ever to endure. 
 
 3 All conjoin the pious song : 
 
 High to Him your voices raise. 
 Still the laudful strain prolong : 
 Praise The Lord, Him ever praise! 
 
 PSALM CXVlil. 
 
 Q GIVE ye thanks unto The Lord; 
 
 In mind His bounties bear. 
 
 For He is good : to all outpour'd, 
 
 His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 2 Let Israel now confess and say 
 
 His mercy endures for e'er; 
 Let Aaron's House say in like way 
 His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 3 Let all, that fear The Lord, confess 
 
 His mercy endures for e'er; 
 Let all proclaim that, never less, 
 His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 4 In my distress, to set me free, 
 
 Upon The Lord I callM : 
 And straight He heard ; and, answering me, 
 Releas'd me whence enthrall'd. 
 
 5 The Lord is with me, ever near. 
 
 When I address me to : 
 He 's on my side: I will not fear* 
 What man can to me do. 
 
254 THE PSALMS. cxviii. 
 
 6 The Lord still takes my part, to aid, 
 
 When I His help require: 
 So on my enemies, thus upstay'd, 
 Shall I see my desire. 
 
 7 'T is better in The Lord than man 
 
 To let one's trust abide ; 
 To trust in Him is better than 
 In Princes to confide. 
 
 8 The Nations compass'd me about; , 
 
 Against me came they forth : 
 But them, in The Lord's Name, cast out, 
 Have I destroyed from Earth. 
 
 9 They e'en as bees about me came. 
 
 But, like burnt thorns they are : 
 For, them, e'en in The Lord's dread Name, 
 Have I destroyed e'erwhere. 
 
 10 They sore did at me thrust, to slay. 
 
 But me He help'd in this : 
 The Lord my strength is and my stay ; 
 He my salvation is. 
 
 11 Where dwell the righteous in the land 
 
 There peace its biding has, 
 And health and joy. The Lord's right hand 
 Brings mighty things to pass. 
 
 12 The right hand of The Lord does stand 
 
 Exalted high, and has 
 Pre-eminence : The Lord's right hand 
 Brings mighty things to pass. 
 
 13 I shall not die; but live: So still 
 
 I '11 praise The Lord therefor : 
 He sore hath chasten'd me with ill ; 
 But not to death given o'er. 
 
 14 Ope me the gates of righteousness : 
 
 That I may enter there, 
 And to The Lord my thanks express, 
 And loud His praise declare. 
 
 15 This The Lord's gate is: Here, to be, 
 
 The righteous shall go in. 
 Lord ! Thee I '11 thank : For, answering me, 
 Thou *st my salvation been. 
 
THE PSALMS. 
 
 16 The stone, the builders did reject 
 
 Refusing it for this, 
 
 Now, thereto chosen and elect, 
 The corner's headstone is. 
 
 17 This is His doing: He this bade: 
 
 'T is marvellous in our sight. 
 This is the day The Lord hath made : 
 Therein will we delight. 
 
 18 Now help us, Lord ! to Thee we pray ; 
 
 Thy succour now we crave : 
 Lord ! send us now prosperity, 
 And from all evil save. 
 
 19 Blessed be he, of Him confess'd, 
 
 That comes in The Lord's Name! 
 You, that of The Lord's House, we 've bless'd ; 
 From Him ye blessed came. 
 
 20 GOD is The Lord who hath shown us light. 
 
 With cords around entwin'd, 
 To the altar's horns, in wreaths bedight, 
 The sacrifice now bind. 
 
 21 Thou art my GOD ; still to me nigh : 
 
 And Thee so will I praise. 
 Thou art my GOD : To Thee on high 
 My praiseful voice 1 '11 raise. 
 
 22 O give ye thanks unto The Lord; 
 
 In mind His bounties bear. 
 For He is good : To all outpour'd, 
 His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 PSALM CXIX. 
 PART I. ALEPH. 
 
 J^LESSED they are, yea blessed they! 
 
 Who thencefrom ne'er withdraw; 
 The undefined in the way, 
 
 Who walk in The Lord's law. 
 2 Blessed are they ; who, doing His will, 
 
 Him seek with their whole heart ; 
 Who keep His testimonies still, 
 Nor thencefrom e'er depart ! 
 
THE PSALMS. CXX 
 
 3 So no iniquity they do, 
 
 But in His paths e'er dwell. 
 Lord ! Thou 'st commanded us thereto, 
 To keep Thy precepts well. 
 
 4 O let my ways in all be framed, 
 
 Thy statutes to observe : . 
 So shall 1 be in nought ashamed, 
 While from Thy law ne'er swerve. 
 
 5 In uprightness of heart withal 
 
 Thee will I praise and bless ; 
 When 1 Thy righteous judgements all 
 Have learn'd in perfectness. 
 
 6 So still Thy ordinances I '11 hold, 
 
 And them my study make. 
 Lord! keep me still within Thy fold, 
 Nor ever me forsake. 
 
 PART II. BETH. 
 
 JJOW shall, O Lord ! the young succeed 
 
 To make pure ways their own ? . . . . 
 By duly to them taking heed, 
 As in Thy word is shown. 
 
 2 With my whole heart I Thee have sought : 
 
 O lead me in Thy way ; 
 From Thy commandments let me nought 
 E'er wandering go nor stray. 
 
 3 Thy words within my heart I 've stor'd, 
 
 So not 'gainst Thee to sin : 
 Thy statutes teach me, blessed Lord ! 
 Still studying Thee therein. 
 
 4 Thy judgements all have 1, loud-voiced, 
 
 Still publish'd all before ; 
 I 've in Thy ordinances rejoiced, 
 As in great riches' store. 
 
 5 Thy dictates still I '11 keep in sight, 
 
 And heed my ways where set ; 
 I '11 in Thy precepts still delight, 
 Nor e'er Thy word forget. 
 
THE PSALMS. 5? 
 
 PART III. GIMBL. 
 
 J)O well unto Thy servant, Lord ! 
 
 And gracious to him be : 
 That I may live and keep Thy word, 
 In all obeying Thee. 
 
 2 Ope Thou mine eyes, to understand 
 
 Thy law's most wondrous things: 
 I 'm here a stranger in the land : 
 Show me Thy governings. 
 
 3 E'en for its love, while guilt beneath, 
 
 To Thy just judgements all, 
 
 My soul, sin-bound, consumes therewith, 
 Essaying to break its thrall. 
 
 4 Thou dost rebuke the proud of heart : 
 
 And cursed are all they 
 
 From Thy commandments who depart 
 And from Thy precepts stray. 
 
 5 Keep from me men's contemptuousness, 
 
 And turn reproach and shame : 
 For I have kept Thy ordinances, 
 In all avoiding blame. 
 
 6 Tho Princes even, to condemn, 
 
 Against me sit and talk ; 
 Thy servants still, close studying them. 
 Shall in Thy statutes walk. 
 
 7 So I, my life thereby to square, 
 
 Them keep before my sight : 
 For still Thy testimonies are 
 My counsellors and delight. 
 
 PART IV. DAUSTH. 
 
 ]\JY soul, beneath its sin down-bow'd, 
 
 Unto the dust doth cleave. 
 According to Thy word avow'd, 
 
 Lord! raise me and relieve. 
 2 My ways have I declar'd and shown : 
 
 Thou heard'st me them confess. 
 Thy statutes teach me, making known ; 
 That I no more transgress. 
 
 s 
 
258 THE PSALMS. 
 
 3 Make me their way to understand, 
 
 And in Thy precepts walk : 
 So, of the marvels of Thy hand, 
 And wondrous works, I '11 talk. 
 
 4 For very heaviness, down-weigh'd, 
 
 My heart consumes, in fear : 
 
 According to Thy word, now aid 
 
 Now comfort me and cheer. 
 
 5 Me from the sinful path withdraw, 
 
 And way of lying take ; 
 Still cause Thou me to love Thy law, 
 And much thereof to make. 
 
 6 I Ve chosen Thy truth's way, and feared 
 
 Thy judgements, shunning blame ; 
 I 've to Thy ordinances adhered : 
 Ne'er let -me suffer shame. 
 
 7 Lord ! strengthen Thou my heart, and free 
 
 From sin fulness's sway : 
 So will I e'er, upstay'd by Thee, 
 Run Thy commandments' way. 
 
 PART V. HE. 
 
 me, O Lord ! Thy statutes' way, 
 That I may comprehend : 
 So shall I walk therein, nor stray, 
 But keep it to the end. 
 
 2 to me understanding give! 
 
 So shall 1 keep Thy law, 
 With my whole heart thereto still cleave, 
 Nor thence aside withdraw. 
 
 3 Make me to go, as they require, 
 
 In Thy commandments' path : 
 For that therein is my desire, 
 And there it pleasure hath. 
 
 4 My heart from sinfulness still hold, 
 
 And to Thy law incline : 
 Ne'er let me vanity behold ; 
 But to Thy way confine. 
 
CXix. THE PSALMS. 259 
 
 5 Be by Thy word Thy servant led, 
 
 Thy fear still studying there : 
 Turn from me the reproach I dread; 
 For just Thy judgements are. 
 
 6 Behold, in Thy commandments all, 
 
 I my delight still make. 
 Lord ! in Thy goodness, lest to fall, 
 Me in Thy keeping take. 
 
 PART VI. VATJ. 
 
 IV OW let Thy loving mercy great 
 
 Come unto me, O Lord ! 
 E'en Thy salvation, that I wait; 
 According to Thy word. 
 
 2 So shall I answer make in this 
 
 To them who 'gainst me cry: 
 For in Thy word my trust still is ; 
 On Thee do I rely. 
 
 3 Ne'er from my mouth, thereto still oped, 
 
 Take Thy truth's word away : 
 For in Thy judgements have I hoped, 
 And made thereon my stay. 
 
 4 So will I ever, shunning ill, 
 
 Thy statutes keep, as due : 
 And I at large shall walk ; for still 
 Thy precepts I pursue. 
 
 5 Before e'en Kings, aloud proclaimed, 
 
 Thy law will I declare: 
 Thereof I will not be ashamed, 
 But speak it every where. 
 
 6 And my delight shall evermore 
 
 In Thy commandments he : 
 Which I have lov'd ; as e'er before, 
 In all obeying Thee. 
 
 7 Thereto, at early hour as late, 
 
 Will I lift up my hands ; 
 
 And on Thy law still meditate, 
 
 To walk in its commands. 
 
260 THE PSALMS. 
 
 PART VII. ZAJN. 
 
 Q THINK upon Thy servant, Lord! 
 
 Still to Thy promise just : 
 Concerning Thy assurance- word, 
 Wherein Thou bad'st me trust. 
 
 2 For in my straits, still kept in view, 
 
 The same my comfort is ; 
 Thy word hath quicken'd me anew, 
 To life restor'd thro this. 
 
 3 My foes, the ungodly ones, combined, 
 
 Spurn'd at me, in their pride : 
 Yet from Thy law I nought declined, 
 Nor thencefrom turn'd aside. 
 
 4 I Thy eternal judgements sure 
 
 Have still, whate'er me grieved, 
 Remember'd ; and, thereon secure, 
 Thence comfort I received. 
 
 5 I shudder, when to think of they 
 
 Who follow paths unclean : 
 Thy statutes still, thro my life's way, 
 My praiseful songs have been. 
 
 6 At night I on Thy law have thought, 
 
 And call'd to mind Thy Name : 
 Of this possess'd, because still sought 
 Thereby my walk to frame. 
 
 PART VIH. CHETH. 
 
 Thee still nearer let me draw : 
 Thou, Lord ! my portion art. 
 I 've said that 1 would keep Thy law, 
 Nor thencefrom e'er depart. 
 
 2 With my whole heart, entreating Thee, 
 
 Thy favour I 've implor'd. 
 
 merciful then to me be, 
 According to Thy word. 
 
 3 I thought upon my ways astrayed, 
 
 And turn'd me Thee to serve ; 
 
 1 hasten'd, nor the time delayed, 
 Thy statutes to observe. 
 
 cxix, 
 
CX1X. THE PSALMS. 
 
 4 The ungodly's bands against me plot, 
 
 With mischief still designed : 
 
 But Thee I nothing have forgot', 
 
 Nor from Thy law declined. 
 
 5 At midnight will I rise, to bless 
 
 And give Thee thanks withal : 
 Because of all Thy righteousness 
 And Thy just judgements all. 
 
 6 With them I 'm in companionship, 
 
 All, Thee who fear aright ; 
 All they, who Thy commandments keep 
 And therein take delight. 
 
 7 Dread Lord! Thy mercy fills all Earth; 
 
 E'erwhere is its display : 
 Thy statutes teach me ; from henceforth 
 To walk the perfect way. 
 
 PAKT IX. TETH. 
 
 J^~OW hath again Thy servant, Lord ! 
 
 Thy bounteous mercies felt ; 
 With Him, according to Thy word, 
 Thou graciously hast dealt. 
 
 2 O give me understanding just, 
 
 And teach me knowledge true: 
 For I in Thy commandments trust, 
 And them will I pursue. 
 
 3 Before my trouble I went astray : 
 
 But now 1 keep from sin. 
 O Lord ! Thou 'rt good : teach me Thy way, 
 That I may walk therein. 
 
 4 The ungodly ones, with plottings deep, 
 
 Have falsehood 'gainst me framed : 
 But I Thy ordinances will keep 
 With my whole heart, unblamed. 
 
 5 Their heart is as gross fat unclean. 
 
 But 1 to Thee will turn : 
 T is good for me to have troubled been, 
 Thy statutes so to learn. 
 
262 THE PSALMS. 
 
 6 Thy law to ine far better is, 
 
 More dear and precious more, 
 
 Than thousands yea whatever this 
 
 Of gold or silver store. 
 
 PART X. JOD. 
 
 hands have fashion'd me and wrought: 
 O give me to discern ; 
 O give me knowledge : that, thence taught, 
 Thy statutes I may learn. 
 
 2 Those, Thee who fear, when me they see, 
 
 Will be rejoic'd and glad ; 
 Because I, on Thy word, as Thee, 
 My trust have ever had. 
 
 3 I know, O Lord ! Thy sentences 
 
 Are all in justice weigh'd ; 
 That Thou, of very faithfulness, 
 This trouble hast on me laid. 
 
 4 O let Thy loving-kindness now 
 
 With comfort me relieve; 
 According to Thy word, which Thou 
 Didst to Thy servant give. 
 
 5 Let now Thy mercies, in my ill, 
 
 Come to me, leading right. 
 So I therethro shall live : for still 
 Thy law is my delight. 
 
 6 Confound the proud : For, causeless, they 
 
 Have my destruction sought. 
 
 But Thy commandments, to obey, 
 
 Shall still be all my thought. 
 
 7 Let those, Thee fearing, and who have 
 
 Thy testimonies known, 
 Be to me turn'd. To all who crave, 
 Be still Thy mercy shown. 
 
 8 O let my heart, thereto still aimed, 
 
 Be in Thy statutes sound : 
 So shall I not be made ashamed, 
 But ever blameless found. 
 
CX1X. THE PSALMS. 263 
 
 PART XI. CAPH. 
 
 A/TY soul for Thy salvation pines, 
 
 Thy saving grace implor'd : 
 But still my hope in nought declines, 
 Relying on Thy word. 
 
 2 Mine eyes with looking fail ; while wait 
 
 Thy promis'd word to see ; 
 
 While still I say ' Now in my strait, 
 
 * When wilt Thou comfort me!' 
 
 3 For, as a wine-skin am I grown, 
 
 That in the smoke is set : 
 Yet I Thy statutes keep, as known, 
 Nor them in aught forget. 
 
 4 How many are then Thy servant's days, 
 
 How long to bear this ill? 
 When wilt Thou smite my enemies, 
 That persecute me still? 
 
 5 They pits have for me digg'd ; they avow 
 
 To act against Thy law ; 
 They arraign me falsely. Help me, Thou! 
 And from their hands withdraw. 
 
 6 They 'd nigh destroy 'd me, while they took 
 
 Each means to work my fall. 
 But I Thy precepts not forsook, 
 As Thy commandments all. 
 
 7 O in Thy loving-kindness, Lord! 
 
 Revive me and restore. 
 So I Thy testimonies' word 
 Shall keep for evermore. 
 
 PART XII. LAMED. 
 
 Heaven, O Lord ! to ne'er forego, 
 Thy word stands ever fast ; 
 And, to all generations, so, 
 Thy faithfulness doth last. 
 
 2 By Thee establish'd and upheld, 
 
 Thy hand thereo'er presides: 
 Thou Earth's foundations laidst of eld ; 
 And it untnov'd abides : 
 
264 THE PSALMS. 
 
 3 According to Thy ordinances, 
 
 E'en now continue they. 
 For, all Thy sovereignty confess ; 
 All creatures Thee obey. 
 
 4 Unless that in Thy law alone 
 
 Had been my joy therewith, 
 When laid 'neath my affliction prone, 
 I should have sunk beneath. 
 
 5 I ne'er Thy precepts will forget, 
 
 In all obeying Thee : 
 For, with them still before me set, 
 Hast Thou requicken'd me. 
 
 6 I am Thine : O save me, low down brought ; 
 
 Revive me and restore : 
 For I 've Thy testimonies sought, 
 To keep them evermore. 
 
 7 In wait the ungodly for me laid, 
 
 Designing to destroy : 
 But in Thy statutes, e'er obey'd, 
 Me still do I employ. 
 
 8 I 've seen that here, alike in this, 
 
 All ends or knows impair : 
 But Thy commandment perfect is, 
 And stands broad-based for e'er. 
 
 PART XIII. MEM. 
 
 J^ORD ! how I love Thy law : yea still 
 
 I meditate on this ; 
 All the day long, to do Thy will, 
 Therein my study is. 
 
 2 Thro Thy commandments, teaching me, 
 
 Thou makest me more wise 
 Than my enemies : for, whereso be, 
 They 're with me, to advise. 
 
 3 More understanding I possess 
 
 Than do my teachers all : 
 For still Thy laws and ordinances 
 I to my mind recall. 
 
THE PSALMS. 265 
 
 4 More knowledge have I than the old, 
 
 And wisdom have I more : 
 
 Because I to Thy precepts hold, 
 
 And keep them me before. 
 
 5 From every vicious path, O Lord! 
 
 With care have I abstain'd ; 
 That blameless I might keep Thy word, 
 In all as there ordain'd. 
 
 6 I from Thy judgements have not turned, 
 
 Nor thencefrom shrunk in aught: 
 For I Ve thro Thy instruction learn'd ; 
 Therein Thou hast me taught. 
 
 7 What sweets Thy words to me convey ! 
 
 Yea soft they are and sooth, 
 And sweeter in their savour they 
 Than honey to my mouth. 
 
 8 Thy statutes thro, as they dictate, 
 
 I understanding gain : 
 Therefor all evil ways I hate, 
 And from them still refrain. 
 
 PART XIV. Nuw. 
 
 word, O Lord ! illuming this, 
 
 Wheree'er its way it hath, 
 
 Unto my feet a lantern is, 
 And light unto my path. 
 
 2 I this have sworn, and stedfastly 
 
 I purpos'd am therein, 
 
 Thy righteous judgements to obey, 
 And keep aloof from sin. 
 
 3 I 'm deeply troubled. Thee, O Lord! 
 
 For succour I implore; 
 According to Thy promise-word, 
 Revive me and restore. 
 
 4 The free-will offerings of my mouth, 
 
 I pray Thee, Lord ! accept : 
 Teach me Thy precepts and Thy truth, 
 How should Thy law be kept. 
 
266 THE PSALMS. 
 
 5 My life, for violence thence to draw, 
 
 Is ever in my hand : 
 Yet do I not forget Thy law, 
 To act as its command. 
 
 6 Their snares the ungodly for me laid : 
 
 Yet I Thy will observed ; 
 From Thy commandments, still obey'd, 
 I nothing swayed nor swerved. 
 
 7 Thy precepts have I claim'd to be 
 
 My heritage's share: 
 Because, therein delighting me, 
 My chiefest joy they are. 
 
 8 My heart I evermore do give 
 
 Thy statutes to fulfil; 
 Yea ev'n unto the end, while live, 
 I '11 seek to do Thy will. 
 
 PAKT XV. SAMECH. 
 
 T HATE the proud and wayward-will'd ; 
 
 But love Thy law, O Lord ! 
 Thou art my covert and my shield ; 
 My trust is in Thy word. 
 
 2 With you I have no fellowship : 
 
 Ye evil-doers, away ! 
 My GOD'S commandments will I keep, 
 And still His laws obey. 
 
 3 As promis'd me, uphold me, Thou ! 
 
 That safely I may live: 
 Nor make me disappointed now, 
 Nor of my hope deceive. 
 
 4 Hold Thou me up : So, shunning ill, 
 
 I safe shall be, nor fall : 
 Yea also my delight shall still 
 Be in Thy statutes all. 
 
 5 Thou 'st trodden down all them, that quit 
 
 And from Thy precepts swerve, 
 That practise falsehood and deceit, 
 Nor truthfulness observe. 
 
THE PSALMS. 267 
 
 6 Like dross them casting out, Thou dost 
 
 Earth's wicked ones remove: 
 So I, as put therein my trust, 
 Thy testimonies love. 
 
 7 My flesh, dread Lord ! for awe of Thee, 
 
 Doth tremble, sore afraid : 
 I fear Thy judgements, threatening me ; 
 At Thy just wrath dismay 'd! 
 
 PAKT XVI. AIN. 
 
 T DEAL, Lord! only with the thing 
 
 That lawful is and right : 
 Ne'er give me up, abandoning, 
 To my oppressors' might. 
 
 2 Make Thou Thy servant, following good, 
 
 Therein delight to take : 
 That so my foes, the prideful brood, 
 Ne'er find me this forsake. 
 
 3 Mine eyes are wasted and outpour'd ; 
 
 With looking for Thy aid, 
 
 And for Thy righteousness's word 
 
 Thy truth, whereon I 'm stay'd. 
 
 4 According to Thy mercy kind, 
 
 Still keep me from all ill : 
 Teach me Thy precepts; there to find, 
 And how obey Thy will. 
 
 5 I am Thy servant: So me teach, 
 
 And understanding give; 
 That I Thy testimonies each 
 May know, thereby to live. 
 
 6 'T is time, O Lord ! or ere destroy 'd, 
 
 Thereto Thy hand to lay : 
 For they Thy statutes have made void, 
 Nor will Thy law obey. 
 
 7 But Thy commandments do I love 
 
 Above or gems or gold, 
 Yea even finest gold above ; 
 And them more precious hold. 
 
268 THE PSALMS. 
 
 8 I hold to all Thy ordinances, 
 
 My rule them taking for : 
 But all false ways and practices 
 I utterly abhor. 
 
 PART XVII. PE. 
 
 'T'HY testimonies, Lord ! are great ; 
 
 And wonderful they are : 
 Therefor my soul I with them freight, 
 And keep up-treasur'd there. 
 
 2 When go'th Thy word forth, teaching right, 
 
 Instructing them to live, 
 
 It. understanding doth, and light, 
 Unto the simple give. 
 
 3 I oped my mouth, as one dry-tongued, 
 
 And panted thirstingly ; 
 Because for Thy commandments longed, 
 To learn them and obey. 
 
 4 O look Thou on me: and, in blame, 
 
 With mercy to me lean ; 
 As, unto them that love Thy Name, 
 Thy wont has ever been. 
 
 5 My steps still order in Thy word, 
 
 Thereby from sin to save : 
 So shall no wickedness abhorr'd 
 Dominion o'er me have. 
 
 6 From men's oppressions rescue me 
 
 And wrongful dealings all : 
 While I thereto obedient be, 
 Nor from Thy dictates fall. 
 
 7 Lord ! on Thy servant make to shine 
 
 Thy countenance's light ; 
 Thy statutes teach me, and incline 
 To follow that which right. 
 
 8 Mine eyes with gushing water flow ; 
 
 Yea them in tears they steep ; 
 Because that men not seek to know, 
 Nor will Thy precepts keep. 
 
THE PSALMS. 269 
 
 PART XVTQ. TZADDI. 
 
 righteous art, O GOD of might! 
 And true Thy judgements are : 
 The statutes Thou 'st ordain'd are right, 
 And do Thy truth declare. 
 
 2 My zeal hath even worn me out, 
 
 Consuming me away : 
 
 Because mine enemies set at nought 
 
 Nor do Thy laws obey. 
 
 3 Thy word to the uttermost is proved, 
 
 T is tried and tested pure : 
 Therefor Thy servant hath it loved, 
 And rests thereon secure. 
 
 4 I am small ; nor store is by me set ; 
 
 Yea I 'm despis'd and spurn'd : 
 Yet 1 Thy precepts not forget, 
 Nor from Thy law have turn'd. 
 
 5 Now trouble and heaviness within 
 
 Have on me taken hold : 
 Yet ever, Thy commandments in, 
 Is my delight, of old. 
 
 6 As is its righteousness, Thy word 
 
 For ever is. O give 
 Yea give me understanding, Lord ! 
 So I therethro shall live. 
 
 PART XIX. KOPH. 
 
 my whole 'heart to Thee I call : 
 Lord ! hear, and answer me. 
 So will I to Thy statutes all 
 In all obedient be. 
 
 2 To Thee I call : O hear my prayer ; 
 
 Thy succour do I crave ; 
 So will I keep Thy precepts e'er : 
 O help me now and save. 
 
 3 To Thee at early morn I cry, 
 
 Still on Thy word intent ; 
 Me in Thy law to occupy, 
 
 Mine eyes each watch prevent. 
 
270 THE PSALMS. 
 
 4 As is Thy loving-kindness great, 
 
 Now hear me, Thee 1 pray ; 
 As is Thy mercy, in my strait, 
 Now aid rne and upstay. 
 
 5 Still nearer they to mischief draw, 
 
 Who seek on every side ; 
 While, from Thy ordinances and law, 
 Far off they are and wide. 
 
 6 But, Thee for help, Lord ! do I sue : 
 
 Thou 'rt still at hand, to aid : 
 For Thy commandments all are true, 
 And so to be obey'd. 
 
 7 As for Thy testimonies all,_ 
 
 I long have known, of yore, 
 That Thou hast grounded them, past fall, 
 To stand for evermore. 
 
 PART XX. BESH. 
 
 /CONSIDER mine affliction great, 
 
 And thence deliver me : 
 For I do not Thy law forget : 
 
 save and set me free. 
 
 2 Do Thou avenge my cause, O Lord ! 
 
 And save Thou me alive; 
 According to Thy promise- word, 
 Restore me and revive. 
 
 3 Thou shalt the ungodly 's meed award : 
 
 From them is health far off: 
 For they Thy statutes nought regard, 
 Nor mindful are thereof. 
 
 4 Lord ! great Thy tender mercies are : 
 
 Thy wonted aid I crave; 
 As e'er Thy righteous judgements were, 
 Now rescue me and save. 
 
 5 My enemies, who me oppress, 
 
 Are many, and fierce are they : 
 Yet from Ihy laws and ordinances 
 
 1 nothing swerve nor sway. 
 
THE PSALMS. 
 
 6 When I the wicked see and haught, 
 
 It grieves me to behold ; 
 Because Thy statutes heed they nought, 
 Nor are thereby controul'd. 
 
 7 Thy precepts still, in nought remiss, 
 
 I set mine eyes before : 
 Lord ! as Thy loving-kindness is, 
 Revive me and restore. 
 
 8 From ever, as for aye withal, 
 
 Thy word is true and sure; 
 And so Thy righteous judgements all 
 Shall evermore endure. 
 
 PART XXI. SCHIN. 
 
 pRINCES, without a cause, O Lord! 
 
 Have persecuted me. 
 Ne'erless, in awe but of Thy word, 
 My heart doth stand, fear- free. 
 
 2 As one that makes a treasure his, 
 
 I in Thy word rejoice. 
 I lies abhor: But, loving this, 
 Thy law is all my choice. 
 
 3 Seven times a day, still kept in mind, 
 
 On Thee with praise I call: 
 Because of Thy great mercies kind, 
 And righteous judgements all. 
 
 4 Great peace have they, that love Thy law 
 
 And pleasure therein take : 
 Thencefrom shall nothing them withdraw, ' 
 Nor them shall stumble make. 
 
 5 For Thy salvation, Lord ! I 've sought, 
 
 And Thy commandments done : 
 I 've lov'd them well ; nor e'er in aught 
 Have from Thy statutes gone. 
 
 6 1 've kept Thy precepts as proclaimed, 
 
 And walk'd therein with care ; 
 And ever in Thy sight, unblamed, 
 My ways before Thee are, 
 
THE PSALMS. CXX, 
 
 PART XXII. TAU. 
 
 let my cry, my path to know, 
 Before Thee come, O Lord ! 
 And give me understanding so, 
 According to Thy word. 
 
 2 O let my supplication now 
 
 Before Thee come and be : 
 According to Thy word, do Thou 
 Release and set me free. 
 
 3 My lips, with Thy just praises fraught, 
 
 Them loudly shall proclaim ; 
 When Thou Thy statutes have me taught, 
 Instructing in their aim. 
 
 4 My tongue, likewise, with praiseful mood, 
 
 Shall loud Thy word declare : 
 For Thy commandments all are good, 
 And righteousness they are. 
 
 5 Let Thy hand help me : For I 've made 
 
 Thy ordinances my choice ; 
 I Ve still for Thy salvation pray'd ; 
 Thy law doth me rejoice. 
 
 6 My soul shall thro Thy precepts live; 
 
 And Thee it e'er shall praise : 
 Thy judgements to me help shall give, 
 And when down-fall'n up-raise. 
 
 7 Like a lost sheep I 've gone astray : 
 
 seek Thy servant, Lord ! 
 For, Thy commandments, to obey, 
 
 1 've in my mind upstor'd. 
 
 PSALM CXX. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 IJNTO The Lord I cried 
 
 In my distress : 
 And to me He replied 
 
 With graciousness. 
 
 2 From lyin^ lips, O Lord ! 
 
 Deliver me ; 
 
 From a false tongue abhorr'd, 
 O set me free. 
 
CXX. THE PSALMS. 
 
 3 O thou false tongue! what meed 
 
 Shouldst thou not win? 
 E'en coals of burning gleed, 
 And arrows keen. 
 
 4 Woe is me ! that must, constrained, 
 
 In Meshech bide; 
 'Mong Kedar's tents, detained, 
 Must fain reside. 
 
 5 My soul hath dwelt too long 
 
 Where strifes ne'er cease ; 
 'Mong violent men, of wrong, 
 And foes to peace. 
 
 6 I after peace still seek, 
 
 Eschewing jar : 
 
 But, when thereof I speak .... 
 They shout for war. 
 
 PSALM CXX. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 WHEN I in trouble was, enthrall'd, 
 For aid upon The Lord I call'd : 
 
 And He did hear me and relieve. 
 O Lord! thencefrom my soul set free; 
 From a false tongue deliver me, 
 And lying lips that still deceive. 
 
 2 What meed should not be thine to win? 
 O thou false tongue! E'en arrows keen, 
 
 And burning coals on every side. 
 O woe is me! that must, constraint, 
 In Meshech stay ; still here detain'd, 
 
 Compell'd 'mong Kedar's tents to bide. 
 
 3 My soul has long been fain to dwell 
 'Mong those who from them peace repel 
 
 And still for strife occasion take : 
 For peace I labour still and seek ; 
 But, when thereof I to them speak, 
 
 They them for battle ready make. 
 
THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM CXXT. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 TTNTO The Lord on high 
 
 Will I lift up my eyes : 
 Thence comes my help, there ever nigh ; 
 Thereon my trust relies. 
 
 2 He still doth aid afford : 
 
 On Him am I still stay'd; 
 My help comes even from The Lord, 
 Who Heaven and Earth hath made. 
 
 3 Thy stedfast foot will He 
 
 Not suffer to be mov'd ; 
 He will not sleep who keepeth thee : 
 His care thou 'st ever prov'd. 
 
 4 He loves His people well, 
 
 And watchful will them keep : 
 Lo He, who keepeth Israel, 
 Nor slumber will nor sleep. 
 
 5 The Lord thy keeper is; 
 
 He by thee e'er will stand : 
 The Lord is thy defence ; He is this ; 
 E'ermore at thy right hand. 
 
 6 Nor shall the sun by day 
 
 Nor moon by night thee hurt: 
 
 He still will 'company thy way, 
 And thence all ill avert. 
 
 7 Wheree'er thy path on Earth, 
 
 Behind thee or before, 
 The Lord will guard from this time forth 
 And hence for evermore. 
 
 PSALM CXXI. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 PJEAVENWARDS will I lift my eyes; 
 Heavenwards, where my help all lies. 
 From The Lord comes all my aid : 
 He, the Heavens and Earth who made. 
 
CXX. THE PSALMS. 
 
 2 He thy foot unmov'd will keep; 
 He, who keeps thee, will not sleep : 
 Israel's keeper, her upstayer, 
 Neither sleeps nor slumbers e'er. 
 
 3 Thee nor shall the sun by light, 
 Nor the moon thee hurt at night. 
 Thee The Lord will shading guard, 
 From thee every ill off- ward. 
 
 4 Thee The Lord, wheree'er thy way, 
 Leading in, shall still upstay; 
 Thee preserve, as e'er before, 
 
 E'en henceforth for evermore. 
 
 PSALM CXXII. 
 
 H joy I heard the call, 
 
 When to me did they say 
 
 ' To The Lord's House, together all, 
 * Now take we forth our way.* 
 
 2 JERUSALEM ! our feet 
 
 Within thy gates shall stand : 
 Thou 'rt as a City built compleat, 
 With well-compacted band. 
 
 3 For thither, to Israel so 
 
 As He prescrib'd the same, 
 
 The Tribes e'en The Lord's Tribes up go, 
 
 To magnify His Name. 
 
 4 For there established are 
 
 The judgement-seats, based fast; 
 The seats of David's House are there, 
 Establish'd e'er to last. 
 
 5 Pray for JERUSALEM ! 
 
 For her and for her peace : 
 They, thee who love, return'd to them, 
 Shall prosper and increase. 
 
 6 Be peace within thy walls ! 
 
 May prosperousness thee bless ! 
 Within thy domes and palace-halls 
 Be ever plenteousness! 
 
276 THE PSALMS. 
 
 CXX1V. 
 
 7 For my companions' and 
 
 My brethren's sake in thee, 
 My prayers shall pray thy peace to stand : 
 Still peace within thee be ! 
 
 8 Yea for His House's sake 
 
 The Lord our GOD'S, as due, 
 I '11 seek, in all, thy part to take, 
 And still thy good pursue. 
 
 PSALM CXXIII. 
 
 Q THOU, who in the Heavens dost dwell ! 
 
 Thou, who the skies inhabitest! 
 
 To Thee I look : Thee serving well, 
 
 I wait for Thy whate'er behest. 
 
 2 Lo, even as do servants stand, 
 
 To watch their master's hand intent; 
 And, as unto her mistress' hand 
 
 A maiden keeps her eyes still bent: 
 
 3 E'en so our eyes, that pity crave, 
 
 Upon The Lord our GOD do wait; 
 Till that He mercy on us have, 
 
 And save from our distressful strait. 
 
 4 Have mercy on us now, and spare; 
 
 Now, Lord ! Thy pity to us show ; 
 For utterly despis'd we are, 
 
 To ground downtrodden and brought low. 
 
 5 For, with the proud's contemptuousness 
 
 And powerful's scorn, our souls are fill'd. 
 O help us, Lord! in our distress; 
 And us from our oppressors shield. 
 
 PSALM CXXIV. 
 
 JJAD not The Lord been with us then 
 
 (May Israel now say) 
 
 Had not The Lord Himself, 'gainst men, 
 Been on our side, to stay: 
 
CXXV. THE PSALMS. 277 
 
 2 When rose they 'gainst us in our path, 
 
 Our ruin to contrive : 
 They would have, in their furious wrath, 
 Up swallow'd us alive. 
 
 3 Yea then the waters had us drown'd, 
 
 The floods gone o'er our soul; 
 The proud's deep waters, closing round, 
 Had o'er us swept their roll. 
 
 4 But, blessed be The Lord! For He 
 
 Hath freed us from their power; 
 Nor for their teeth a prey to be, 
 Nor for them to devour. 
 
 5 As from the fowler's toils a bird, 
 
 Our soul has 'scaped the snare ; 
 T is broken, where us did engird ; 
 And we deliver'd are. 
 
 6 Our trust is in The Lord our GOD; 
 
 We on His Name are stay'd ; 
 The Universe's Lord avow'd, 
 
 Who Heaven and Earth hath made. 
 
 PSALM CXXV. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 , in The Lord their trust who place, 
 
 Shalt as Mount Sion prove ; 
 That stands for ever, fast of base, 
 For nothing to remove. 
 
 2 As, round about Jerusalem, 
 
 The mountains stand before, 
 So round His People, guarding them, 
 GOD stands for evermore. 
 
 3 The wicked's rod shall not still lie 
 
 Upon the righteous' land ; 
 Lest to iniquity thereby 
 
 They too put forth the hand. 
 
 4 Lord ! to the good of heart and true, 
 
 Do Thou do ever well. 
 But those, who ungodliness pursue, 
 Thou from Thee shalt repel : 
 
278 THE PSALMS. CXXvi. 
 
 5 With them shall be forth-driven thus 
 
 All such as turn from Thee 
 To crooked ways. Lord ! bless Thou us : 
 Still peace with Israel be. 
 
 PSALM CXXV. 
 
 Second Version.^ 
 
 Lord ! who trust in Thee, 
 Upon Thy mercy cast, 
 Are e'en as Sion's Hill to see, 
 That may nor mov'd nor shaken be, 
 But stands for ever fast. 
 
 2 As, round Jerusalem, 
 
 The mountains stand before, 
 E'en so The Lord, with circling hem, 
 Stands 'bout His People, guarding them, 
 From hence for evermore. 
 
 3 For, on the righteous' lot, 
 
 Shall not be let to lay 
 The wicked's rod ; lest, thereto wrought, 
 They too put forth their hands to naught, 
 And work iniquity. 
 
 4 Thou, Lord! who goodness art; 
 
 To them who rightly do, 
 Them who are good and true of heart, 
 Nor from the righteous way depart, 
 Do Thou do well unto. 
 
 5 As for the iniquitous, 
 
 And such as turn aside 
 To crooked ways, them shalt Thou thus 
 Cast from Thee out. Lord ! bless Thou us : 
 Still peace with Israel bide. 
 
 PSALM CXXVI. 
 
 WHEN, in her bonds, The Lord, from thrall, 
 
 His Sion did redeem, 
 Amaz'd we were astounded all, 
 And e'en as men that dream. 
 
 t This may be sung with any Short Metre Tune, only repeat- 
 ing that part of it which plays with the third or long line. 
 
CXXvil. THE PSALMS. #79 
 
 2 Then were our mouths with gladness fill'd, 
 
 And fill'd our tongues with joy ; 
 And praiseful singings, loudly peal'd, 
 Our voices did employ. 
 
 3 Then freed when from them we were gone, 
 
 They among the Heathen said, 
 
 * The Lord great things hath for them done, 
 ' Them mightfully hath stay'd.' 
 
 4 Yea, hath The Lord, in His kind choice, 
 
 Great things done for us now : 
 Whereat we gladsome do rejoice, 
 While thankfully avow. 
 
 5 Our thrall is turn'd : as streams, glad hailed, 
 
 The droughted glebe to steep. 
 So they, who sow'd, while tearful wailed, 
 Ne'erless in joy shall reap. 
 
 6 He, who his seed, in sad concern, 
 
 Took forth ; yea now tho grieves ; 
 Ne'erless shall joyful home return, 
 And with him bring his sheaves. 
 
 PSALM CXXVIL 
 
 First Version. 
 
 gXCEPT The Lord the house up-build, 
 
 The builder's is an useless pain ; 
 Except The Lord the city shield, 
 The watchman watches but in vain. 
 
 2 In vain ye rise at earliest dawn, 
 
 And late take rest, and toiling keep ; 
 Care's bread while eat. He to his own 
 To them He loves gives all, with sleep. 
 
 3 Lo the womb's fruit, the children band, 
 
 Are The Lord's gift His boon to share. 
 
 As arrows in a strong one's hand, 
 So children to their parents are: 
 
 4 Blest is the man, whose quiver's store 
 
 Is fill'd therewith! Him to defend, 
 
 They shall not be asham'd before 
 
 But with their enemies contend. 
 
280 THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM CXXVII. 
 
 Second Version.^ 
 
 J^XCEPT The Lord the house up-build,__ 
 Their labour and their cost, 
 That build it, is but lost. 
 
 Except The Lord the city shield 
 
 And in His care maintain, 
 The watchman wakes in vain. 
 
 2 Ye vainly rise at earliest day ; 
 
 And take at late your rest, 
 With ceaseless toil oppress'd ; 
 Care's bread while eat, thereto a prey : 
 
 He to His own His sheep 
 
 Gives allj e'en while they sleep. 
 
 3 Lo the womb's fruit, the children band, 
 
 Are His free gift" bestow'd, 
 An heritage from GOD : 
 As arrows in a giant's hand, 
 As weapons cluster'd there, 
 They to their parents are. 
 
 4 Blest is the man, whose quiver's store, 
 
 As shafts within their sheath, 
 Is fill'd to full therewith ! 
 They shall not be asham'd before; 
 But, in whatever wont, 
 Their enemies confront. 
 
 PSALM CXXVIII. 
 
 gLEST are all they, who fear The Lord, 
 
 Still walking in His ways ; 
 Blest every one, who heeds His word 
 And His command obeys. 
 
 2 So thine hands' labour shalt thou eat; 
 
 It with thee shall be well ; 
 Nought e'er shall shake thy steadfast seat; 
 And happy shalt thou dwell. 
 
 t Metre of Ps. cxri. OLD VERSION. 
 
CXX1X. 
 
 THE PSALMS. 281 
 
 3 Thy wife shall be e'en as the vine, 
 
 So fruitful to beget ; 
 As olive-plants, the children thine 
 About thy table set. 
 
 4 Behold, shall thus the man be blest, 
 
 Who fears The Lord and serves; 
 Thus He, who does as His behest, 
 Nor from His statutes swerves. 
 
 5 The Lord shall so, His saints among, 
 
 Thee out of Sion bless ; 
 And thou shall see all thy days long 
 His Salem's prosperousness : 
 
 6 Yea shalt thou, blest with length of days, 
 
 Thy children's children see. 
 The Lord still guard His People's ways : 
 Still peace on Israel be! 
 
 PSALM CXXIX. 
 
 gTILL many a time (may Israel say) 
 
 Against me have they fought, 
 
 Yea many a time, from my youth's day; 
 Yet have me not down brought. 
 
 2 The ploughers plough'd upon my back, 
 
 And made long furrows there : 
 But He the ungodly's cords did slack, 
 And freed me from the snare. 
 
 3 Let all, O Sion ! hating thee, 
 
 Meet with return the same ; 
 Let all thy foes confounded be, 
 Turn'd back, and put to shame. 
 
 4 Let them be even as the grass, 
 
 That on the house-top shows ; 
 That withers ere it ripen'd has, 
 Nor to matureness grows : 
 
 5 Whereof the mower nought fills his hand ; 
 
 Nor he, who binds the sheaves, 
 His bosom ; but, of no demand, 
 There unregarded leaves. 
 
THE PSALMS. CXXX, 
 
 6 That they, who pass, them nothing heed ; 
 
 Nor do so much as say 
 
 * In The Lord's Name we bid you speed : 
 * His blessing tend your way!' 
 
 PSALM CXXX. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 QUT of woe's depths, O Lord! 
 
 To Thee I 've rais'd my cry: 
 Now hear my voice and plaint outpour'd ; 
 Now hear me, nor deny. 
 
 2 Should'st Thou mark all amiss, 
 
 Who might Thy judgement bide ! 
 But, Lord ! with Thee there pardon is ; 
 Tho from Thee turn'd aside. 
 
 3 My soul looks for Him still ; 
 
 Yea still I wait The Lord ; 
 My soul Him waits, bow'd to His will ; 
 My trust is in His word. 
 
 4 As those who watch the day, 
 
 I seek The Lord, thro night; 
 My soul seeks for Him, more than they 
 Who watch the morning light. 
 
 5 Trust in The Lord, and wait : 
 
 Here Israel's hope has ground ; 
 For that with Him is mercy great 
 And full redemption found. 
 
 6 The Lord the sinner frees; 
 
 He will deliver him : 
 And, from all their iniquities, 
 He Israel will redeem. 
 
 PSALM CXXX. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 M woe's all lowest depths, O Lord ! 
 To Thee I 've cried: Thine ear now lend; 
 Now hear my plaint, to Thee outpour'd ; 
 My supplication's voice attend. 
 
CXXX11. THE PSALMS. 283 
 
 2 If Thou should'st mark whate'er amiss, 
 
 Who might before Thee stand unseared! 
 But, Lord! with Thee forgiveness is; 
 
 That so Thou may'st be loved, as feared. 
 
 3 My trust upon The Lord I lay; 
 
 My hope is in His word, thro strait ; 
 My soul looks for Him, more than they 
 Who thro night's watch the morning wait. 
 
 4 Let Israel hope in Him, who frees ; 
 
 For stintless mercy is with Him : 
 And, from all her iniquities, 
 
 Her He, with pardon, will redeem. 
 
 PSALM CXXXI. 
 
 J^ORD! nothing haughty is my heart, 
 
 Nor lofty looks 1 wear; 
 Nor in great matters I take part, 
 Too high -for me to bear. 
 
 2 Subduing all affections wild, 
 
 Them from me I outshut; 
 As from its mother wean'd a child, 
 My will is from me put. 
 
 3 Still trust in Him, as e'er before; 
 
 Trust, Israel, in His word : 
 Henceforward, and for evermore, 
 Confide she in The Lord! 
 
 PSALM CXXXII. 
 
 David, when in trouble bow'd, 
 Dread Lord ! remember how, 
 
 To Thee to Jacob's mighty GOD, 
 
 He swore, and vow'd a vow 
 
 2 ' E'en from my house will I forbear, 
 
 * Nor to my couch will go ; 
 4 Nor shall mine eyes know sleep whate'er, 
 ' Nor eye-lids slumber know : 
 
284 THE PSALMS. CXXxti, 
 
 3 ' Till, for The Temple of The Lord, 
 
 4 I find a place and seat ; 
 * For Jacob's mighty GOD ador'd, 
 ' An habitation meet.' 
 
 4 Lo, thereupon as we conferred, 
 
 And Thy Ark's search pursued, 
 
 At Ephratah thereof we heard, 
 And found it in the wood. 
 
 5 Into His Tabernacle now 
 
 To worship go we all; 
 In reverence down before Him bow, 
 And at His footstool fall. 
 
 6 Arise, O Lord ! with strength bedight, 
 
 Into Thy resting place ; 
 
 Thou, and the Ark of Thy dread might 
 
 Where veil'd Thy glorious face. 
 
 7 With righteousness and pureness clad 
 
 Thy Priests let ever be ; 
 And joyful let Thy Saints and glad 
 Loud shout their songs to Thee. 
 
 8 Now, for Thy servant David's sake, 
 
 Reject Thou not his prayer; 
 Nor Thine Anointed-One forsake, 
 Nor from him turn Thee e'er. 
 
 9 The Lord to David swore : nor this 
 
 To swerve from nor forget : 
 
 " The fruit, that of thy body is, 
 " I on thy seat will set. 
 
 10 " And if they keep my covenant, done, 
 
 " As I shall teach them it, 
 
 " Their children too upon thy throne 
 " For evermore shall sit." 
 
 11 The Lord hath chosen Sion, for 
 
 His habitation place ; 
 Her hath desir'd all others o'er, 
 And favour'd with His grace 
 
 12 " This shall my rest for ever be ; 
 
 " Here I ruy seat will make; 
 " Henceforth here will I dwell : (said He) 
 " For here I pleasure take. 
 
CXXxlv. THE PSALMS. 285 
 
 13 " Her store I abundantly will bless, 
 
 "And with increase supply; 
 " And I, with bread and plenteousness, 
 " Her poor will satisfy : .- 
 
 14 "Her Priests I '11 with salvation gird, 
 
 " Around encompassing : 
 " And praiseful shall, exultant heard, 
 " Her Saints rejoice and sing. 
 
 15 " I David's horn will make to grow 
 
 " And blossom, fast maintained: 
 " For mine Anointed, there also 
 " A lamp have I ordained. 
 
 16 " His enemies will I clothe with shame, 
 
 " And give them grief to wear. 
 " But on himself, and seed the same, 
 " His crown shall flourish e'er." 
 
 PSALM CXXXIII. 
 
 gEHOLD how pleasant 't is and good, 
 
 For brethren, banded well, 
 Together, as a brotherhood, 
 In unity to dwell! 
 
 2 'T is like the precious ointment's flow, 
 
 Pour'd Aaron's head to crown; 
 That to his beard, effusing low, 
 
 And garment's neck,* ran down. 
 
 3 T is like the dew on Hermon's Hill, 
 
 And Sion's moistening store. 
 For there The Lord sends blessings still, 
 E'en life for evermore. 
 
 PSALM CXXXIV. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 praise The Lord, with one consent, 
 
 Ye who His servants are ! 
 Ye who GOD'S House, to serve, frequent, 
 His Courts attending there. 
 
286 THE PSALMS. CXXXV. 
 
 2 To Him, the Sanctuary within, 
 
 Your voices loudly raise; 
 To Him lift up your hands therein, 
 
 And. bless The Lord and praise. 
 
 3 The Lord, who made the Heavens and Earth, 
 
 Thro whom all creatures live,_ 
 From out of His own Sion forth, 
 His blessing to you give. 
 
 PSALM CXXXIV. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 C\ BLESS The Lord, ye His servants all! 
 
 All ye, that on The Lord attend; 
 All ye, that serve and on Him call, 
 
 That in His House to Him down bend. 
 2 His loudest praises pour ye forth ; 
 
 Him praise ye, all that Him confess! 
 The Lord, who made the Heavens and Earth, 
 Us out of His own Sion bless. 
 
 PSALM CXXXV. 
 
 pRAISE ye The Lord, His servants all! 
 
 His Name together praise ; 
 Ye, in His House and Courts withal! 
 Thereto your voices raise. 
 
 2 Praise ye The Lord : For He is good : 
 
 His loudest praises frame ; 
 In that J t is fitting so we should, 
 Sing praises to His Name. 
 
 3 For that The Lord, His own to be, 
 
 Of Jacob hath made choice; 
 And, as His own possession, He 
 In Israel doth rejoice. 
 
 4 I know He is great, high o'er all height, 
 
 And GOD all gods above : 
 I know that wondrous is His might, 
 And marvellous is His love. 
 
 6 Whatever pleaseth Him to do, 
 That hath He done e'erwhere, 
 In Heaven, and Earth, the waters thro 
 And all deep places there. 
 
CXXXV. THE PSALMS. 287 
 
 6 From the World's ends, whence them unbinds, 
 
 He calls the clouds' dark train ; 
 He from His treasures brings the winds, 
 The lightnings, and the rain. 
 
 7 He the first-born of Egypt smote, 
 
 Both of its man and beast ; 
 And wondrous signs, of fearful note, 
 He sent the land amidst. 
 
 8 In Egypt, when, beneath its thrall, 
 
 His People were down bent, 
 
 On Pharaoh, and his servants all, 
 He His dread tokens sent. 
 
 9 He divers Nations smote, struck down, 
 
 'Neath His avenging hand : 
 All Canaan's Kingdoms, 'neath His frown, 
 He smote, throughout the land. 
 
 10 He mighty Kings aud great, o'erthrew, 
 
 In fight discomfiting; 
 He Sihon King of the Amorites slew, 
 And Og the Bashan King. 
 
 11 And, for an heritage, as well, 
 
 Their land He from them gave 
 
 Unto His People Israel, 
 In heritage to have. 
 
 12 Thy Name, O Lord! stands ever fast, 
 
 Throughout all ages sure; 
 And so shall Thy memorial last, 
 And to all time endure. 
 
 13 The Lord His People bears in mind, 
 
 And them will righted see ; 
 And to His servants, ever kind, 
 He merciful will be. 
 
 14 As for the Heathen's idols all 
 
 They 're gold and silver mere, 
 The work but of men's hands withal ; 
 Nor for them to revere. 
 
 15 They 've eyes, but nothing see therewith; 
 
 They 've ears, but hear they nought ; 
 They 've mouths, but in them is no breath, 
 Nor are their tongues speech-fraught. 
 
288 THE PSALMS. CXXXvi, 
 
 16 And they, that make them, to adore, 
 
 Are to them near akin; 
 And so are all that bow before, 
 And put their trust therein. 
 
 17 Ye House of Israel! hymning loud, 
 
 Bless ye The Lord and praise : 
 Ye House of Aaron! blessing GOD, 
 Your loudest voices raise. 
 
 18 Ye House of Levi! bless Him so: 
 
 All ye that Him confess, 
 
 All ye that fear Him all that know! 
 
 Praise ye The Lord and bless. 
 
 19 Prais'd be The Lord e'en Israel's! 
 
 On Sion's Hill ador'd, 
 
 He, in Jerusalem who dwells. 
 
 All praise and bless The Lord! 
 
 PSALM CXXXVI. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 Q GIVE ye thanks unto THE LORD : 
 
 For He is good. 
 His love knows no impair ; 
 His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 2 Give thanks unto THE GOD OF GODS ; 
 
 devoutly sued. 
 His love etc : His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 3 Give thanks unto THE LORD OF LORDS : 
 
 on whom all wait. 
 His love etc : His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 4 To Him, who alone great wonders doth : 
 
 For He is great. 
 His love etc : His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 5 To Him, who, in His wisdom, gave 
 
 the Heavens birth. 
 His love etc : His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 6 To Him, who, above the watery aeeps, 
 
 stretch'd out the Earth. 
 His love etc : His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 7 To Him, who the great lights did make, 
 
 to give their light : 
 His love etc : His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
CXXXvi. THE PSALMS. 
 
 8 The Sun to rule by day, the Moon 
 
 and Stars by night. 
 His love etc : His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 9 To Him, who Egypt's first-born smote, 
 
 the land throughout: 
 His love etc : His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 10 And from among them, leading forth, 
 
 brought Israel out. 
 His love etc: His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 11 With a strong hand and outstretch'd arm, 
 
 who did divide : 
 His love etc : His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 12 To Him, who the Red Sea in twain 
 
 did part aside : 
 His love etc : His mercy endures for eer. 
 
 13 And thro its midst made Israel pass, 
 
 as on dry ground : 
 His love etc : His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 14 But Pharaoh, and his host, therein 
 
 o'erthrew and drown'd. 
 His love etc : His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 15 To Him, who led His People thro 
 
 the wilderness. 
 His love etc : His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 16 To Him, who smote great Kings and Kings 
 
 of famousness. 
 His love etc : His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 17 Who Sihon, King of the Amorites, 
 
 to ground did bring: 
 His love etc : His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 18 And Og, the King of Bashan, slew, 
 
 e'en Bashan's King. 
 His love etc : His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 19 And, for an heritage, their land 
 
 to Israel gave : 
 His love etc : His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 20 Unto His servant Israel, 
 
 for his to have. 
 His love etc : His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 21 Who, in our trouble when brought low, 
 
 remember'd us : 
 His love etc : His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 22 And from our enemies us saved, 
 
 redeeming thus. 
 
 His love etc : His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 u 
 
THE PSALMS. CXXXV1, 
 
 23 Who gives, supplying, as their need, 
 
 all flesh their food. 
 His love etc : His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 24 O give ye thanks unto THE LORD. 
 
 For He is good. 
 His love knows no impair; 
 His mercy endures for e'er. 
 
 PSALM CXXXVI. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 Q.IVE thanks unto THE LORD. 
 
 For He is good and great. 
 As GOD OF GODS ador'd, 
 
 With praises on Him wait. 
 For His love pours a bounteous store, 
 His mercy endures for evermore. 
 
 2 Unto THE LORD OF LORDS 
 
 Give thanks and praises thus : 
 Who help to all affords ; 
 
 Who alone great wonders does. 
 For His love pours a bounteous store, 
 His mercy endures for evermore. 
 
 3 To Him, whose wisdom wrought 
 
 And gave the Heavens birth : 
 Who from the deeps upbrought 
 
 And stretched out the Earth. 
 For His love pours a bounteous store, 
 His mercy endures for evermore. 
 
 4 To Him, with beaming ray 
 
 Who made each greater light ; 
 The Sun, to rule by day, 
 
 The Moon and Stars by night. 
 For His love pours a bounteous store, 
 His mercy endures for evermore. 
 
 5 To Him, in their first-born, 
 
 Who Egypt smote throughout ; 
 And from them, in their scorn, 
 
 Brought Israel safely out. 
 For His love pours a bounteous store, 
 His mercy endures for evermore. 
 
THE PSALMS. 291 
 
 6 To Him, with a strong hand 
 
 And outstretched arm athwart, 
 Who the Red Sea, to stand, 
 
 Did in its midst dispart. 
 For His love pours a bounteous store, 
 His mercy endures for evermore. 
 
 7 To Him, who, from their coast, 
 
 Made Israel pass therethro : 
 But Pharaoh, and his host, 
 
 Therein He overthrew. 
 For His love pours a bounteous store, 
 His mercy endures for evermore. 
 
 8 To Him, who His People all 
 
 Led thro the wilderness : 
 Who smote great Kings withal, 
 
 And Kings of famousness. 
 For His love pours a bounteous store, 
 His mercy endures for evermore. 
 
 9 To Him, who fought their fights ; 
 
 Who slew, discomfiting, 
 Sihon King of the Aniorites 
 
 And Og the Bashan King : 
 For His love pours a bounteous store, 
 His mercy endures for evermore. 
 
 10 And, for therein to dwell, 
 
 Their land to Israel gave : 
 To His servant Israel 
 
 In heritage to have. 
 
 For His love pours a bounteous store, 
 His mercy endures for evermore. 
 
 11 In our calamities 
 
 Who still remeruber'd thus ; 
 And, from our enemies, 
 
 Redeem'd and rescued us. 
 For His love pours a bounteous store, 
 His mercy endures for evermore. 
 
THE PSALMS. CXXXVU. 
 
 12 He all doth aid afford, 
 
 And gives all flesh their food. 
 Praise ye and thank THE LORD : 
 
 For He is great and good. 
 For His love pours a bounteous store, 
 His mercy endures for evermore. 
 
 PSALM CXXXVU. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 "gY Babel's waters, where in thrall ; 
 
 Thee, Sion ! in our minds still kept, 
 Remembering Thee ; distressful all, 
 Forlorn we sate us down and wept. 
 
 2 And, on the willows by their shore, 
 
 Our harps we hung relax'd of string. 
 When they, who thither captive bore, 
 Required us them a song to sing: 
 
 3 Yea, in our woe with grief down-weigh'd, 
 
 They mirth of us requir'd and cheer 
 ' Come, let us (our despoilers said) 
 
 * One of your Sion's songs now hear.' 
 
 4 But how, in a strange land, shall we 
 
 To The Lord's song our voices set? 
 Nay, Salem ! ere forgetting thee, 
 Let my right hand its skill forget: 
 
 5 To my mouth's roof let cleave my tongue, 
 
 Ere thee not bearing still in mind, 
 
 If thee I not prefer, among 
 My every joy of highest kind. 
 
 6 Dread Lord ! to Edom's sons that day 
 
 Jerusalem's sad day recall ; 
 When ' Raze it raze it down!' said they: 
 
 * To its foundations raze it all!' 
 
cxxxvii. THE PSALMS. 293 
 
 7 Yea, Babylon's proud daughter! thou 
 
 E'en now art to destruction doom'd ; 
 
 With sentence written down e'en now, 
 
 Thou too in turn shalt be consum'd. 
 
 8 Blest he, who, as thou 'st treated us, 
 
 Thee too shall treat! Blest he, whoso, 
 Who takes thy little ones, and thus 
 
 Them dashing 'gainst the stones shall throw ! 
 
 PSALM CXXXVII. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 by Babylon's waters we sat down and wept, 
 As in memory our Sion we bore ; 
 And our harps we uphung, that in silence now slept, 
 On the willows o'ersbading; their shore. 
 
 O 
 
 2 When they, thither who exil'd and captive us led, 
 
 Would have had us rejoice where in chains ; 
 
 In our sorrow requiring us mirth, * Come (they said) 
 
 ' Sing us one of your Sion's own strains.' 
 
 3 But, how wake in the land of the stranger that chord 
 
 How sing there The Lord's song to Him set ! 
 Nay, Jerusalem ! thee ere forget undeplor'd, 
 My right hand shall its cunning forget. 
 
 4 Yea let to my mouth's roof cleave nay tongue in its thrall, 
 
 Ere not she my remembrance employ, 
 
 Ere above whatso else that preferr'd over all. 
 
 Not Jerusalem be my chief joy. 
 
 5 Gracious Lord ! Edom's children, for Salem r s sad day, 
 
 Bear in mind, to repay them their own; 
 
 When ' Down with it (they cried) down in ruins it lay, 
 
 1 Rase it all to the ground overthrown.' 
 
 6 So, proud Babylon's daughter ! thou wasted shalt be ; 
 
 So our wrongs in thy blood be outwash'd ; 
 
 As thy measure to us shall be meted to thee, 
 
 And thy babes 'gainst the stones be down dash'd ! 
 
294 THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM CXXXVIH. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 'TO Thee, with my whole heart outpour'd, 
 Will I give thanks and praise ; 
 Before Thy Throne*, to Thee, O Lord ! 
 My praiseful voice still raise. 
 
 2 While in Thy Holy Temple bow, 
 
 Thy praises will I frame, 
 Thy truth and mercy there avow, 
 
 And high exalt Thy Name. 
 
 3 For, Thou Thy Word hast magnified* 
 
 E'en Thy great Name above ; 
 As promis'd, to our prayers replied, 
 And shown us all Thy love. 
 
 4 When Thee I calFd upon for aid, 
 
 Thou heard'st and answer'dst me, 
 And gav'st me strength ; that I was stay'd, 
 Nor might confounded be. 
 
 5 Thee Earth's all Kings shall own and fear, 
 
 And praise shall to Thee give : 
 For they Thy mouth's dread words shall hear, 
 And shall Thy law receive. 
 
 6 How great Thy glory shall they tell, 
 
 Thy wondrous ways rehearse, 
 
 How Thou dost govern all and well, 
 And rul'st the Universe. 
 
 7 Tho high The Lord, yet is He bow'd 
 
 The lowly one to note ; 
 So, from afar He knows the proud, 
 And marks howe'er remote. 
 
 8 Tho I in trouble's midst should walk, 
 
 Yet shalt Thou me revive : 
 My enemies' malice shalt. Thou balk, 
 
 Howe'er they 'gainst me strive : 
 
 9 Thy hand shalt Thou against their wrath 
 
 Stretch forth, e'en as I crave; 
 Yea, Thy right hand shall guard my path, 
 Shall succour me and save. 
 
CXXXx. THE PSALMS. 
 
 10 The Lord will ever me up-bear, 
 
 And teach my way to take. 
 Yea, Lord ! Thy rnercy endures for e'er : 
 Ne'er Thy hands' work forsake. 
 
 PSALM CXXXVIII. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 , Lord! with my whole heart I '11 praise, 
 Before e'en Kings sing praise to Thee ; 
 To Thee my loudest voice I '11 raise ; 
 
 Still Thy Name's praise my theme shall be. 
 
 2 On Thee I in Thy House will call, 
 
 And thank for all Thy truth and love. 
 For Thou Thy Word, perform'd in all, 
 Hast rais'd e'en Thy great Name above. 
 
 3 Dread Lord ! when Thy mouth's words they hear, 
 
 The Earth's all Kings Thy praise shall sound; 
 They of Thy ways shall sing, while fear : 
 For great Thy glory is, past bound. 
 
 4 Thou heard'st me, when I call'd, in need ; 
 
 And gav'st me strength, when low down-bow'd. 
 Tho high, Thou dost the lowly heed, 
 And from afar Thou seest the proud. 
 
 5 Yea, tho in trouble's midst I walk, 
 
 Me in Thy keeping shalt Thou have ; 
 My enemies' malice shalt Theu balk ; 
 And still shall Thy right hand me save. 
 
 6 Thou, Lord ! who dost me still upbear, 
 
 My way wilt for me perfect make. 
 Thy mercy, Lord ! endures for e'er : 
 
 O ne'er Thine own hands' work forsake 
 
 PSALM CXXXIX. 
 
 J^ORD ! Thou dost search me out and know 
 
 Thou, from afar, my thoughts dost see; 
 My rising up to Thee doth show, 
 My sitting down is known to Thee. 
 
THE PSALMS. CXXX1X. 
 
 2 Thou encompassest my paths and bed ; 
 
 Thou acquainted art with all my ways. 
 Thou know'st them each ; to Thee, ere said, 
 My tongue its every word displays. 
 
 3 Too vast and high without a bound 
 
 Thy knowledge is, for me to scan : 
 
 Before behind me, all around, 
 
 Thy hand inhems me in its span. 
 
 4 For whither from Thy spirit wend, 
 
 Or flee Thy presence ! . . . . Equal where, 
 
 There Thou if 1 to Heaven ascend, 
 
 If I go down to Hell Thou 'rt there. 
 
 5 If on the morning's wings I hie, 
 
 And 'yond the sea's far parts remain ; 
 There too Thy hand shall on me lie, 
 
 And there shall Thy right hand constrain. 
 
 6 Or ' Perad venture (should I say) 
 
 1 The covering darkness shall me hide.' 
 The night is straightway turn'd to day ; 
 The shading veil is cast aside. 
 
 7 For none the obscureness is with Thee; 
 
 With Thee clear as the day is night; 
 With Thee as one, whiche'er it be, 
 Alike the darkness and the light. 
 
 8 Thou didst me form : thro Thee brought forth, 
 
 Thou gav'st me being and here to live : 
 Thou in my mother's womb, ere birth, 
 Thy covering safeguard didst me give. 
 
 9 Thee will I thank : For with nice care 
 
 Arid wonderfully am I wrought. 
 Thy works are marvellous : great they are ! 
 And this my soul hath well been taught. 
 
 10 My substance from Thee was not hid', 
 
 When 1 in secretness was made 
 And curiously, the darkness 'mid, 
 Jn Earth's recesses and in shade. 
 
 11 While yet imperfect Thou didst note; 
 
 And in Thy books inscrib'd were shown 
 My members all ; design'd remote, 
 Or ere had bc.'ing nor yet my own. 
 
CXI. THE PSALMS. 297 
 
 12 How precious, Lord! as vast their store, 
 
 Thy thoughts are, countless for my weal ; 
 E'en than the sand-grains numerous more : 
 At waking, straight Thy care I feel. 
 
 13 Lord ! shalt Thou not the wicked smite? 
 
 Hence, ye blood-thirsters ! plotting hurt. 
 For still they act in Thy despite ; 
 And still Thy Holy Name pervert. 
 
 14 Yea, Lord! unrnov'd how can I see 
 
 The ungodly thus oppose aught Thine ? 
 Must not I hate those hating Thee? 
 Must not Thy enemies too be mine ? 
 
 15 My heart is griev'd with anger great 
 
 At those who 'gainst Thee thus rebel; 
 With perfect hatred them I hate, 
 And them account my foes as well. 
 
 16 O try me, Lord ! and prove my heart ; 
 
 With closest search my thoughts survey ; 
 See if evil in me have no part ; 
 And lead in the everlasting way. 
 
 PSALM CXL. 
 
 TORD ! save me from the wicked man, 
 
 And them of strife and jar ; 
 Who in their hearts still mischief plan, 
 Up-gathering them for war. 
 
 2 Their tongues, as serpents', keen of sting, 
 
 They whet, still bent amiss; 
 Beneath their lips, envenoming, 
 The adder's poison is. 
 
 3 Lord ! save me from the wicked's hands ; 
 
 The men of jar and strife ; 
 Who round beset me with their bands, 
 Devising 'gainst my life. 
 
 4 The proud have for me laid a snare, 
 
 And cords about me spread; 
 And round my paths they toils prepare, 
 With nets wheree'er my tread. 
 
298 THE PSALMS. 
 
 5 I said unto The Lord : Yea Thou, 
 
 Thou art my GOD: O hear! 
 O hear me, Lord ! attend me now, 
 And to my plaint give ear. 
 
 6 Thou, my salvation's strength, my ward, 
 
 My buckler in the field ; 
 Thou, in the battle's day, to guard, 
 My head's o'ercovering shield. 
 
 7 Lord ! aid not Thou the wicked's schemes, 
 
 Nor their desires them grant ; 
 Lest they, in their presumptuous dreams, 
 Exalt themselves and vaunt. 
 
 8 Let them, who thus beset me round, 
 
 By their own arts be foil'd ; 
 Self-snar'd, let them be brought to ground, 
 In their own nets entoil'd. 
 
 9 Shall they, with burning coals upon, 
 
 Into the fire be cast ; 
 Into deep pits shall they be thrown, 
 There to continue fast. 
 
 10 An evil-speaker shall not thrive 
 
 Nor prosper on the Earth ; 
 Yea ill the cruel man shall drive 
 And thence expel him forth. 
 
 11 For me, I know The Lord will still 
 
 The wrong'd one's cause maintain ; 
 The feeble will He guard from ill, 
 And poor man's right sustain. 
 
 12 The upright, Lord! Thy Name shall bless, 
 
 And of Thy mercies tell ; 
 And they, who live in righteousness, 
 Shall in Thy presence dwell. 
 
 PSALM CXLI. 
 
 call I unto Thee : O hear, 
 
 And to me now reply ; 
 O Lord ! unto my voice give ear ; 
 For unto Thee I cry. 
 
THE PSALMS. 299 
 
 2 As morning incense, let arise 
 
 My prayer outpour'd to Thee; 
 And let, as the evening sacrifice, 
 My hands' uplifting be. 
 
 3 Before my mouth let watch be set; 
 
 Do Thou keep my lips' door; 
 From evil turn, and ever let 
 
 My heart all such abhor. 
 
 4 Ne'er let me to their acts consent, 
 
 Nor share the wicked's seat ; 
 Their table let me ne'er frequent, 
 Nor of their dainties eat. 
 
 5 But let the righteous smite instead* ; 
 
 T will wound me to my weal : 
 As fragrant oil to anoint my head, 
 Shall his reproof I feel. 
 
 6 The ungodly's wrongful practices 
 
 Will I in nought partake ; 
 Against their evil works and ways 
 My prayer will I still make. 
 
 7 When shall their Rulers be laid low, 
 
 And from the rocks down thrown, 
 
 Then Men my words for good shall know, 
 And their sweet savour own. 
 
 8 As lies cleft wood about the ground, 
 
 Where noticeless \ve* die, 
 
 At the pit's mouth, and strewn around, 
 Our bones discatter'd lie. 
 
 9 But unto Thee, my GOD and Lord ! 
 
 Mine eyes I turn, for stay: 
 In Thee I trust: Thy help afford, 
 Nor cast me now away. 
 
 10 O save me from their toils and snares, 
 
 Which for me they have laid; 
 The traps the wicked man prepares, 
 In secretness array 'd. 
 
 11 And into their own nets, where lain 
 
 Now let the wicked fall ; 
 Therein let my enemies be ta'en ; 
 Whilst I escape withal. 
 
300 THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM CXLII. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 J CRIED unto The Lord ; 
 
 To Him I made address ; 
 Before Him I my plaint outpour'd, 
 And show'd my troublousness. 
 
 2 When grief my soul down-weigh'd, 
 
 Thou saw'st my path and way : 
 Therein their snares my haters laid, 
 To take me as a prey. 
 
 3 All round* I look'd, to see: 
 
 And lo, none knew me there; 
 All refuge fail'd me ; none would free, 
 None for my soul would care! 
 
 4 To Thee then did I cry_ 
 
 ' Thou art my hope :' I said. 
 ' Thou in the living's land, still by, 
 ' My strength art and my stead/ 
 
 5 Lord ! to my cry attend ; 
 
 For low am I down brought : 
 Against my oppressors me defend ; 
 For by them I 'm o'erwrought. 
 
 6 Set free my soul whence bound : 
 
 That I Thy Name may praise. 
 So shall the righteous gird me round, 
 When Thou dost me upraise. 
 
 PSALM CXLII. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 J CRY unto The Lord, in strait; 
 
 To Him I my complaint address, 
 On Him with supplication wait, 
 My trouble show Him and distress. 
 
 2 Thou know'st my path : Beset with foes, 
 
 Their snares about my way are laid : 
 I look for help ; but none me knows ; 
 All refuge fails me, none will aid : 
 
cxliii. THE PSALMS. 301 
 
 3 To Thee, then, Lord ! I cry ; and say 
 
 My hope here centres all in Thee : 
 O hear my cry ; be Thou my stay, 
 And from my enemies set me free. 
 
 4 Release me whence in fetters bound : 
 
 That I may praise Thy Name while live : 
 So shall the righteous gird me round, 
 When Thou Thy favour dost me give. 
 
 PSALM CXLIII. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 TORD ! list my prayer : in this distress 
 
 My supplication hear ; 
 For Thy truth's sake and righteousness', 
 Now to my plaint give ear. 
 
 2 Nor judge Thy servant : Since none can, 
 
 Offenceless be with Thee : 
 For in Thy sight no living man 
 E'er justified shall be. 
 
 3 For, the enemy, with ceaseless strife, 
 
 Doth vex my soul and wound ; 
 Yea he hath smitten down my life, 
 Down even to the ground. 
 
 4 To caverns doth he me compel, 
 
 Wherein to hide my head ; 
 In darkness doth he make me dwell, 
 As those long since that dead. 
 
 5 Within me thence my spirit faints, 
 
 Oppress'd beyond to bear; 
 Thence is my heart, with ceaseless plaints, 
 All desolate and drear. 
 
 6 I mind the days of olden date, 
 
 The past I o'er-peruse ; 
 Still on Thy acts I meditate, 
 On Thy hands' work I muse. 
 
 7 To Thee do I stretch forth my hands ; 
 
 I long with Thee to be ; 
 As thirst for rain the droughted lands, 
 My soul still thirsts for Thee. 
 
302 THE PSALMS. cxliii. 
 
 8 O hear me soon : For, strength-deprived, 
 
 I 'm like to them laid low : 
 Yea let me speedily, revived, 
 Thy lovingkindness know. 
 
 9 On Thee I trust : my hope ne'er balk ; 
 
 Lord ! help me with Thine aid ; 
 Show me the way wherein to walk : 
 For all on Thee I 'm stay'd. 
 
 10 Deliver me from my enemies; 
 
 Me 'neath Thy covert hide : 
 To Thee my soul affrighted flees, 
 For shelter Thee beside. 
 
 1 1 Teach me, O Lord ! Thy will to do, 
 
 In all, as may ordain ; 
 Let Thy good spirit lead me into, 
 And in Thy paths maintain. 
 
 12 For Thy Name's sake, O Lord my OJTOD! 
 
 And for Thy mercy's sake, 
 My soul, uplifting where down-trod', 
 From out its troubles take. 
 
 13 And my enemies smite; their rage controul ; 
 
 And from them set me free : 
 Destroy Thou them that vex my soul : 
 For still I wait on Thee. 
 
 PSALM CXLIII. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 T ORD! hear my prayer; now gracious be, 
 
 And answer to my suing give : 
 Nor judge Thy servant : For, with Thee, 
 Can none be justified that live. 
 
 2 For the enemy my life has sought; 
 
 Pursuing me, with malice fell; 
 As those, that, long since dead, are nought, 
 In darkness has he made me dwell. 
 
THE PSALMS. 303 
 
 3 Thence sinks my spirit, as in thrall ; 
 
 My heart within me keeps recluse ; 
 1 gone-by times to mind recall, 
 I on Thy dispensations muse. 
 
 4 To Thee do I stretch forth my hands ; 
 
 Still seeking Thee, who alone canst save ; 
 As crave drought-parch'd the thirsty lands, 
 For Thee still thirsting do I crave. 
 
 5 Lord ! hear me soon, now helpless left ; 
 
 Nor from me turn Thy face in frown: 
 For I am e'en as life-bereft, 
 As one that to the pit gone down. 
 
 6 Thy loving-kindness to me show ; 
 
 For all on Thee my trust I Ve laid : 
 Show me the way that I should go ; 
 For still on Thee my soul is stay'd. 
 
 7 Deliver me from my enemies ; 
 
 Hide me with Thee, for shelter sure ; 
 Teach me Thy will, Thy law's decrees: 
 For Thou 'rt my GOD, in whom secure. 
 
 8 Thy spirit is with grace full-stor'd ; 
 
 Into uprightness' land me lead : 
 For Thy Name's sake, O gracious Lord! 
 Relieve me Thou, now in my need. 
 
 9 Me, for Thy goodness' sake, relieve; 
 
 From my enemies now set me free ; 
 Chastise Thou them that me aggrieve : 
 For, Lord ! I ever wait on Thee. 
 
 PSALM CXLIV. 
 
 gLEST be THE LORD ! who by me stands, 
 
 Who is my strength and might, 
 Who how to war instructs my hands 
 And fingers how to fight. 
 
 2 He is my guardian, who defends ; 
 
 My stronghold, and my stay, 
 In whom I trust: 'T is He who bends 
 The Nations to my sway. 
 
304 THE PSALMS. CXllV. 
 
 3 LORD! what is man ; that Thou should'st thought 
 
 Or knowledge of him take? 
 Or what the son of man ; that aught 
 Thou store of him should'st make? 
 
 4 Man is as only vainness here, 
 
 So soon his date is done ; 
 His days are as a shadow mere, 
 That passes and is gone ! 
 
 5 LORD! bow Thy Heavens; and come Thou down: 
 
 Deal forth Thy deathful stroke; 
 But touch the mountains, 'neath Thy frown, 
 Them touch, and they shall smoke. 
 
 6 Cast forth Thy lightning : them o'erthrow : 
 
 Thy vengeful bolts employ ; 
 Shoot out Thine arrows : lay them low, 
 Them scatter and destroy. 
 
 7 Send from above Thy saving hand : 
 
 Me from the floods set free ; 
 Deliver from the stranger band, 
 Release and rescue me. 
 
 8 Save me from them, who falsehood speak, 
 
 Whose words are but a cheat, 
 
 And whose right hand is one of trick 
 
 Of treachery and deceit. 
 
 9 Now a new song, to Thee, O GOD ! 
 
 Will I in homage bring ; 
 Now, on a ten-string'd psaltery, loud, 
 To Thee I '11 praises sing. 
 
 10 'T is He to Kings it is THE LORD 
 
 Who victory gives, as craved : 
 'T is He, from the devouring sword, 
 His servant David saved. 
 
 11O save me from the stranger band ! 
 
 Whose words are but a cheat ; 
 And whose right hand is a right hand 
 Of treachery and deceit. 
 
 12 Bless Thou us: That our sons, strength-fraught, 
 
 May like young trees upgrow ; 
 Our daughters be as, beauteous wrought, 
 The Temple's corners show: 
 
v. THE PSALMS. 305 
 
 13 That full our garners ne'er in dearth, 
 
 That fruitful be our soil, 
 Our sheep bring their ten thousands forth, 
 Our oxen strong to toil : 
 
 14 That be no foes' invasion fear'd, 
 
 Nor fear'd lest led to thrall; 
 Nor in our streets complainings heard, 
 Nor tears be seen to fall. 
 
 15 Blest they, of whom these things to say, 
 
 On whom are these bestow'd ! 
 Yea blest that People, happy they, 
 Who have THE LORD for GOD ! 
 
 PSALM CXLV. 
 
 ]y[Y King! my GOD! I Thee will laud, 
 
 And daily bless Thy Name ; 
 For e'er and e'er, proclaim'd abroad, 
 Thy praises will I frame. 
 
 2 Great is The Lord ! all power is His : 
 
 He is greatly to be praised : 
 Unsearchable His greatness is, 
 Above all seeking raised. 
 
 3 One age shall to another tell 
 
 Thy works, how wondrous are: 
 
 I on Thy marvellous acts will dwell, 
 And praiseful them declare : 
 
 4 They Thy great mercies shall record, 
 
 And largely them display. 
 Thy honour shall my theme afford, 
 And glorious majesty. 
 
 5 The Lord is good, to anger slow, 
 
 Compassion-full and kind ; 
 O'er all His creatures sheds He, so, 
 His bounties unconfin'd. 
 
 6 Thee all Thy works shall praise, all Earth ; 
 
 Thee all Thy saints shall bless; 
 Thy Kingdom's glory all set forth, 
 And tell Thy powerfulness. 
 
306 THE PSALMS. Cxlv. 
 
 7 That to the sons of men may be 
 
 Thy mighty acts made known ; 
 Therein Thy greatness made to see, 
 Thy Kingdom's glory shown. 
 
 8 Thy Kingdom stands for ever fast, 
 
 Immoveably secure : 
 And so shall Thy dominion last, 
 And thro all time endure. 
 
 9 The Lord upholdeth them that fall ; 
 
 He doth the faint restore ; 
 And He again upraiseth all, 
 
 He had cast down before. 
 
 10 All look to Thee : in season due, 
 
 Their meat Thou dost them give ; 
 Thou op'st Thy hand to whomso sue; 
 And all are fill'd, that live. 
 
 11 The Lord confirms whate'er He says; 
 
 In Him no guile there lurks : 
 He justice shows in all His ways, 
 
 And bounty in all His works. 
 
 12 To all, that call on Him for ruth, 
 
 The Lord is ever nigh ; 
 To all, that call on Him in truth, 
 
 And seek Him where on high. 
 
 13 He their desire, that do Him fear, 
 
 Will grant, as they may crave; 
 Their cry too will He gracious hear, 
 And them in need will save. 
 
 14 The Lord preserves and guards all them 
 
 That serve Him and obey : 
 But He the wicked will condemn, 
 And cast them out away. 
 
 15 My mouth shall still The Lord confess, 
 
 And loud His praises frame. 
 So let all tongues, to eternalness, 
 Still bless His holy Name ! 
 
THE PSALMS. 307 
 
 PSALM CXLVI. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 Ci PRAISE The Lord, my soul! Him bless: 
 
 Him, while I live, I '11 praise; 
 Yea, while my being I possess, 
 
 His praiseful song I '11 raise. 
 
 2 In Princes put not ye your trust: 
 
 Nor in the son of man ; 
 Where is no help ; for he is but dust, 
 His life is but a span : 
 
 3 For, when the breath of man goes forth, 
 
 He straightway turns to nought; 
 He back returns unto his earth, 
 
 All perish'd his each thought. 
 
 4 Blest he, that, for his staff and rod, 
 
 The God of Jacob has ! 
 
 Whose hope is in The Lord his GOD 
 
 Who is as ever was: 
 
 5 Who made the skies the land the wave, 
 
 And all that therein is ; 
 Who keeps the promise that He gave, 
 Whose word shall never miss. 
 
 6 He them protects, that suffer wrong; 
 
 He makes the oppressed His care ; 
 He guards the feeble 'gainst the strong, 
 And feeds whom hunger'd are. 
 
 7 The Lord restores the blind their sight; 
 
 The Lord the imprison'd frees ; 
 The Lord loves those who do aright, 
 And them with favour sees. 
 
 8 He to the stranger gives His stay ; 
 
 The widow's cause asserts, 
 And orphan's : but the ungodly's way 
 He utterly subverts. 
 
 9 The Lord perpetual sway maintains: 
 
 Him all shall bow before. 
 Thy GOD, O Zion ! endless reigns ; 
 He is King for evermore. 
 
308 THE PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM CXLVI. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 r\ PRAISE The Lord, my soul! Him praise; 
 
 Continually Him laud : 
 Thereto I '11 still attune my song ; 
 Yea, Him I '11 praise my whole life long ; 
 Whilst I have being, I '11 singing raise 
 The praises of my GOD. 
 
 2 In Princes put not ye your trust : 
 
 Nor in the son of man, 
 
 In whom 's no help ; his breath goes forth ; 
 He back returns him to his earth ; 
 
 His thoughts himself that day are dust ; 
 
 He ends where he began. 
 
 3 Blest he, that, for his help and aid, 
 
 The GOD of Jacob has! 
 Whose hope The Lord his GOD is in, 
 
 The Heavens Earth sea and all therein 
 
 Who made: who keeps His word as said, 
 Assur'd to come to pass. 
 
 4 He judges for the oppress'd and weak; 
 
 He gives the hungry food : 
 The Lord instructs the blind to see. 
 The Lord so sets the captive free. 
 The Lord the righteous loves, and meek, 
 Who do that which is good. 
 
 5 The stranger guards, the fatherless 
 
 And widow He sustains : 
 But He o'erthrows the wicked's way. 
 The Lord for evermore holds sway : 
 Throughout all everlastingness, 
 
 Thy GOD, O Sion ! reigns. 
 
 PSALM CXLVII. 
 
 jp RAISE ye The Lord ! His praises sing : 
 
 T is good our GOD to praise ; 
 T is pleasant and a comely thing 
 His laudful song to raise. 
 
cxlvii. THE PSALMS. 309 
 
 2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem, 
 
 He rears her ruin'd wall; 
 He Israel's children, gathering them, 
 Together brings, from thrall. 
 
 3 Great is The Lord : He in power excels : 
 
 His wisdom all proclaims : 
 He counts the stars, their number tells ; 
 He calls them by their names. 
 
 4 He heals the brok'n in heart and sad, 
 
 And He their wounds makes sound : 
 He uplifts the meek ; but casts the bad 
 And wicked to the ground. 
 
 5 Sing, 'with thanksgiving, to The Lord ; 
 
 The homage to Him ow'd : 
 Upon the harp, with loud accord, 
 Sing praises to our GOD ! 
 
 6 With clouds the Heavens He covers o'er, 
 
 Preparing rain for Earth ; 
 And, on the mountains' rocky floor, 
 
 He makes the herb spring forth. 
 
 7 He all provides their daily meat, 
 
 According to their needs; 
 The cattle gives wherewith to eat, 
 And the young ravens feeds. 
 
 8 In th' horse's strength He nought delights, 
 
 Nor in man's power of limb : 
 But them He with His love requites, 
 Who fear and trust in Him. 
 
 9 O praise The Lord, Jerusalem! 
 
 O Sion, praise thy GOD : 
 On thy gates' bars, securing them, 
 New strength has He bestow'd. 
 
 10 Within thy borders makes He peace; 
 
 Thy children does He bless ; 
 Thy land He blesses with increase, 
 And fields with fruitfulness. 
 
 Jl He His command sends forth: swift spreads.... 
 
 And straightway all ensues : 
 Like ashes He His hoar-frost sheds, 
 Like wool His snow distrews. 
 
310 THE PSALMS. 
 
 12 His hail He scatters, fierce clown-pour'd : 
 
 Who can His frost withstand ! 
 
 He speaks And, melting at His word, 
 
 The waters flood the land! 
 
 13 To Jacob He His word does show, 
 
 And signifies His will : 
 He Israel makes His judgements know, 
 And statutes, to fulfil. 
 
 14 He with none other has dealt thus, 
 
 Nor them such favour shown : 
 Nor have the Heathen, as with us, 
 His ordinances known. 
 
 PSALM CXLVIII. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 pRAISE ye THE LORD wheree'er ! 
 Loud shout His praises forth : 
 Him praise in sea and air, 
 
 Him praise in Heaven and Earth. 
 
 For He is GOD, The only Lord ; 
 E'erwhere avow'd, By all ador'd. 
 
 2 All ye His hosts ! Him praise : 
 
 Him praise, Ye His angels bright! 
 
 Sun moon that shining blaze, 
 
 And all ye stars of light ! 
 
 For He is GOD, The only Lord ; 
 
 E'erwhere avow'd, By all ador'd. 
 
 3 Ye Heaven of Heavens on high, 
 
 Above the ethereal frame ! 
 Ye waters 'bove the sky ! 
 
 All, praise and bless His Name ! 
 
 For He is GOD, The only Lord ; 
 E'erwhere avow'd, By all ador'd. 
 
 4 By all His Name be bless'd ; 
 
 His Name be prais'd e'erwhere : 
 
 For He His will express'd 
 
 He spake .... And straight they were. 
 
 For He is GOD, The only Lord ; 
 
 E'erwhere avow'd, By all ador'd. 
 
cxlviii. THE PSALMS. 311 
 
 5 He establish'd them, and bade 
 
 Perpetually to be ; 
 He a law hath for them made, 
 And an unchang'd decree. 
 
 For He is GOD, The only Lord ; 
 E'erwhere avow'd, By all ador'd. 
 
 6 Praise ye The Lord from Earth, 
 
 Whatever swims or creeps ! 
 All that therein have birth ! 
 Ye waters and all deeps ! 
 
 For He is GOD, The only Lord ; 
 
 E'erwhere avow'd, By all ador'd. 
 
 7 Him praise, ye hail and snow ! 
 
 Fire, floods ! that do His will : 
 Ye winds ! that furious blow, 
 That His dread word fulfil. 
 
 For He is GOD, The only Lord ; 
 E'erwhere avow'd, By all ador'd. 
 
 8 Him praise, ye plains and fields ! 
 
 Ye hills and mountains all ! 
 Each tree that fruitful yields ! 
 And cedars rising tall ! 
 
 For He is GOD, The only Lord ; 
 
 E'erwhere avow'd, By all ador'd. 
 
 9 Ye cattle all, and herds! 
 
 And every moving thing ! 
 Ye forest beasts! Ye birds, 
 And feather'd fowl of wing! 
 
 For He is GOD, The only Lord ; 
 
 E'erwhere avow'd, By all ador'd. 
 
 10 Kings of the Earth, who reign! 
 
 Ye Judges of the Earth ! 
 Princes and mighty men ! 
 All, shout His praises forth ! 
 
 For He is GOD, The only Lord ; 
 E'erwhere avow'd, By all ador'd. 
 
 1 1 Young men and maidens both ! 
 
 Old men ! your voices raise : 
 And children ! age as youth ! 
 All come to Him with praise. 
 
 For He is GOD, The only Lord; 
 
 E'erwhere avow'd, By all ador'd. 
 
THE PSALMS. C 
 
 12 All, join to praise His Name ! 
 
 All tongues thereto be blent : 
 For that alone claims fame*; 
 That only is excellent. 
 
 For He is GOD, The only Lord ; 
 E'erwhere avow'd, By all ador'd. 
 
 13 Above the Heavens wide-blazed, 
 
 His glory extends on high ; 
 Above the Earth 't is raised, 
 T is rais'd above the Sky. 
 
 For He is GOD, The only Lord ; 
 E'erwhere avow'd, By all ador'd. 
 
 14 He exalts His People's horn : 
 
 So shall His saints Him bless ; 
 
 E'en Israel's sons His sworn, 
 
 A People who Him confess. 
 
 For He is GOD, The only Lord ; 
 E'erwhere avow'd, By all ador'd. 
 
 PSALM CXLV1II. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 pRAlSE The Lord, ye eternal tongues. 
 Praise Him, ye celestial throngs. 
 Praise Him, ye His angels all. 
 Praise Him, ye His hosts withal. 
 
 2 Praise Him, sun and moon ybright. 
 Praise Him, all ye stars of light. 
 Praise Him, all ye Heavens on high; 
 All ye waters 'bove the sky. 
 
 3 All things let His Name declare : 
 
 For He order'd Arid they were. 
 
 Them for aye He stablish'd has ; 
 Ne'er their bounds to overpass. 
 
 4 Praise The Lord, earth air and sea 
 
 Praise Him all their creatures ye. 
 
 Fire hail snow, all praise The Lord 
 
 Wind and storm, obeying His word. 
 
CXIix. THE PSALMS. 313 
 
 5 Mountains, hills ; ye forests all, 
 Fruitful trees, and cedars tall ; 
 Cattle, beasts, each living thing, 
 Creeping things, and fowl of wing : 
 
 6 Kings, and ye that rule the Earth : 
 All, of high or lowly birth : 
 
 Youths and maidens, life's each stage, 
 Children and old men, all age. 
 
 7 Praise His Name: on that intent; 
 For that only is excellent : 
 
 So, o'er all. the glory His ; 
 Earth above and Heaven it is. 
 
 8 His shall He to greatness raise : 
 Him shall all His saints still praise. 
 Israel's ones, of whom ador'd, 
 
 Praise Him, all ye; praise The Lord! 
 
 PSALM CXLIX. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 Him now sing ye a new song ; 
 Now sing ye to The Lord ; 
 Now let the saints' assembled throng 
 Him praise with one accord. 
 
 2 Let Israel in her Maker now 
 
 Rejoice, and to Him sing ; 
 Let Sion's children, while avow, 
 Be joyful in their King. 
 
 3 With music let them praise His Name, 
 
 With pipe and timbrel praise; 
 With harp and tabret, so, to frame, 
 His praises loudly raise. 
 
 4 For, in His People His avow'd, 
 
 The Lord doth pleasure take ; 
 And, with salvation, He the unproud 
 And meek will glorious make. 
 
 5 Now let His saints, with lifted voice, 
 
 In triumph joyful be ; 
 Now let them in their feasts* rejoice, 
 And sing with blithesome glee. 
 
314 THE PSALMS. 
 
 6 Now let the praises of The Lord 
 
 Be in their mouths still seen : 
 And in their hands a two-edg'd sword, 
 A pointed and a keen : 
 
 7 To smite the Heathen, who have scorned, 
 
 Refusing Him to seek ; 
 The Nations punish, and, as warned, 
 His vengeance on them wreak : 
 
 8 To bind their kings, and lead to thrall, 
 
 In fettering chains confin'd ; 
 And so their chiefs, and captains all, 
 With links of iron bind. 
 
 9 To do His judgements, as set forth 
 
 And written in His word. 
 Such honour have His saints on Earth, 
 All they that fear The Lord. 
 
 PSALM CXLIX. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 ATOW sing to The Lord a song of new choice, 
 
 His praise let the saints' assembly now sing; 
 
 Now in her Creator let Israel rejoice, 
 
 And children of Sion be glad in their King. 
 
 2 Wake tabret and harp, each instrument wake : 
 
 His Name praise with song, on music upborn'. 
 For GOD in His People still pleasure doth take ; 
 
 And He with salvation the meek will adorn. 
 
 3 With glory let now the saints joyful be ; 
 
 Let sing in their feasts, and shout to The Lord : 
 
 Be now in their mouths GOD'S praises with glee : 
 
 And be in their hand a two-edged sword : 
 
 4 The Heathen to smite, all them He arraigns, 
 
 And on them to wreak His vengeance design 'd ; 
 
 To punish the Nations, their kings bind in chains, 
 
 And nobles in fetters of iron to bind : 
 
 5 His judgements to do on them, as set forth ; 
 
 And vengeance to wreak, as writ' in His word. 
 Such honour His saints are given on Earth ; 
 
 All they that Him fear ; the loved of The Lord. 
 
THE PSALMS. 315 
 
 PSALM CL. 
 
 First Version. 
 
 pRAISE ye THE LORD in His dread height! 
 
 Him in His power's dominion praise ; 
 Him praise for all His acts of might ; 
 Him as His excellent greatness praise. 
 
 2 Him praise ye with the trumpet's sound ; 
 
 With psaltery and with harp Him praise ; 
 Him praise, His holy altars round* ; 
 Him with the pipe and timbrel praise. 
 
 3 Him praise with organ, reed, and chord ; 
 
 Him with the sounding cymbals praise, 
 With cymbals loud. All, praise THE LORD! 
 Let every thing that breathes, Him praise. 
 
 PSALM CL. 
 
 Second Version. 
 
 pRAISE ye THE LORD! Praise GOD! Him praise, 
 
 In His high Sanctuary ; 
 His praises loudly singing raise, 
 
 Where in His power's array. 
 
 2 For all His mighty acts Him praise; 
 
 Him praise for great and good ; 
 His excellence's praises raise, 
 
 On music's loudest mood. 
 
 3 Him with the sounding trumpet praise, 
 
 With psaltery harp and lute ; 
 
 On every tongue His praises raise ; 
 Thereto let none be mute. 
 
 4 Him with the pipe and timbrel praise ; 
 
 Him praise with reed and string ; 
 On instruments His praises raise, 
 With voices loudly sing. 
 
 5 Him on the loud-ton'd cymbals praise, 
 
 On cymbals sounding high ; 
 His praises high exalting raise, 
 Resounding far and nigh. 
 
316 THE PSALMS. cl, 
 
 6 Let every thing, that breathes, Him praise; 
 
 Him praise with one accord ; 
 His praises loudly singing raise. 
 
 All praise ye praise THE LORD! 
 
 PSALM CL. 
 
 Third Version. 
 
 pRAISE THE LORD! Him praise loud-toned. 
 Praise Him where on high enthroned. 
 Praise Him in His power's domain. 
 Praise Him in His boundless reign. 
 
 2 Praise Him in the acts that His, 
 As His excellent greatness is. 
 Praise Him, all, with voices strong, 
 With each instrument of song. 
 
 3 Praise Him, with the trumpet's sound ; 
 Praise Him, all, His altars round. 
 Praise Him with the reed and string. 
 Praise Him with each sound ful thing. 
 
 4 Praise Him, with the cymbals sweet, 
 Cymbals of the loudest beat. 
 
 All that breathes ; with joint accord, 
 Praise Him, all ye; Praise THE LORD! 
 
 END OF THE PSALMS. 
 
HYMNS. 
 
 VENI CREATOR. 
 
 Long Metre. 
 
 QOME, Holy Spirit! wakening us, 
 
 Thy servants' souls reanimate ; 
 With grace divine, renewing thus, 
 
 Fill Thou the hearts Thou didst create. 
 
 2 Thee for The Comforter we know ; 
 
 The Most High's gift, shed from above ; 
 The fount whence living waters flow, 
 Zeal charity and holy love. 
 
 3 Gifts sevenfold great dost Thou impart ; 
 
 Of GOD'S right hand the finger Thou, 
 Thou His accomplished promise art; 
 Thou dost with holy words endow. 
 
 4 With Thy bright torch our minds illume; 
 
 Thy love be in our hearts display 'd ; 
 No sway let o'er us sin assume ; 
 
 But with Thy strength our weakness aid. 
 
 5 Afar the enemy repel ; 
 
 Us with Thy perfect peace to bless ; 
 So, 'neath Thy guidance, walking well, 
 To shun whate'er of hurtfulness. 
 
 *** IT has hitherto been customary to insert in The 
 Common Prayer Book several versified Pieces, for singing, 
 additional to THE PSALMS ; tho most of which are seldom or 
 never so used. Up to the end of last Century, besides those 
 still now retained, The Creed The Commandments and The 
 Lord's Prayer were always included in it, but since that time 
 seem gradually to have disappeared. 
 
 In compliance with the usual practice, here have been in- 
 serted all the Pieces still printed with The Psalms in the 
 Authorised Impressions of The Prayer Book: Saving that, as the 
 
318 HYMNS. 
 
 6 Make us thro Thee, in perfect faith, 
 
 The Father and The Son to know ; 
 And ever Thee, conjoint therewith, 
 As Either's spirit shed below. 
 
 7 Be glory to The Father, Son; 
 
 And glory, Holy Ghost! to Thee. 
 
 And, Lord ! still let that Son Thine own,. 
 
 And Holy Spirit, with us be. 
 
 VENI CREATOR. 
 
 Common Metre. 
 
 QOME, Holy Spirit ! quickening us, 
 Thy servants' souls upwake ; 
 With grace divine, replenish thus 
 
 The hearts which Thou didst make. 
 
 2 Thee for The. Comforter we know, 
 
 The Most High's gift Thee feel ; 
 The fount whence living waters flow, 
 Faith love and holy zeal. 
 
 3 Gifts sevenfold great dost Thou impart; 
 
 His right hand's finger Thou, 
 Thou GOD'S accomplish'd promise art ; 
 Thou dost with all endow. 
 
 4 With Thy bright torch our minds illume; 
 
 Thy love within us shed ; 
 No sway let o'er us sin assume ; 
 
 But with Thy strength bestead. 
 
 present is altogether THE PSALMS IN A NEW VERSION, 
 of most of those our own Versions are given instead of 
 the old ones : And three or four New Pieces, that seemed 
 suitable and desirable for the place, are offered along with 
 them to the consideration of the Reader. In the old Morning 
 and Evening Hymns two or three slight verbal alterations 
 have been made, which it is hoped will be thought for the 
 better ; and the Fifth Verse of the latter is omitted altogether, 
 as it cannot but be considered very faulty and at best re- 
 dundant, being indeed generally left out. 
 
HYMNS. 319 
 
 5 Afar the enemy repel ; 
 
 And with Thy peace us bless ; 
 So, 'neath Thy guidance, walking well, 
 To shun all hurtfulness. 
 
 6 Make us, thro Thee, in perfect faith, 
 
 The Father Son to know ; 
 
 And Thee, as cither's Spirit with, 
 Conjointly shed below. 
 
 7 Be glory to The Father, Son ; 
 
 And, Holy Ghost! to Thee. 
 
 Lord ! with us still that Son Thine own, 
 
 And Holy Spirit, be. 
 
 TE DEUM LAUDAMUS. 
 
 praise Thee, O GOD! we Thee avow, 
 
 Thee own THE LORD to be : 
 The Father everlasting Thou ; 
 
 All Earth doth worship Thee. 
 
 2 To Thee the Angels call aloud ; 
 
 To Thee the Heavens on high, 
 And all the Powers therein, down-bow'd 
 Before Thy Throne, still cry : 
 
 3 The Cherubs Seraphs all, there prone, 
 
 To Thee still cry, forth pour'd :_ 
 "O Holy! Holy! Holy One! 
 
 "THE GOD OF HOSTS, THE LORD/' 
 
 4 With Thy all-glorious majesty 
 
 The Heavens and Earth are fill'd ; 
 The Apostles' glorious company 
 
 Thee praise, with voice unstill'd. 
 
 5 The Prophets' goodly fellowship 
 
 Thy praises loudly raise ; 
 The Martyrs' noble ranks and deep 
 Thee loud-extolling praise. 
 
 6 The Holy Church the World throughout 
 
 Doth all acknowledge Thee : 
 The Father Thou, all end without, 
 Of power without degree : 
 
320 HYMNS. 
 
 7 Thine honour'd Son, Thou dost aver 
 
 Thine only one and true ; 
 And Holy Ghost, the Comforter, 
 
 With Thee conjoin'd, to sue. 
 
 8 O CHRIST ! Thine is the Kingly part ; 
 
 Thou glory's crown dost wear : 
 Thou, of The Eternal Father, art 
 The Son eternal e'er. 
 
 9 When, to deliver Man sin-born, 
 
 Thou didst upon Thee take, 
 
 The Virgin's womb Thou didst not scorn, 
 All suffering for his sake. 
 
 10 When Thou death's sharpness hadst o'ercome, 
 
 Encrowning so their hope, 
 To all believers, as their home, 
 
 Heaven's Kingdom didst Thou ope'. 
 
 11 Thou, in The Father's glory, dost 
 
 At His right hand there sit: 
 We in Thy certain coming trust, 
 To judge us and acquit. 
 
 12 So do we pray Thee, gracious Lord ! 
 
 Thy servants help, as craved ; 
 Whom, with Thy precious blood outpour'd, 
 Thou hast redeern'd and saved : 
 
 13 Them number with Thy saints, to dwell 
 
 In glory thro all age. 
 Lord ! save Thy People, guarding well ; 
 And bless Thine heritage : 
 
 14 Them govern and uplift for e'er. 
 
 So we Thy lauds still frame, 
 Thee magnify with praise and prayer ; 
 Still worship we Thy Name. 
 
 15 Have mercy on ifs ; and our way 
 
 Direct, whence nought to swerve : 
 Vouchsafe, O gracious Lord ! this day 
 Us sinless to preserve. 
 
 16 Lord ! save us, guarding with Thy hand ; 
 
 As is our trust in Thee : 
 
 In Thee we 've trusted : let us stand, 
 
 Nor e'er confounded be. 
 
HYMNS. 
 
 BENEDICTUS. 
 
 OB 
 
 THE SONG OF ZACHARIAS. 
 
 St. Luke. c. 1. v. 68-79. 
 
 gLESS'D be THE LORD, our stead; 
 E'en Israel's GOD ! For He 
 His People now hath visited, 
 
 Redeem'd, and set them free : 
 
 2 And for us hath a horn 
 
 Of strong salvation reared ; 
 E'en from His servant David born. 
 As He erewhile declared: 
 
 3 As by His Prophets erst, 
 
 His holy ones, He spake ; 
 Which have been since the World was first, 
 When He did all things make. 
 
 4 That, from our foes, as craved, 
 
 And from our haters all, 
 We should deliver'd be and saved ; 
 
 Thenceforth released from thrall. 
 
 5 The mercy to observe, 
 
 To our Fathers promis'd thus; 
 Nor from His holy covenant swerve, 
 Remembering it for us. 
 
 6 As He that vowed of yore ; 
 
 To keep the oath, which He 
 Unto our father Abraham swore; 
 Unfailing so to be 
 
 7 That, from our enemies' hands, 
 
 We, being deliver'd clear, 
 Might worship Him as His commands, 
 And serve Him void of fear : 
 
 8 Before Him blemishless; 
 
 And walking in His ways, 
 In holiness and righteousness, 
 
 Throughout our life's all days. 
 
 9 And Thou, Child ! shalt be now, 
 
 Before Him going there, 
 " The Highest's Prophet" call'd : For Thou 
 Shalt THE LORD'S ways prepare: 
 
 Y 
 
HYMNS. 
 
 10 His People making live, 
 
 Thro His imparted means ; 
 Salvatioa's knowledge them to give, 
 By pardon of their sins : 
 
 1 1 GOD'S tender mercy thro ; 
 
 Whence, freely on us shed, 
 The day-spring from on high, thereto, 
 Us now has visited : 
 
 12 To give them light and day, 
 
 That in death's shadow sit 
 And darkness ; and in peace's way 
 Henceforth to guide our feet. 
 
 MAGNIFICAT. 
 
 OB 
 
 THE SONG OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 
 St. Luke. c. 1. v. 46-55. 
 
 soul doth magnify THE LORD ; 
 To Him it lifts the voice : 
 In GOD my Saviour, e'er ador'd, 
 My spirit doth rejoice. 
 
 2 For He hath deign'd, with choice express, 
 
 On her His looks to cast: 
 Yea, Thine handmaiden's lowliness 
 Thou, LORD! regarded hast. 
 
 3 For now behold Throughout all Earth 
 
 Shall I be hail'd of all ; 
 All generations, from henceforth, 
 
 Now me shall "blessed" call. 
 
 4 For, He, that mighty is and great, 
 
 He, that did all things frame, 
 Hath rais'd me, and on high hath set. 
 And holy is His Name ! 
 
 5 On them, who fear Him and obey, 
 
 His mercy ever is ; 
 Throughout all generations they 
 Shall be accounted His. 
 
HYMNS. 323 
 
 6 His arm hath wrought full mighty things ; 
 
 Therewith He strength hath shown : 
 In their vain hearts' imaginings 
 
 The proud hath He o'erthrown. 
 
 7 He, from their seat, down casting low, 
 
 The mighty hath abased : 
 And the humble and the meek He so 
 Hath in exaltment placed. 
 
 8 He with good things, and plenteously, 
 
 The hungry ones hath fill'd ; 
 And empty sent the rich away, 
 
 Who on their store did build. 
 
 9 He His servant Israel at need 
 
 Hath in His mercy stay'd; 
 As He to Abraham and his seed 
 Did promise still to aid. 
 
 NUNC DIMITTIS. 
 
 OS 
 
 THE SONG OF SIMEON. 
 St. Luke. c. 2. v. 29-32. 
 
 to Thy servant give release, 
 
 And free him, gracious LORD ! 
 Yea let him now depart in peace, 
 According to Thy word. 
 
 2 For now mine eyes, nor waiting more, 
 
 Have Thy salvation seen : 
 Which Thou 'st prepar'd all Men before, 
 E'en as had promis'd been : 
 
 3 To be a light, enlightening well, 
 
 To let the Gentiles see ; 
 And, of Thy People Israel, 
 The glory so to be. 
 
 FOR CHRISTMAS DAY.* 
 
 Morning Service. 
 
 TIIGH let us swell our tuneful notes, 
 
 And join th' angelic throng : 
 For Angels no such love have known, 
 T awake a cheerful song. 
 
 * From The Prayer Book. 
 
324 HYMNS. 
 
 2 Good-will to sinful men is shown, 
 
 And peace on Earth is given : 
 For lo Th' incarnate Saviour comes, 
 With messages from Heaven ! 
 
 3 Justice and grace, with sweet accord, 
 
 His rising beams adorn : 
 
 Let Heav'n and Earth in concert join, 
 
 "To us a Child is born." 
 
 4 Glory to GOD in highest strains, 
 
 In highest Worlds, be paid; 
 His glory by our lips proclaim'd, 
 And by our lives display'd. 
 
 5 When shall we reach those blissful realms, 
 
 Where CHRIST exalted reigns ; 
 And learn of the celestial choir 
 Their own immortal strains? 
 
 FOR CHRISTMAS DAY * 
 
 Evening Service. 
 
 JJARK, the herald Angels sing 
 
 Glory to The new-born King. 
 
 Peace on Earth and mercy mild, 
 
 GOD and sinners reconcile!. 
 
 Joyful, all ye nations ! rise ; 
 
 Join the triumph of the skies ; 
 
 With th' angelic host proclaim 
 
 CHRIST is born in Bethlehem. 
 
 Hark, the herald Angels sing 
 
 Glory to The new-born King. 
 
 2 CHRIST, by highest Heav'n ador'd, 
 
 CHRIST, The everlasting Lord : 
 
 Late in time behold Him come, 
 
 Offspring of a Virgin's womb : 
 
 Veil'd in flesh The Godhead He, 
 
 Hail Th' incarnate Deity! 
 
 Pleas'd as with man with man appear, 
 
 JESUS our Immanuel here. 
 
 Hark, the herald Angels sing 
 
 Glory to The new-born King. 
 
 * From The Prayer Book. 
 
HYMNS. 325 
 
 3 Hail The Heav'n-born Prince of Peace : 
 
 Hail The Sun of righteousness ! 
 
 Light and life to all He brings, 
 
 Risen with healing in His wings ; 
 
 Mild He lays His glory by ; 
 
 Born that man no more may die, 
 
 Born to raise the sons of Earth, 
 
 Born to give them second birth. 
 
 Hark, the herald Angels sing 
 
 Glory to The new-born King. 
 
 THE BIRTH AND KINGDOM OF CHRIST. 
 
 Isaiah, c. 9. v. 67. 
 
 unto us a Child is born*, 
 And unto us a Son is given : 
 And on His shoulder, by Him worn, 
 The government shall be, from Heaven. 
 
 2 And WONDERFUL His Name shall be 
 
 CalPd COUNSELLOR THE MIGHTY GOD 
 
 THE EVERLASTING FATHER HE 
 
 THE PRINCE OF PEACE THE LORD avow'd 
 
 3 And, of His government's increase, 
 
 On David's throne and kingdom all, 
 There shall no end be, nor of peace : 
 In justice ordering it withal : 
 
 4 And to establish and uprear 
 
 With judgement, rightly to direct : 
 Now and henceforth for e'er and e'er. 
 This will THE LORD OF HOSTS effect. 
 
 THE SONG OF THE ANGELS 
 
 AT THE NATIVITY OF OUR BLESSED SAVIOUR. 
 
 St. Luke. c. 2. v. 8_14. 
 
 JN Judah's Country Shepherds were, 
 
 Abiding in the field ; 
 
 And o'er their flocks watch keeping there, 
 At night, in silence still'd. 
 
 * St. Luke. c. 2. v. 11. 
 
326 HYMNS. 
 
 2 When lo__The Angel of THE LORD 
 
 Came on them, light-array'd ; 
 His glory round them shone outpour'd : 
 And were they sore afraid. 
 
 3 And thus said he, them comforting : 
 
 " Fear not : for to you, lo 
 
 " Good tidings of great joy I bring ; 
 " Which to all Peoples so. 
 
 4 " For unto you, as erst was sworn 
 
 " Nor failing of that word, 
 " This day in David's City is born 
 "A Saviour CHRIST THE LORD! 
 
 5 " And this a sign shall to you be : 
 
 " Where swathing clothes enfold, 
 " And lying in a manger He, 
 " The Babe shall ye behold." 
 
 6 On sudden now, with the Angel, round, 
 
 A multitude's array 
 Of the Heavenly Host, in joint resound 
 Loud hymning, thus did say 
 
 7 " To GOD in Th' Highest glory still, 
 
 " Be now, as aye before ; 
 " Be peace on Earth, t'ward Men good will, 
 "Henceforth for evermore!" 
 
 FOR EASTER DAY.* 
 
 First Hymn. 
 
 gINCE CHRIST, our Passover, is slain, 
 
 A sacrifice for all; 
 Let all, with thankful hearts, agree 
 To keep the festival : 
 
 2 Not with the leaven, as of old, 
 
 Of sin and malice fed ; 
 But with unfeign'd sincerity, 
 And truth's unleaven'd bread. 
 
 3 CHRIST, being rais'd by power Divine, 
 
 And rescued from the grave, 
 Shall die no more; death shall on Him 
 No more dominion have. 
 
 * From The Prayer Book. 
 
HYMNS. 327 
 
 4 For that He died, 't was for our sins 
 
 He once vouchsafed to die ; 
 But that He lives, He lives to GOD 
 For all eternity. 
 
 5 So count yourselves as dead to sin ; 
 
 But graciously restor'd, 
 And made henceforth alive to GOD, 
 Through JESUS CHRIST our Lord. 
 
 Second Hymn* 
 
 (CHRIST from the dead is rais'd, and made 
 
 The firstfruits of the tomb ; 
 For, as by man came death, by man 
 Did resurrection come. 
 
 2 For, as in Adam all mankind 
 
 Did guilt and death revive ; 
 So, by the righteousness of CHRIST, 
 Shall all be made alive. 
 
 3 If then ye risen are with CHRIST, 
 
 Seek only how to get 
 The things that are above, where CHRIST 
 At GOD'S right hand doth sit. 
 
 Third Hymn* 
 
 JESUS CHRIST is risen to day, 
 Our triumphant holiday; 
 Who did once upon the cross, 
 Suffer, to redeem our loss. 
 
 Hallelujah. 
 
 2 Hymns of praise then let us sing, 
 Unto CHRIST our heavenly King; 
 Who endur'd the cross and grave, 
 Sinners to redeem and save. 
 
 Hallelujah. 
 
 3 But the pains, which He endured, 
 Our salvation have procured. 
 Now above the sky He 's King, 
 Where the Angels ever sing 
 
 Hallelujah. 
 
 * From The Prayer Book. 
 
328 HYMNS. 
 
 FOR THE SACRAMENT.* 
 
 First Hymn. 
 
 ]y[Y GOD! and is Thy table spread, 
 
 And doth Thy cup with love o'erflow? 
 Thither be all Thy children' led, 
 
 And let them all Thy sweetness know. 
 
 2 Hail, sacred feast, which JESUS makes ! 
 
 Rich banquet of His flesh and blood ! 
 Thrice happy he, who here partakes 
 
 That sacred stream that Heavenly food. 
 
 3 Why are His dainties all in vain 
 
 Before unwilling hearts display 'd? 
 Was not for you the victim slain ? 
 Are you forbid' the children's bread? 
 
 4 O let Thy table honour'd be, 
 
 And furnish'd well with joyful guests : 
 And may each soul salvation see, 
 That here its sacred pledges tastes. 
 
 5 Let crowds approach, with hearts prepar'd ; 
 
 With hearts inflam'd, let all attend ; 
 Nor, when we leave our Father's board, 
 The pleasure or the profit end. 
 
 6 Revive Thy dying churches, LORD ! 
 
 And bid our drooping graces live ; 
 And more that energy afford, 
 A Saviour's blood alone can give. 
 
 FOR THE SACRAMENT. 
 
 Revelation, c. 5. v. 913. 
 Second Hymn. 
 
 YEA Thou wast slain: and, by Thy blood, 
 
 E'en out of every Kin 
 
 Tongue People Nation Brotherhood, 
 
 Delivering us from sin : 
 2 Thou 'st us to GOD redeem'd, unbound ; 
 
 And unto Him henceforth 
 
 Thou 'st made us Priests and Kings encrown'd ; 
 And we shall reigri on Earth. 
 
 * From The Prayer Bdok. 
 
HYMNS. 
 
 3 Worthy The Lamb is, who was slain, 
 
 Who died that we might live, 
 
 Wealth wisdom honour power domain 
 
 And blessings to receive! 
 
 4 Let every creaturp drawing breath, 
 
 Wheree'er pursued its way, 
 
 In Heaven on Earth or Earth beneath, 
 
 Now join the song, and say 
 
 5 " Power blessing honour glory might 
 
 " Be unto Him to bear, 
 " Who sits upon the Throne in height, 
 "And to The Lamb, for e'er!"" 
 
 FOR THE SACRAMENT. 
 
 Revelation, c. 19. v. 19. 
 Third Hymn. 
 
 to Salvation's King in Heaven, 
 Loud Hallelujahs raise : 
 Unto THE LORD our GOD be given 
 All honour power and praise. 
 
 2 For, righteous still, as still unchanged, 
 
 And true, His judgements are : 
 His servants' blood hath He avenged, 
 And wickedness laid bare. 
 
 3 All ye His servants ! praise our GOD, 
 
 And magnify His Name ; 
 All ye, that fear Him ! to His laud 
 Loud Halleluiahs frame. 
 
 t/ 
 
 4 Let all now glad be and rejoice : 
 
 For He all things ordains. 
 In Hallelujahs lift the voice : 
 
 For GOD all powerful reigns. 
 
 5 For, The Lamb's marriage now shall be : 
 
 His Bride her ready hath made; 
 As His Saints' righteousness spot-free, 
 In robes of white arrayed. 
 
 6 Blest they, from sin who disenthrall'd 
 
 Whom He shall thence acquit, 
 Are to the marriage-supper call'd, 
 There with The Lamb to sit! 
 
330 HYMNS. 
 
 TRUST IN THE LORD. 
 
 Isaiah, c. 26. v. 14. 
 TX/'E a strong City have : 
 
 Our GOD her guardian is ; 
 With His salvation will He save ; 
 Her walls and bulwarks this. 
 
 2 Ope' wide her gates within ; 
 
 Her portals open wide : 
 That they, who keep the truth, therein 
 May enter and abide. 
 
 3 Him wilt Thou thence release, 
 
 And keep from trouble free, 
 
 Him wilt Thou keep in perfect peace, 
 
 Whose mind is stay'd on Thee. 
 
 4 Still trust ye in His word ; 
 
 Still Him for aid implore : 
 For in JEHOVAH GOD THE LORD 
 Is strength for evermore. 
 
 CHRIST THE SAVIOUR. 
 
 St. Matthew, c. 11. v. 28-30. 
 T 1ST, sinners ! and rejoice ; 
 
 Redemption here behold ; 
 Here list THE SAVIOUR'S gracious voice, 
 That calls you to His fold 
 
 2 "Come to me, ye in care! 
 
 "All ye that are distress'd, 
 "All ye that toil and wearied are! 
 " And I will give you rest. 
 
 3 " My yoke upon you take, 
 
 " And learn herein of me : 
 " Bear all, for righteousness's sake ; 
 " And meek and lowly be. 
 
 4 "So shall ye, freed from thrall, 
 
 " Find rest and peace in this : 
 " For easy is my yoke withal, 
 
 " And light my burthen is." 
 
 5 Go, sinners all ! to Him, 
 
 Who all for you endures : 
 So shall He you from sin redeem, 
 And make Salvation yours. 
 
HYMNS. 331 
 
 FOR THE MORNING* 
 
 First Hymn. 
 
 my soul! and with the Sun, 
 y daily stage of duty run : 
 Shake off dull sloth ; and early rise, 
 To pay thy morning sacrifice. 
 
 2 Redeem thy mispent moments past, 
 And live this day as if thy last ; 
 Thy talent to improve take care ; 
 For the great day thyself prepare. 
 
 3 Let all thy converse be sincere, 
 
 Thy conscience as the noon-day clear : 
 
 For GOD'S all-seeing eye surveys 
 
 Thy secret thoughts thy works and ways. 
 
 4 Wake and uplift thyself, my heart! 
 And with the Angels bear thy part ; 
 
 Who, night and day, unwearied sing 
 
 " High glory to The Eternal King." 
 
 FOR THE MORNING. 
 Second Hymn. 
 
 Q THOU! whose bounty us, anew, 
 
 To see another day, doth raise : 
 Dread LORD ! receive our tribute due 
 Of duteous homage, thanks, and praise. 
 
 2 As, thro the night, Thy guardian shield 
 
 Was o'er us cast extended wide, 
 
 This day Thy saving hand us yield, 
 Therethro our wavering steps to guide. 
 
 3 So shall we shun whate'er of ill, 
 
 So 'scape temptation's every snare, 
 So want for nought; attended still, 
 And stay'd, by Thy protecting care. 
 
 4 So, pass'd one of our days' brief train, 
 
 Of Thee approv'd as spent sin-free, 
 We safe shall lay us down again, 
 Again to rise upheld by Thee. 
 
 * From The Prayer Book. 
 
332 HYMNS. 
 
 FOR THE EVENING * 
 
 First Hymn. 
 
 QLORY to Thee, my GOD! this night, 
 For all the blessings of the light. 
 Keep me, O keep me, King of Kings! 
 Beneath Thy own Almighty wings. 
 
 2 Forgive me, LORD! for Thy dear Son, 
 The ill that I this day have done: 
 
 That, with the world myself and Thee, 
 
 I, ere to sleep, at peace may be. 
 
 3 Teach me to live; that I may dread 
 The grave as little as my bed. 
 Teach me to die; that so I may 
 Rise glorious at the awful day. 
 
 4 O let my soul on Thee repose ; 
 
 And may sweet sleep mine eyelids close ; 
 Sleep, that shall me more strengthful make, 
 To serve my GOD when I awake. 
 
 FOR THE EVENING. 
 
 Second Hymn. 
 
 T'HRO Thy abounding goodness, kept 
 
 To seek our nightly couch once more, 
 Dread LORD : our humble thanks accept, 
 And let our prayers come Thee before. 
 
 2 But O how poor our thanks, to pay 
 
 All Thy unnumber'd mercies give! 
 How nought our claims, to ask one day 
 To this one added hour to live! 
 
 3 Yet, thro this night, us deign to keep 
 
 'Neath Thy unfail'd protection sure. 
 So shall we lay us down to sleep, 
 From every earthly harm secure : 
 
 4 For our eternal rest prepared, 
 
 If so Thy gracious pleasure be ; 
 If for another day yet spared, 
 To use, O LORD ! as pleasing Thee. 
 
 * From The Prayer Beok. 
 
HYMNS. 333 
 
 . 
 
 PRAISE THE LORD. 
 
 Revelation, c. 19. v. 13. 
 
 TN Hallelujahs to THE LORD, 
 
 Your loudest accents raise; 
 To Him be every voice outpour'd, 
 
 In worship thanks and praise. 
 
 Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 
 Praise ye Praise THE LORD. 
 
 2 To Him give praises, as His dower; 
 
 Sing Hallelujahs loud ; 
 
 Salvation glory honour power 
 
 Unto THE LORD our GOD. 
 
 Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 
 
 Praise ye Praise THE LORD. 
 
 3 His judgements righteous are and true : 
 
 To Him your homage bring; 
 To Him give praises, as His due; 
 Loud Hallelujahs sing. 
 
 Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 
 
 Praise ye Praise THE LORD. 
 
334 
 
 HYMN 
 FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 Revelation, c. 14. v. 13. 
 
 gLESSED the dead, yea blessed are, 
 
 They in THE LORD who die ! 
 Thenceforth 'scap'd from its every snare, 
 And freed from sin's each tie. 
 
 Yea (saith The Spirit) thence released, 
 They from their labours rest: 
 
 Their works do follow them where ceas'd, 
 And for them shall attest. 
 
 Yea they thenceforth (The Spirit saith) 
 
 Shall live beyond demise : 
 And, in THE LORD, thro present death, 
 
 To life eternal rise ! 
 
335 
 
 DOXOLOGIES.* 
 
 I. . 
 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
 The GOD whom we adore, 
 Be glory; as it was, is now, 
 And shall be evermore. 
 
 II. 
 
 TO GOD the Father, Son, 
 
 And Spirit, glory be ; 
 As 't was, and is, and shall be so 
 
 To all eternity. 
 
 III. 
 
 TO Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
 
 The God whom Earth and Heaven adore, 
 Be glory ; as it was, of old, 
 
 Is now, and shall be evermore. 
 
 IV. 
 
 TO Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
 The God whom Heaven's triumphant host 
 
 And suff'ring saints on Earth adore, 
 Be glory; as in ages past, 
 As now it is, and so shall last, 
 
 When time itself must be no more, 
 
 V. 
 TO GOD The Father, Son, 
 
 And Spirit, ever blest, 
 Eternal Three in One, 
 
 All worship be addrest; 
 
 As heretofore it was, is now, 
 
 And shall be so for evermore. 
 
 VI. 
 BY angels in Heav'n 
 
 Of every degree, 
 And saints upon Earth, 
 
 All praise be addrest; 
 To GOD in Three Persons, 
 
 One GOD ever blest; 
 As has been, now is, 
 
 And always shall be. 
 
 * From The Prayer Book. 
 
336 DOXOLOGIES. 
 
 VII. 
 
 TO GOD, our Benefactor, bring 
 
 The tribute of your praise ; 
 Too small for an Almighty King, 
 
 But all that we can raise. 
 
 Glory to Thee, bless'd Three in One, 
 , The GOD whom we adore; 
 As was, and is, and shall be done, 
 When time shall be no more. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 PRAISE GOD, from whom all blessings flow; 
 Praise Him, all creatures here below! 
 Praise Him above, angelic host! 
 Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 
 
 FROM THE PSALMS. 
 
 Ps. 41. BLEST be THE LORD; as e'er before, 
 
 So now for aye, as then ! 
 Blest Israel's GOD for evermore! 
 Amen ! Amen ! Amen ! 
 
 Ps. 72. BLEST be GOD'S glorious Name ; reveal'd 
 
 For e'er among all men ! 
 All Earth be with His glory fill'd ! 
 Amen ! Amen ! Amen ! 
 
 Ps. 89. BLEST be The GOD whom we adore! 
 
 Prais'd every where of men ! 
 Blest be THE LORD for evermore ! 
 Amen ! Amen ! Amen ! 
 
 Ps. 109. BE Israel's GOD still blest of men! 
 
 Thereto all voices raise ; 
 And let thereto all say Amen! 
 All, bless THE LORD and praise. 
 
 Ps. 150. PRAISE THE LORD with voice and lay, 
 With each instrument of play : 
 All that breathes ; with joint accord, 
 Praise Him all ye: Praise THE LORD! 
 
NOTES. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 PSALM I. 
 
 The blessedness of the righteous, and the miserable state 
 of the wicked. 
 
 THIS First Psalm, which has no Title in the Hebrew, is 
 generally thought to be the composition of Ezra, who compiled 
 the Book. It is, with entire propriety, placed at the head, as a 
 sort of Preface or Introduction to the Whole ; as being, not a 
 Song absolutely of either adoration praise or prayer, but 
 generally an exhortation to righteousness of life and a warning 
 against the contrary, by setting forth the blessed state of the 
 just and the condemnation of the wicked. In its subject it has a 
 great affinity with Ps : cxii. 
 
 In this Psalm may at once be noticed the peculiar feature 
 of Parallelism-, so invariably present in Hebrew Poetry, and 
 indeed, so far as can now be observed, its principal mechanical 
 constituent; creating, whether by antithesis or opposition and 
 this jointly or separately, a perfect and mostly a syllogistical 
 correspondence of its parts. 
 
 In the early Editions of THE OLD VERSION there were 
 Arguments* at the head of the Psalms, stating in brief their 
 subject scope and design. We have not been able to trace 
 when these were discontinued: But, in Bp: Beveridge's little 
 
 * It may be observed that in those the spiritual sense is always and 
 most fully pointed out, even to a degree that may be thought some- 
 times unfounded and excessive. So that the exposition of this by some 
 modern Commentators is not such a discovery as they are given credit 
 for ; nor were our antecessors so wholly blind to it as these imagine, as 
 indeed they could not well be so obviously apparent is that sense and sug- 
 gesting its notice. The later Writers have only exhibited it more in detail. 
 
340 NOTES. 
 
 Book (spoken of below P: 369) in defence of that Version 
 against THE NEW, published in 1710, where condemning the 
 changes made in it from the original Text, he also complains 
 of their omission and apparently as if this had been of some 
 standing. And at least this complaint was perhaps not 
 ill-founded; as those headings seem a very proper introduc- 
 tion to and preparation for the Sacred Song, and a useful 
 setting forth of its matter. 
 
 In this view of it, a great desire has here been felt to do the 
 same ; and from which we have only been deterred by fear lest 
 the innovation should not be well received ; nevertheless with the 
 hope that such may one day again be adopted. In the mean 
 time, as it may be agreeable to some Readers, we have given such 
 Headings in brief in these Notes ; and inserted the Bible Titles 
 where they occur, as such are occasionally wanting. 
 
 PSALM II. 
 
 Prophetical of THE MESSIAH. 
 
 V: 6. 7. and 8. These Verses are very remarkable, as con- 
 taining a clear and unmistakeable allusion to THE SAVIOUR. 
 Materially the Psalm relates to the establishment of Solomon on 
 the throne of Judah, but prophetically to CHRIST and His 
 Kingdom. V: 1 and 2 are quoted by St. Paul, Acts iv. 25_6, 
 and as the words of David ; tho, as appears above, the Psalm 
 itself has no Title ascribing it to him. 
 
 V: 11. i. 'And kiss the Son.' 
 
 Kissing was an act of homage to a newly appointed King : as 
 see 1 Samuel, x. 1 . It means, then, to acknowledge and reverence 
 Him as such. The word, however, not very well explaining 
 itself, perhaps 'own' or 'hail' would better convey the meaning. 
 In our Small Edition the latter singly has been adventured 
 for consideration. The Hebrew word here for "Son" is in 
 peveral places of Scripture used for 'purity.' The LXX 
 gives the passage " Take hold of discipline" : which equally 
 implies general subjection or obedience to authority. 
 
 V: 12. ' If e'er so little as it may etc:' 
 
 The true sense of this Verse, tho the variation is very little 
 
NOTES. 341 
 
 material, might seem to depend entirely on the punctuation and 
 which is different in the two Versions. The B:V:,* by putting 
 a full-stop after " little," separates the last sentence entirely from 
 those preceding. The. L:V:,f putting a colon before the clause 
 ending with " little", separates it from the preceding and connects 
 it with the last. It has here been endeavoured to combine both 
 readings, and which suits the general sense equally well. 
 
 It is to be observed that The L:V: is punctuated with 
 reference to the music, the period and the colon being 
 almost the only stops used ; as, when that Version was made, 
 The Psalms were always not sung as now but chanted 
 with holding notes, as the Te Deum and the fixed Psalms 
 in the Prayer- Service are still. In weighing the sense therefor 
 in that Version, this must always be kept in view. 
 
 PSALM III. 
 
 The security of GOD'S protection. 
 A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his Son. 
 
 V: 2. 2. * That of my soul thus say.' 
 
 The word 'soul' (ne-phesK) is used with great variety of 
 signification in The Psalms (as generally in The Old Testament) 
 for Man, 1. whether corporally or spiritually or both, as here : 
 2. for the body living or dead, as in Ps: xvi. 10. last clause, and 
 cv. 18. : 3. for the sentient faculty or mind in its connection with 
 life, Ps: xi. 1. : 4. in our ordinary sense of it for the undying spirit, 
 Ps: xvi. 10. first clause : and generally for all the modifications to 
 which these may severally be subject. The context then is to be 
 looked to for the precise sense intended where it may occur, and 
 which will always determine it with abundant clearness. 
 
 V: 2. Selah. 
 
 This word, which occurs at V: 2. 4. and 8. of this Psalm, 
 as frequently elsewhere in The Bible Version,! is not known 
 
 * B:V: The Bible Version. f L:V: The Liturgy Version. 
 
 % It occurs there, after the Hebrew Text, about seventy times, and 
 three times in Habakkuk : But in the Septuagint, where rendered by 
 Diapsalma or 'Change of song,' oftener still; clearly showing that it 
 was here thought to refer not to the sense but the music. 
 
342 NOTES. 
 
 as what referring to, some supposing one thing and some 
 another, but is more generally thought to be merely some 
 annotation for the music. 
 
 Its position at Ps: xxiv. 6. (as at xlvii. 4. and a few other 
 places) might seem to imply that it is a mark for a division of the 
 subject ; for there is there an entire change in that : tho this 
 change necessarily involves the same in the music, and so may 
 make it apply to the latter only. And it perpetually occurs 
 where there is none whatever. This therefor in that Psalm, as in 
 the present, can go for nothing. Indeed from the very arbitrary 
 not to say accidental use of the word, the entire promiscuous- 
 ness of its presence, sometimes occurring three or four times and 
 at very short intervals in the same Psalm, as in this, and in by 
 far the greater number not at all (never in the Alphabetical 
 Psalms the Psalms of Degrees nor those without a Title, 
 and from Ps: xc. to cxxx. inclusive not once) it is evident 
 that it is not used with any method whatever as referring to 
 the sense of the Text. 
 
 In a New Prose Translation of The Psalms, lately published,* 
 there is a long dissertation on the word; the object of which 
 is to identify it in every case with the sense as a mark of 
 division in it : tho, as to any specification of the manner of this 
 after an evident system, or what it simply and really means, there 
 is none whatever; as indeed there are no sufficient data for, 
 tho the thing has often been attempted. On an examination of 
 its instances, which are 71 ; it occurs as more or less apparently a 
 division of the sense 37f times, 30 j times without any such or 
 obtrusively, and 4 times at the end of a Psalm : while, as already 
 said, it is perpetually absent where it might be looked for to 
 
 * A Literal Translation of The Psalms etc: By the Revd. J: Jebb. 
 2 vol: 8'. London. 1846. 
 
 t Ps: iii. 2. iv. 2. vii. 5. xxiv. 6. xxxii. 4. 5. 7. xxxix. 11. xliv. 8. 
 xlvi. 3. 7. xlvii. 4. xlviii. 8. xlix. 5. 1. 6. Iii. 5. liv. 3. Iv. 19. Ivii. 6. 
 lix. 5. 13. Ixi. 4. Ixii. 4. 8. Ixvi. 4. 7. 15. Ixxv. 3. Ixxvi. 3. Ixxvii. 9. 15. 
 Ixxxi. 7. Ixxxiii. 8. Ixxxix. 4. 37. cxl. 5. 
 
 J Ps: iii. 4. iv. 4. ix. 16. xx. 3. xxi. 2. xxxix. 5. xlix. 13. Iii. 3. Iv. 7. 
 Ivii. 3. Ix. 4. Ixvii. 1. 4. Ixviii. 7. 19. 32. Ixxvii. 3. Ixxxii. 2. Ixxxiv. 4. 8. 
 Ixxxv. 2. Ixxxvii. 3. 6. Ixxxviii. 7. 10. Ixxxix. 45. 48. cxl. 3. 8. cxliii. 6. 
 
 Ps: iii. ix. xxiv. xlvi. 
 
NOTES. 343 
 
 separate the sense. See especially Ps: LVII. and LXVIII., for 
 instances of both its random presence and absence where necessary. 
 
 It also appears in some of the Prayers still in use among the 
 Jews, and particularly in those called " The Eighteen" or more 
 commonly "The Blessings": where the meaning generally at- 
 tached to it is that of ' completeness ' as the nearest single word 
 for the idea, an expression of full acquiescence or consent on the 
 part of the Worshipper to either what he has been pouring forth 
 himself or what has been declared to or for him ; in much the 
 same sense, only more emphatically, as we use Amen also a 
 Hebrew word ; and that coupled with an idea of enduration or 
 perpetuity, however in most of the cases nothing seems par- 
 ticularly to call for or point to this. Tho the above is against 
 the notion of its being a musical annotation ; unless it be con- 
 sidered what is the fact that those Prayers are said in a sort 
 of chaunt and may thus be subject to such marks. On the other 
 hand, as showing its apparent connection with music, out of the 
 thirty-nine Psalms where it occurs thirty-one have musical titles. 
 But all this only shows its real unintelligibleness. 
 
 For a very minute tho not the more satisfactory dissertation 
 upon the word, see Home's "Introduction to the Scriptures." 
 Art: Psalms, where (Ed: 1825) it seems i. a. that Professor C: Wilson 
 supposes it to stand for Hallelujah : but which, however ingenious 
 the idea, in by far the greater number of instances is not in 
 the least borne out by the context. 
 
 If we might here indulge in a speculation of our own on the 
 subject, it would be that In its origin the word was probably a 
 musical mark, and so in some measure arbitrary : but that, in- 
 sensibly, in course of time, from some change in the chaunt or 
 the manner of annotation, it came to have a conventional and 
 prescriptive meaning ; and so, not being amenable to the general 
 laws of the language, would naturally be used with some vague- 
 ness and thus be liable to further varieties of signification as in 
 fact we find it now used. 
 
 In The Latin Vulgate it does not appear at all : no doubt the 
 reason of its being omitted in our Liturgy Psalms : a like evidence of 
 its not being thought to have any reference to the sense : as neither 
 in the Romish Bibles in general ; tho it does in all the Protestant 
 ones, from their greater conference with the Hebrew. It might 
 perhaps well be dropped in future Impressions of our own, as but 
 serving to perplex and encumber and thus only in the way. 
 
344 NOTES. 
 
 PSALM IV. 
 
 Confidence in GOD. 
 To the chief Musician on Neginoth* A Psalm of David. 
 
 V: 2. i. 'Ye great Ones.' 
 
 The words here in both The A:V:s f is " sons of men" : which 
 might be thought to refer collectively to mankind in general : but 
 it rather means (as at Ps: Iviii. 7.) the principal or leading men 
 those having the direction of affairs, and here especially the 
 councillors and captains of Saul or perhaps Absalom ; this piece 
 having evidently been composed when the Psalmist was under 
 persecution of whether the one or the other. 
 
 V: 7. * With gladness still Thou fill'st my heart etc:' 
 
 This Verse in The L:V: is quite unintelligible; and, from 
 
 its elliptical manner of expression, not very clear in The B:V:. 
 
 But the sense is obviously that here given. 
 
 PSALM V. 
 
 Prayer to GOD, for protection and guidance. 
 To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth. J A Psalm of David. 
 
 V: 4. i. ' The unjust shall in Thy sight not stand.' 
 The word rendered " foolish" in The A:V:s is mostly used in 
 The Old Testament, not in the ordinary sense of an antiphrasis 
 to 'wise' but for 'bad,' wickedness in general, and especially 
 
 * The Hebrew words occurring in the Titles to The Psalms are 
 generally of uncertain meaning : Some, however, as here, pretty clearly 
 denote musical instruments : And others are differently understood ; 
 either as such also, or as names used in a figurative sense for the subject 
 or some object or quality of the Psalm. This is thought to be a musical 
 instrument of eight strings. 
 
 f A:V:s. The Authorised Versions, of The Bible and The Liturgy. 
 + Nehiloth. Supposed to be a wind-instrument. 
 
NOTES. 345 
 
 unbelief in God and what is impious and profane; as in Ps: xiv. 1. 
 and liii. 1. 'fool' and 'foolish' were perhaps used by our 
 Translators as implying (what is most true) that wicked- 
 ness and folly are synonymous. So the converse Ps: cxi. 10. 
 and Proverbs. C: ix. V: 10. "The fear of The Lord is the 
 beginning of wisdom." 
 
 V: 11. 3. ' Let all, that love Thy Name etc:' 
 
 The 'name,' for the person or thing spoken of, but especially 
 for The Creator, is of frequent occurrence in The Psalms as 
 throughout the Scriptures. It is an hebraism, or idiomatic figure 
 of speech peculiar to the language ; and this from the circumstance 
 of names being expressive of honour, as generally signifying some 
 attribute or quality, as well as for individual designation among 
 the Jews, as before them with the Egyptians : the former, to this 
 day, in ordinary conversation, when meaning to allude to Him, 
 constantly so use the word alone. See 1 Kings, viii. 29. 
 
 PSALM VI. 
 
 Supplication to GOD for mercy in sin. 
 
 To the chief Musician on Neginoth upon Sheminith* 
 
 A Psalm of David. 
 
 This is the first of The Seven Penitential Psalms : the others 
 being the xxxii d . xxxviii th . li st . cii d . cxxx th . and cxliii d . 
 
 They are all of a mournful and plaintive character, and 
 generally the expression of contrition and repentance, and im- 
 ploring pardon for sin, and therefor called 'Penitential.' They 
 are also sometimes called ' Prostrate ;' from, it is to be assumed, 
 the suppliant posture suitable to a penitent. They are accordingly 
 all used in our Church Service on The First Day of Lent 
 or Ash-Wednesday. 
 
 *** When Galileoj" was imprisoned by the Inquisition at Rome, 
 for asserting the Copernican System, he was enjoined, as a penance, 
 to repeat The Seven Penitential Psalms every week for three 
 
 * These are supposed to be eight-stringed instruments, 
 t Born 1564. Died 1642. 
 
346 NOTES. 
 
 years. This must have been intended as extorting a sort of 
 confession from him of guilt and acknowledgment of the justice 
 of his sentence : and in which there certainly was some cleverness 
 and indeed humour, however adding to the iniquity (or foolish- 
 ness) of the proceeding : Otherwise it is not easy to understand 
 what idea of painfulness or punishment the good Fathers could 
 attach to a devotional exercise such as this, which, in whatever way, 
 could only have been agreeable and consoling to their prisoner. 
 
 PSALM VII. 
 
 Prayer for protection from GOD, who knows all hearts 
 and will punish the ivicked. 
 
 Shiggaion * of David : which he sang unto THE LORD, concerning 
 the words of Gush the Benjamite. 
 
 V: 7. 3. ' Lord ! for them sit Thou now on high.' 
 This passage is differently taken : Some understanding it, as 
 here given, as figuratively calling upon The Lord to re-assume 
 His judgement-seat in Heaven and dispense justice to His People, 
 now assembled round Him with that expectation, having seen 
 He has taken up the cause of David and put down his enemies : 
 And others, considering it thus more in harmony with the context, 
 
 contrarily for the Heathen Nations assembling round GOD 
 
 against and in defiance of Him, and the adjuration to be for Him 
 to repel them. The latter is not bad; but the former sense 
 seems much the better. 
 
 PSALM VIII. 
 
 The greatness and goodness of GOD >, in His favour to Man. 
 To the chief Musician upon Gittith.-f A Psalm of David. 
 
 V: 2. i. ' From babes' and sucklings' mouths forth brought.' 
 It is apparently from this Verse that this Psalm is by some 
 supposed to have been written by David on his victory over 
 
 * Shiggaion. This is explained to mean A varied or changeful song. 
 t (iittith. Some musical instrument. 
 
NOTES. 347 
 
 Goliah. But others of the Commentators do not see in it 
 sufficient evidence to warrant the conjecture, but only as alluding 
 in a general way to the power given to the children of GOD 
 
 of The Church for refuting and discomfiting its enemies and 
 
 especially its arch-foe Satan. But, after all, in whatever sense 
 understood, the passage is not very clear ; unless taken as merely 
 a rhetorical figure, and which it most probably is. See 1 Cor. i. 27. 
 It is alluded to by THE SAVIOUR in Matthew xi. 25. and directly 
 quoted by Him in xxi. 16. And Verses 4. 5. and 6. are repeated 
 nearly verbatim in Hebrews ii. 6. 7. and 8. In its whole it is a 
 most beautiful Hymn of thanksgiving adoration and praise. 
 
 PSALM IX. 
 
 Praise and Prayer to GOD. 
 To the chief Musician upon Muthlabben.* A Psalm of David. 
 
 V: 6. i. * Thou hast destroyed the foe etc:' 
 
 This Verse in both The A:V:s is quite unintelligible : And the 
 Commentators differ about it. But the context clearly shews the 
 sense to be as here given. 
 
 V: 14. i. ' Sion's daughters gates.' 
 
 This (as in Ps: Ixxiii. End) is a poetical designation, peculiar 
 to the Hebrews, for Jerusalem, or rather its People thus 
 figuratively represented as its children. So, in Ps: xlv. 12., * The 
 Daughter of Tyre' is used for Tyre itself, thus represented by its 
 Ambassadors. And in Ps: xlviii. 11. and xcvii. 8. 'The daughters 
 of Judah' for generally all the cities, whether towns or villages, of 
 the land. See also Isaiah xvi. 2. and Matthew xxi. 5. 
 
 The gates of the City are here mentioned, as being the places 
 of public resort and concourse, the forum of the Romans, like 
 our open squares ; the Courts of Justice being held there, and 
 generally all public questions determined of whether polity war or 
 peace. The word is of frequent occurrence in a figurative sense - 
 
 * Muthlabben. There is no explanation given of this word : but in all 
 probability it means some musical instrument, or perhaps the key upon 
 which the Psalm was to be sung. The word Higgaion, that occurs here 
 in The B:V: before Selah V: 16., means ' meditation.' 
 
348 NOTES. 
 
 throughout the Scriptures for ' entrance,' and by metonymy for 
 the things belonging thereto. 
 
 V: 17. 2. ' And turned into helV 
 
 This word 'hell' (hebrew sK-'ole) which is of frequent 
 occurrence in The Psalms, is not here to be understood in its 
 familiar signification as the place of eternal punishments, but 
 merely for the grave death in the abstract. It is derived from 
 the Danish held, or perhaps rather the Saxon hott (whence also our 
 'hole') a cavern pit or secret concealed place. It is the same 
 word that occurs at Ps: vi. 5 ; where it is more properly rendered 
 in The B:V: 'grave' and in The L:V: 'pit.' 
 
 Of the real hell St. Bernard has justly observed that It is well 
 frequently to descend there living, in order to avoid doing so dead. 
 
 PSALM X. 
 
 Condemnation of the wicked. 
 
 This Psalm in The Septuagint and some of the Hebrew Copies 
 is considered as a continuation of the last, and therefor not 
 numbered separately. The Roman Vulgate following this ar- 
 rangement, in that Version the numbers from this inclusive are 
 one short of our series ; which numeration continues till Ps: cxlvii. 
 which that marks to begin with V: 9. of ours, when for the 
 three remaining ones the numbers again agree. The subjects 
 indeed of this and the foregoing are essentially the same. In 
 some of their Versions there is a further difference between the 
 cxiv th . and cxvii th . 
 
 V: 3. ' By his heart's lusts etc:' 
 
 The sense of this Verse is the same in both The A:V:s. But 
 its latter part, of ' blessing the covetous whom GOD abhors,' is 
 generally rejected as inaccurate. The marginal reading of The 
 B:V: " the covetous blesseth him : he abhorreth The Lord." is 
 much nearer to the hebrew, and seems altogether the better ; and 
 is therefor that here adopted. 
 
 V: 10. i. ' In ambush hid, he crouches down etc:' 
 This passage, as worded in The A:V:s, offers at first view no 
 intelligible sense : and most -of the Commentators, not clearly 
 
NOTES. 349 
 
 understanding it, assume a defectiveness in the Text. But, 
 however easy this solution of a difficulty, there seems no sufficient 
 reason whatever for the conclusion : for it clearly bears the sense 
 here given ; the "strong ones" of The B:V: and "captains" of The 
 L: V: meaning, with all his (the wicked's) might power, 
 whether personally or by others : and which is in entire 
 accordance with the context. 
 
 V: 15. 3. 'That, for him when again to seek, 
 * He no where shall be found.' 
 
 The Original here being elliptically expressed, the true sense of 
 this passage is disputed. Some, understanding it according to the 
 rendering of The A:Y:s (both here the same) apply the " till Thou 
 find none" to the sin of the wicked man expurgated by GOD'S 
 chastisements : And others to him personally, as utterly destroyed 
 swept away by Him, as in Isaiah xli. 15. 16. : which indeed 
 seems the more likely meaning. The former is given in our 
 Small Edition, and the latter in the present. 
 
 PSALM XI. 
 
 Confidence to be placed in GOD, who protects the righteous 
 and punishes the wicked. 
 
 To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David. 
 
 The first three Verses of this Psalm may appear to be 
 put as a question to David, when under the persecution of 
 Saul ; to which he answers by the rest. 
 
 V: 1. 3. ' E'en as a bird, with toils enclosed, 
 * Flee to your hill away.' 
 
 This has been well conjectured to be a proverbial expression 
 for turning from danger : One of those popular sayings, of 
 which there are some in every language, and that abound in 
 the Hebrew: But it is as likely to be an ordinary simile, 
 suggested by the circumstances. 
 
 V: 3. ' Earth's government have they destroyed etc:' 
 This is one of those passages, occasionally occurring in these 
 Sacred Songs, of which it is not easy to make out anything 
 satisfactory : as all the Translations, the professedly literal ones 
 
350 NOTES. 
 
 as well as The A: V:s especially The L:V:, from the closeness of 
 verbalism they affect, and perhaps understanding the Original 
 differently or rather not at all, are at variance with one another ; 
 and either slur the sense over, or give one ambiguous or totally 
 unintelligible. Some of the Commentators propose a reading 
 for the first part of the Verse, that may be thus rendered :_- 
 
 ' If the foundations be destroyed, 
 ' How shall the building stand ? ' 
 
 They take no notice of the rest ; but which they must intend 
 to follow as a corollary thus : 
 
 1 Now that the righteous are made void, 
 * Who shall uphold the land ?' 
 
 The conjecture is ingenious; and appears not without grounds, 
 for it seems corroborated by Ps: Ixxv. 3. and Ixxxii. 5. But 
 there is at best only a choice of difficulties. 
 
 After every consideration that can be given to the passage, 
 and turning it in every imaginable point of view, one cannot 
 come to any entirely satisfactory conclusion upon it, and this 
 even from the words of the Hebrew. So that, if not defective- 
 ness in the Original, there must be supposed ah ellipsis so great 
 as to make it impossible to be filled up with any certainty; and 
 thus leaving the point altogether open to difference of opinion 
 and conjecture. One interpretation, as seemingly in part repre- 
 sented by The L:V:, is that it is an impatient and despairing 
 exclamation of the Psalmist (something like that of Job. c: 3.) at 
 the inutility and hopelessness of righteousness, seeing that wicked- 
 ness is everywhere prosperous and triumphant. But this reading, 
 however it may possibly be borne out by the words, is evidently 
 in discordance with the whole context of the Psalm, and therefor 
 cannot be the true. The sense here given aims at incorporating 
 the principal part of what may be deduced from both the letter 
 and spirit of the passage, and offers at least a clear and not 
 unsatisfactory idea. In our Small Edition it is worded 
 
 somewhat differently, but is essentially the same. 
 
 V: 6. 3.4. ' Their portion,' ' their cup.' 
 
 These and similar phrases are frequently used in Scripture, 
 to denote the appointments of Providence the lot of men 
 whether for good or for bad. This comes from the antiont 
 
NOTES. 351 
 
 custom of the Master of the Feast apportioning to each guest his 
 cup or kind and measure of drink. See i.a. Ps: xvi. 5. and xxiii. 5. 
 
 PSALM XII. 
 
 The general wickedness of Mankind, which GOD will punish. 
 To the chief Musician upon Slieminiih. A Psalm of David. 
 
 V: 9. ' The ungodly stalk in open view etc:' 
 
 This Verse is differently rendered by nearly all the Trans- 
 lations whether Prose or Verse : The closing sentence of The 
 L:V: is not in The B: V:, as not in the Hebrew. The sense 
 given it by THE NEW VERSION is widely different from what 
 appears to be that of The A:V:s and generally all the others, 
 and is altogether its own : namely 
 
 'When He (THE SAVIOUR) who had been held or used as 
 'the "vilest" among men, should be "exalted" in His divine 
 'character and Heavenly sovereignty, the wicked should be 
 '"walking on every side " ^seeking to hide themselves from 
 ' Him': which possibly may be the sense intended, but is by no 
 means on the face of the words and seems forced enough. It 
 would be singular that The N:V: alone should have discovered 
 the recondite meaning. This sense has been adopted by Bp: 
 Horsley, and supported with his usual learning, but without 
 any acknowledgment of the obligation ; tho of course it may 
 have been his own also : Nevertheless Suum cuique. 
 
 It certainly is not easy to ascertain the real meaning of the 
 passage whether in the Hebrew or as given in The A:V:s ; as either 
 of their readings will make a sense, tho different and not very 
 clear : That here given is merely an expansion of The B:V: one 
 (the simplest and most obvious the words will bear) for a more 
 complete conclusion; as the words of the Text are little more 
 than a mere truism, tho doubtless some such corollary is intended 
 in them. In our Small Edition this is given somewhat 
 
 differently and more freely, for consideration. 
 
 * + * Bp: Horsley's Work on The Psalms being occasion- 
 ally referred to in these Notes, it may be well here to 
 take a brief notice of it. 
 
 This was a posthumous Publication, appearing only some 
 years after his death. Tho published as a Complete Translation 
 
852 NOTES. 
 
 (and generally spoken of as if it really were such) the Title 
 of the Book* evidently intending to convey that idea, it is but 
 a very partial one, namely of only about half the Psalms 
 numerically tho much less so in substance, and some Notes on 
 part of the remainder, the rest not being noticed at all : Ad- 
 vantage appearing to have been taken of the Bishop's great 
 name to put forth as a complete Work some partial and unrevised 
 Papers, little more in fact than mere Excerpts of The Psalms 
 and in every way unfinished and imperfect. How this is to 
 be reconciled with good faith or indeed common honesty, 
 misleading The Public to buy (and at a very high price) some 
 unfinished Fragments for a Complete Work, is more than we 
 can pretend to explain or shall here further comment upon : 
 but thus much of remark seemed absolutely called for. 
 
 These exceptions, of course, are not at all to be laid to his 
 charge : and there can be no doubt that, had he lived to finish 
 it, its whatever deficiencies or imperfections would have dis- 
 appeared and the Work been in every way worthy of his 
 high reputation ; whereas now, whatever its absolute merit, it is 
 but a mere "Remains." 
 
 It seems, however (like the excellent Bp: Home) to have 
 been Bp: Horsley's chief object to discover and point out rather 
 the typical than the literal interpretation of The Psalms, and 
 so to say to sublimate them as much as possible: in doing 
 which he is not infrequently at variance with The A:V:s, yet 
 without giving a sense that would generally be thought better. 
 So that the Work, what there is of it, is by no means the 
 most satisfactory exposition of the simple Text, and is rather for 
 the extreme spiritualist and the Hebrew Scholar than the general 
 Reader. Nevertheless in its own especial view it is of great interest, 
 and will probably always be highly valued. 
 
 * The Book of Psalms. Translated from The Hebrew. With Notes 
 Explanatory and Critical. 2 vol: 8 VO- London. 1815. \. 12. 
 
 Its Two Volumes now appear, without any diminution of their 
 matter, in one lean Octavo ; and may generally be had for about one 
 tenth of their first published price. For a detailed account of the work 
 see The Eclectic Review for January 1816. 
 
NOTES. 353 
 
 PSALM XIII. 
 
 Trust in THE LORD. 
 
 To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David. 
 
 V: 6. 3. 4. ' Yea I The Lord Most Highest's Name etc:' 
 The concluding clause of this Psalm in The L:V: "Yea I 
 will praise the Name of The Lord most highest." does not occur 
 in The B:V:. It is not in the Hebrewthat is the modern Copies 
 from which that Version was made; but is in The Septuagint 
 and Vulgate, which two latter (as already said) are more generally 
 followed by the first named Version. 
 
 PSALM XIV. 
 
 The foolishness and wickedness of the Impious. 
 To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David. 
 
 This and Psalm liii are pretty evidently but different Versions 
 of the same Song : with only the exception that The L:V: of 
 this Ps: xiv has three verses (there, as here, the 5 th ' 6 th - and 
 7 th -) that are not in The B:V:. Neither are they in this part 
 of the Original (that is not in any of the printed copies, tho 
 found in some M:S: ones) tho quoted by St. Paul* "as it is 
 written" Romans c: iii. v. 15 to 18, as sequent to the fourth 
 verse ; but only in some copies of The Septuagint, as for instance 
 the Vatican copy, while it is not in the Alexandrianf one. It 
 is, however, generally supposed that they never were in the 
 Hebrew; but, for some whatever reason whether to accommodate 
 
 * It may be observed that the words there are not altogether 
 verbatim : Being thus given at large, they may not have been intended 
 by the Apostle as a literal quotation from any specific part of The Old 
 Testament, but (as in some other such instances) only generally so, 
 as occurring there whether separately or together. 
 
 f A copy of this, a present from the Patriarch of Alexandria to 
 Charles 1 st , is in The British Musium. It has since been printed, 
 at Oxford. Fol: 1720. 
 
354 NOTES. 
 
 the Text to the Apostle's quotation (as appears to have been 
 done in some other places) or some other not apparent, were 
 interpolated in that copy of The Septuagint. Neither are they 
 in the Hexapla of Origen, which is of the third century: tho 
 perhaps it would be more correct to say were, as no copy of 
 that work is now known to exist. 
 
 V: 7. * Then do they no avengement dread.' 
 
 The sense here is not clear: and may be understood either 
 as questioning the "knowledge" (the knowledge of The Lord, 
 or common sense or consciousness of right and wrong) of the 
 wicked, 1 in their working iniquity, or 2 in their blindness 
 to the vengeance that this must call down on them from Him. 
 The former rendering is given in our Small Edition, and the 
 latter in this. 
 
 V: 8. 2. 'Where deeming nought to fear.' 
 
 This line "even where no fear was" is not in the Original 
 here, nor therefor in The B:V:, but only in The L:V:, tho it 
 occurs in the corresponding passage of Ps: liii. ; which leads one 
 to think it may have accidentally dropped out of it. This may 
 have alluded to some particular fact : But it is more likely to 
 be said generally for the conscious fears of the wicked, as well 
 explained in Proverbs xxviii. 1. "The wicked flee when none 
 pursueth : but the righteous are bold as a lion." 
 
 V: 10. 11. From these two Verses (the last one of The 
 A:V:s.) it might appear that the Psalm was written during the 
 Babylonian captivity, as indeed some of the Commentators 
 consider. But its title in The B:V: ascribes it positively to 
 David. The probability is that they are an addition to it 
 by one of the captives, as those at the close of Ps: li. and liii., 
 perhaps Ezra himself. Some of the Jewish Commentators take 
 them to refer to eternal futurity, for a spiritual salvation: 
 but which is altogether too forced a sense, and would here 
 be out of place. 
 
 V: 10. 3. * O would that their deliverance now.' 
 
 It may be noticed that the "salvation" of The A:V:s, here 
 
 rendered 'deliverance,' is used in The Psalms, and generally in 
 
 The Old Testament, not in the sense now exclusively accepted 
 
 under the Christian Dispensation of " redemption of the soul," 
 
NOTES. 355 
 
 but release rescue in general of the body from whether sickness, 
 bonds, death, or whatever calamity. 
 
 This Psalm was versified by Queen Elizabeth, when Princess, 
 before she came to the throne. As the Header may be glad 
 to see so remarkable a production, it is here subjoined. 
 
 Fooles, that true fayth yet never had, 
 Say en in their heartes ' There is no GOD.' 
 Fylthy they are in their practyse, 
 Of them not one is godly wyse. 
 
 From Heaven th' Lorde on man did loke, 
 To know what wayes he undertoke : 
 All they were vague and went astray, 
 Not one He found in the right waye. 
 
 In harte and tunge have they deceyte ; 
 The lips throwe forth a poyson'd byte ; 
 Their minds are mad, their mouthes are wode, 
 And swift they be in shedynge blode. 
 
 So blinde they are, ft*o truth they knowe ; 
 No feare of GOD in them wyll growe. 
 How can that cruel sort be good, 
 Of GOD'S dere folcke who sucke the blood ? 
 
 On Him rightly shall they not call ; 
 Dy spay re will so their hartes appall. 
 At all times GOD is with the just, 
 Bycause they put in Hym their trust. 
 
 Who shall therefor from Syon geve 
 That helthe which hangeth on our bleve ! 
 When GOD shall take from Hys the smart, 
 Than wyll Jacob rejoice in hart. 
 
 Prayse to GOD. 
 
 PSALM XV. 
 
 The qualifications of the Righteous, and their security. 
 A Psalm of David. 
 
 The N:V: Copy of this Psalm (which is by Tate) has been 
 quoted for its excellence:* But "we" must think somewhat 
 
 * Select Psalms, etc: 8- London. 1811. P: 46. 
 
356 NOTES. 
 
 undeservedly: For, tho much superior to The O:V:* one, and 
 tolerably well done on the whole, it has several faults. In the 
 first place it is a mere Paraphrase (tho very good as such) giving 
 the general sentiments of the Text, but sinking all its particulars ; 
 and in a phraseology entirely foreign to it, and thus with nothing 
 
 of its distinctive character : For instance, the ' neglect of vice' ! 
 
 4 whispering malice ; ' * plighted vows,' which latter is preposterous 
 here ; the antithetical point (the " old ward," by the way, of that 
 Version) V: 1. 34. 'Not stranger-like to visit them, But to 
 inhabit there.' are mere glitter, and not at all the subdued but 
 clear and steady shine of the Text. Then it is only half- rhymed ; 
 which, in so short and pithy a Piece, leaves it half bare of 
 its indispensable poetical garb. And the close is a pure translation 
 of Horace's ' Si fractus etc? (iii. Ode. 3. 7.) with moreover the 
 absurdity, as worded, of assuming that the just man will neces- 
 sarily live to see that end of all things. Its tinkle and tinsel, 
 however, will no doubt always (as hitherto) procure it admirers 
 among those who love that sort of trivial prettiness rather than 
 simple and severe beauty; those for whom the Doric has no 
 charms, and who think even the Corinthian or the Composite 
 improved by whatever superaddition of ornateness. 
 
 If this and similar strictures here on whether THE NEW 
 VERSION or THE OLI> (as well as occasionally on some of the 
 others) may appear unnecessary and perhaps harsh, we beg, in 
 vindication, to observe that Injustice to ourselves, to make out 
 our case, we are bound to prove what we consider the inferiority 
 of those Performances to our own, and therefor to point out 
 instances of it. In doing this, however, we intend nothing but the 
 strictest justice ; and, while offering our proofs, leave the Reader 
 to judge for himself of their validity. On this we would add that, 
 whether erroneously or otherwise, we desire to do this in the 
 fairest possible manner; not in the least pretending to qualify 
 our censure, nor "damning with faint praise"; but giving that 
 praise, so far as we think it due, fully and heartily ; and, where 
 the contrary, only not condemning more roundly not to depart 
 from that reserve always proper to be kept in literary matters, 
 and especially in a work of this kind, and where such notices 
 
 * This (by Sternhold) is very poor, and certainly leaving little 
 merit in surpassing it. And, what is very unusual there, it indulges 
 in a paraphrastical turn at the close making the Good Man absolutely 
 immortal here as well as hereafter. See below. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 357 
 
 are only incidental. And we shall be more than content if it be 
 meted out to us as we mete to others. Fiatjustitia : mat Parnassus. 
 All three Copies may be taken as fair specimens of their 
 respective Versions : or at least we freely offer our own for 
 such. To save the Reader trouble, the others are here sub- 
 joined for comparison. 
 
 PSALM XV. 
 
 Old Version. 
 
 Within Thy tabernacle, Lord, 
 
 Who shall inhabit still ? 
 Or whom wilt Thou receive to dwell 
 
 In Thy most holy hill ? 
 
 The man whose life is uncorrupt, 
 Whose works are just and straight, 
 
 Whose heart doth think the very truth, 
 And tongue speaks no deceit. 
 
 That to his neighbour doth no ill, 
 
 In body, goods, or name ; 
 Nor willingly doth slanders raise, 
 
 Which might impair the same. 
 
 That in his heart regardeth not 
 
 Malicious wicked men ; 
 But those that love and fear the Lord, 
 
 He maketh much of them. 
 
 His oath and all his promises 
 
 That keepeth faithfully ; 
 Although he make his cov'nant so 
 
 That he doth lose thereby : 
 
 That putteth not to usury, 
 
 His money and his coin ; 
 Nor, for to hurt the innocent, 
 
 Doth bribe, rior yet purloin. 
 
 Whoso doth these things faithfully, 
 And turneth not therefrom, 
 
 Shall never perish in this World 
 Nor that which is to come. 
 
 PSALM XV. 
 
 New Version. 
 
 Lord ! who 's the happy man, that may 
 
 To Thy blest courts repair ; 
 Not, stranger -like, to visit them, 
 
 But to inhabit there ? 
 
 'T is he, whose every thought and deed 
 
 By rules of virtue moves ; 
 Whose gen'rous tongue disdains to speak 
 
 The thing his heart disproves. 
 
 *Who never did a slander forge 
 His neighbour's fame to wound, 
 
 Nor hearken to a false report, 
 By malice whisper 'd round. 
 
 Who vice in all its pomp and pow'r 
 
 Can treat with just neglect ; 
 And piety, though cloth'd in rags, 
 
 Religiously respect. 
 
 Who to his plighted vows and trust 
 
 Has ever firmly stood ; 
 And, though he promise to his loss, 
 
 He makes his promise good. 
 
 Whose soul in usury disdains 
 
 His treasure to employ ; 
 Whom no rewards can ever bribe 
 
 The guiltless to destroy. 
 
 The man, who by this steady course 
 
 Has happiness insur'd, 
 When Earth's foundation shakes, shall stand, 
 
 By Providence secur'd. 
 
 The SCOTCH VERSION Copy of this Psalm, tho not without faults, 
 has great merit, and is perhaps one of its very best. Si sic omnia ! 
 
358 NOTES. 
 
 V: 4. * That holds the reprobate abhorr'd, 
 
 ' And him contemning sees.' 
 
 The above is The B:V: reading of the first part of this Verse 
 That of The L:V: is quite different, and might be given thus 
 
 * That is nought proud, nor loud of word, 
 * But lowly in his own eyes etc:' 
 
 In the last they are alike. 
 
 PSALM XVI. 
 
 Obedience to and confidence in GOD : whence the hope 
 of a blessed immortality. 
 
 Michtam* of David. 
 
 V: 2. * From Thee alone comes all my stead etc:' 
 The A:V:s here are quite unintelligible. Some of the Com- 
 mentators suppose a defectiveness in the Original : But most 
 of them agree in considering the sense as here given. 
 
 V: 3. ' As for all those false gods of Earth etc:' 
 Both The B:V: and The L:V: give the same sense in this 
 Verse : And it is of itself perfectly good. Nevertheless some 
 consider it erroneous; and that false gods idols are intended, 
 in connection with the first part of the next Verse 4. ; all in 
 antithesis to both what precedes and follows it, as here given : 
 And which certainly better agrees with the general context than 
 the other. The common reading might be given thus 
 
 * Michtam. This word, as some consider it, means ' above beyond 
 better than gold': or, more emphatically and comprehensively, a 
 'gem' 'jewel' or 'pearl.' (See Isaiah xiii. 12.) It is also the title 
 of Psalms 1. to be. inclusive, thence sometimes with this called ' The 
 Golden Psalms.' Except however in the present one, where V: 10. is a 
 most remarkable prophecy concerning CHRIST, and the Ixth. from which 
 a similar allusion may be drawn, there does not seem any thing particular 
 in them to call for the distinction : for indeed the whole Book is a mine 
 of gold. The word had probably some other appropriated or conventional 
 meaning, now lost sight of. 
 
NOTES. 359 
 
 So, in the Saints on Earth who dwell, 
 
 Is my alone delight ; 
 In such in virtue as excel, 
 
 That following which is right. 
 
 V: 6. i. c The lines, His bounty to me gave.' 
 
 This is said by metonymy, the ' lines' for the land ; a figurative 
 expression, taken from the custom in the East (as indeed not 
 uncommon elsewhere) of measuring out and apportioning the 
 lands by 'lines' or cords. See also Ps: Ixxviii. 55. and cxxv. 3. 
 
 V: 9. 2. ' Thence triumph wakes my voice.' 
 
 In both The A:V:s " my glory rejoices." 'glory' being used 
 in several passages of Scripture for the tongue or voice, as 
 here (which especially quoted in Acts xxii. 26.) and again in 
 Ps: xxx. 12. Ivii. 8. and cviii. 1.; the faculty of speech being 
 the most glorious attribute of Man, as that by which he can 
 most promote the glory of GOD. 
 
 V: 10. ' For Thou 'It not let Thy Holy One etc:' 
 This passage is one of the most remarkable in the whole 
 Book of Psalms: on two accounts 1 0< From its direct allusion to 
 THE SAVIOUR; who is here distinctly represented, as quoted 
 by St. Paul in Acts ii. 25_27 and xiii. 35. And 2- As an 
 instance perhaps the most clear and decided of all, tho there 
 are many others from which the inference may indisputably 
 be drawn (See especially Ps: xvii. end. and xlix. 15.) of the 
 belief of the early Jews in a Resurrection and the Immortality 
 of the Soul, which has been denied of them. For, whatever 
 typical sense may be intended, as the Psalmist is here, as 
 throughout the Psalm, speaking in his own person, he could 
 not mean to ask GOD to spare him from death, seeing it was 
 the common and inevitable lot of all ; it is clear therefor that he 
 prays that his Soul in our sense of the word, his spiritual part 
 and not his body, may be saved from death or condemnation 
 in whatever manner understood. 
 
 The word rendered ' Holy One' (Cha-se-de-cha) besides 
 having some other senses, also means 'afflicted .sorrowful one'; 
 and is thus rendered in the Jewish Translations here, as if to 
 evade its typical signification : But ' Holy One' is in entire 
 harmony with the whole context of the Psalm, which none 
 of the others would be. 
 
360 NOTES. 
 
 Some, looking only to the literal sense of the Psalm and 
 connecting it with David alone personally, contend that the 
 "holy one" here refers to the Psalmist only as one of the 
 righteous who collectively might hope exemptness from con- 
 demnation ; and apply the verse to him with a meaning that 
 may be thus rendered 
 
 For Thou 'It not let, with mischiefs sons, 
 
 My soul extinguish'd be ; 
 Thou wilt not let Thy holy ones 
 
 Corruption ever see. 
 
 which, in that narrow view of it, would be very well; but 
 cannot stand for the true. 
 
 On the collateral point, the notions entertained by the Jews 
 as to a Future State is a very curious question, and one well 
 worth a detailed inquiry into, but that would be too long for 
 this place. For there certainly is a good deal of obscurity and 
 uncertainty and seeming contradiction in the matter; tho, in 
 a single general point of view, the affirmative appears undeniable. 
 The doctrine does not seem to have ever been regularly taught ; 
 as Moses nowhere speaks of it: And it is only alluded to 
 occasionally by the Prophets, but especially in Job. xix. 25. 26. 
 27. and xxv. 8. and there in the most solemn and emphatic 
 manner. And we know that, tho denied by the Sadducees, the 
 Pharisees positively maintained it : these Sects, however, being 
 comparatively of late date. Another argument for it might be 
 drawn from their very great concern about burial, a feeling 
 that can never exist in any intensity without the corresponding 
 notion of a Future State. It is possible that the silence of 
 The Law* upon it may be accounted for by the thing being 
 
 * It might here be noticed that, in like manner, THE OLD 
 TESTAMENT gives no directions for, nor even makes any mention of, 
 a Marriage Ceremonial ; tho the Institution is manifestly of divine 
 origin, and sacred and binding, as Divorce was duly provided for 
 and its circumstances and manner determined. 
 
 Certain of the Rabbins entertain some most preposterous notions 
 about the Resurrection (of a piece with so many of their ridiculous 
 reveries) too worthless to be mentioned here, except inter alia that 
 Christians, being in the same category with brute beasts, are 
 altogether excluded from it. Perhaps they fancy to find a warrant 
 
NOTES. 361 
 
 taken altogether for granted assumed as a generally known 
 and admitted fact, one instinctively suggested by the light of 
 Nature and handed down by tradition, and therefor not necessary 
 to be specially asserted : tho this might apply to other points 
 of whether doctrine or morals which are so as it were but 
 negatively propounded. The question therefor seems in some 
 measure still ' sub judice.' 
 
 PSALM XVII. 
 
 Prayer to GOD, for protection against the wicked. 
 A Prayer of David. 
 
 V: 10. 3. 'Enclos'd in their own fat they are.' 
 These are the words of The A:V:s, as of the Original : and 
 which it has been thought better here to retain than express the 
 sense by paraphrase ; as seemingjsufficiently clear and satisfactory, 
 
 meaning, both absolutely and figuratively, that " the proud" the 
 
 oppressors and the wicked, given up to sensualness and self- 
 indulgence, had set themselves up above all laws human or divine. 
 One of the modern Translators (Street.' S. New Literal Version 
 of The Psalms. 8 V0 . London. 1790.) dissatisfied with this metaphor, 
 suggests an improvement by the change of a single letter in the 
 Hebrew, that would substitute net for "fat," and, connecting 
 this with the other words of the sentence which he contends had 
 before been strained to suit with " fat," makes the line 
 
 * They have closed upon me with their net' 
 
 The idea is certainly ingenious, but its correctness may be 
 somewhat questionable. 
 
 V: 13.4. * Who is Thy sword, to smite.' 
 
 That is instruments in the hands of GOD, for afflicting 
 
 for this in Ps: xlix. 12. and 20. But they can never be at a loss for 
 authorities if acting on the canon of henneneutical law propounded by 
 one of them (See Paiktha Rabtha. F: xxiii. C: 1.) 'that any text of 
 Scripture leads itself to seven times seven different meanings.' (! ! !) 
 certainly a most convenient latitude of interpretation. It is to be 
 
 concluded, however, that these antient fooleries are now justly appre- 
 ciated even among themselves. 
 
362 NOTES. 
 
 the righteous with oppression violence or whatever other 
 injuries, as a trial of their faith in Him ; as also sometimes for 
 punishment of sin. 
 
 V: 16. * For me, in righteousness's fold etc:' 
 
 All the Translations, as well as The A:V:s, while adopting 
 the first part of the Verse in all its indistinctness, give this latter 
 passage differently: and, whether from (as so often the case) 
 heing contented with a misty view of it, or from not understanding 
 it, or from inattention to express it clearly, most of them have 
 slurred it over so as to give no satisfactory sense whatever, 
 but a mere string of meaningless words. Where this sort of 
 thing is done designedly .it is pure dishonesty, and where from 
 negligence scarcely more excusable. 
 
 The reading followed by some, after what seems to be that 
 of The L:V:, is certainly very questionable : for it makes the 
 Psalmist, amidst all his humility, satisfied with himself as being 
 in the likeness of The all-perfect LORD ! unless this be taken, 
 as it perhaps may, with reference to Genesis, i. 267. or Colossians. 
 iii. 10. And the sense deduced from The B:V:, of his being 
 "satisfied with the likeness" or presence of The Lord, tho less 
 objectionable, is not much more fully pleasing. The O:V: 
 contents itself with giving the words of the Text, evidently 
 without in the least understanding them, nor being at the concern 
 of giving them any meaning whatever. The N:V:, in its usual 
 loose way, gives a very harmonious-sounding sense, but one much 
 more poetical than either probable or admissible. In a word, not 
 one of them all offers anything like a clear tangible idea. It is not 
 very difficult to make a smooth rhyme or a neat close : But it 
 is much more important to give a clear sense, and above all 
 a just one, which is what throughout has been aimed at in this 
 Version ; and, where all these points could not be combined, 
 there has been no hesitation in retaining only the latter. In 
 despair of making any entirely satisfactory meaning out of the 
 Text, which the best Commentators admit to be hopeless, a 
 reading has here been given, that, while preserving what 
 appears at all probable there, fills up the hiatus with a sense 
 at least clear and unobjectionable. At all events the passage 
 has an indisputable reference to the Resurrection, and is so far 
 conclusive on the point of the doctrine's being known to the Jews. 
 See back. Note to Ps: xvi. 10. 
 
NOTES. 363 
 
 PSALM XVIII. 
 
 The greatness and goodness of GOD : displayed in the 
 protection of His servants. 
 
 To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David, the servant of THE 
 LORD : who spake unto THE LORD the words of this Song, 
 in the day that THE LORD delivered him from the hand 
 of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 
 
 This fine Ode is the xxii d . chapter of the Second Book of 
 Samuel*: where it is said V: 1. that "David spoke unto The 
 Lord, etc:" as above. Some of the Commentators, namely 
 those who look chiefly to the typical sense of these Sacred 
 Songs, consider this Psalm to apply in its general matter to 
 THE MESSIAH. But (saying tfiis with all deference and sub- 
 mission) there does not seem on the face of it anything whatever 
 to warrant that conclusion : but, on the contrary, all in it appears 
 to refer simply and solely to the positive earthly circumstances of 
 David, as set forth in V: 1. of 2. Samuel xxii. and the Title 
 quoted above. And (speaking with this view of it) it is perhaps 
 more than injudicious thus to force a figurative and spiritual 
 application of mere facts and incidents, where it is difficult to 
 discover any such even after it has been suggested ; thereby 
 confounding one's reason, and weakening the effect of passages 
 that really bear such by making one look upon them with the 
 suspicion excited by these very questionable interpretations. Such 
 ill-judged friendship is certainly worse than open enmity, and 
 should rather be discountenanced than encouraged : for Truth 
 requires no burnishing, but only needs being shown to be seen 
 in its native and abundant brightness. 
 
 V: 2. 3. * Thou 'rt my salvation's horn.' 
 
 'Horn' a figurative phrase in use among the Hebrews for 
 
 * The first Verse of the Psalm "I will love Thee, O Lord! my 
 strength (or rock)." is not there. And there are in this a few other 
 but very immaterial variations from that; probably made by the 
 Psalmist himself, on revision. 
 
364 NOTES. 
 
 elevation generally, as dominion power strength (Chaldee) 
 
 eminence honour brightness glory or prosperity : taken 
 
 pretty obviously from the horns, as the defences or arms as 
 well as ornament of beasts, such as of oxen those most common 
 with them, and (as some have well suggested) perhaps especially 
 from those that raise the horn in butting. It may also possibly 
 have been, tho of course with the same origin, from a head-dress, 
 where, particularly among the women, such a form is often 
 seen represented among the Jews and other Oriental Nations, 
 and is indeed to this day used in several parts of Europe. 
 
 A remarkable instance of the danger of attempting to express 
 the figurative or abstract by the positive is in the famous statue 
 of Moses by Michel Angelo at Rome : where (not to speak of 
 his beard of ropes something like an unlaid cable) the shining 
 of his face on his descent from Mount Sinai (Ex: xxxiv. 29.) 
 is depicted by two horns exactly like two natural horns growing 
 upright out of his head ! Yet, because the work of a great name, 
 this puerile absurdity, instead of being pitied as the aberration 
 of a superior mind, is lauded as a high effort of genius ; and 
 you shall be branded as an ignorant heretic for daring to think 
 otherwise of it. Such is the blind and servile idolatry of the 
 servum pecus in art as well as literature ; and so difficult 
 sometimes is it for common sense to make itself heard amidst 
 the clamour of the crowd. 
 
 It seems that the Hebrew verb karen means to shine radiate ; 
 the substantive of which, evidently the etymon of the modern 
 word, is a horn : which Weston (Annotations on The Psalms. 
 12. London. 1824. etc:) supposes to have suggested the Sculptor's 
 idea : But it seems more likely that he took this from some 
 antient statue of Jupiter where the god is somewhat similarly 
 but infinitely better represented. As it is, it shows not only 
 great want of judgement but a consciousness of deficiency of 
 skill or power in not being able to express that effect by the 
 countenance alone. It is still more mournful to see how little 
 some modern artists have improved in this point of judgement 
 and taste; which ought at least to make up for inventiveness, 
 as generally succeeding imagination; preferring senseless con- 
 ventionalisms to intelligible keeping and propriety. 
 
 V: 7. and 14. generally. 
 
 Some of the Translators understand this as an abstract or 
 general exhibition of the powers of The Lord. But, not to 
 
NOTES. 365 
 
 speak of the occasion as stated by the Title, it is quite clear 
 from the context (as almost universally taken) that it refers 
 to the positive discomfiture of David's enemies by His inter- 
 vention whether substantively thro the elements or otherwise. 
 
 V: 8. i. 'A smoke went from His nostrils forth.' 
 'Nostrils' is here adopted in compliance with the usual B:V: 
 reading. But neither that nor The L:V: are close to the Hebrew, 
 which has "anger" or "wrath." ' Nostrils' is pretty evidently 
 only an anthropomorphism of the Translators ; probably intended 
 as more in apposition with the "mouth" of the next clause. 
 And the "presence" (or face) of The L:V: must be meant for 
 the same thing, as used in Ps: Ixviii. v. 3. and 8. ; the anger of THE 
 LORD being implied, as the cause of His appearance : * anger', then, 
 or ' presence' would be the better word to use. 
 
 V: 9. and 10. ' He bowed the Heavens, and shook their seat etc:' 
 
 As these Stanzas will almost unavoidably suggest a comparison 
 of them with the two famous ones of THE OLD VERSION (which 
 are by Sternhold himself) we will here subjoin those, with a 
 little analysis and critique of them. 
 
 As already remarked The O:V: Translators (as well as those 
 of THE NEW VERSION) have given themselves an immense 
 advantage, as to facilitating their task, by using for the most 
 part only one rhyme in the Stanza; which in their hands is 
 in fact merely a fourteen - syllable couplet broken into four 
 lines; that saves half the labour of finding terminations, and 
 correspondingly frees the Artist from the shackles which this 
 necessarily imposes. It is only strange how very little they 
 have in general profited by this licence; for it reduces the 
 difficulty of the verse to next to nothing. 
 
 At the same time it can hardly be denied that this very 
 much diminishes the pleasure the thing gives as Rhymed Verse ; 
 but especially in reading, as in singing it must be less felt. And 
 it also deprives the writer of a means of giving greater force 
 and emphasis to the sentiment of the blank verse in the third 
 line in the want of the ictus given by the rhyme. But this 
 remark is here made chiefly to show that it was much more easy 
 for them to give the full and simple sense of the Text in this 
 loose verse than in a completely rhymed one. 
 
366 NOTES. 
 
 9. 
 The Lord descended from above, 
 
 And bowed the heavens most high ; 
 And underneath His feet He cast 
 
 The darkness of the sky. 
 
 10. 
 On Cherubs, and on Cherubins, 
 
 Most royally He rode ; 
 And, on the wings of mighty winds, 
 
 Came flying all abroad. 
 
 The first of these Stanzas is certainly very fine perfect ; 
 except that, presented in the form of a Quatrain and read with its 
 cesural pause, the rhyme of the third line is missed. Perhaps 
 exception might also be taken at the specification of The Lord's 
 "descent" being from "above." 
 
 It may be noted that the "most" of L: 2. is an addition 
 by some later corrector* of Sternhold, who had made Heavens 
 a dissyllable: but whether this an improvement or not may 
 admit! of dispute; as, tho it avoids the hiatus between the 
 two Hs and fills the ear better, as a superlative it is both 
 redundant and feeble. 
 
 The second Stanza is more mixed ; being still finer, but with 
 some faults: 
 
 " On Cherubs, and on Cherubzws." 
 
 The "Cherubs and Cherubins" is a pleonasm most redundant 
 indeed; and, besides their repetition, it makes two forms of 
 the plural of Cherub and strictly neither of them accurate, 
 as Cherubzw is the right wordf : or they might seem to 
 intend two different sorts of creatures. 
 
 The next two lines 
 
 " Most royally He rode ; 
 " And, on the wings of mighty winds," 
 
 are most magnificent. It is quite impossible to express what 
 
 * It is not generally that is popularly known that The Old Version 
 has been frequently corrected, or at least altered, since its first pub- 
 lication. 1562. and, tho perhaps not in every instance for the better, yet 
 (with deference to Mr. Todd) in general certainly to its great advantage. 
 
 t Nevertheless, in The Bible it is always written Cherubim*; 
 as here, and in Ps: Ixxx. 1. and xcix. 1. 
 
NOTES. 367 
 
 surpasses all specification to paint what cannot be depicted 
 to present to the mind an image which is itself beyond imagin- 
 ationin language finer grander or more noble than this. 
 Happily also here is no deficiency in the rhyme between the 
 third line and the first, if " winds*" be pronounced (as it generally 
 will) with a close i as in " rescinds," tho in all probability this 
 assonance was not designed ; and this notwithstanding the alliter- 
 ative cacophony of wings and winds : But the line (3 d> ) altogether 
 is beautiful : it is, in its connection with the second, one of those 
 felicities of diction _ sometimes designed and at others accidental 
 where, whether from rhythm alliteration or whatever other 
 form of euphony or some latent charm in the words themselves 
 or their undeveloped sense, the understanding is concentrated 
 altogether in the ear, and the mind is carried away in subjection 
 to the sound; nor is it till after this has totally subsided that 
 one can at all stop to inquire if the sources of one's pleasure 
 have been legitimate, when Truth is sometimes looked upon 
 as a sadly morose intruder. M 
 
 The last line, unfortunately, that is its end, 
 
 " Came flying f all abroad''' 
 
 completely spoils all this beauty and destroys the illusion alto- 
 gether. It has just the fault generally peculiar to THE OLD 
 VERSION, where a continuous flow of simple full and dignified 
 language is perpetually interrupted and blighted by the merest 
 vulgarity and meanness, and where one is lifted up to the clouds 
 only to be let fall down again to miserably grovel on the 
 ground. It is low ranting and indistinct, and almost ludicrous ; 
 and is not even carried off by the rhyme rode and broad, which is 
 one of those consonances none to the eye and faulty on the 
 ear not deserving * the name. At the same time it is most 
 likely that when this was written the objection would not have 
 applied; but that it does so now there can be no question. 
 
 * Here again is an alteration, and certainly much for the better, of 
 " mighty winds" for " all the winds" of the earlier copies. 
 
 f The " came flying " is verbatim from The L:V: ; an instance, of which 
 several more will be pointed out in the sequel, of Sternhold and Hopkins 
 having had that and the Vulgate before them as their Original, instead of 
 " the Ebrue" the advocates for this Version so much boast of its being 
 " conferred with." See Note to Ps: xxv. v: 14. 
 
368 NOTES. 
 
 In recapitulation, then The First of these Stanzas is very 
 fine; and perhaps impossible to be surpassed: The Second is 
 so compounded of beauties and defects that it gives but a very 
 mixed gratification, and leaves one doubtful whether most to 
 admire or to blame to be pleased or offended.* So that the 
 whole leaves but an uncertain impression of marred and 
 imperfect pleasure. 
 
 THE NEW VERSION here is wretchedly poor, and can bear 
 no comparison with its elder. But indeed the whole Psalm is 
 in every respect pitiable, and one of the worst of the Collection. 
 It has the whole number of verses in the Text (50) and in 
 Long Metre, which unavoidably makes it very diffuse and 
 correspondingly enfeebled in its prolix worderyf to eke out 
 the Measure. Not to speak of sublimeness, the dignity the 
 solemnity the grandeur the power, the flow the rapidity and 
 force of the magnificent Original, are entirely lost in this poor 
 Copy, and supplied only by the coldest artificialness. And, of 
 the fine vagueness but not indistinctness of the ellipses, that 
 give the Psalm such a truly poetical character, nothing whatever 
 is seen: the movement the life and soul entirely disappear; 
 and leave in their stead only the mere caput-mortuum of verse or 
 rather rhyme. It is quite clear that the Writers themselves 
 felt nothing of all this, but merely aimed at giving a Rhymed 
 Paraphrase of its general matter, and in which they have 
 certainly succeeded at least as to its full extent. 
 
 * Translators' above (P. 365. L. 20.) is not here used as meaning 
 Sternhold and Hopkins (and still less of Brady and Tate) to 
 have translated from the Original (which, on the contrary, is 
 wholly denied) but so to say from the English Versions then 
 existing (and occasionally referring to The Vulgate and perhaps 
 The Septuagint) and which they manifestly did their Version 
 from : For, the " Conferred with the Ebrue" of their Title-page, 
 tho untruly implying it, does not at all refer to their labours, 
 but to what was done afterwards by learned Divines of the 
 time, for a revision of the Text as to the mere sense, before 
 
 * It may be said that uncultivated minds, as ears, do not perceive 
 these defects : but also neither do they fully appreciate the high beauty 
 of the faultless parts. 
 
 t ' Wordery.' " Not in the Dictionary :" the French " verbiage" is. 
 
NOTES. 369 
 
 it was authorized* "set forth and allowed" to be sung in 
 Churches. For, versifying from the Prose of The B:V: may 
 be considered in just the same light as Translation; as it is 
 rendering its language, which is quite original in its way and 
 peculiar to itself, into that of modern verse. 
 
 Bp: Horsley (in the Preface prefixed to his partial Translation 
 of The Psalms) says that "It (The O:Y:) was an original 
 Translation from the Hebrew Text." The Title gives it 
 "Conferred with the Ebrue." But, as he gives no authority 
 for this, and there is none whatever anywhere else; and as 
 Bp: Beveridge, who wrote a Book in its defence in 1710, only 
 about a hundred and fifty years after its first appearance, 
 does not say so but clearly implies the contrary, we may be 
 allowed altogether to doubt it. In fact the assertion is totally 
 unwarranted. There is no evidence whatever that Sternhold 
 was a man of any learning and still less a Hebrew scholar: 
 and the circumstance of his holding a domestic appointment 
 (Groom of the robes) at Court under Henry VIII th . and his 
 successor, with the former of whom he was a sort of favourite, 
 rather leads to a contrary supposition. Moreover it is stated 
 that he undertook the versifying of The Psalms not at all with 
 any view to giving a particularly close translation of their sense, 
 but merely, the thing not having thitherto been done, to provide 
 as his Title-page expresses a substitute for the "ungodly songs 
 and ballads" which would appear to have been then very much 
 in vogue. His principal co-operator or rather continuator 
 Hopkins (for Sternhold died when he had done his part of the whole, 
 about a fourth of the number}-, and which was first published 
 separately 1549.) Whyttingham and the others, being clergymen, 
 were probably learned men and might understand Hebrew. But 
 
 * " Authorized etc:" The reality of this fact has been more than once 
 called in question, and at best seems doubtful. See Holland. 1. 56. where 
 the question is fully and ably discussed ; also The Q fl y Rev: N' 75. 
 
 f Hopkins did about a third. The others were Norton, Whytting- 
 ham, and Kethe ; not to speak of Wisdom, Pullain, and Mardley, who 
 only did one or two each. But none of the accounts agree exactly as to 
 the number supplied by the several Contributors : Up to a very recent 
 date, to towards the end of the last century, the initials of the Author 
 were put to each Psalm ; but even here the Editions greatly differ. See 
 on the subject principally Chalmers's Lives (Art: Sternhold) Holland's 
 Psalmists, and The Quarterly Review No. 75. 
 
 B B 
 
370 NOTES. 
 
 there is abundant evidence in that Version to show that it was 
 not so originally "conferred," hut merely versified from the 
 Old Translation and with The Vulgate and (as already said) 
 perhaps The Septuagint before them. For a few proofs of 
 this see inter alia Notes to Ps: xxv. 14, and xxxix. 4. 
 
 It has been stated above (Note to V: 9 and 10. P: 365. L: 4.) 
 that both The O:V: and The N:V: (and it should be said 
 especially the latter) generally only half-rhyme their stanzas, 
 that is in but the second and fourth lines. This, however, only 
 applies to the Psalms in Common Metre : all the others, with 
 a few exceptions, being full-rhymed : But the former being by far 
 the greater number, and including all the longer Psalms among 
 which the cxix th , it makes the principal part of the whole to be so 
 only half-rhymed.* As the Verses are now arranged, this form 
 is a mere deception, and pretending to be what it is not, giving 
 what is in fact a long couplet for a short stanza or quatrain. 
 Indeed in the early Editions of The O:V: the lines are all 
 so printed in couplets: And for the most part the Tunes seem 
 to have been made to suit that arrangement. Yet still, as many 
 of the Psalms in that measure (the Common) have rhymed 
 hemistichs, it must be supposed that this form was the one 
 generally contemplated and employed by preference when the 
 task was not too difficult. In some modern Editions, as was 
 formerly the practice, the second and fourth lines begin with 
 a small letter; which seems to mark a difference: but, as 
 they are all so, the full-rhymed verses as well as the half, 
 this can go for nothing. 
 
 V: 22. 3. ' Have I forsook: 
 
 'Forsook' here is of course only a licence for forsaken. But 
 for fear of criticism, forsden would have been used ; for which 
 
 * THE OLD VERSION has 128 Common ; of which 77 are full-rhymed, 
 4 Short all full-rhymed, 2 Long, knd 16 Peculiar (The 136 th blank 
 versed) with 6 Aliters. THE NEW VERSION has 94 Common : of which 
 only 10 are full-rhymed. 6 Short of which only 2 are full-rhymed, 
 37 Long, and 13 Peculiar; and no Aliters. The SCOTCH VERSION 
 has 144 Common, 2 Long, and 4 Short ; with 13 Aliters : out of all which 
 only 5 full rhymed. The present Version has 116 Common, 13 Short, 
 14 Long, and 7 Peculiar-, with 68 Aliters, of various Metres, 60 of 
 which in singing measures. 
 
NOTES. 371 
 
 there is quite as much real warrant as the usual poetical tcfen 
 for * taken.' But, in this " free country," liberties with the 
 language are allowed only to privileged persons that is those 
 whom it is not safe to bring to book; abstract propriety of 
 analogy genius of language etc: having nothing to do with 
 the matter. Others can only take such periculis suis; content 
 to be considered as "utterers of base coin" till confirming time, 
 with the adoption of "the million," encourage some new 
 Lexicographer to quote them as authorities for the now no 
 longer innovation and stamp with currency their thitherto 
 spurious "tokens." 
 
 V: 30. My foes discomfiting with Thee, 
 
 * My ground 'gainst hosts I '11 keep etc: ' 
 
 Some of the modern Commentators contend that this should 
 be, not "hosts" men, but a rampart or defences to break thro; 
 and others that the "wall" L: 4. should be a Prince to overcome, 
 namely Saul who was here Opposed to the Psalmist. But the 
 Hebrew words are respectively a troop an army a host of 
 warriors, and a wall ; and can here be understood in no other sense. 
 
 V: 37. (to 41 inclusive). ' I follow on my foes etc:' 
 
 In The B: V: these Verses are in the Perfect 
 
 " I have pursued my enemies. They cried etc:" But in the 
 Original they are, as given in The L:V:, in the Future " I will 
 follow etc:" But the Tenses in the Hebrew, from the 
 
 greater general ellipticalness of the idiom and especially in 
 its poetical language, do not always correspond with what would 
 be our manner of saying a thing. Here the Perfect might 
 refer to the fact of the Psalmist's defeat of his enemies, as 
 stated in the Title : See II Sam: xxii. And the Future, or 
 Present, would speak his more general confidence of such success 
 in the assistance of GOD. The latter has here been used, as 
 the more animated form of expression. 
 
 V: 38. 3. 4. ' Thou for the battle arm'st my hand : 
 
 ' Thou giv'st my foes defeat.' 
 
 Connected with this passage is an historical incident of some 
 interest and well worth notice. 
 
 Clovis the First,* King of the Franks and founder of the 
 
 * Born 467. Died 511. 
 
372 NOTES. 
 
 French Monarchy, was by birth a heathen ; and had embraced 
 Christianity at the instance of his Queen Clotilda, who was born 
 in that faith. Being about to engage in hostilities with Alaric 
 2 d> King of the Goths in Spain, who occupied part of the now 
 French territory adjacent, he sent an embassy, with presents, 
 to the shrine of S'* Martin at Tours ; directing his messengers 
 to note anything there that might afford guidance for conjecture 
 as to the event of the approaching contest. Entering the Church 
 they heard the Monks, who were then at Vespers, singing this 
 verse (Bible Version 39) 
 
 " Et prsecinxisti me virtute ad bellum : et supplantasti in- 
 " surgentes in me subtus me." 
 
 which they took as a happy omen, and at once returned. He 
 also joyfully accepted it as a favourable presage of success, and 
 confidently entered upon the war. The result fully confirmed 
 his hopes: for, engaging Alaric near Poitiers (where eight 
 hundred years later our Edward gained his famous battle) he 
 defeated him with great slaughter (A.D. 507) killing him and 
 compelling his forces to fly. 
 
 It may be added, however, that Clovis himself very little 
 deserved the success granted him, and that he was only an 
 instrument in the hands of Heaven "the wicked, which is 
 Thy sword" (Ps: xvii. 13) for furthering its wise purposes. For, 
 tho gallant and enterprising, and with views of policy much more 
 enlarged than belonged to his age, he was faithless and rapacious 
 a sanguinary despot an ingrate and an assassin. The religion 
 he adopted or rather its outward forms its imposing rites 
 (as in too many instances of its native professors) had only 
 moved his senses, without touching his heart; and but served 
 to shame it in the eyes of many an honester Heathen. 
 
 For addition. The then reigning Pope Anastasius II d< had 
 written to Clovis with his own hand, congratulating him on his 
 conversion. This "infallible" Pope, by the way, Dante has placed 
 in his Hell (Inferno. Canto 3.) for adopting the heresy of Photinus 
 who had broached some schismatical doctrine about The Holy 
 Trinity. Nor is this the only one of the Holy Fathers to whom 
 the Poet, tho "a good Catholic" as well as a learned judicious and 
 evidently pious Man, has been so uncivil ; for he lias consigned 
 four more Celestinus 5 th - (C. 3) and Boniface s"" Clement 5 th - 
 ami Nicholas .T 1 - (('. 1!>; to his unsavoury limbo. Yet tho 
 
NOTES. 373 
 
 since his time we have seen, besides various somewhat not im- 
 peccable legitimate occupants of The Holy See,* three rival 
 Pontiffsf simultaneously fulminating the thunders of the Church 
 against one another and their respective adherents as schismatics 
 rebels and usurpers, the Papal " infallibility J" still continues! ! ! 
 
 It remained, however, for our days to see "The Successor 
 of S u Peter"" The Most Holy Father of The Christian Church" 
 "The Vice-Gerent of GOD upon Earth "(!!!) not, like a rude 
 Pagan a Conscript - Father, passively waiting on his curule 
 chair in that same Rome for the assaulting enemy, or braving 
 martyrdom for the Sacred Truth like a Christian Saint ; but, 
 to avoid possible evil to his person, escaping from his Altar 
 
 and his Throne in the garb of a menial servant THE POPE OF 
 
 ROME flying disguised as a liveried lacquey ! ! ! The doctrines 
 of such a Teacher the decrees of such a Sovereign must 
 be "infallible" indeed! 
 
 This said not to those of that Communion, who naturally 
 must see the thing with different eyes, but to the interested 
 or the imbecile the fools or the knaves the "perverts" the 
 renegades and the apostates from our own : They may chuse 
 their category. 
 
 PSALM XIX. 
 
 The glory of GOD, exhibited in His works ; 
 and the excellence of His law. 
 
 To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David. 
 
 V: 13. 'Lest sin dominion o'er me gain etc:' 
 
 The "presumptuous sins" of The A:V:s here are wilful sins, 
 
 * inter alias, John XIF h - Boniface VII th - and Alexander VI*- ! ! ! 
 t 1410-15. 
 
 | A good exemplification of this is in the famous instance of The 
 Latin Bible (The Vulgate) published by Sixtus V th ' (in general respects, 
 by the way, one of the greatest Sovereigns that ever occupied a Throne) 
 at Rome in 1590. In the Bull prefixed to this, he excommunicates 
 
 all who should presume to make any alterations in the Text. It turned 
 out however so faulty that his successor Gregory XIV th - suppressed it. 
 And Clement VIII th ', the next Pope, published a corrected Edition 
 (that now usually printed) wherein the changes from the "infallible" 
 one of Sixtus amount to some two thousand ! Ab uno etc: 
 
374 NOTES. 
 
 intentionally and deliberately committed ; as opposed to those of 
 negligence or ignorance. The great transgression "offence" is 
 generally thought to mean the worship of idols ; the crying sin of 
 the Israelites, taken by them from the Egyptians and afterwards 
 from the Nations surrounding them in Canaan : but there is no 
 specification, such as by our definite article, in the Original ; 
 but only generally great or much offence any heinous sin. 
 
 PSALM XX. 
 
 A Prayer for The King. 
 To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David. 
 
 ** It cannot be necessary to point out, to those who read 
 The Psalms with any attention, that They are often broken 
 into parts (as in what is called Antiphonal singing) which belong 
 to different interlocutors or speakers, such as for illustration 
 the personages in a drama, but in fact here the several persons 
 Priests Worshippers or others by whom they were recited or 
 sung. This will account for and serve to explain many of the 
 transitions, that otherwise would seem disjointed or be unin- 
 telligible. For instance here The Priest and People alternately 
 answer each other : In V: 1 and 4 the Worshippers offer 
 sacrifice and prayer: At V: 5 the Priest speaks; V: 6 and 7 
 the Worshippers : And at V: 8 both join in the prayer. 
 
 This should always be borne in mind, for a right understanding 
 of them : As, however, it is not necessary that such divisions 
 should be constantly marked in a Version intended for modern 
 singing, they are here (as usually done) with occasional exceptions, 
 blended with the general burthen of the Song, as they are 
 tho more abruptly in The Authorized Versions. 
 
 In qualification of the above, however, it may be remarked 
 generally that Changes of person, as other transitions, being 
 often very abrupt in Oriental Compositions, such may sometimes 
 suggest the notion of a diversity of interlocutors tho really no 
 more than the usual idiom of the language in monologue. Due 
 attention, then, must be given to the context the subject and 
 design of the Piece, before deciding on this point. See further on 
 this below : Note to Ps: xlv. 
 
NOTES. . 375 
 
 PSALM XXI. 
 
 Strength of The King under the protection of GOD. 
 To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David. 
 
 This Psalm is eminently typical of THE MESSIAH, and has 
 always been so applied to Him by Jews as well as Christians. 
 
 PSALM XXII. 
 
 An appeal of the righteous to GOD, under persecution 
 of the wicked. Prophetical of THE MESSIAH. 
 
 To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Skahar.* A Psalm of David. 
 
 This Psalm is a very remarkable one ; as pointing in the 
 clearest possible manner to THE SAVIOUR'S sufferings and cru- 
 cifixion. The beginning of the first Verse is the exclamation 
 uttered by Him in His last agony. See also V: 7, 15, and 16, 
 that speak for themselves. 
 
 V: 14. i. * My strength is a potshred gone.' 
 
 This simile is explained as comparing the exhausted " strength" 
 to the moisture of a Potter's vessel absorbed in the baking : which 
 may be the true sense, but certainly seems very far-fetched and 
 would never suggest itself, 'potsherd,' an old obsolete word, 
 is given in the Dictionaries as a fragment of crockery a piece 
 of a broken vessel, and gives quite a different standard, so that 
 the comparison cannot be carried out more than in its own words. 
 In "potsherd" sherd seems not unlikely to be a corruption 
 of shred (if not vice-versa) a fragment in general ; which would 
 then make then make it 'pot-shred' the shred of a pot, as 
 we have ventured here to use it, and so sufficiently intelligible. 
 See Ps: xxxi. 14. 
 
 * Aijeleth Shahar. These words, in their simple meaning, signify 
 " The hind of or in reference to the morning/' or, as interpreted by 
 some, "The Morning Star." Some suppose them to allude, in a 
 figurative sense, to CHRIST under the persecution of his enemies : And 
 others understand them as merely the name of some musical instrument. 
 But, again, the names in these Titles are altogether uncertain. 
 
376 NOTES. 
 
 V: 18. 4. ' Release and set me free.' 
 
 In both The A:V:s this is given " deliver my darling" : But 
 which, tho sufficiently literal, does not fully render the Hebrew 
 word: this, according to some, is "my only one," and others 
 "my united" or "combined one"; both clearly pointing to 
 THE MESSIAH ; but which could not be understood in a running 
 reading: The more general sense therefor of person or life 
 is here adopted. 
 
 V: 19. 2. l From 'mong the unicorns.' 
 
 The "unicorn" here is generally thought to mean the 
 rhinoceros ; as answering the description of both a single-horned 
 beast and a very fierce one : for (with all due deference to 
 the lion) it is the real king of the forest, the most powerful 
 and formidable of all its inhabitants. 
 
 V: 24. etc: The latter part of this Psalm, from B:V: 
 
 V: 26 (here 24) to the end, is generally very obscure; and 
 the Commentators, differing as they do from one another, throw 
 very little light upon it or rather confuse one with its variety. 
 The sense here given is the most obvious and simple presented 
 by the words of the Text. 
 
 PSALM XXIII. 
 
 The security of GOD'S People. 
 A Psalm of David. 
 
 V: 4. 3. ' Thy s/q^and rod me cheer.' 
 
 ' Staff and rod' is an amplification, for poetical enforcement, 
 of one and the same thing. This word rod is used in different 
 senses in Scripture, tho all with one common reference as a 
 staff' in general and only distinct according to its purposes. 
 For the most part, as in Ps: Ixxxix. 32, Job. ix. 34, and 
 2 Sam: vii. 14, it is used in the more usual sense of an 
 implement of punishment ; in other instances, as here and 
 .Mi cah. vii. 14, for one of guidance protection and support; 
 and again in others, as Ezek: xix. 14, as a sceptre or emblem 
 of authority. But in all the general and leading idea is the 
 same, expressed under a figure, of the paternal hand of GOD, 
 like the crook of the shepherd, to guide and support Ilis 
 creature and occasionally to correct him. 
 
NOTES. 377 
 
 PSALM XXIV. 
 
 The due Praise and Worship of GOD. 
 
 From its second part, V: 7 to the end, this Psalm would 
 seem to be a choral hymn, sung upon bringing the Ark of 
 GOD back to Mount Sion, probably upon a victory; after the 
 manner described in 1 Chron: xv. V: 25 to end. 
 
 AAV. 
 
 Prayer to GOD, for guidance and protection. 
 A Psalm of David. 
 
 This is the first of those Psalms called Alphabetical (also 
 AcrosticaT) from their being divided, in the Original, into as 
 many periods or parts (our Verses) more or less simply or 
 complicatedly, as there are letters in the Hebrew Alphabet 
 
376 .NOTES. 
 
 V: 18. 4. ' Release and set me free.' 
 
 In both The A:V:s this is given " deliver my darling" : But 
 which, tho sufficiently literal, does not fully render the Hebrew 
 word : this, according to some, is " my only one," and others 
 "my united" or "combined one"; both clearly pointing to 
 THE MESSIAH ; but which could not be understood in a running 
 reading: The more general sense therefor of person or life 
 is here adopted. 
 
 V: 19. o ' l?rrm 'mnncr flip 7r 
 
 Note to Ps: xxiv. P: 377. L: 10. 
 
 Who has the merit of this ? We have never been told. 
 
 1 uj LIIU most pan, us in rs: ixxxix. dz, )<>!). ix. 34, ana 
 
 2 Sam: vii. 14, it is used in the more usual sense of an 
 implement of punishment ; in other instances, as here and 
 Micah. vii. 14, for one of guidance protection and support; 
 and again in others, as Ezek: xix. 14, as a sceptre or emblem 
 of authority. But in all the general and leading idea is the 
 same, expressed under a figure, of the paternal hand of GOD, 
 like the crook of the shepherd, to guide and support His 
 creature and occasionally to correct him. 
 
NOTES. 377 
 
 PSALM XXIV. 
 
 The due Praise and Worship of GOD. 
 
 From its second part, V: 7 to the end, this Psalm would 
 seem to be a choral hymn, sung upon bringing the Ark of 
 GOD back to Mount Sion, probably upon a victory; after the 
 manner described in 1 Chron: xv. V: 25 to end. 
 
 V: 1. ' The Earth, and all that therein is, 
 
 'Unto The Lord belong.' 
 The Bible Text of the above 
 
 " The Earth is The Lord's, and the fulness thereof." 
 
 has been most appropriately taken as the Inscription to the 
 new Royal Exchange (1844) ascribing to Him, who alone is 
 the true source of all prosperity greatness and power, whatever 
 " fulness " may be procured by the secondary means of Commerce 
 or any other human exertion. 
 
 Tho very common on the Continent at least among the 
 Germanic Nations, it is but very seldom that in this Country 
 Epigraphs are taken from it for any but funereal purposes: 
 This laudable example is not unlikely to suggest many future 
 imitations of a more general application of Texts from 
 The Sacred Volume. 
 
 "Ascribe ye strength unto GOD. His excellency is over 
 "Israel, and His strength is in the clouds". Ps: Ixviii. 34. 
 
 If ever admissible there, may we suggest one for a Church 
 
 " It is good for us to be here." Matt: xvii. 4. 
 
 PSALM XXV. 
 
 Prayer to GOD, for guidance and protection. 
 A Psalm of David. 
 
 This is the first of those Psalms called Alphabetical (also 
 Acrostical) from their being divided, in the Original, into as 
 many periods or parts (our Verses) more or less simply or 
 complicatedly, as there are letters in the Hebrew Alphabet 
 
378 NOTES. 
 
 namely twenty - two ; each beginning with a different one, 
 according to the series. This probably was done chiefly with 
 a view to assist the memory in retaining them. 
 
 The others are Ps: xxxiv, xxxvii, cxi, cxii, cxix, and cxlv, 
 It is to be observed, however, that the Alphabetical series here 
 (as in some of the others) is incomplete, and the required 
 number of twenty-two Verses has been made up without regard 
 to that succession. An indisputable proof this of the occasional 
 defectiveness of the Hebrew Text, which has so often been made 
 evident elsewhere, tho its advocates still contend for its im- 
 maculacy. For a slight specimen of the thing, one of our 
 Aliter Versions of Ps: c. is here done in that* manner, 
 tho in its simplest style. 
 
 The Reader knows that The Scriptures, O.T. as N.T., were 
 not originally divided into Chapters and Verses as now; that 
 only having been done in comparatively modern times, the former 
 about 1240 by Hugo de Sancto Caro (usually called Hugo 
 Cardinalis) and the latter by Mordecai Nathan a few years later. 
 
 The last Verse of this Psalm is a detached sense, and 
 seems to refer to the Babylonian Captivity. It was perhaps 
 added only for the sake of an emphatic close; for the 
 Alphabet ends with the preceding Verse. The same may 
 be observed in Ps: xxxiv. 
 
 V: 14. 3. ' To them His covenant will He show.' 
 This passage in both The A:V:s is 
 
 " And He will show them His Covenant." 
 THE OLD VERSION gives it 
 
 " And unto them He doth declare 
 " His Will and Testament" 
 
 With our associations of these words "Will and Testament," 
 as connected with the formula of " Wills," it is not easy to read 
 them without a smile. But, tho at first this strikes unfavourably, 
 it is in reality not so faulty as it seems ; and most certainly 
 the Writer (here Sternhold himself) however rather hasty in 
 finding it answer his purpose, did not intend to serve himself 
 with a rhyme merely from that Form of a Bequest ; but used 
 the words "Testament" at- least strictly to give the meaning 
 of the Text, and as elsewhere it frequently lu.n-s. tho here he 
 
NOTES. 379 
 
 somewhat misunderstands it. " Covenant," as used in Scripture, 
 tho principally meaning a pact or contract, does often really 
 imply our popular signification of 'Testament,' for a Legative 
 Disposition or Bequest; in which sense it is applied to The 
 Sacred Books, both the Old and the New Parts of The Bible, 
 as an inheritance or legacy left to the Children of The Church. 
 See Heb: ix. 16, 17. The latter Books, by the way, might 
 perhaps with more literal propriety be called 'The New 
 Covenant.' But, in their opposition to the Mosaic Law or Old 
 Covenant, Testament being taken for Covenant, they cannot 
 be better designated than by their present names. See Matt: 
 xxvi. 26, II Cor: iii. 14, Gal: iii. 17, and Heb: viii. 8, 9, 15, and 20. 
 
 At the same time perhaps not much proof can be drawn 
 from this in favour of the "Conferred with the Hebrew"* so 
 much insisted on in its favour by the advocates of THE OLD 
 VERSION : for in The Vulgate the word here used is testamentum ; 
 and there can be little doubt that the " Conferrer," when doing 
 this Psalm, had that Version before him, and not the Hebrew 
 where the word clearly is " Covenant" or pact of alliance. 
 
 Again, while making allowance for all fair latitude of in- 
 terpretation, there cannot but seem a sort of involuntary 
 association and confusion of the words in the minds of the 
 OLD VERSioNers (as this time it is Hopkins who uses them) 
 for, at Ps: Ixxv. 51, where The Vulgate has testimonia and both 
 The A:V:s 'testimony' or covenant, he (H 8> ) has rendered the 
 word by 'will,' and again superadded thereto 'testament' as 
 its necessary and inseparable concomitant 
 
 " And would not keep His testament, 
 " Nor yet obey His will." 
 
 As that Version (as already remarked. See Note to Ps: xviii. 9.) 
 has more than once been subjected to emendation, it seems strange 
 that these words, which never could have been quite unambiguous 
 or satisfactory, should not have been changed for some less liable 
 to exception: for they, now at least, most certainly add to the 
 weight about its neck that has so long threatened to submerge 
 and must ultimately carry it down. 
 
 * See for other instances Ps: xxxix. 4, Iviii. 9, Ixxiv. 6, and ex. 3, 
 where it follows The Vulgate instead of either The L:V: or Hebrew, 
 tho the sense is widely different. 
 
380 NOTES. 
 
 Nevertheless, while permitting one's self to censure 
 or rather criticise Sternhold (with his associates) one must 
 never lose sight of the real merit of some of his Pieces, and still 
 less of that far greater of his motives in undertaking the work, 
 and in which after all he must for his day be considered to 
 have been eminently successful. See further on this in the 
 Note to Ps. c. 
 
 PSALM XXVI. 
 
 The just Man's declaration of innocence, 
 and his security therein. 
 
 A Psalm of David. 
 
 PSALM XXVII. 
 
 Confidence in GOD. 
 
 A Psalm of David. 
 
 Bp: Horsley says that The first six Verses (here eight) of 
 this Psalm belong to the last, making this to begin with the 
 next Verse following here 9 th . But, unless the fact be really so 
 (which we have not seen stated elsewhere) there seems no sufficient 
 reason for the assertion : for, tho not necessarily connected with 
 what follows, neither are they with what precedes them (Ps: xxvi) 
 but are equally suitable as an Introduction in a general manner 
 to the beautiful supplication that forms the rest. 
 
 PSALM XXVIII. 
 
 Security in THE LORD for the righteous. 
 A Psalm of David. 
 
 V: 2. 3. * When, t' wards Thy mercy-seat on high, 
 ' / lift my hands.' 
 
 In The B:V:_ "When I lift up my hands toward Thy 
 Holy Oracle" or " the Oracle of Thy Sanctuary." This phrase 
 of " lifting up the hands," when not employed with any other 
 specification, is often used in Scripture, as here, for praying 
 to GOD; from the so to say instinctive act of thus raising 
 the hands in supplication. 
 
NOTES. 381 
 
 PSALM XXIX. 
 
 The greatness of GOD, as exhibited in His works. 
 A Psalin of David. 
 
 This Psalm is thought to have been composed by David 
 on the occasion of a victory obtained by him over his enemies, 
 aided by a storm of thunder and lightning, the thunder being 
 especially referred to throughout it. 
 
 V: 1. i. * Ye great ones : homage to Him pay.' 
 
 In both The A:V:s this is " O ye mighty." But the words of 
 the Original are differently understood, as lending themselves 
 to different interpretations: These are "sons of the mighty" or 
 "sons of God;" the word here used for God (Elohini) one 
 of His minor appellations, being sometimes (like the Divus 
 of the Romans) applied to persons of eminence, as in 
 Ps: Ixxxii. 1, 6, and cxxxviii. 1. 
 
 The i/xx., and (as usual) after that The Vulgate, render 
 the words literally "sons of God," for His true worshippers 
 as it were Elis children ; that is addressing His People 
 generally as such, calling their attention to His power as 
 exhibited in this war of the elements. And there certainly seems 
 no reason why "the mighty," Kings Chiefs Rulers or Great 
 Men, should here be particularly addressed, unless perhaps that 
 the pride incident to their position required the admonition more. 
 
 The "bring young rams unto The Lord" of The L:V:, after 
 The Vulgate, seems a mistranslation of a Hebrew word signifying 
 'rams', and so sometimes figuratively employed for Princes 
 Chiefs or Captains _ as leaders of the flock, as used in 
 II Kings, xxiv. 15. for " the mighty of the land" : For there is 
 nothing in the Original that refers to rams absolutely or any 
 creature for sacrifice. Others understand the inhabitants of 
 Heaven, the " company of Angels" (Heb: xii. 22.) to be inten- 
 ded; and the "beauty of holiness" (V: 2) to mean in a figurative 
 sense sacred vestments or ceremonial robes, after the "cloths 
 (clothes) of service" Exod: xxxix. 
 
 In this uncertainty of the true meaning, it has here been 
 thought better to give the simple sense of the Text, 
 
382 NOTES. 
 
 V: 7. 2. ' It makes the hinds to drop their young.' 
 The hind is here particularly named from its natural timidity, 
 which would make it especially liable to be frightened at the 
 thunder. See Job. xxxix. 3, and 1 Sam: iv. 19. But some of 
 the Commentators understand the passage, not as actually 
 "calving" "bringing forth", but trembling with fear as if 
 in labour. Others dismiss the "hind" altogether; and, as the 
 words so rendered lend themselves to the meaning, apply them to 
 the oaks shivered by the lightning; tho which must surely be 
 included in the "discovering" of " the forests." 
 
 The latter part of the Verse also is variously understood : 
 But the sense here given, and which is perfectly good, is that 
 most generally preferred. 
 
 PSALM XXX. 
 
 The goodness of GOD, in His mercy to sinners. 
 A Psalm and Song : at the dedication of the house of David. 
 
 The Title to this Psalm would seem to show in a remarkable 
 manner the little claims to genuineness of those Headings : 
 For it has no apparent connection whatever with the subject. 
 The Psalm seems to be a Song of thanksgiving upon recovery 
 from some dangerous sickness ; and probably offered up in the 
 Sanctuary, which can hardly be intended by "the house of 
 David." Yet particular circumstances might have existed to 
 make all accurate as stated. 
 
 V: 5. * Tho weeping for a night betides, 
 ' Yet joy at morning shows.' 
 So an Eastern Aphorism 
 
 " Hope comes after despondence, as the light of day after 
 " the darkness of night." 
 
 But many of the maxims and adages of the Asiatic Nations, 
 Arabians Persians and even Turks, are so like some of those 
 in Scripture, that, unless to suppose such are concurrently with 
 their civilization the same in all Countries, they seem to point 
 to a common origin, as is not unlikely. 
 
NOTES. 383 
 
 PSALM XXXI. 
 
 Prayer to GOD in trouble, and confidence in His support. 
 To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David. 
 
 V: 5. * Into Thy hands, O Lord ! 
 * My spirit I commend.' 
 
 These were the last words spoken by THE SAVIOUR, when 
 dying on the Cross (Luke xxiii. 46.) which would seem to 
 make the whole Psalm of typical application to Him His 
 sufferings and His sorrows. 
 
 PSALM XXXII. 
 
 Penitence in sin, whence the blessed hope of pardon. 
 A Psalm of David. Maschil* 
 
 V: 5. 3. * Thou, with deliverance-songs, in ill.' 
 The Commentators are very much at a loss satisfactorily to 
 explain these words. But, if their more obvious meaning be 
 taken, instead of searching for all the senses they may possibly 
 bear, it will appear plain enough, namely an elliptical manner 
 of expression for giving the Psalmist occasion to sing 'songs of 
 grateful rejoicing for deliverance', from whether enemies danger 
 affliction or whatever other evil. The true sense of such 
 passages is not unfrequently missed by supposing it to lie very 
 deep, while in fact it is on the surface. 
 
 PSALM XXXIII. 
 Praise to GOD. 
 
 V: 3. i. 'To Him sing a new song' 
 
 These are the words of the Original. The phrase occurs 
 
 * Maschil. This word is explained to mean ' giving instruction' ; 
 according to V: 8 of the Psalm " I will instruct thee etc:" Some, 
 however, take it to refer to the music. It occurs in the Title to 
 twelve others, Psalms xliv xlv Hi Ivii Iviii lix Ix Ixxiv Ixxviii 
 Ixxxviii Ixxxix and cxlii. 
 
384 NOTES. 
 
 in several others of the Psalms, namely at xl. 3, xcvi. 1, xcviii. 1, 
 cxliv. 9, and cxlix. 1, and in Rev: v. 9. It does not however 
 seem necessary to understand it literally as of a " song" absolutely 
 composed for the respective occasions, but only as a general 
 epithet for one suitable to be sung to The Lord and worthy 
 of the circumstance, or another word for 'select' 'choice'; 
 somewhat different perhaps from preceding or usual ones, but 
 not at all one of a new character, which the words might seem to 
 imply. A proof of this seems to be that in the corresponding 
 passage of 1 Chron: xvi (from where Ps: xcvi is taken) V: 23, 
 the " new song" does not occur, but is simply "Sing unto The Lord." 
 Bp: Horsley (Note to Ps: xcvi. 1.) says that " the 'new song' 
 "alludes to the institution of a new worship" : a very equivocal 
 manner of expressing what he probably means some new cere- 
 monial, and which he gives neither explanation of nor authority 
 for : A suggestion, therefor, that, undefined and unwarranted as 
 it is, must be entirely conjectural, and is altogether unnecessary. 
 
 PSALM XXXIV. 
 
 The righteous mans confidence in GOD. 
 
 A Psalm of David : When he changed his behaviour before 
 Abimelech* ; who drove him away, and he departed. 
 
 V: 10. ' The lions lack, and fail for food.' 
 
 'Lions' here is by some understood to mean figuratively those 
 among the great (as in Ezek: xxii. 25.) who, wanting the fear of 
 GOD, are often brought to misery in despite of all their apparent 
 prosperousness. The LXX gives it this sense "the rich." This 
 animal must have been common in Judea, or as the Country 
 was then called Israel; for it is a frequent standard of com- 
 parison in The Scriptures, for generally courage strength and 
 formidableness but chiefly the latter. 
 
 * The Abimelech here spoken of was Achish King of Gath : as see in 
 the relation of the circumstance here alluded to in 1 Samuel, xxi. 10 
 to end. But the seeming misnomer is explained by the fact that 
 p-m-nilly all the Philistine Kings were called Abimelech (the won! 
 .111^ King) aa the Egyptian Monarch* Pharaoh and Ptolemy, the 
 K. .111:111 KIII|HTMI>. f'frxar. and in many other similar instamvs. 
 
NOTES. 385 
 
 V: 18. 3. 4. ' The Lord keeps all his bones ; that so 
 ' Not one of them is broke'. 
 
 This Verse is by some considered to have a direct reference to 
 the death of THE SAVIOUR ; whose legs were not broken on the 
 Cross*, tho such was the custom, as was done with the two 
 malefactors crucified at the same time with Him. 
 
 At first sight, however, there seems no necessity for the 
 inference: For the passage here clearly implies a general 
 protection for life, much more than for limb which is only 
 used by metonymy for the former ; and, where that should be 
 destroyed, the intactness or otherwise of the latter could be but 
 of little moment. And to pick out and apply any part of the 
 Psalm to so immensely superior and aweful an event as The 
 Crucifixion appears to interfere with and weaken the effect of 
 the whole as a general hortatory address to the " Children " 
 (V: 11.) or sons of men. Yet, as the Apostle says "that the 
 Scripture might be fulfilled", he must have had this passage in 
 view ; as there is no other to which the circumstances would 
 apply, unless perhaps Exod: xii. 46, where the Paschal Lamb 
 is typical of the great sacrifice later consummated. 
 
 PSALM XXXV. 
 
 Prayer for defence against wicked oppressors. 
 A Psalm pf David. 
 
 PSALM XXXVI. 
 
 The foolishness of the wicked. 
 
 To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David, 
 the servant of The Lord. 
 
 PSALM XXXVII. 
 
 The wisdom of righteousness. 
 A Psalm of David. 
 
 * Because " He was dead already." John. xix. 36. 
 
 c c 
 
386 NOTES. 
 
 V: 2. 5. ' And He shall feed thee, plenteous stored.' 
 The "verily shalt thou be fed" of the Text seems rather 
 meant of moral than of material food, for the "truth" or 
 
 "treasures" the knowledge of The Lord; for it is differently 
 
 expressed in different Versions of the Original. But both may be 
 intended for 'good' generally; which more open reading is 
 accordingly here given. 
 
 V: 6 and 21 . * Soon and the wicked gone shall be etc: 1 
 This is indeed a most solemn and fearful warning. Not to 
 speak of the daily instances in private life, nor of the less 
 prominent ones in seats of power, we have in our own times 
 (or at least Age) witnessed an awfully striking example of its 
 truth in the fall of the great Autocrat of France : He, who 
 had filled all Earth with his fame and with the dread of his 
 power, is now as if he had not been: Seeking but that, and 
 misusing this (tho not without large views nor great qualities) the 
 former was but the repute of bad deeds, and the latter therefor 
 was a superstructure based on sand, and which must have fallen : 
 "we look after his place and he is away": we "seek him 
 "and he is nowhere found!" And, if his "memorial" is not 
 "perished with him" (Ps: ix. 6.) it is that it should remain 
 as an everlasting and terrible memento of both "the sword of 
 God" (Ps: xvii. 13.) to strike for punishment of sin (however 
 this not always here) and of the fleetingness of human power 
 when not based on His fear and therefor His support. 
 
 V: 22. i to 3. 4 Heed thou the thing that righteous is etc:' 
 There is a great difference between The A:V:s in the first 
 part of this Verse (B:V: 37. and L:V: 38.). As, for reas&ns 
 already stated, The L:V: has generally been followed here where 
 that seemed the better sense or the choice was indifferent, that 
 reading has been adopted in this First Version. The B:V: one, 
 which, if not otherwise preferable, is at least much more beautiful 
 in expression, is given in our Second Version. 
 
 ** This Psalm, as the xlvi 1 Ixiii Ixxvi xci ex cxiii 
 and cxx, being in The N:V: in a measure different from any 
 of the others, namely a Sixain Stanza of Octosyllabic Lines, 
 we have, for the sake of accordance with the tunes to which they 
 may have been sung, given one Version of them in the same 
 measure, with Aliters in another. That Metre does not occur 
 
NOTES. 387 
 
 at all in THE O:V: ; tho Ps: cxi and cxx there are nearly the 
 same, being a Sixain Stanza of six-syllable lines. And, from 
 the lines being all of the same length, which allows no rhythmical 
 variety to the melody, it is one that cannot be thought happily 
 chosen : but of course this is mere matter of taste. A more 
 solid objection however to this Stanza is that, combining, as it 
 necessarily does in most cases, Two Verses of the Text, it often 
 makes (or at least from the want of a pause seems to do so) 
 one paragraph of sentences that are entirely unconnected : This 
 we have endeavoured to evade as much as possible. 
 
 PSALM XXXVIII. 
 
 / 
 
 Lamentation under sin and sorrow. 
 
 A Psalm of David. To bring to remembrance.* 
 
 PSALM XXXIX. 5. 
 
 The nothingness of Man. 
 
 To the chief Musician, even to Jeduthun.f A Psalm of David. 
 
 V: 4. * Lord ! make me Thou my end to know etc:' 
 The A:V:s greatly differ in this Verse : and The B:V:, which is 
 here followed (at least in its spirit, for the letter will also bear 
 the other meaning) seems very much the better, and certainly 
 contains the true sense, namely consideration in general of the 
 shortness of life and the certainty of its end. 
 
 It is not likely the Psalmist would wish so undesirable a 
 thing as, according to The L:V:, "to know his end and the 
 "number of his days, that he may be certified how long he 
 
 * There is nothing to lead to what is intended by this " bringing to 
 remembrance" or_as it may be rendered " recording." The LXX 
 gives it_(A Psalm of David :) " for remembrance concerning the Sabbath." 
 
 f " To Jeduthun." or " For him." or his sons or posterity, who, as 
 Levites and musicians, were affected to the choral service of the Temple. 
 See 1 Chron: xxv. 1 and 3. The name occurs again in the Title 
 to Ps: Ixii and Ixxvii. 
 
388 NOTES. 
 
 "has to live*."; and still less that, even if he did, he would 
 expect GOD to grant the prayer. See rather Ps: xc. 12. 
 The true sense has here (as in so many other instances) certainly 
 been mistaken hy the Translators not sufficiently attending to 
 the elliptical construction of the Original ; or they have not used 
 the proper words in which to express their own meaning. 
 
 The O:V: here follows The Liturgy reading, which is that 
 of The Vulgate ; another instance of its " conference with the 
 Hebrew." See back. Note to Ps: xxv. 10. 
 
 V: 6. ' Man walks as a vain shadow here etc:' 
 
 There is an Eastern saying very much to the same purpose 
 
 as this, and (as already said) not unlikely to be derived from it 
 
 " Life is a sleep, and death the hour of waking : and Men 
 
 " walk like a shade (a phantom) between the one and the other." 
 
 V: 11. i. 'E'en as the moth, with swift decay.' 
 The above is The B:V: reading. But the comparison, as 
 worded in the Original and different Versions vary, is not at 
 all clear; for it may be understood, as above, as referring 
 
 passively to the pulverous nature of the insect, dissolving away 
 
 so to say in dust; or, as The L:V: gives it, actively, to its 
 corroding eating away of a garment, as in Isaiah, li. 8. and 
 Hosea. v. 12. The former sense, as here given, seems that 
 more generally preferred. 
 
 V: 15. ' Thy wrath turn from me etc:' 
 
 The above sense is certainly not the letter of the English 
 Text : But it clearly appears to be the spirit of the Original, 
 and in every way more in harmony with the context. In the 
 first place it continues the previous and general sense; which 
 is, not praying for recovered health or longer life, but a return of 
 God's favour ; and nextly, the letter merely asks for the boon 
 
 * Yet this reading is adopted by Bp: Horsley ; tho he always refers 
 to The Bible Version alone, as if The Liturgy one did not exist ; and, as 
 not unusual with him in obscure passages, he takes no notice of the 
 ambiguity or difficulty. But this is too general a fault with Com- 
 mentators, and well justifying the reproach of 
 
 " The darker passages they careful shun, 
 " And hold a farthing candle to the sun." 
 
NOTES. ,389 
 
 
 
 comparatively valueless of a little renewed strength before 
 final departure which could not any how be long protracted. 
 This reading therefor seems in every way the preferable. In our 
 Small Edition the common one is retained. 
 
 PSALM XL. 
 
 Confidence in GOD, under the persecution of wicked enemies. 
 To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David. 
 
 V: 8, 9, and 10. 
 
 This Psalm, in some part, would appear to be spoken in the 
 person of THE SAVIOUB : for it is quite impossible to apply that 
 in any literal sense to David, while it is perfectly clear in a 
 typical one to The former. 
 
 The above Verses (B:V: 6, 7, and 8) are quoted, or at least 
 given, by S u Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews C: x. V: 5 to 9 ; 
 only, instead of "mine ears hast Thou opened*" with 
 "a body Thou hast prepared me." The first of these readings, 
 which is that of the Hebrew, refers to the mark of voluntary and 
 perpetual servitude among the Jews by boring the ears (as see in 
 Exodus, xxi. 5, 6.) implying that CHRIST acknowledged His entire 
 subordination to the will of His Heavenly Father. The second is 
 that of The Septuagint; and is in its spirit much the same, 
 declaring- His readiness to offer up His body so given Him as a 
 sacrifice of propitiation for Mankind. 
 
 V: 21. i. 'For me, I afflicted am.' 
 
 The "poor and needy" of The A:V:s (as generally of the 
 other Translations) in this Verse, and as frequently elsewhere 
 put into the mouth of the Psalmist, is certainly not to be taken 
 literally : as such a state of things could only suit persons 
 of lowly condition -and in what is otherwise called "indigent 
 circumstances," which in a strict sense were never those of 
 David. Where the words are applied to those in humble life, of 
 
 * This " opened", however, does not seem the best word that could 
 have been chosen ; as it lends itself to the interpretation of a figu- 
 rative opening of the ears a removal of moral deafness, which (except 
 as applied to the Psalmist personally) is the last thing intended. 
 
390 NOTES. 
 
 course the expression is correct. And perhaps their different 
 senses are expressed by the same words in the Original : but still 
 it seems they should for accuracy be^distinguished ; as intended to 
 be done here, where The Royal Psalmist speaks of himself; tho in 
 some other places, where they may bear that sense abstractly, 
 the words of the Text have been retained. 
 
 See more on this in the next Note, to Ps: xli. 1 . 
 
 PSALM XLI. 
 
 The blessedness of the righteous, tho under persecution 
 of the wicked. 
 
 To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David. 
 
 V: 1. ' He is blest, that doth regard the poor 
 ' And them who afflicted are.' 
 
 This passage is generally taken, as worded in The B:V:, to 
 apply to the "poor" literally, as The L:V: gives it "the poor 
 and needy". But it is not to be understood in that confined 
 sense alone: for, tho nothing can be better than the general 
 precept therein conveyed, it certainly is not the poor in outward 
 that is in pecuniary circumstances the indigent who are 
 particularly intended, but rather the afflicted generally whether in 
 body or mind, and chiefly the latter the oppressed the weak 
 the helpless and unfriended in general; here the Psalmist 
 himself, suffering both under sickness and the persecution of 
 his enemies ; and further probably with a typical reference 
 to the thereafter sufferings of THE SAVIOUR. 
 
 The "poor" and "poor and needy," then, arc rather too 
 verbal a rendering for the spirit of the words (as noticed in the 
 previous Psalm xl. on V: 21.) and they have therefor here been 
 a little modified, to suit the real meaning. 
 
 V: 8. ' There to him (say they) cleaves an ill, 
 * An evil thing and sore.' 
 
 The difference between The A:V:s readings in this passage 
 is so entire that one cannot think how they should have lnrn 
 rendered from the same Original. The Bible marginal note to it 
 is "a thing of Belial" ; as again in IV. ei. :J. lor " a \\ickcd thing," 
 the words of. the Hebrew, but that certainly may In- \er\ 
 
NOTES. 391 
 
 variously interpreted, as they are almost differently by all the 
 Translators, but meaning 'evil' generally. The sense here given, 
 of The B:V: one, is that which seems the more generally preferred. 
 
 V: 9. l Yea e'en my own familiar friend etc:' 
 
 This Verse is most evidently referred to by THE SAVIOUR, 
 as a prophecy respecting Him, when foretelling Judas's treachery 
 to Him, in John. xiii. 18. 
 
 V: 12. ' For me, whilst I uprightly go etc:' 
 
 The A:V:s very much differ in the first part of this Verse. 
 
 The L: V:, whatever the writers intended to say, as it is worded 
 
 is not sense ; unless the simplest truism that its words express be 
 admitted as the intended meaning, which it surely cannot be. 
 
 The B:V:, referring, not to what at least appears to be the 
 
 bodily "health" of The L:V:, but to moral uprightness pureness 
 
 of walk, is not much more logical, tho certainly more rational 
 and thus somewhat more satisfactory; for which reason it 
 is here adopted. 
 
 Moreover the word u integrity" (B:V:) admitting as it does 
 of a physical as well as a moral application, is here really 
 equivocal, as it may be made to bear the same meaning as The 
 L:V: "health." The Translators and Paraphrasers adopt some 
 one reading and some the other, but mostly without inquiry or 
 explanation. It has here been endeavoured, without departing 
 from any possible meaning of the words of the Text, to give 
 an entirely satisfactory sense, making the "upholding" of GOD 
 to be conditional on the "integrity" the righteousness of 
 the suppliant. See Exodus, xv. 26. 
 
 Some understand the Verse not as here absolutely, but in 
 a precatory sense, which might then stand thus 
 
 Still in my integrity, lest fall, 
 
 Uphold me with Thy hand ; 
 Before Thy face, reproachless all, 
 
 Still suffer me to stand. 
 
 %* In the Hebrew the Psalms are divided into Five Books : 
 The First ending with this the xu st> , the Second with the LXXII^, 
 the Third with the Lxxxix th -, and the Fourth with the cvi th> ; 
 the Fifth containing the rest. 
 
392 NOTES. 
 
 At the end of each Book, as in the present, the Psalm 
 ends with an additional Verse, for a Doxology ; pretty evidently 
 not by the writer of the Psalm, but in all probability by 
 the Compilers of the Collection. 
 
 PSALM XLIL 
 
 Confidence in GOD, under whatever trials. 
 To the, chief Musician. Maschil. For the sons of Korah.* 
 
 V: 1. generally. 
 
 If the principal object in versifying The Psalms were to give 
 them the utmost glitter of poetry rather than render their true 
 sense, it would perhaps not be difficult to do so ; any more than 
 to bestow it on subjects where such would be altogether ac- 
 cordant, but which it here assuredly is not; this being at least 
 beyond a certain point an altogether secondary consideration. 
 
 The NEW VERSION Copy of this pathetic Complaint (as more 
 or less nearly all the other Versionsf of it) has, for the sake 
 of so ornamenting it, indulged in this sort of embellishment ; 
 but which is in no manner necessary, nor in any way justified by 
 anything in either its letter or spirit, and is in fact altogether out 
 of keeping with it. Not to speak of minor inaccuracies, chase 
 and grace (V: 1.) certainly rhyme excellently well together, but 
 are both equally misplaced : The " hart," so beautifully figured in 
 
 * ' Korah.' This was probably the Levite who " rose up " and 
 rebelled against Moses and Aaron, with Dathan and Abiram (Ps: cvi. 17.) 
 and others, and was destroyed with them, as related in Numbers. C: xvi. 
 And his sons (or posterity) departing from their Father's tent as coun- 
 selled on the occasion, were thus spared, and would seem to have been 
 continued in the service of the Temple (like Asaph Ps: 1.) as musicians. 
 Several others of the Psalms are addressed or consigned to them 
 for due execution. 
 
 f Excepting however The OLD, which in truth very seldom gives 
 itself the rein after this fashion : But, on the other hand, it is, as in 
 o many other instances, so wretchedly bad, what little good it has being 
 so marred with mean vulgar and inappropriate words ;md idrus, thai 
 it is impossible to read it \\illiout fcrliiu-s brini: rviU-d the most oppoMt- 
 to seriousnr.v- ami flr\o'i"ii 
 
NOTES. 393 
 
 the Original, is not heated by "the chase" at all; in the first 
 
 place because it is not chased or hunted; and in the next because 
 
 a hunted hart can have no time to think about a thirst which 
 moreover at that moment it does not feel, but only how to get away 
 from the dogs ; tho it certainly might wish to allay that thirst 
 afterwards, should it ultimately escape. The image is obviously 
 taken from the localities ; from the hart's descending from the 
 mountains or remoter parts to allay its thirst in the plains, when 
 in that hot and arid Country its usual haunts are dried up by the 
 heats of summer. And, tho of course the animal was taken 
 for food, and might for that purpose be hunted, at all events 
 there is nothing whatever of the kind alluded to in the Text. 
 
 Neither is any grace*, in the true acceptation of the 
 word, as we now understand it, here longed or sued for, but 
 generally the presence of the communion with GOD, as His 
 favour and assistance ; and especially, for the Psalmist then, 
 by access to The Sanctuary. 
 
 As an instance of the unreflecting haste with which so many 
 persons, however otherwise well-judging, suffer themselves to 
 be taken (so to say) by the ear caught by mere sound, this 
 Psalm (that is The N:V: Copy) on the sole account of the 
 poetical surface of its First Verse, is constantly chosen for singing 
 from the Reading-desk, and included in nearly every Selection 
 for Church Service ; tho it is wholly unsuitable for the purpose, 
 there being nothing whatever in it conformable to the circum- 
 stances of even single individuals as far as public expression 
 of them is concerned, much less applicable to a whole Congre- 
 gation. But there is smoothness and flow "chase" and "grace" 
 in it : and so it must necessarily be good and appropriate. 
 
 In just the same category as this is the famous cxxxvii tlu 
 Psalm: which, however beautiful as a Lament in the mouths 
 of the exiled and captive Israelites, in that of a promiscuous 
 Christian Congregation of our times and Country is entirely 
 misplaced and incongruous to a degree of absurdity ; unless 
 perhaps as a professed quotation, which, if so, should be an- 
 
 * This solemn word grace is continually misapplied by versifiers of 
 whether Hymns or The Psalms, in the most inconsiderate manner : but 
 by none so much as D r> Watts ; with whom it is literally a word of all 
 work, and of perpetual recurrence, wherever wanted for a rhyme ; 
 being used with all sorts of significations, to the entire confoundment 
 and degradation of its true sense. 
 
394 NOTES. 
 
 nounced. Yet this never occurs to the admirers of" chases" and 
 " graces" and of " willow-trees (N:V:) that withered (!) there". 
 
 We have permitted ourselves to say more on this small matter 
 than it may seem to call for ; because, in nearly all our Metrical 
 Versions of The Psalms, whether Old or New, tho chiefly the 
 latter, and especially some of the latest, there perpetually occur 
 instances to which these remarks may generally apply; where 
 mere tinsel is put forth and of course duly taken as pure gold, 
 and for which the artisan receives an applause often denied to 
 less pretensive but much better workmen. Sense must never be 
 sacrificed to sound, and still less truth to terms. 
 
 %* In making these observations, it is repeated* that (while 
 challenging and requesting a comparison with any other) we 
 do so as being here in competition with THE NEW VERSION 
 alone ; considering that, as a whole, much superior to any that 
 has appeared either before or since, tho this more from the 
 absence of faults or rather vices than any positive excellence of 
 its own. And if, in so doing, we should seem to blow our own 
 trumpet somewhat more than is necessary or becoming, it must 
 be remembered that we have here a specific and great object 
 in view ; for the attainment of which it is necessary to sacrifice 
 minor considerations (tho doing this really with great reluctance 
 and pain) and urge our claims to the utmost with propriety, 
 and to demand justice as well as appeal to it; not, by an as- 
 sumed humility that cannot be felt under the circumstances, 
 to appear doubtful of their right or indifferent to the issue: 
 at the same time respectfully craving excuse for both the feeling 
 and its expression. 
 
 PSALM XLIII. 
 Confidence in GOD. 
 
 This Psalm is pretty evidently but a continuation of the pre- 
 ceding one ; probably broken in two to avoid the repetitions. 
 
 In an interesting Article on Church Singing in Eraser's 
 Magazine for May 1839, where the merits of THE SCOTCH PSALMS 
 
 * Sec back, Note to Pa: xv. P: 356. 
 
NOTES. 395 
 
 (Rouse's) are investigated, and in general with high commend- 
 ation of them quoted, this one is given as a specimen (tho 
 certainly a very favourable one) of the work. Having in 
 our Preface spoken somewhat freely of that Version, that the 
 Reader may judge for himself of this Piece it is here subjoined. 
 
 PSALM XLIII. 
 
 Scotch Version. 
 
 Judge me, O GOD ! and plead my cause Then will I to GOD'S altars go, 
 
 against the ungodly Nation. to GOD, my chiefest joy. 
 
 From the unjust and crafty Man Yea, GOD ! my GOD ! Thy Name to praise, 
 
 O be Thou my salvation. my harp will I employ. 
 
 For Thou the GOD art of my strength : Why art thou then cast down, my soul ! 
 
 why thrusts 't Thou me Thee fro ? what should discourage thee ? 
 
 For the enemies' oppression And why, with vexing thoughts, art thou 
 
 why do I mourning go ? disquieted in me ? 
 
 O send Thy light forth and Thy truth : Still trust in GOD : for, him to praise, 
 
 let them be guides to me : good cause I yet shall have : 
 
 And bring me to Thine Holy Hill, He of my countenance is the health, 
 
 ev'n where Thy dwellings be. my GOD, that doth me save. 
 
 PSALM XLIV. 
 
 Lamentation of Israel, under the assault of enemies. 
 To the chief Musician. For the sons of Korah. Maschil. 
 
 V: 13. ' Thou setfst Thy People etc:' 
 
 This is said by way of aggravation to the calamitous state of 
 GOD'S People under the mastery of their enemies ; implying that 
 they were given up to the latter not for so much as any price, nor 
 even for those to require a ransom for them, nor yielding any- 
 thing to the vendor, as being utterly worthless. See Deut. 
 xxxii. 30 and Isaiah, lii. 3. Some say it refers to what was 
 sometimes done with captives, of giving them to boot in the 
 bargain with their clothes, which were sold. 
 
 V. 20. i. * Yet midst the dragons etc:' 
 
 This word "dragon," which is now understood for an ima- 
 ginary creature something like the heraldic griffin or a serpent 
 with wings and a crest, was antiently used in merely an exaggerated 
 sense for a large serpent, coming from the Latin draco. Here of 
 course it is only used figuratively for fierce and cruel enemies. 
 
396 NOTES. 
 
 The word, however, so rendered here (than-nim) is translated with 
 other significations in Scripture, as in Genesis, i. 21. "whales." 
 In Ps. Ixxiv. 13. it seems to be applied to the crocodile. Its 
 etymology is that of a ' large fish * generally. 
 
 PSALM XLV. 
 For The King : under THE LORD. 
 
 To the chief Musician upon Shoahannim* For the sons of Korah. 
 Maschil. A Song of loves. 
 
 This Psalm is entitled in the Original " A Song of loves." 
 It seems an Epithalamium or Marriage-Song : and is conjectured 
 by some (for there is no absolute warrant for the supposition, 
 as neither for its authorship it being anonymous) to have been 
 made on the nuptials of Solomon with Pharaoh's daughter. It 
 is more generally viewed as typically referring to the union of 
 CHRIST with the Church. 
 
 It is to be observed that, as in many other of the longer 
 of these Compositions, there is a frequent change of person in 
 this Psalm : which circumstance must be attended to, not to 
 suppose any confusion or imperfectness in it from the transitions : 
 as noticed above in the Note to Ps: xx. It has here occasionally 
 been endeavoured to express this by a little interval between 
 the Verses where the changes occur. 
 
 V: 8. 3. ' From out the ivory palaces? 
 
 "palaces" of course is here only figuratively and for poetical 
 ennoblement used for 'presses' 'wardrobes', or whatever repo- 
 sitories clothes but especially the royal robes were kept in : 
 And "ivory" probably does not mean that they were made of 
 this, but only more or less inlaid or otherwise ornamented 
 with it. See 1 Kings x. 15 and xxii. 39. 
 
 * Shoshannim. This word has chiefly reference to the number six : 
 and may thence be applied to a six -stringed instrument ; or, according to 
 some, to a species of lily so distinguished, whence some figurative allusion 
 is deduced. Others take it to mean the heading or first words of some 
 known song : in either case with a musical reference. It occurs again in 
 
 llit- Titlt> I" IV l.\i\ ;m.l IXXX. 
 
NOTES. 397 
 
 PSALM XLVI. 
 The greatness of GOD, shown in His favour to His People. 
 
 To the chief Musician. For (or of) the sons of Korah. 
 A Song upon Alamoth.* 
 
 This Psalm is differently understood hy the Commentators; 
 some referring it to natural convulsions, such as earthquakes 
 and inundations, that (as they assume) had lately afflicted the 
 land, and from which Jerusalem had heen spared ; and others to 
 the assaults of enemies that had been repelled, as mentioned in 
 2 Samuel, viii, or on the overthrow and destruction of Sen- 
 nacherib, as related in Isaiah, xxxvii, or perhaps on occasion of 
 the events related in Ezekiel. xxxviii and xxxix. The Text will 
 bear either interpretation ; and the former is that more generally 
 received. It seems however safer, as more consonant with the 
 character of these Sacred Songs, to take it (as done here) in 
 a general sense and without reference to positive events of 
 whatever kind; but merely seeing in it the usual figurative 
 language of poetry, which so much helps the utterance of fervid 
 feelings and seems especially to have done so with the de- 
 votional sentiments of the Hebrews. But, whatever be its subject, 
 it is an Ode of the first magnificence, and worthily magnifying 
 the glory of GOD. 
 
 PSALM XL VII. 
 
 Praise to GOD. 
 To the chief Musician. A Psalm. For the sons of Korah. 
 
 V: 8. and 9. ' The People's Princes etc:' 
 
 These two Verses (there the last one) are very differently 
 worded in The A:V:s; and, from their conflicting senses as 
 there given, so far as either can be understood, are very difficult 
 
 * Alamoth. This is generally supposed to mean some musical in- 
 strument. The LXX, however, renders it (A song of) " hidden things": 
 but the application of which here is at least not apparent. 
 
398 NOTES. 
 
 to make out. Neither are they analysed by any of the Com- 
 mentators* ; who here, as they so frequently do in cases 
 of real obscurity, slur it over where they do not blink 
 the question altogether. 
 
 V: 8. in The B:V: is pretty clear; giving the sense here 
 expressed, and which is most probably the true. The L:V: 
 
 reading "The Princes of the People are joined unto the 
 
 " People of The GOD of Abraham", seems to point to a dis- 
 tinction between the two "People" mentioned; and which some 
 of the Paraphrasers understand to mean that the first "People" 
 and their "Princes" refer to the Heathen Nations now brought 
 to the knowledge of the true GOD of the Israelites as well as 
 " subdued under them." 
 
 The sense of V: 9, as given in The B:V:, is very much 
 disputed; that is chiefly the "shields," which is variously in- 
 terpreted. The L:V: reading, whether strictly correct or not, 
 is at least clear and satisfactory : The former is here given in 
 our First Version, and the latter in the Second. 
 
 PSALM XL VIII. 
 
 Zion, The City of GOD. 
 
 A Song and Psalm. For the sons of Korah. 
 
 V: 2. 2. ' That all EartKs joy supplies.' 
 
 The "the whole Earth" of the Text is of course only meant, 
 in the figurative language of the Hebrews, for all the Country 
 all the land of Israel ; like the "ends of the Earth" of Ps: Ixi. 2 
 and Ixxii. 8. The " uttermost parts of the Earth" of Ps: ii. 8 is 
 a similar instance as applied to David personally; but, in the 
 typical sense of the Psalm it has a much wider and indeed 
 a literal signification. 
 
 V: 4. ' For lo, Earth's Kings assembled were : etc:' 
 This seems to allude to the appearance before Jerusalem of 
 an army of the Heathen Nations confederated to attack her, 
 but who retired on seeing her good state of preparation and 
 defence : which latter indeed seems the chief subject of the Psalm 
 
 * Bj>: Horsley's explanatory Text is altogetlu r unint, II 
 
NOTES. 399 
 
 It is, however, by some thought to refer to the deliverance of 
 the City, under Jehoshaphat, by the immediate interposition of 
 GOD, when attacked by the Ammonites and Moabites, as re- 
 lated in ii Chronicles. 1 . 
 
 V: 11. 3. f Let Judah's daughters, etc:' 
 
 The B:V: gives this " daughters," in the plural, as here : and 
 which is undoubtedly the right reading, as explained in the 
 Note to Ps: ix. 14. The singular " daughter" of The L:V: 
 would make it refer, as in that former case, to Jerusalem 
 only ; which, tho it might bear that sense, is certainly too narrow 
 a one for the occasion. 
 
 PSALM XLIX. 
 
 The nothingness of all men, and the utter end of the wicked. 
 To the chief Musician. A Psalm. For the sons of Korah. 
 
 This Psalm is very remarkable; for the clear and decided 
 allusions it makes to a Future State and the Immortality of the 
 Soul. See on this ante, the Note to Ps: xvi. 10. But otherwise it 
 is (at least in some parts) very obscure, and therefor not ad- 
 mitting of any entirely satisfactory rendering. 
 
 In several passages, especially V: 8, 12, and 20 (here 6, 9, 
 and 17.) The A: V:s are widely different ; and the Commentators 
 in general disagree about them. But the modern literal Trans- 
 lators (as so frequently the case with them) are the most un- 
 intelligible and unsatisfactory of them all ; affecting an oracular 
 and antithetical amphibology (and seemingly not belonging to the 
 Original) that is intended to pass for clear light, merely veiled in 
 dimness, but which is in fact an impenetrable cloud. The 
 sense here given is that which seems the most obvious and simple, 
 and is more or less implied in most of the readings. 
 
 The body of this Piece falls so short at least in extent 
 if not in importance of the high promise made in the intro- 
 ductory Verses, and its conclusion is so abrupt, that there seems 
 reason to believe it imperfect or unfinished : and indeed the next 
 Psalm might very well be considered as its continuation. 
 
 V: 3. i. ' I, to the lesson inly told, etc:' 
 However the word in the Original, here rendered in The 
 A:V:s and some other Translations "parable' 7 , may in some of 
 
400 NOTES. 
 
 its senses or under other circumstances bear that signification, it 
 certainly cannot do so in this instance. For there is nothing 
 whatever of an enigmatical or obscure character in what follows 
 as its enunciation, but merely some precepts and reflections of a 
 serious cast. If it meant more than maxim apothegm or 
 something of that didactic sort, it was probably used only to 
 excite greater attention to the subject proposed : for it assuredly 
 is in no manner a "parable;" tho certainly some of its passages, 
 from our imperfect understanding of the Original, are to us 
 a " dark saying." It has accordingly here been rendered in wider 
 terms a " lesson", as more corresponding with the subject. See 
 also the Note to Ps: Ixxviii. 2. 
 
 V: 4. 3. ' And tho the wicked doers' ways etc:' 
 The reading given of this passage in The A:V:s is a re- 
 markable instance of not 'literal' but verbal translation, 
 making " the iniquity (or wickedness) of one's heels to surround 
 him" for (as at least it may be taken, since it may refer to 
 himself as well as others as his own) the iniquity that is about 
 his heels, or in other words about him molesting or confining 
 him. But the passage is altogether obscure. 
 
 V: 6. ' But, vain their wealth to shun the grave etc:' 
 It will be noticed that this Verse, which includes V: 7, 8, 
 and 9 of The A:V:s, does not in the letter follow either of them : 
 But which is done advisedly ; from no sense at once undisputed 
 and satisfactory being to be made out of them ; while this com- 
 bines their essence, and is entirely just, as perfectly in accordance 
 with the context. There are other readings of the passage than 
 that of the Text; but all more or less open to objection; 
 while that here given seems to embrace all its principal points, 
 without putting forth any that would be dissented from or not 
 recognised as being there. 
 
 V: 8. i. Yet think their houses ne'er shall fall.' 
 * houses.' This is here used in the figurative sense for line or 
 family, as in Ps: cxv. 12, and paxsim. The LXX gives this (tho 
 very vaguely) that "their graves shall be their lengthened 
 " (or prolonged) dwellings (" houses") or for ever" : as if im- 
 plying that for them there would be no Resurrection ; confining a 
 Future State to the righteous, and leaving annihilation as the 
 punishment of the former. 
 
NOTES. 401 
 
 V: 9 and 17, generally. 
 
 As already observed, these two Verses (B:V: 12 and 20.) 
 are, from their ellipticalness, very obscure. Their leading idea 
 seems, with some variety of expression, to be the same, tho 
 somewhat more fully developed in the last, namely that Men 
 being "in honour" (or ' high-station',' 'pre-eminence') and not 
 "understanding", that is_ without a due regard to their duties, 
 are "like to" or not better than the soul-less brute "beasts 
 that perish" with their life. Perhaps "honour" may here also 
 imply a higher knowledge of good and evil mental superiority 
 in general, and a "talent" to be fittingly employed; which (as in 
 Luke. xii. 48.) making them more responsible for their actions, 
 would give a still better sense. Fear of running into paraphrase 
 has perhaps made our version something too literal. 
 
 PSALM L. 
 
 The greatness of GOD, and His sure judgement of the wicked. 
 A Psalm of (or for) Asaph.* 
 
 V: 2. i. 'From out of Zion beauty dress'd.' 
 
 It appears doubtful, as not to be made out from the 
 Original, to which of the two GOD or Sion this "perfection of 
 beauty" (B:Y:) is intended to refer: as the Translators differ 
 about it, some coupling it with the one and some with the other. 
 In The B:V:, as stopped, it is altogether ambiguous. The L:V:, 
 after The Vulgate, gives the former; and which, somewhat 
 differently worded, might seem the more appropriate. But it is 
 more generally referred to the latter, as quoted in Lam: ii. 15 : 
 for which reason that sense is here adopted. 
 
 * " Asaph." It seems uncertain whether this Asaph is the author of 
 the Psalm, or the musician to whom it is addressed whether for being set 
 to a tune or executed by him ; as the connecting particle admits of either 
 sense. Eleven others of the Psalms, LXXIII to LXXXIII inclusive, are 
 inscribed in like manner to him or one of the name. 
 
 There is an "Asaph the seer" noticed in II Chron: xxix. 30 as a 
 writer of Psalms, who probably is the author of some of these. And, on 
 the other hand, in I Chron: xvi. 5 to 7 and again xxv. 26, one of the 
 name is mentioned along with "his brethren" clearly as performers 
 only. So that their identity at least looks uncertain : but at all events, 
 like " the sons of Korah," they were of the same family. 
 
 DD 
 
402 NOTES. 
 
 In this our First Version it is expressed more generally, and 
 rather referring it to the latter; tho a comma after " Zion" 
 would, just as in The B:V:, make it doubtful and applicable 
 to either. In the Second, by using the hyphen instead of the 
 comma after "Zion", it is made distinctly to refer to the 
 latter. This is a remarkable instance of the power of Stops. 
 
 V: 12. 2. ' Thou slanderest thine own mother's son.' 
 This " mother's son" would seem at first sight to be only a 
 pleonastic manner of speaking in repetition for 'brother'; as in 
 Gen: xxvii. 29. But it has here a much stronger signification; 
 from the circumstance that Polygamy being allowed among the 
 Israelites, a still closer relationship existed between brothers by 
 the same father and mother than those who were so by the father 
 only. In Ps: Ixix. 8. both the general parallelism and this 
 particular point seem combined. See also the Note to Ixxxvi. 16. 
 
 There are two Versions of this Psalm in THE O:V:. The first, 
 by Whyttingham, is in a singular measure, namely heroic 
 couplets broken into hemistichs, and so forming a four-line 
 stanza, but which seems intended for chaunting or recitative 
 rather than singing ; and the whole is altogether execrable. The 
 second, by Hopkins, is in Common Metre. 
 
 The N:V: one is in the measure used in the first of the two 
 Versions here ; for which reason only, as stated in the Note to 
 Ps: xxxvii., it has been adopted : The other is merely for a 
 variety of form, as the Psalm does not seem suitable for singing : 
 as a Devotional Ode, however, it is of the first order of beauty. 
 
 PSALM LI. 
 
 Humiliation of a sinner before GOD. 
 
 To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David. When Nathan the 
 Prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. 
 
 This Psalm is generally indeed has always been, according to 
 
 its Title, ascribed to David in his penitence for his crime against 
 Uriah. Bp. Horsley, however, chooses to consider this erroneous : 
 from, as lie contends, V: 4. B:V: (here 3) not being applicable to 
 him : as it speaks of GOD alone being sinned against ; and the last 
 
NOTES. 403 
 
 two Verses, which, he says (with Mudge) can only refer to the 
 time of the Babylonian captivity. 
 
 But these are the weakest possible reasons for attempting to 
 subvert the well-grounded and long -established opinion on its 
 occasion and subject ; and which seems, to say the least of it, 
 most entirely unnecessary. The exclusive reference to GOD in 
 V: 4 is obviously only an emphatical declaration of the Psalmist's 
 sinfulness before Him whom he had chiefly and far more than 
 Man thereby offended. And, as to the last two Verses, tho 
 their connection with what precedes them is not at first sight 
 very apparent, yet, taking them in a figurative sense as imploring 
 generally the favour of GOD for the City and Kingdom over 
 which the penitent King ruled, there is no violence whatever 
 done to the general sense and leading idea of the Piece, but only 
 giving it a consoling and satisfactory close. 
 
 V: 4. 3. 'In sin my mother me conceiv'd.' 
 
 This of course is only a periphrasis, a circuitous or figurative 
 manner of speech, for * I am a great sinner : I have been so 
 * from my youth up.' To take it literally would be doing violence 
 to other the very words of Scripture. Nevertheless it may per- 
 haps be understood as referring to the stain of original sin. 
 
 V: 6. i. ' With hyssop do Thou purify.' 
 
 This is said by metonymy : hyssop not being here named with 
 reference to its medicinal properties, tho so imagined by some of 
 the Commentators, but only from its use as an instrument of 
 aspersion. (See Numbers, xix. 18, where it is clearly used in 
 that sense). Persons under uncleanness, whether from having 
 touched a dead body or being infected with leprosy, were purified 
 by being sprinkled with a branch or bunch of hyssop dipped in 
 consecrated water. See Leviticus, xiv. 7, and 52. If the word 
 be rightly rendered in John xix. 29, where the sponge filled 
 with vinegar presented to THE SAVIOUR'S mouth was put upon 
 a stick of it, the plant must have grown to a pretty consider- 
 able height in Judea ; tho generally it is but a shrub. 
 
 V The first Verses of this Psalm are the famous Miserere* 
 performed in the Sistine Chapel at Home on the evening of 
 Ash-Wednesday in The Holy Week. It is a fine instance of 
 the power of music when directed by skill judgement and 
 taste : For this Chaunt consists of only a few simple notes ; but, 
 
 * Composed by Allegri, about 1635. 
 
404 NOTES. 
 
 combined as they are in a scientific sustained and perfectly- 
 executed harmony, some accessories and incidental circumstances 
 concurring thereto, their effect is wonderfully fine quite 
 overpowering and almost more than earthly. It is the very 
 sublime of devotional Song. 
 
 PSALM LIL 
 
 Confidence of the righteous in the protection of GOD 
 against the wicked. 
 
 To the chief Musician. Maschil. A Psalm of David : when 
 Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said unto him 
 " David is come to the house of Abimelech." 
 
 V: 2. 3. 4. ' It like a sharpen'd razor cuts, 
 
 * Still working some new wile.' 
 
 Some of the Translators understand the last clause of this 
 Verse as referring not to the tongue but the razor; meaning 
 that it unexpectedly wounds, from the smoothness of its edge 
 concealing its keenness till one is cut by it. But this sense 
 seems very far-fetched; and the simpler one, as here given, 
 is much the more likely. 
 
 * # * There is an interesting circumstance, in connection with 
 this Psalm, about the ill-fated Charles 1 st -, as related by White- 
 locke in his " Memorials." P. 234. in the following words : 
 
 'In the year 1646, King Charles 1 st - being in the hands of 
 4 the Scots, a Scotch Minister preached boldly before the King 
 ' at Newcastle ; and, after his sermon, called for the Fifty Second 
 
 * Psalm (OLD VERSION*) which begins 
 
 " Why dost thou, tyrant ! boast thyself 
 " thy wicked works to praise." 
 
 * His Majesty thereupon stood up, and called for the Fifty Sixth 
 4 Psalm, which begins 
 
 " Have mercy on me, Lord ! I pray : 
 " for men would me devour." 
 
 * The OLD VERSION was then in use (tho not exclusively) in the 
 Scottish Church also. But just about this time a new Version, by 
 F. Rouse, was introduced ; which, with some alterations, was subsequently 
 adopted by them, and has since continued to be used to the present 
 time. See our Preface, where a short account of it is given : also 
 ante, Notes to Ps: xv and xliii. 
 
NOTES. 405 
 
 The People waved the Minister's Psalm, and sung that which 
 * the King called for.' 
 
 It may here be remarked that the unfortunate Monarch 
 must have been well acquainted with the " Songs of Zion", to be 
 able thus readily and aptly to make application of them : That 
 he derived corresponding consolation from them in his hour of 
 trial there can be little doubt. 
 
 PSALM LIII. 
 
 The general wickedness of Mankind. 
 To the chief Musician upon Mahalath.* A Psalm of David. 
 
 V: 5. 2. ' Where deeming nought to fear.' 
 See ante, Note to Ps: xiv. 8. 
 
 PSALM LIV. 
 
 Confidence in GOD, under the persecution of the wicked. 
 
 To the chief Musician on Neginoth. Maschil. A Psalm of David : 
 when the Ziphimsf came and said to Saul "Doth not David 
 " hide himself with us ?" 
 
 PSALM LV. 
 
 Remonstrance against the wicked. 
 To the chief Musician on Neginoth. Maschil. A Psalm of David. 
 
 V: 18. 3. 'Their covenant break etc:' 
 
 This covenant is by some referred, not as here to the victims 
 of the wicked, but to GOD. The words of the Text will bear either 
 interpretation, but the connection seems more evident in the former. 
 
 * Mahalath. This is thought to be a wind-instrument. The word 
 occurs as the name of one of the wives of Esau Gen: xxviii. 9, and one of 
 those of Rehoboam II Chron: xi. 18. 
 
 f Ziphims, or Ziphites. The People of Ziph. For the circumstances 
 here alluded to see I Sam: xxiii. 
 
406 NOTES. 
 
 PSALM LVI. 
 
 Confidence in GOD, under whatever calamities. 
 
 To the chief Musician upon Jonath-elem-rechokim.* 
 Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Oath. 
 
 V: 8. 2. 'My tears before Thee are? 
 
 In The A:V:s " put my tears into Thy bottle :" which is a 
 translation from the present Hebrew. But The Septuagint, and 
 some other Eastern Versions, have the sense here given. There 
 is no mention anywhere else in The Scriptures of a lacrymatory 
 or tear- vessel : and, considering the entirely different customs 
 and habits of the Jews and the Greeks and Romans, the pro- 
 bability seems to be that such is not here meant. At all events 
 it is obviously only a metaphorical manner of speaking for 
 the same thing. 
 
 PSALM LVII. 
 
 Glory to GOD. 
 
 To the chief Musician. Al-taschith.^ Michtam of David : 
 when he fled from Saul in the cave. 
 
 V: 6. and 7. 
 
 The transposition of these two Verses has here been ventured, 
 as an apparently obvious correction. It seems strange that none 
 of the Translators or Commentators should have thought it worth 
 while to notice that, as they now stand in the Original and The 
 A:V:s, they are misplaced, making a twofold interruption and 
 change. It is quite clear that the complaint in V: 6 is a con- 
 
 * Jonath-elem-rechokim. This word, a compound one, means ' mute 
 Dove.' It is thought to be applied by David to himself in Ps: \\\i\. 9, 
 as here while wandering in flight among the Heathen Nations. 
 
 t Al-taschith. This means ' Destroy not.' Some take it to be the 
 first words of some known Song, and so used as the name of a Tune. 
 Others apply them to a musical instrument. It occurs again in the 
 Titlr.s to Ps: Iviii lix and Ixxv. 
 
NOTES. 407 
 
 tinuation of that part of the subject, while V: 7 (there 5) begins 
 the Song of Praise that occupies the rest of the Psalm. 
 
 These last six Verses occur again as the first part of Psalm cviii. 
 
 V: 9. i. ' Awake, my glory? 
 'glory.' See ante, Note to Ps: xvi. 9. 
 
 PSALM LVIII. 
 
 The judgements of GOD on the wicked. 
 To the chief Musician. Al-taschith. Michtam of David. 
 
 V: 7. 2. * Thou, Lord ! shall 'gainst them bend Thy bow, 
 ' Thine arrows 'gainst them lay.' 
 
 The L:V: here (end of V: 6) as the words stand, offers no 
 sense whatever ; tho they may seem to intend one of the readings 
 given of the passage in the Hebrew, as below ; for in this instance 
 (very unusually) it does not follow The Vulgate. The Trans- 
 lators and Commentators very much differ about it ; some making 
 the meaning to be that 'When the wicked shall bend their bow 
 'for shooting off their arrows, these shall be (Fut: or Imp:) 
 'broken or fall short and harmless' ; and others (as The Vulgate) 
 that ' GOD shall bend His bow and point His arrows against them' 
 as here given. The B:V:, also, seems to give this sense : but the 
 passage is so loosely worded that there is no certainty of its 
 meaning. But, where the Original is liable to such variety of 
 interpretation, it may perhaps justly be suspected of defectiveness : 
 and a mistaken rendering of it may well be forgiven ; tho it can 
 hardly excuse a senseless one. 
 
 V: 8. 2. 'As wax, the flames make run.' 
 
 With all possible deference It cannot but be thought that 
 the "snail" (or perhaps rather 'slug') of The A:V:s here, 
 tho literal, is a bad reading. For the comparison, however 
 some of the Commentators pretend to explain it, has no point 
 of resemblance : The snail does not in any way dissolve itself by 
 leaving a slimy track (which is only an exudation natural to 
 it) behind it, any more than those other creatures do that 
 periodically cast their skin or their feathers. And, tho some 
 Translations besides The A:V:s (as The Septuagint) render it 
 
408 NOTES. 
 
 "snail*," others again (among which The Vulgate) make it 
 wax\ ; that is at least understandable and sufficiently satisfactory ; 
 for which reasons it is here ventured to be adopted. The 
 
 alteration, however, has only been made here, for consideration. 
 
 In our Small Edition the usual reading is given 
 
 * As snails to slime off run.' 
 
 V: 9. i. ' More quick than, 'neath their pots allumed.' 
 
 This Verse in both The A:V:s, especially The Liturgy one, 
 is totally unintelligible : and is one of those instances above 
 alluded to of however perhaps verbal (tho both the readings 
 cannot be equally so, and neither is wholly) yet certainly 
 not literal Translation unfortunately so frequent in them, that 
 cannot be explained but by the most involved ellipsis and could 
 never at any time have been understood without such. 
 
 The Vulgate (as some Translations from the Hebrew) gives 
 the passage an altogether different sense from this, and pretty 
 evidently a mistaken one: It says "Before they can perceive 
 " that their thorns are grown to bushes, He shall swallow them 
 " up alive in His anger." Which (not to speak of the looseness 
 of the diction) leaving an indefinite and of necessity a comparatively 
 long time for the operation of the change, entirely destroys the 
 force of the figure, and leaves it feeble cold and tame, presenting 
 no image whatever as a type of the suddenness and rapidity 
 with which "the anger of The Lord" should fall on them 
 the wicked should be cut off", but making it a matter of 
 progressiveness and a merely ultimate result. The latter part 
 of the preceding Verse also is there given quite differently from 
 The A:V:s and from the Hebrew : it says" A fire (i.e. 
 that which dissolved them like wax) is fallen on them; 
 "and they shall not see the sun." 
 
 THE O:V: (here Hopkins) adopts precisely this reading 
 of The Vulgate : Which makes it pretty certain he must have 
 had it under his eyes and as an authority to follow : another proof 
 of the " Conferred with the Hebrew " so much contended for as 
 its great merit by the advocates of that Version. 
 
 * Tingstadius makes it a " leech." Author (with others) of a Swedish 
 Version of The Psalms. Translated into english. 8'' London. 1794. An 
 estimable work, and well worth consulting. 
 
 f Bp: Horsley so translates it, but without a word of annotation. 
 
NOTES, 409 
 
 THE N:V:, that adopts the Liturgy reading in the two 
 preceding Verses, gives this 
 
 " Ere thorns can make the flesh-pots boil, 
 
 " Tempestuous wrath shall come 
 " From GOD, and snatch them hence alive 
 
 " To their eternal doom." 
 
 which sinks the comparison altogether, and alludes to its 
 object not as a standard or type but as a simultaneous 
 incident. On these terms of performance Translation and 
 Versification may certainly be made short work of. 
 
 The sense generally given to the passage is this : Alluding 
 to the nomadic life of the Arabs (using this designation for the 
 inhabitants of those Countries in general) when, in crossing 
 the desert, they light a fire with what " thorns " may fall in 
 their way, to cook their provision, a "whirlwind" occasionally 
 springs up and sweeps the whole away " before the pots 
 can feel" the flame and while the meat in them is yet 
 " raw " : to which effect of sudden destruction is compared 
 that of the anger of The Lord ; however appearing to us 
 a most inadequate simile. 
 
 As it would evidently be quite impossible to express this 
 in a single Verse, nor indeed at all without great and unpleasing 
 circumlocution, the comparison has here been somewhat condensed 
 or rather abridged and made more intelligible. 
 
 Part of some of the other renderings, and not at all a bad 
 sense, might be thus given 
 
 As thorn- chips in the tempest's path, 
 
 Them shalt Thou thence erase ; 
 E'en as the whirlwind, shall Thy wrath 
 
 Off sweep them from Earth's face. 
 
 Some of the Commentators, over-zealous for the letter of The 
 A:V:s, attempt to explain all the words there used in the passage, 
 the " living" and the " raw" as well as the above ; but, as might 
 be expected, with little success. And a general sense, as here, 
 is quite sufficient for it. 
 
 This being one of the most difficult passages of the whole 
 Book, it may perhaps be thought of sufficient interest to 
 excuse this long examination of it. 
 
410 NOTES. 
 
 PSALM LIX. 
 Appeal to GOD, for protection against wicked enemies. 
 
 To the chief Musician. Al-taschith. Michtam of David : 
 when Saul sent ; and they watched the house, to kill him. 
 
 V: 13. 2. * Then come they back to prowl.' 
 
 It seems uncertain whether this passage should be taken 
 absolutely in the Indicative, or in the Imperative ironically 
 as a taunt ; as the words lend themselves to either interpretation. 
 The L:V: gives it in the former. And The B:V:, as well as the 
 greater part of the Translators and Commentators, in the latter : 
 Yet that reading appears very questionable, as such a tone seems 
 unsuitable both to the Psalmist and the circumstances : For which 
 reason the other has here been adopted; tho the repetition of 
 V: 5, as in the Hebrew, may appear tautologous. Nevertheless 
 this sense (here) is not apparent; from the inverted form of 
 the words, which makes it referable to either : tho the am- 
 biguity is not designed ; but the simpler order would be too prosaic. 
 
 PSALM LX. 
 
 The support of GOD sufficient under whatever trials 
 and afflictions. 
 
 To the chief Musician upon Shushan-eduth* Michtam of David : 
 to teach: When he strove with Aham-naharaim and with 
 Aham-Gobah ; when Joab returned, and smote of Edom in 
 the valley of salt twelve thousand. 
 
 V: 3. * Thou 'st made us drink of poison'd draughts, 
 
 * Of wine that deadly is.' 
 
 The above is The L:V: reading. In The B:V: "the wine of 
 astonishment", Hebrew * of trembling.' This of course is only a 
 
 * Shushan-eduth. The first of these words is thought to be the 
 name of a six-stringed instrument ; tho it also means a flower, rose 
 or lily. The second signifies ' testimony ' ; and is of uncertain 
 'application', but most likely a musical one. 
 
NOTES. 411 
 
 figurative expression, borrowed from the wine-press, for afflictions 
 calamities generally, the dispensations of GOD ; in amplification 
 of the first part of the Verse "Thou hast shown Thy People 
 heavy (L:V:, B:V: 'hard') things." The passage will perhaps 
 have a greater force if supposing that the wines of Judea (as is 
 well known of those of the Greeks : See Homer passim) from a 
 different manner of preparing them, were much stronger than the 
 modern ones. And the "trembling" more than giddiness as if 
 astounded and bewildered by it, is not unlikely to have a reference 
 to what we now call delirium tremens, well known as an effect of 
 strong liquors or drinking to excess. This seems again alluded to 
 in Ps: Ixxv. 8. See also Isaiah, li. 17, 21, and 22. 
 
 V: 4. 3. ' Thou 'st given a banner, to display.' 
 The general sense of this passage is not at all clear: And 
 the Commentators are not agreed about it: they differ also as 
 to the Mood ; some giving it, like The A:V:s, in the Praeterite, 
 some in the Future, and others in the Imperative. It seems 
 to have a reference to some custom in the East of displaying 
 a banner, not only in the way of modern times as a rallying 
 point for its own army, but also as a token of security and 
 protection when shown to a defeated enemy. Either interpretation 
 may here serve: the former has been chosen only as the 
 more obvious of the two. 
 
 V: 6 to End. The last seven Verses of this Psalm occur again 
 in Ps: cvni, as its Second Part. 
 
 V: 9. i and 2. ' On Edom I my foot will place, 
 'My wash-pot Moab make.' 
 
 These are obviously figures of speech : The first ' On Edom 
 I my foot will place', or "cast my shoe"; implying subjection 
 to the Royal Psalmist of the Countries named : which probably 
 refers to the custom in the East of wearing the sandal or shoe 
 when out comparatively loose, and throwing it off when coming 
 in doors. Similar phrases, derived from practices in actual 
 life, are everywhere more or less in use ; as for instance, from 
 a yoke wherewith bullocks are coupled to the plough, making 
 a conquered Country to be " passed under the yoke ", as 
 the defeated Roman army literally was by the Samnites at the 
 thence famous Caudine Forks; or, as also still in use in our 
 
412 NOTES. 
 
 own day, derived from the customs of Chivalry, throwing the 
 glove down to a competitor as a challenge. 
 
 The other " Moab is my wash-pot" is still more evidently 
 a phrase of degradation and contempt, as figuratively putting 
 the subjected Country to the vilest uses : Tho some understand it 
 to mean that his (David's) feet wade or are washed in its blood. 
 
 The A:V:s' reading of the latter part of the Verse seems 
 erroneous, however some other Translations from the Hebrew 
 give it a similar sense : They must have mistaken the construction 
 of the passage, or overlooked some ellipsis in it ; for the context 
 evidently and indisputably points out the reading here given: 
 For how should a conquered Country rejoice in its own overthrow 
 and subjugation ! Some take it to be said ironically. 
 
 PSALM LXI. 
 
 Confidence in GOD. 
 
 To the chief Musician upon Nvgindh* A Psalm of David. 
 
 This little Psalm is really a gem. If Crowned Heads, Princes, 
 and Rulers, who, from their high elevation, are most exposed 
 
 to or at least would be most stunned by a fall, have any 
 
 favourites among these " Songs of Sion " to apply more par- 
 ticularly to their own case, and which they are more fond to 
 meditate upon than the rest, this surely is among the choice 
 Pieces of the Selection. But none, whoso they may be and 
 whatever their condition or circumstances, can read it without 
 instruction profit and delight: It might well be called 
 "Michtam"-f of David: for it is all gold and that "fine 
 gold" "purified seven times." 
 
 V: 2. 3. * E'en from the land's extremest part.' 
 By "the ends of the Earth" of The A:V:s is only meant 
 the remote parts of the Country perhaps scarcely beyond the 
 borders of Judea, to which the Royal Psalmist was driven for 
 
 * Neginah. This is thought to be a stringed instrument ; by some 
 considered the same as Neginoth Ps: iv. 
 
 f See Note to Psalm xvi. 
 
NOTES. 413 
 
 refuge from his enemies here (it is thought) his unnatural 
 and rebellious son Absalom : as related in II Samuel xvii, xviii. 
 See back, Note to Ps: xlviii. 2. 
 
 PSALM LXII. 
 
 Reliance upon GOD, for protection against wicked enemies. 
 To the chief Musician : To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. 
 
 V: 4. 3. ' Him as a bowing wall they treat, 
 ' And as a broken fence.' 
 
 In The A:V:s this is applied, not as here to the Psalmist 
 the persecuted one, but to the persecutors the wicked, as a 
 denunciation against them. In the Original it is not clearly 
 connected with either, there being an ellipsis left to be supplied : 
 but the passive "ye will be slain " of The A:V:s is there active 
 "ye will or do slay" or destroy. The reading here adopted 
 (which is that of The Vulgate, and approved by several of the 
 Commentators) seems much the better of the two; from its 
 continuing the action, and being entirely in harmony with it; 
 while the other, tho not in itself bad, interrupts it in an abrupt 
 and incomplete manner. 
 
 V: 12. i. ' GOD once has spoken, and aloud: 
 
 ' And twice I 've heard the same.' 
 
 The Vulgate, as also some Translations from the Hebrew, make 
 this to be " I heard these two things" namely what follows. 
 
 That reading seems not unlikely to be the true : yet, the "once" 
 of the first clause of The A:V:s being admitted, the apposition of 
 the " twice" in the second with that is equally probable. 
 
 Some consider this iteration as only a Hebraism of emphasis : 
 but it pretty clearly refers to the promulgation of the Law 
 a second time by Moses Deut: v, as does the "once" to its 
 first declaration by GOD Exod: xx. 
 
 PSALM LXIII. 
 
 Confidence in GOD, under persecution of enemies. 
 A Psalm of David : When he was in the wilderness of Judah. 
 
 V: 1. 3. 'As doth a barren land and dry.' 
 
 The A:V:s give this, as the Hebrew, not as a comparison 
 
414 ^ NOTES. 
 
 but absolutely, "zn a barren and dry land"; with reference 
 
 to what appears from the Title to have been the occasion of the 
 Psalm, as related in II Samuel, xv. But the more abstract sense, 
 as here given, following Isaiah Iv. 1, and as in Fs: cxliii. 6, is 
 that generally preferred. 
 
 V: 10. 3. ' They for the foxes etc: ' 
 
 The animal here meant by " foxes " is perhaps not our common 
 fox ; who, tho carnivorous, is not at all so to the extent this 
 would imply: but it may be a different species of it. Some 
 take it to be the wild-dog, or the jackal ; which indeed seems 
 more probable. But foxes are even at the present day very 
 numerous in some parts of that Country; and perhaps were 
 formerly still more so (See Judg: xv. 4.) and it may be, from scarcity 
 of prey, more ravenous than the creature now known to us. 
 
 PSALM LXIV. 
 
 The perverseness of the wicked, which GOD will punish. 
 To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David. 
 
 PSALM LXV. 
 
 The greatness of GOD, and His bounteousness to men. 
 To the chief Musician. A Psalm and Song of David. 
 
 V: 11. i. GOD'S river still full-water'd is.' 
 The above explains a passage in Ps: xlvi, the Note to which, 
 having been accidentally omitted, we shall insert here 
 
 Ps: xlvi. V: 2. 4. 'A river is, in fulness clad etc:' 
 This reading of the "river" is pretty nearly in the words of 
 THE A:V:s : But which are too closely given ; for the sense is not 
 to be taken literally for a ' river', as there were none but mountain 
 streams near Jerusalem, but figuratively for the waters with 
 which GOD should supply the land from the Heavens, flowing 
 plentifully as a river ; as in Ps: Ixv. 9 " the river of God :" rain, 
 in that generally hot and dry Country, being a great want, and 
 the more valuable from its occasional scarcity. 
 
NOTES. 415 
 
 It would be better expressed thus 
 
 ' E'en as a river fulness clad, 
 
 * His streams still make GOD'S City glad.' 
 
 And so in the two other Versions. 
 
 PSALM LXVI. 
 
 The praises of GOD ; for His greatness, and His goodness 
 to men. 
 
 To the chief Musician. A Song or Psalm. 
 
 PSALM LXVII. 
 
 The praises of GOD. 
 
 To the chief Musician on Neginoth. A Psalm of David. 
 
 In this beautiful Psalm both THE OLD and THE NEW VERSION 
 seem to have put forth all their strength, both in fulness of 
 rhyme and other poetical ornament; to make their Copies as 
 worthy as possible of the noble Original ; and as if in com- 
 petition for superiority, which on the whole seems decidedly 
 in favour of the former. 
 
 The O:V: Copy (which is by Hopkins) is really very good; 
 indeed, with the exception of two or three words, perfect after 
 its manner, and is one of its best. 
 
 The N:V: one is also essentially good, and in some parts fine ; 
 but with many faults, and more than The OLD ; tho these may not 
 be apparent at first sight, from the harmoniousness of the sound, 
 but on examination of the sense they will immediately appear. 
 
 However tempted to make the analysis (as in the case of 
 Ps: xv and xlii.) in support of these remarks ; as it might here 
 be thought out of place, we shall forbear, and leave the Reader 
 to do so for himself. But there is one point that seems absolutely 
 to call for notice : 
 
 V: 3. it says 
 
 " Let differing Nations join 
 " To celebrate Thy/ame." 
 
 This word "fame," in connection with The Deity, is very 
 commonly used in this sense of 'renown' in both The OLD 
 
416 NOTES. 
 
 VERSION and The NEW,* as generally in all the others: Yet 
 it cannot but be considered as entirely misapplied or rather 
 improperly used with any such a reference. 
 
 " Fame," in the universal acceptation of the word, is the loud 
 
 as unless otherwise specified the good report of Men among 
 
 one another; and is courted by them, as are riches rank or 
 any acquisition that tends to gratify their self-love or give them 
 distinction or pre-eminence above their fellows ; but surely cannot 
 be applied with any propriety to THE CREATOR, who has no 
 equals with whom to be in antagonism, and who is so infinitely 
 above all the opinions as concerns of His Creatures, tho ever 
 occupied in providing for their welfare ; and who moreover 
 does not require to have not His greatness and goodness 
 but rather His reputation _ pointed out in this reflected 
 manner, seeing that both are always and everywhere equally 
 present and obvious. 
 
 The word, we know, occurs in Scripture in Numbers, xiv. 15, 
 and Joshua, ix. 9, in connection with GOD : but not in this sense, 
 
 and only as the knowledge or report of Him among the Heathen, 
 
 not in our common acceptation of it and as here used for vulgar 
 " celebrity" or " renown." The objection then to the word (that 
 is in the mouth of His worshippers) is_as ascribing to The Cre- 
 ator a distinction that is in fact degrading to Him and a merit shared 
 with some of the very worst of His creatures ; and as a circumstance 
 entirely repugnant to and incompatible with His attributes ; 
 and therefore that should never be used with reference to Him 
 " whose glory is declared by the Heavens," of whom " the 
 " Firmament showeth the handyworkf," and " with whose majesty 
 "all Earth is filled {." 
 
 Moreover nothing can be more trite and puerile : it is just 
 the idea and the words, for the obviousness of the rhyme, 
 that would occur to a schoolboy and at once unreflectingly 
 be used by him. 
 
 The word however occurs once in the present Version Ps: 
 cxlviii. 12. First Version: where it is applied, not to GOD 
 personallybut to His " Name" ; a very clearly marked distinction ; 
 which avoids the lowering above complained of, while giving the 
 full effect of diffused knownness or cognisance. 
 
 * It occurs again there in Ps: cviii. 1, and cxlvii. 1. 
 t Ps: xix. 1. * Ps:lxxii. 19. 
 
NOTES. 417 
 
 PSALM LXVIII. 
 
 The praises of GOD, for His protection of His People. 
 To the chief Musician. A Psalm or Song. 
 
 *** To develop this Psalm fully would require a long 
 Introduction, and almost a running Commentary ; tho even then 
 principally as matter of conjecture, as there is considerable 
 obscurity throughout it : but all which can here only be given 
 very briefly. It seems to be a Devotional Ode sung by David 
 and his army, after having defeated some of the Heathen Nations, 
 and when returning in triumph with the Sacred Ark to Jeru- 
 salem. Some take it to refer to the incidents related in II Samuel 
 viii ; and others again to the removal of the Ark, described in 
 II Samuel vi, and I Chronicles xv; and to either or both 
 of which it may apply, the circumstances generally being 
 much the same. 
 
 The change of persons is particularly to be noted ; as being 
 no doubt separate parts, sung by different persons to whom they 
 were respectively assigned ; all occasionally joining in the chorus. 
 See back, Note to Ps: xx. P: 374. 
 
 V: 6. i. 'He in families sets up the lone.' 
 
 The Original is altogether obscure in this passage ; and The 
 A:V:s have rendered it very differently. The Commentators 
 generally incline to The B:V: reading; understanding by "the 
 solitary" the childless, which state (as even in some European 
 Countries at the present day, and in most uncivilized ones) was 
 considered a calamity and a reproach. Or it may equally well be 
 understood of the houseless the homeless generally: This 
 sense has here been adopted from its seeming probability; tho 
 that of The L:V: abstractly ('making union') is equally good. 
 
 V: 8, 2. ' The Heavens dropp'd dismay'd.' 
 
 All the Translators Commentators and Paraphrasers, 
 including The Vulgate, as well as the Versioners, connecting 
 the first part of this with the succeeding Yerse, render the 
 "Heavens dropped*" verbally, to mean dropping with rain, and 
 
 * The Hebrew word so rendered is used in some other places in 
 Scripture for "dropping" or giving out, and generally in a figurative 
 sense ; as in Job xxix. 22, Proverbs v. 3, Canticles iv. 11, v. 5 and 13> 
 Ezekiel xxi. 2, and Joel iii. 18. In others again it is rendered " to 
 prophesy," as Amos vii. 16, ix. 13, and Micah ii. 6 and 11 : but still in 
 its sense of ' imparting.' 
 
418 NOTES. 
 
 not in the figurative sense of bowing or shrinking at the awful 
 presence of GOD. But, whatever may be the primitive meaning 
 of the word in the Original rendered in The A:V:s by " dropped, " 
 it pretty certainly is only used here as a general term of fear 
 reverence and awe for the Heavens, in apposition with 
 and similar to that under which the "Earth shook", and that 
 it has no connection whatever with nor reference to the " rain " 
 of the next Verse, but stands a separate and distinct image 
 therefrom : And which rain is itself perhaps only figurative for 
 
 the meat the "manna", or the "flesh and fowls", that 
 
 fell from the Heavens to the fainting Israelites in the desert, 
 mentioned in Ps: Ixxviii. 27 ; tho it may mean generally 
 prayed-for rain after a long drought. See also Judges V. 4. 
 
 That narrow sense quite destroys the grandeur of the 
 poetical idea by which it is ushered in, and separates the 
 image of the Heavens quailing at the presence of GOD from 
 that of the Earth just where the figure rises to a climax of 
 the most magnificent beauty. 
 
 Moreover rain does not seem an incident that would in any 
 case awake a poetical idea, unless perhaps as a summer shower or 
 a fertilizing moisture, nor be used as an accessory to poetical 
 imagery accompanying such sublime circumstances as are here 
 described : for it could only suitably be so in proportion to its 
 intensity, and which very fact, from that sort of sympathy 
 between the mental and physical feelings which it is impossible 
 either to resist or explain, would confuse and confound and 
 altogether neutralise it. This latter point may not at first be 
 very clear ; but we are nevertheless persuaded of its truth. 
 
 The words have accordingly here been rendered in cor- 
 respondence with this view of them, satisfied as we are that 
 it is the just one. 
 
 The OLD VERSION has it "the Heavens did drop": which 
 merely gives the words of The A:V:s, leaving the writer's (here 
 Sternhold) interpretation undetermined. The New VERSION, 
 after its usual prettiness, makes it " The breaking clouds did rain 
 distil." The SCOTCH VERSION, also taking it in this literal sense, 
 expresses it " Then drop* from Heavens fell :" certainly no very 
 striking manifestation of the effects of the presence of GOD, in 
 whatever way it be viewed; but at the same time serving 
 to show how entirely insufficient is the usual way of 
 considering the passage. 
 
NOTES. 419 
 
 V: 11. 'The Lord declar'd the victory etc:' 
 
 In both The A:V:s the sense here is much too verbally given ; 
 so as to be quite unintelligible to the cursory Reader. But the 
 " preachers " (literally * proclaimers ') of The L:V: is a word 
 particularly ill-chosen ; as it must be quite impossible to under- 
 stand from it, that what is meant is not a "company" of 
 expounders of religious truths but of singers (women) chanting 
 songs of triumph or victor}', namely the next three Verses. 
 
 V: 13. and 14. ' Tho ye among the pots have lien etc:' 
 This Verse (as the next) is very differently interpreted by the 
 Commentators, both as to its words and general signification. 
 Some make the " pots " to mean cooking vessels, hearth-stones, or 
 watering-troughs ; apparently an allusion to the servile occupations 
 of the Israelites in Egypt : See Ps: Ixxxi. 6. And others give them 
 a more figurative meaning. While some take the " dove " as a 
 general emblem of purity, as well as a symbolical appellation and 
 term of endearment for Israel, as in Ps: Ixxiv. 19 and elsewhere : 
 and others for a representation of the bird on the standards of 
 the Heathen. The general idea, however, clearly is a contrast 
 between their present exaltation after victory over their enemies 
 and their former depression when subject to them. 
 
 Salmon. (V: 14) is generally explained as the name of a high 
 mountain (mentioned in Judges ix. 48.) that had its top usually 
 covered with snow: But the word means ' darkness' and em- 
 phatically that of the grave : So this, in correspondence with the 
 foregoing, means merely the brightness of joy as opposed to the 
 gloom of previous sorrow. But it seems also not impossible 
 that it may be the same sort of figurative imagery still in use 
 among the Eastern Nations, that makes a white face the token of 
 happiness or joy, as in valediction or in acknowledgement of 
 favours, " May your face be white ! " " You have made my 
 " face white." Tho in fact the ideas are fundamentally the same. 
 
 V: 15. GOD'S hill as Bashan's hill is high'. 
 
 The above is the reading of both The A:V:s. But the likening 
 "as" is not in the Original. For no comparison is absolutely 
 made between the two hills "the hill of GOD" (namely Sion) 
 and Bashan ; but this only indirectly and by implication, which 
 gives the sentiment much greater force as well as beauty. But, 
 in this point, the strength of the Hebrew generally is in a great 
 measure lost in animated passages; from the more regular and 
 
420 NOTES. 
 
 formal construction of modern languages, which seldom leaves 
 anything to be supplied ("understood") for its completeness: 
 while the Hebrew expresses itself in separate (tho not uncon- 
 nected) and elliptical bursts of wonderful energy and power, 
 always leaving more to be conceived than is said, yet always and 
 
 clearly indicating what is omitted; giving as it were but a 
 
 spark, yet which at once fires the imagination to conceive all 
 intended to be presented to it. But a literal translation of such 
 would not be generally liked, and might not always be understood. 
 Bashan (mentioned again in this Psalm V: 22) was one 
 of the highest mountains in the land ; and gave its name to 
 the surrounding Country, which was remarkable for its fruit- 
 fulness as intimated in Ps: xxii. 12. 
 
 V: 18. and 19. ' Thou art gone up on high etc:' 
 This passage (here the words of The L:V:, in The B:V: " Thou 
 hast ascended on high.") is differently interpreted : Some under- 
 standing by it merely a general declaration of GOD'S presence in 
 His Heavens : And others referring it to the carrying of the Ark 
 into the Sanctuary the Holy of Holies of the Temple; which 
 latter, if this Psalm as would seem from V: 25 and 26 was 
 on occasion of the removal of the Ark, is certainly the 
 more probable meaning. The "Thou hast led captivity captive" 
 of The A:V:s, not at first very intelligible, is of course only too 
 verbal a rendering of the Original (whose idiom delights in 
 pleonasm and repetition) for the sense of taking captive, as in our 
 Version.* The " gifts " are altogether differently rendered : Some 
 taking them for 'given to Men', in this particular instance or in the 
 general bounties of The Lord to them ; and others for (as here) 
 acknowledgements in sacrifice or otherwise from Men to Him for 
 the same. The "/or Men" of The A:V:s can only be understood 
 as figuratively a 'ransom' accepted by Him from His subdued 
 enemies on their submission ; as here given, combining both senses. 
 
 V: 23. i. ' The Lord hath said etc:' 
 
 This Verse in The B:V: is altogether obscure, and not very 
 clear in The L:V:. And the Commentators are wholly at variance 
 in their attempts to explain it. The Vulgate again entirely differs 
 from The A:V:s, but in such ambiguous terms as to lend itself to 
 application whether to the Israelites or the Heathen. The 
 " my People" and " mine own" of the A:V:s is only assumed by 
 
 * For the larger sense as applied by St. Paul, see Ejih: iv. 8. 
 
NOTES. 421 
 
 the Translators, as it is not in the Original : but it certainly fills 
 up the ellipsis with great plausibility, in allusion to the miraculous 
 passage of the Red Sea Ex: xiv, and the defeat of Og the king of 
 Bashan Numb: xxi. The case being so doubtful, not to risk an 
 erroneous interpretation, the reading here given is confined to a 
 strict rendering of the Hebrew ; which leaves the point open. 
 
 V: 27. i. ' Now, Israel } s Chiefs] etc:' 
 
 This Verse begins with the latter part of the corresponding 
 one (26) in the Text. 
 
 The A:V:s are here very much at variance; the Liturgy 
 reading being " from the ground of the heart," and the Bible 
 " from the fountain of Israel " : which latter words are those of 
 the Original, and are most likely to mean figuratively used 
 the heads or (as here given) the 'Chiefs of Israel'; tho some 
 take them to signify the stirps or race of Israel generally ; but 
 both of which senses are here included. 
 
 V: 31 and 32. ' The wild beast of the reed repress etc:' 
 As these Verses are rendered by The A:V:s (there one, V: 30) 
 they are in both, but especially The L:V:, totally unintelligible, 
 as having no sense whatever. Neither do the Commentators 
 altogether clear the matter up; some explaining it or parts of 
 it one way and some another, but none satisfactorily as to the 
 whole. The Vulgate, also, gives the latter part of it an entirely 
 different sense from them all, and equally or still more un- 
 satisfactory. The "company of spearmen" and the "bulls and 
 calves and beasts" of The A:V:s are interpreted by most of the 
 Translators to be (all after the Original) 'the beast of the reed', 
 alluding figuratively to the Egyptians and Ethiopians under the 
 image of the crocodile, or perhaps the hippopotamus, that inhabit 
 their rivers : This latter animal, we know, is not now an usual 
 denizen of the Nile ; but even in our own times it has been taken 
 there. The "reed" or "cane" (or it may be 'bulrush') of the 
 Hebrew seems to have been taken by the A:V: Translators for a 
 ' spear ' ; canes or bamboos being made into spears or lances ; 
 whence their "spearmen". The "pieces of silver" must mean 
 'tribute' generally. The sense here given is that generally 
 of the entire passage, and with reference to its details tho 
 without specifying them. 
 
 V: 33. ' Then shall from Egypt etc:' 
 
 For & remarkable illustration of this Verse see Isaiah xlv. 14. 
 
4*22 NOTES. 
 
 By "the Marian's land" here (and in Ps: Ixxxvii. 4 and ex. 3.) in 
 The L:V: is meant the land of Cush or " Ethiopia," as in The B:V:. 
 The name might seem a corruption of Mizraim, one of the sons 
 of Ham, who settled in that Country : But it belongs altogether 
 to the old Translators, who evidently used it for the land of the 
 'Mauritanians' or 'Moors' generally, so called (after the greek 
 amauros} from their dark dusky colour. 
 
 PSALM LXIX. 
 
 Prayer to GOD for defence, under persecution of enemies. 
 To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim. A Psalm of David. 
 
 V: 12. i. ' The idlers in the streets etc:' 
 
 In the Text " they that sit in the gate." Some take this to 
 refer to the Judges or Magistrates, sitting in the Courts of Justice 
 that were held near the gate of the Town and where was generally 
 the place of public resort. (See back. Note to Ps: ix. 14. P: 347.) 
 But it seems more likely to mean the idlers and vagabonds about 
 it, as here rendered. 
 
 V: 22. * When I am fainting, nigh to sink etc:' 
 
 This Verse (as very evidently so, as well as some other 
 passages of the Psalm) is generally considered to refer in a 
 typical and prophetical sense to the sufferings of THE SAVIOUR 
 at His crucifixion. 
 
 Some of the Commentators, however, looking only to the 
 letter of the Hebrew Text, which says "they shall give me 
 (or they give me*) poison in my food" object to this view of it, 
 from the fact of His not having been given there " to eat." See 
 Matthew xxvii. 34, Mark xv. 36, Luke xxiii. 16, and John xix. 29. 
 
 But this objection is altogether futile, when opposed to the 
 interpretation of the words by the great mass of the Translators, 
 who see in them only a different manner with merely some 
 amplification of figure of expressing precisely the thing related 
 by the Evangelists to have occurred on that awcful occasion : the 
 "poison in my food" being the gall (wormwood, or whatever 
 distasteful substance to which that name is there given) mixed in 
 
 * For a remark on the use of the Tenses in Hie Ik-brew, see back, 
 Note to Pa: xviii. 37. P: 371. 
 
NOTES. 423 
 
 the vinegar; as perfectly well rendered, tho with some little 
 variation, in both The A:V:s, as here given. 
 
 V: 23. ' But, be their table made a snare etc:' 
 
 These seemingly vengeful and cruel imprecations, as elsewhere 
 where such occur especially in Ps: cix, in the mouth of " the sweet 
 Psalmist of Israel," have naturally shocked all pious and good 
 men ; as indeed they are revolting to humanity, and in the latter 
 instance, as usually read (See Note in loco.) far exceeding even 
 the savage excommunications of the most fiery zealots of later 
 times. And accordingly they have been endeavoured to be 
 explained away, or at least softened, in various manners; but 
 chiefly by substituting the Future for the Imperative, as it wefe . 
 predicting that the causes should take effect, or cautioning lest 
 they should, rather than absolutely desiring they might do so. 
 But it may be doubted whether this much changes the real 
 character of the thing ; as such a prediction or caution could 
 hardly be expressed without some concurring desire that it should 
 be verified, since of course the event could not absolutely be 
 foreseen: And it is left to be explained _ not by a motive of 
 vindictiveness on the part of the utterer but a feeling of justice 
 however perhaps sharpened by resentment: This where such 
 proceed from the mouths of men alone : And, where they seem to 
 be the expressions of GOD, they are reconciled by the consider- 
 ation that His justice must be satisfied as well as His mercy : Also 
 that, after all, however injured, they are uttered by mere men, 
 who naturally conceive of Him in some measure by their own 
 feelings in their limited apprehensions of His attributes, and at 
 best represent them in their own equivocal and imperfect language. 
 It must be recollected too that these were the outbursts of 
 passion, in the anguish of suffering and the heat of anger; also 
 that revenge, tho by no means inculcated as a duty, was a sort of 
 virtue among the Orientals, as it still is everywhere in un- 
 Christianized Countries ; and that retaliation, both as to himself 
 and others, is throughout here the principle of justice propounded 
 by the Psalmist : with which then all this is only in strict 
 accordance. Yet that he could " love his enemies " may clearly be 
 seen in Ps: xxxv. 12, 13, and 14. 
 
 All the Writers on The Psalms have unavoidably touched 
 upon this point : But, for an excellent exposition of it, like 
 everything there handled, see Bp. Home's admirable Work.-, 
 " Commentary on The Book of Psalms etc:" 
 
424 NOTES. 
 
 PSALM LXX. 
 Prayer to GOD, for protection against wicked enemies. 
 
 To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David. 
 To bring to remembrance. 
 
 This Psalm is merely a variation of the last six Verses of 
 Ps: xl. They were perhaps so taken separately to suit some 
 particular occasion : tho its Title (which is also that of Ps: xxxviii) 
 is altogether too vague to point to any. But it is sufficiently 
 known how generally questionable those Headings are. 
 
 PSALM LXXI. 
 
 Prayer to GOD, for protection against enemies. His praises ; 
 and confidence in His support. 
 
 PSALM LXXII. 
 
 For the King. 
 A Psalm of Solomon. 
 
 %* This is a most noble Song : referring in a positive sense 
 to the reign of a righteous King, but still more clearly and strongly 
 pointing to that of THE MESSIAH. 
 
 It is a magnificent Anthem of hailing and salutation to a 
 Sovereign on ascending the Throne : one that should be pro- 
 claimed aloud in all the pomp and solemnity of the public 
 ceremonial, and deeply meditated upon afterwards in the solitude 
 and stillness of the closet and the midnight couch. And woe for 
 the crowned head to whom this stirring appeal for RIGHTEOUSNESS 
 to its utmost extent in small points as well as great, as for justice 
 and mercy, shall be made in vain ! In " the days of evil" he 
 will not be long in finding how weak a stay he leans upon 
 when resting on merely his regal power; and that, without 
 the "wisdom" prayed for from the Heavenly King, all other 
 will prove mere "foolishness." 
 
 It has generally been considered to be, as entitled, " A Psalm 
 of (for 'about') Solomon." A modern Commentator,* ho\\- 
 
 * Weston S : , noticed abo\c. ]': .-'<i 
 
NOTES. 425 
 
 says that from the occurrence in it of two Chaldaic words 
 (implying that it must thence necessarily be subsequent to the 
 Captivity) it must have been written long after his time. 
 
 But this seems very slender ground on which to impugn its 
 genuineness : even supposing the Critic to have been so profound 
 a Hebrew scholar as to have ascertained there were no other 
 idiomatic differences in the language of this Psalm and that 
 of the time of David, after this assumed interval of several 
 hundred years. 
 
 At the same time we know that these Titles,* altho in the 
 Hebrew T , are altogether unauthenticated : which leaves the point 
 open to dispute or, perhaps one should rather say, to 
 cavil. "A little learning is a dangerous thing." most especially 
 in these matters. 
 
 V: 1. i. 2. 'And give him, fearing Thee.' 
 
 "The King's Son" of The A:V:s (here rendered by 'him') is 
 of course only one and the same with " The King" ; being merely 
 an amplification, in the usual manner of the Hebrew Parallelisms. 
 It may however perhaps be more literally taken also, if considering 
 that Solomon was in fact the first king of the Israelites who was 
 also the son of a king. 
 
 V: 3. ' Then shall the mountains bring them peace' 
 This Verse is differently understood by the Commentators; 
 most of whom see in it some local or physical allusion, and 
 interpret it accordingly : as Tingstadius, with some French ones, 
 who make it to mean that Those blessings shall be proclaimed 
 from the "mountains" and "hills" by signals, heralds, and 
 colours etc: But it is most likely only a poetical figure; one 
 of those Prosopopoeias or Personifications common in Scripture, 
 that are so fine, from their combining a certain tho perhaps 
 remote material positiveness, with that vague generality ad- 
 dressing itself more to the imagination than the judgement and 
 moving the heart rather than the head tho without shocking the 
 latter ; which is the essence of true poetry. It probably means 
 nothing more than that the effects, tho ornamentally ascribed to 
 the "mountains" and "hills," will, from whatever immediate 
 
 cause, be brought about and in their vicinity, so as to let 
 
 them be poetically imputed to their influence. 
 
 * See The Preface, and Notes to Ps: i. P: 340 v. 344 and xc. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 V: 6. 'As rain upon the thirst}' ground.' 
 
 The "new-mown grass" of The B:V:, however verbally ren- 
 dered from the Hebrew, is evidently erroneous: as 'new -mown 
 grass' requires sun to dry rather than rain to moisten it. It is 
 obviously intended for (as expressed, tho somewhat over-floridly, 
 in THE NEW VERSION) not " the mown grass", but the mown field, 
 for a second crop, an aftermath, _ the former being used by 
 synecdoche for the latter. The "fleece of wool" of The L:V: 
 is, as usual, after The Vulgate ; and, tho not so intelligible as the 
 other reading, is at least not so contradictory. 
 
 V: 8. i. 'He His dominion shall afar etc:' 
 
 This of course is only said with the usual exaggeration of 
 poetical language; and while only intending to define the real 
 limits of David's Kingdom, namely from the Eastern coasts of 
 the Mediterranean to the Red Sea; including the Countries on 
 the hither side of the Euphrates " the river", with perhaps some 
 parts beyond it to the North East : the " ends of the earth " 
 of the Text here (as before," Ps: xlii. 8 and Ixi. 2, also Ixxx. 1 1 . 
 and Ixxxix. 25.) meaning only the boundaries of the Country. 
 
 V: 16. i. 'Then harvests to the mountain- tops etc:' 
 Some of the Commentators explain the "handful of corn" of 
 The B:V: (in The L:V: " a heap") to be that this small quantity, 
 sown on the tops of the mountains, shall yield so abundant a crop 
 as to " shake etc:" But it seems much more natural and simple 
 to see in it only a figure of speech for general and great 
 abundance, rather than so minute and not over-verisimilar 
 a specification as this. 
 
 %* At the end of this Psalm in The B:V: there is 
 "The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended." 
 This of course does not mean that none of the subsequent Psalms 
 are by David ; as many of them are manifestly his, both from 
 internal evidence and its being so stated in the Titles. But it may 
 be that this was really his last Psalm (tho not his "last words" 
 
 of II Sam: xxiii.) as indeed the subject a Prayer for his son 
 
 Solomon makes not improbable: Only, in the compilation 
 of these Songs, it was apparently not thought necessary to 
 put them in the order of their composition, and so this fell 
 in its present place the end of The Second Book. Or it 
 may be only an accidental interpolation. 
 
NOTES. 427 
 
 PSALM LXXIIL 
 
 Confidence of the righteous in GOD. And the sure 
 destruction of the wicked. 
 
 A Psalm of Asaph. 
 
 V: 10. ' So, falsely taught to think etc:' 
 
 The Original here is altogether obscure: And it is quite 
 impossible to make out any clear sense of the passage in either of 
 The A:V:s, especially The B:V:. Nor are the later Translations 
 at all more clear in it. And nearly all the Commentators give 
 almost as many different readings; only shewing that they 
 really do not understand it. So that we are left to form our own 
 conjectures as to its real meaning. The reading here given, which 
 is that of some of the Annotators, and what The L:V: appears to 
 intend, seems by much the best suggested ; and, whether the true 
 or not, is at least clear and sufficiently satisfactory. A French 
 Translation gives a somewhat different sense, and not a bad one, 
 as not altogether unsupported by the words of the Text ; which 
 might be given thus 
 
 So, seeing them thus drink 
 
 Of a full cup in all ; 
 Men know not what thencefrom to think, 
 
 And into doubting fall. 
 
 V: 20. ' As dreams, that, baseless floor'd etc:' 
 
 This passage also is very obscure. Its first part is the same 
 in both The A:V:s ; but in its latter they vary, being, however, 
 equally unintelligible as to any practical sense. Neither do any 
 of the other Translations give a better: Nor do the Commen- 
 tators, however they interpret the words, offer any satisfactory 
 solution of them; for, as they explain them and as generally 
 accepted, neither the proposition nor the simile will bear analysis, 
 as altogether unequal to and insufficient for the circumstances 
 assumed. There is probably some ellipsis understood in it that 
 has escaped detection. The reading here given is that of The 
 L:V:, after The Vulgate, as well as it can be understood; and 
 seems somewhat the better of the two : indeed out of The B:V: 
 one nothing can be made. 
 
428 NOTES. 
 
 V: 29. ' And still, in Sioris daughters gates.' 
 
 The above words of The L:V: are not in The B:V: nor 
 in the Hebrew, but only in The LXX and The Vulgate. For the 
 figure, see back Note to Ps: ix. 14. P: 347. 
 
 PSALM LXX1V. 
 
 Appeal to GOD, against wicked enemies. 
 Maschil of Asaph. 
 
 V: 2. i. ' Thou didst redeem of old.' 
 
 The A:V:s here have "purchased" as well as "redeemed"; 
 the word, in the Original, meaning to 'acquire' in any way for 
 one's own. But this sense of it, to " purchase," is commonly used 
 in Scripture (as in Ps: Ixxviii. 54) in a figurative sense of GOD 
 for His taking anything as it were for His own and attaching 
 it particularly to Himself; as thus expressing the possession as 
 of right and more strongly than if it were acquired without the 
 return of an equivalent. 
 
 V: 5. ' Yea seem they there, with rage incens'd etc:' 
 This Verse, as given in The A:V:s, has no understandable 
 sense in relation to the context ; and, in what can be made out of it 
 in them, they differ. But the Original is altogether obscure. The 
 reading here given, which is gathered from the whole, to connect 
 this Verse with the next, is that of most of the Commentators ; and 
 is at least clear, while sufficiently good. 
 
 V: 13 and 14. ' Thou brak'st the dragons heads therethro.' 
 ' And Thou leviathan's heads as well.' 
 
 These Verses of course refer to Pharaoh and his Captains. 
 "Dragon," as before observed (Note to Ps: xliv. 20. P. 395.) is 
 meant of a large Serpent. But it is also applied, tho in an 
 indefinite way, to an aquatic animal (Not impossibly the disputed 
 ' Sea- Serpent' : for who knows all "the wonders of the deep" 
 " this great and wide Sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable 
 "both small and great beasts". Ps: civ. 25.) and may intend the 
 Crocodile; but at all events, like the "Leviathan", it points to 
 some very large and formidable denizen of the waters. 
 
 It is not certain what is the creature called in Scripture 
 IA\ i:i(h;in." The etymology of the word \\liirh i> IM>ro\. 
 
NOTES. 429 
 
 points to a large fish : and it is never spoken of but in connection 
 with the waters. Some suppose it to be the Whale, and others 
 the Crocodile ; both which opinions, and especially the latter, 
 are supported by good arguments ; tho the general belief leans to 
 the former. Indeed its mention with relation to the sea would 
 seem to point more to the Whale, that is an inhabitant of great 
 
 waters tho rather those of cold regions, than to the Crocodile, 
 
 which is only found in rivers and is moreover amphibious : and 
 this especially in Ps: civ. 26, where "play" B:V: or "pastime" 
 L:V:, might seem to refer to the well-known gambols of the 
 former creature, while the latter uses none such but is of 
 stationary and sluggish habits. As to its use here, tho of far 
 greater poetical beauty in the vague hugeness of an undefined 
 monster, the Crocodile perhaps points more clearly, to the People 
 of the Country watered by the Nile. The "people inhabiting 
 the wilderness" of the Text must be taken as its wild beasts, for 
 whom the Egyptians were made a prey. 
 
 
 
 This Psalm seems to have been written on occasion of the 
 taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian 
 forces, which led to the long Captivity of Israel. But the 
 devastation here lamented; however more essentially injurious, 
 could not have been so keenly felt as the insult of Titus, who, 
 besides destroying the greater part of the City, nailed up a hog 
 over one of its remaining gates as its " banner." This incident, 
 by the way, is commemorated in a medal. The Jews, we know, to 
 this day will never pass under Titus's Arch at Rome, making 
 any circuit to avoid it. 
 
 PSALM LXXV. 
 
 The rule of a just King, after that of GOD. 
 To the chief Musician. Al-taschith. A Psalm or Song of Asaph. 
 
 This Psalm, in its general subject and some of its parts, is 
 very obscure; and there is much difference of opinion in its 
 interpretation. It is apparently spoken in the person of a 
 
 King, among his People, perhaps on his accession ; declaring his 
 intention to govern righteously, and to discountenance and punish 
 the wicked, ^warning them of GOD'S judgments against sin, and 
 
430 NOTES. 
 
 pointing out His general superintendance and controul of the 
 affairs of men. It primarily refers then to David or some 
 
 other temporal sovereign. But it is also thought to have a 
 secondary application to THE MESSIAH and the establishment of 
 His spiritual Kingdom on Earth: and for the declaration of 
 which it is only in accordance with the general typical character 
 of The Psalms to involve such along with that of positive 
 incidents and events. 
 
 Some of the Commentators consider it as a dialogue between 
 the King and the People, and apportion the Verses accordingly to 
 the several interlocutors. But there seems nothing in it that 
 leaves this necessarily to be inferred : there are no changes of 
 person nor of subject; but the whole comes continuously and 
 fittingly from the mouth of the King, only that the first Verse 
 might be the united voice of himself and the whole assembly, to 
 whom he then addresses the rest. 
 
 V: 1. 3. ' For that Thou Yf ever to us nigh, 
 ' Thy wondrous works declare.' 
 
 The words here in italics are in The B:V: "Thy Name is 
 near," and in The L:V: " Thy Name also is so nigh" : but neither 
 of which readings offer any intelligible sense ; being merely verbal 
 translations of the Original, which itself is not at all clear. It is 
 generally agreed that tjie "Name" stands for GOD (as explained 
 above in the Note to Ps: v. 11, P: 345) but opinions differ as to 
 how the rest is connected with it. The rendering here given 
 is that most commonly received, and seems the best that can be 
 made out of the words. 
 
 V: 2. and 3. ' When at the judgement-seat etc:' 
 These two Verses are generally put in the mouth of GOD, and 
 are accordingly so here given. Yet this does not seem necessary : 
 for the connection appears more simple and suitable to take the 
 whole (as said above) as delivered by the Royal Psalmist himself; 
 as otherwise it looks somewhat disjointed and imperfect. 
 
 V: 8. and 9. * In The Lord's hand there is etc:' 
 The general meaning of the passage (B:V: 8.) contained in 
 these two Verses is pretty evidently that here given; tho the 
 mere words of the Text offer no very clear sense. The " red 
 wine" (which is after the Hebrew) is perhaps used as giving, from 
 the colour, a livelier idea of potency ; or possibly tlwir red wines 
 
NOTES. 431 
 
 were their stronger. In The LXX it is "pure" or "raw wine," 
 expressing the same thing. See back, Note to PSJ Ix. 3. P: 410. 
 It may also be marked as in better apposition with the "dregs" 
 and the " mixture." 
 
 PSALM LXXVI. 
 
 The greatness and powerfulness of GOD. 
 To the chief Musician on Neginoth. A Psalm or Song of Asaph. 
 
 V: 2. 5. ' In gloriousness Thou 'rt greater far, 
 
 1 And mightier, than the hills of prey .' 
 
 The B:V: says " the mountains of prey" after the Hebrew, and 
 The L:V: "the hills of the robbers." This is variously 
 
 interpreted: Besides other more remote significations, some 
 understand it figuratively for the Cities or Fortresses of Chiefs 
 who made cruel war upon one another, or those of the heathen 
 Kings who thence came down to assault Israel ; and others 
 more literally for the mountain fastnesses where these de- 
 posited their spoil. 
 
 In fear of misrepresenting the true sense whatever it 
 may be, here have been given only the words of the Text ; which 
 leaves the point open. 
 
 PSALM LXXVII. 
 
 The complaint of one sorely afflicted^ and exalting 
 the greatness of GOD. 
 
 To the chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. 
 
 V: 2. 4. ' To Him my hands stretched out.' 
 
 The " my sore ran" of The A:V:s here is a most extraordinary 
 and unfortunate mistranslation ; and especially singular as to 
 both, from their having been made at so great an interval from 
 each other. There is nothing whatever about a "sore" in the 
 Original: but "hand" is there: and the word rendered "ran'' 
 his a general signification of 'flowing' 'extending out'; which 
 (while perhaps including the idea of tears, for sorrow) 
 clearly points to the sense here given, which is that of most 
 of the Commentators. 
 
4X-2 NOTES. 
 
 This Psalm seems to call for a word of notice, as certainly 
 one of the most interesting of the whole Collection. It appears to 
 be a lamentation on account of personal sorrows, and these 
 connected with national calamities perhaps the Captivity: but, 
 in the midst of desolateness, evincing a persuasion of experiencing 
 as before the now suspended mercies of GOD a firm reliance on 
 Him faith unshaken and hope unextinguished amidst the most 
 crushing trials; and, under this conviction, bursting out into 
 a rapturous exclamation on the greatness of His works. 
 
 The only feeling, after that of admiration of wonder and 
 delight, on reading this beautiful effusion, is one of disappointment 
 and regret that it should end so abruptly as at least it seems to 
 do : tho perhaps it so concludes only in the fulness of the 
 Psalmist's heart, that prevents him from giving utterance to 
 more ; and sends us away, like himself, with the impression 
 in all its strength upon us, to let reflection more fully 
 " point the moral." 
 
 PSALM LXXVIII. 
 
 The greatness and goodness of GOD, in (he delivery of His 
 People from their oppressors. 
 
 MascM of Asaph. 
 
 V: 2. i. ' Of antient times will I declare, 
 ' What things occurr'd of old.' 
 
 The word " parable" of The A:Y:s in this Verse (as of " dark 
 sayings" B:V: and "hard sentences" L:V: in the next) cannot be 
 taken in the sense usually given to it : for there is nothing 
 whatever here that partakes of whether an oracular or parabolical 
 or otherwise figurative character, or that is in any way ambiguous 
 or obscure or carrying a meaning that does not obviously appear. 
 The Psalm is purely historical ; being merely an account, tho 
 fitful (so to say) and very condensed, of the miracles performed 
 by GOD for the Israelites in their flight out of Egypt and 
 subsequent sojourn in the wilderness, as of their rebelliousness to 
 Him there ; ending with the declaration of David's establishment 
 on the throne. Indeed it is a perfect and admirable epitome 
 of their history from the exodus to their establishment in 
 the promised land. 
 
NOTES. 433 
 
 The word seems used rather in an elliptical than in a simple 
 
 or positive sense; implying that Those to whom the Psalm is 
 
 addressed should, while listening to the facts narrated, draw from 
 them the moral of the evil consequences of disobedience to GOD, 
 with the resolution in their own case of avoiding the sin and 
 consequently escaping its penalty. 
 
 It is perhaps also used only with reference to the general 
 sacredness thus partaking of a somewhat enigmatical and 
 mysterious character of their religious records or traditions, 
 as also perhaps with allusion to the typical meaning of some 
 of the declarations made. 
 
 Much the same may be said of Ps: xlix, where (V: 4) the 
 same word is used without any more rigorous application of it. 
 See the Note on that passage, P: 399. 
 
 The words therefor here substituted for them, namely 
 "speech " for law, and "antient times" and "things of old" for 
 parable and dark sayings of old, seem to give the spirit of the 
 Text, if not the letter that certainly is at variance with the 
 subject; and to render which verbally would put the inspired 
 Author in contradiction with himself. 
 
 Bp: Home, in his excellent but perhaps somewhat too 
 exclusively Spiritual Commentary on The Psalms (Preface P: xv.) 
 notices that this passage is alluded to by S l< Matthew (xiii. 35.) 
 when, giving as one reason why THE SAVIOUR spake to the 
 multitude in parables, he says ' that it might be fulfilled which 
 1 was spoken by the Prophet "I will open my mouth with a 
 " parable : I will utter things which have been kept secret from 
 "the foundation of the World.'" But which does not seem 
 very clear: because "dark sayings of old" and "things which 
 have been kept secret from the foundation of the World," if 
 words have any definite meaning, are very different and can 
 scarcely have equivalence ; and, the things declared in the Psalm, 
 far from having been " kept secret," were only well-known 
 incidents in the history of the Israelites in their exodus from 
 Egypt. It is not unlikely that (as in some other similar 
 instances*) the Apostle did not intend a very close application 
 of the words ; but only quoted them at large, as in some manner 
 bearing upon and illustrating the point, the better to enforce 
 his Divine Master's instruction. 
 
 * See back, Note to Ps: xiv. P: 353. 
 
 r F 
 
434 NOTES. 
 
 V: 9. * So Ephraim's children, who, self-stay'd etc:' 
 This reproach on the Ephraimites appears to refer to their 
 defeat by the men of Gilead, as related in Judges xii. Tingstadius, 
 qualifying this charge against them, makes the Psalmist only 
 compare them to runaways in battle. 
 
 The Verse in The B:V: stands apparently quite alone and 
 disconnected from the context, as if extraneous. But it seems 
 pretty evidently a minor proposition to aid the principal one, 
 while without being material to it. In The L:V: the " Like as" 
 (which is not in The Original, tho probably implied) connects it 
 with the preceding Verse as a comparison : It would perhaps be 
 better in a parenthesis. 
 
 V: 15 and 19. * Yea, from the stony rock and hard, 
 ' He brought the waters out.' 
 
 Among the relics exhibited to the veneration or curiosity of 
 the Faithful at St. Mark's Church at Venice, is (or at least 
 was up to very recently) a stone, purporting to be a piece 
 of the identical rock on which Moses performed the above 
 miracle, brought there in the early days of the Kepublic 
 from Constantinople. Credat Judaus. 
 
 If this, and other such spurs to devotion, move Worshippers 
 to a greater observance of the essentials of Religion, and make 
 them better men as well as "good Catholics", well and good; 
 and it may not be necessary to inquire too closely into the 
 credibility of the matters. But if otherwise; and the belief 
 real or pretended of their genuineness lead men, with a fancied 
 or comparative impunity on that account, putting it to credit 
 as so much "assets" of faith; to dispense with its obligations 
 and to a greater indulgence of whatever bad passions, the 
 sooner the now growing general appeal to common sense in 
 such things is heard and prevails, to the sweeping away of all 
 their rubbish, the better. 
 
 Which of the two effects what & priori is to be looked for or 
 what really takes place we shall not presume to determine; but 
 hope, as "heretics," to be excused for dissenting from "pious 
 
 frauds" mummery and trumpery* of whatever kind, in the 
 
 worship of THE CREATOR or for the promotion of religious ends. 
 See also Notes to Ps: xviii. 37, P: 372 ; and xci. 13, 453. 
 
 V: 23. i. * And on them manna rain'd He down.' 
 The nature of the substance so called is entirely unknown, 
 * " trumpery "tromperie. 
 
NOTES. 435 
 
 and there is nothing to lead to its discovery. From Exodus 
 xvi. 15, where its fall is related, the name seems to mean 
 "What is this?" the exclamation of the Israelites on its 
 appearing : at least this is the only etymology of it given. 
 There is an idle fiction of the early Rabbins that it had the 
 taste of any required article of food. 
 
 The { angels' food' of L: 3 are the words of both The A:V:s. 
 But the real sense is, as in the Bible marginal reading, "food 
 (bread) of the strong" 'of the mighty': implying, as it would 
 seem, by figure of speech, the food which, if there were a choice, 
 would be that of the highest order of men, both as the preferable 
 for goodness and the most honourable, in short the best; or 
 possibly meaning food for strength strengthening food. Perhaps 
 the Translators used "angels' food" as better in apposition with 
 the " corn of Heaven." 
 
 V: 24. * Then caused He the East wind to blow etc:' 
 Some read this Verse, not as here after The A:V:s that both 
 the East and the South wind were made to blow, but that the 
 East wind (previously blowing) was made to cease and the South 
 "brought in" in its stead. This, as they explain it, that the 
 Southerly wind might bring in the quails (or whatever were 
 the "feathered fowls" in question) which an Easterly one, from 
 local circumstances, would not do : thus making the miracle to 
 be worked out by natural means. But, as this sense is not 
 at all necessarily derivable from the words of The Original 
 nor from the circumstances, there seems no necessity for a 
 departure from its more obvious reading (as here given) that 
 loth the winds (that is the winds in general, these being 
 named only as being the prevalent ones) were apparently made 
 to concur hi the incident. See Numb: xi. 31. 
 
 V: 43. 2. He let the caterpillar have etc: 
 
 ' And He to the grasshopper gave.' 
 
 By "grasshopper" here of course meant the locust (both 
 species of the same genus) whose destructive powers to vegetation 
 are well known. " Caterpillar," also, is put generally for grubs 
 and insects of similar noxious properties. It would of course 
 have been easy to substitute other names for those, more strictly 
 indicative of the sense intended; but which reverence for the 
 usual time-honoured reading has prevented us from doing. 
 
 This is the Verse, the OLD VERSION rendering of which has 
 
436 NOTES. 
 
 so often been quoted in ridicule of that Work: that is as it 
 originally stood in the early Editions, thus 
 
 " NOT how He did commit their fruits 
 
 unto the caterpillar ; 
 
 " And all the labour of their hands 
 
 He gave to the grasshopper." 
 
 for it has long been as now 
 
 " Nor how He did their fruits unto 
 
 the caterpillar give ; 
 
 " And of the labour of their hands 
 
 locusts did them deprive." 
 
 It is however but fair to observe that possibly the writer 
 (Sternhold* himself) may not have intended it to be read, as 
 we should now do, with the 'double rhyme' but with a single 
 one ; accenting the last syllable, as the French do in their 
 ' masculine ' verses ; when, if omitting or slurring over a particle 
 in each line "MW" and "to" respectively, there would be 
 nothing whatever faulty in it : but unfortunately his usual 
 phraseology seems to forbid the reconcilement. 
 
 One may assume that the excellent Bp: Beveridge, and the 
 modern advocates for that Version, would hardly contend for 
 this passage being one not susceptible of improvement: tho 
 certainly it might have been altered still more advantageously. 
 
 V: 2. of this same Psalm, by the way, with the above salvo, 
 was not much more correct in its rhyme 
 
 " Because we should not keep it close 
 
 from them that should come after ; 
 
 " Who should GOD'S power to their race praise, 
 and all his acts of wonder." 
 
 also much improved by the change as it now stands. But, as 
 already said (see P: 366) all the alterations made in it generally 
 have been for the better ; and it is only to be regretted that they 
 should not have been more. 
 
 * The modern Copies of The O:V:, where the authors are marked by 
 initials, ascribe it to Hopkins : but, in a black letter Copy of 1583 lyin-; 
 before us, it is marked J: S:. See back, the Note at foot of P: 309. 
 
NOTES. 437 
 
 V: 47. 4. ' That in Ham's dwellings were.' 
 
 This is another name for Egypt ; here used by way of 
 parallelism or amplification : So called from Ham, the youngest 
 son of Noah, who settled in that Country on the dispersion of 
 their family after the deluge ; and whose posterity peopled 
 Africa generally and the South- Western part of Asia. 
 
 V: 50. 4. ' Which His right hand had bought: 
 See back. Note to Ps: Ixxiv. 2. 
 
 V: 58. i. * And He, into captivity, 
 
 * His brightness gave etc:' 
 
 The L:V: makes this to refer, not as here (wherein following 
 The B:V:, which is close to the Hebrew) to the "Tabernacle 
 in Shiloh"ofthe preceding Yerse, but to the Israelites: Which 
 is certainly erroneous; for the construction in The Original 
 clearly requires the other sense ; and which moreover seems 
 corroborated by the specification of " His People " in the next 
 Verse, which otherwise (tho not an unusual pleonasm) would be 
 unnecessary, as being only in continuation of the previous one. 
 
 V: 60. nor for the dead 
 
 * Were widows left to mourn.' 
 
 In The B:V: " And their widows made no lamentation." In 
 The L:Y: "And there were no widows to make lamentation." 
 Both these readings are very obscure : The B:V: (tho which 
 is close to the Hebrew) seems to imply the existence of widows, 
 but gives no reason for their not "making lamentation": and 
 The L:V: leaves it doubtful whether the absence of widows 
 
 to "make lamentation" proceeded from necessity or design 
 
 from their non-existence OF an intentional forbearance to do so. 
 
 The explanation given of the passage, adopting the reading of 
 The A:V:s, by some of the Commentators that "the widows 
 "considered the loss of the Ark (V: 5759.) as too much a 
 "greater calamity than the death of their husbands to admit 
 "of their bewailing these" seems a great deal too forced and 
 far-fetched. The sense adopted by others that, "as Hophni's 
 " widow (See 1 Sam: iv. 20.) they died of grief." appears more 
 likely to be the true. But it is here humbly conceived that 
 neither of them is so ; that the former is altogether improbable, 
 and the latter only partly just ; and that all intended is to 
 express a general destruction, only particularised in the usual 
 
438 NOTES. 
 
 pleonastic manner of the Hebrews, making there to be neither 
 maidens nor widows remaining alive any more than young men 
 or Priests all others being included in these specifications. 
 Nevertheless, not to risk a new sense that may not be the true 
 one, we have here adopted that of The Liturgy, as seeming 
 much the better of the two, tho not so verbally close to the 
 Hebrew as the Bible one. 
 
 PSALM LXXIX. 
 
 Lament of Jerusalem under the hand of the heathen. 
 A Psalm of Asaph. 
 
 V: 11. 3. ' Seven-fold into their bosom poured'. 
 
 'bosom'. This refers to the opening of the vest, that was 
 used by the Israelites as a pouch or pocket wherein to put 
 anything for present use. " Seven" is used here (as at Ps: xii. 6, 
 cxix. 164, and frequently elsewhere in Scripture) as a definite 
 number for an indefinite one, meaning 'many' 'much'. This 
 number seems to have had a sort of mystical meaning among the 
 Hebrews; as we continually find it applied where there seems 
 no particular reason for the specification : probably in its origin 
 from the number of days occupied in the Creation. 
 
 PSALM LXXX. 
 
 Lament of Israel under the hand of her enemies. 
 
 To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim-eduth. 
 A Psalm of Asaph. 
 
 V: 1. 3. * Thou, sitting 'tween the Cherubim'. 
 
 ' Cherubim' here refers not to the real beings but to the 
 
 figures or images of Angels so called that were on The Ark 
 of the Covenant in The Sanctuary, and from "between" (or 
 according to some 'on' or 'above') which, or generally whence 
 the "mercy-seat", GOD gave forth His oracles to the People 
 when they sought him. See i.a. Exod: xxv. 22, and Numb: 
 vii. 89. So at Ps: xcix. 1. 
 
 V: 16. 3. 4. ' E'en so, at Thy dread anger's frown, 
 
 ' Make perish her destroyers.' 
 In The A:V:a "They perish (or shall perish or let them 
 
NOTES. 439 
 
 perish*) at the rebuke of Thy countenance." It seems somewhat 
 uncertain whether this refers affirmatively to the Israelites thus 
 compared to the ravaged vine, or in an imprecatory sense to 
 the Babylonians their oppressors here alluded to. Some read 
 it one way and some the other ; and it applies equally in either, 
 tho certainly the context rather leans to the former. That sense 
 is given in our Small Edition. 
 
 V: 17. 'But on Thy chosen one etc: 
 * On Thy elected one.' 
 
 In the Text "the man of Thy right hand." and "the son 
 of man": namely the King (here generally thought to be 
 Hezekiah) and typically representative of THE MESSIAH. Some 
 of the Commentators understand it by metonymy for the whole 
 People of Israel, signified by Jacob : as see Gen: xxvii. 29 and 37. 
 
 PSALM LXXXI. 
 
 The bounteous dealings of GOD with His People. 
 To the chief Musician upon Gittith. A Psalm of Asaph. 
 
 V: 2. i. - * the psalm awake.' 
 
 1 psalm'. This word in The Original is not intended for the 
 song, as generally translated ; but for a musical instrument called 
 by the same name, probably from its being used especially for 
 that purpose. But, as all the Versions make it so, perhaps from 
 the impossibility of ascertaining the nature of the instrument, 
 it is here rendered in the same way. 
 
 V: 3. ' In the New Moon, now at her prime, 
 * The trumpets loud up-blow.' 
 
 It was customary with the Israelites to use trumpets (or 
 * cornets ''horns' : rams' horns are used by them to this day) 
 with other musical instruments at all their Religious Feasts; 
 to remind them of the Law given out on Mount Sinai, Exod: xix. 
 But there was one especially called " The Feast of Trumpets", 
 held on the first day of the seventh (Lunar) Month : whence 
 the here "New Moon" (See Lev: xxiii. 24) which is thought 
 to be that here intended. See Ps: civ. 19. 
 
 * See back, on the Tenses in the Hebrew, Note to Ps: xviii. 37. P: 371. 
 
440 NOTES. 
 
 V: 5. 3. 4. * "When went we forth from Egypt's land ; 
 * Where a strange tongue we heard.' 
 
 This passage (from the second clause of the Verse in The 
 A:V:s) is so obscure, from the confusion of persons and the 
 inexplicableness of the predicate, as to be altogether unintelligible. 
 It is differently interpreted by the Commentators : Some referring 
 the first nominative "he" in The B:V: (The L:V: has but one) 
 to GOD ;. and making the sense to be that He went (as in The 
 B:V: marginal reading) against the land of Egypt; and others 
 referring it (as above) to Joseph or the Israelites : but all 
 evidently at a loss for the true meaning, however making a 
 show of understanding it. 
 
 As to the "language that I understood not" B:Y: and 
 "strange language" L:V:, which some refer to GOD and others 
 to the Egyptians, no entirely satisfactory sense can be drawn 
 from these words. If intended for the voice of GOD, they are 
 contradictory; as He would not express Himself in an unin- 
 telligible tongue. And, if meant for what appears the language 
 of the Egyptians, that may be thought inadmissible also ; as this 
 must have been, if not absolutely vernacular to them, as familiar 
 to the Israelites as their own: and at best it seems somewhat 
 redundant ; yet this is not altogether unconformable to Hebrew 
 phraseology ; and much the same appears to be said on the same 
 occasion at Ps: cxiv. 1. The difference of "through" and 
 "against" in L: 3 of The B:V: is immaterial, both implying 
 essentially the same thing. The sense here adopted for L: 4 
 is what seems that of The B:V: ; understanding the " I" as ' we' 
 for the Israelites, and referring the " language" to the Egyptians, 
 as a periphrasis for * the land of the stranger', as in Ps: cxiv. 1 : 
 which is at least natural and clear, however circumlocutorily 
 expressed. In our Small Edition, the other sense, as in The 
 B:V: Text, is given. 
 
 V: 7. 'I in secret answer' d thee withal, 
 ' And at Strife's waters proved.' 
 
 In The B:V: " the secret place of thunder." which is close 
 to the Hebrew; except as to the Tenses connected with it, that 
 are always so doubtful. The L:V: is " what time as the storm 
 fell on thee;" which, whatever maybe intended by it perhaps 
 figuratively for affliction in general, gives a very different idea 
 from the former. It possibly alludes to the cloud and pillar 
 of fire, Exod: xiv. 24, or xx. 18. But it seems more natural to 
 
NOTES. 441 
 
 understand it as GOD'S answering the secret prayers of the 
 suffering Israelites, by similar promises of that succour after- 
 wards so openly given to them. The "waters of strife" of the 
 L:V: and the Meribah of the B:V: are one and the same ; the 
 name meaning 4 strife' * contention'. See Exod: xvii. 7. 
 
 V: 15. 'My haters, then, with howso feign'd . 
 ' Should, with submission fair, etc:' 
 
 The B:V: gives two interpretations of this passage ; the one in 
 the text, simply and absolutely that" the haters of The Lord 
 "should have submitted themselves unto Him" ; and the other, in 
 a marginal reading, that they should have "yielded feigned 
 "obedience" to Him. [The "found liars" of The L:V: is so 
 elliptical as of itself to be quite unintelligible.] The NEW VERSION 
 adopts the first of those. And The OLD VERSION gives, as usual, 
 the Vulgate and Liturgy reading verbatim " found liars", leaving 
 the ellipsis unfilled up : this of course in pursuance of its " con- 
 ference with the Hebrew." The second sense, that here adopted, 
 is that of the parallel passages in Ps: xviii. 44 and Ixvi. 3, all 
 which seem to confirm one another. 
 
 V: 16. * And thee, with honey from the rock.' 
 All the Translations, as well as The A:V:s, make this passage 
 as here given. But the great French critic Houbigeant (author 
 of a work of immense erudition on The Psalms) suggests, by the 
 change of a single letter in the Hebrew word so rendered, that the 
 "rock" should be comb: and which to some might seem to have 
 been that intended ; as honey is not very usually found in rocky 
 places. But this seems very trivial as well as erroneous criticism : 
 the ' comb' is more obvious than the * rock' ; while the specification 
 of the honey proceeding from the comb, as in Ps: xix. 10, is in 
 entire accordance with the usual fulness what we should call 
 
 redundance of Hebrew phraseology : But it is much more likely 
 
 that " rock" is intended emphatically, implying " even from" ; to 
 mean that GOD would make even the barren rock productive 
 of honey to them : which makes the correction wholly unnecessary, 
 this being infinitely finer. Moreover the words are used before, 
 in the Song of Moses, Deut: xxxii. 13. 
 
 %* The Jews are in possession of a Tune, which they say 
 is traditionally recorded to be that to which this Psalm was 
 originally sung in The Temple at Jerusalem; a circumstance 
 certainly giving it the highest possible interest. 
 
442 NOTES. 
 
 PSALM LXXXII. 
 
 Admonition to righteous judgement. 
 A Psalm of Asaph. 
 
 V: 3. * The Earth's foundations, truth and right, 
 
 * Are out of course with ill.* 
 foundations'. See back, Note to Ps: xi. 3. P: 349. 
 
 PSALM LXXXIII. 10. 
 
 Denunciation against the enemies of GOD. 
 A Song or Psalm of Asaph. 
 
 V: 10. 4. * And as Earth's dung became.' 
 
 This is the sense given by The A:V:s, and that generally 
 received: apparently signifying that the bodies, remaining un- 
 buried on the ground, should become manure for it. But some 
 take it to mean that they should be, not made or left for dung 
 but, scattered as dung is spread about over the fields. In 
 our Small Edition this latter sense has been adopted; tho 
 without at all preferring it, and only for query. 
 
 V: 13. * Make them, O GOD ! before Thee fly, 
 ' As dust in air round spinn'd.' 
 
 ' dust in air.' In The A:V:s " like a wheel," after the Hebrew. 
 This figure is differently interpreted: some taking to mean the 
 simple sense imparted in The A:V:s Text (so given in our Small 
 Edition) literally a wheel in gyration; and others (tho very 
 vaguely and loosely) referring it to the trituration of a hand-mill 
 stone, such as used by the Israelites for grinding their corn and 
 seen to this day in Egypt and many parts of the East. But 
 the general sense of scattering and dispersion is the same. The 
 Hebrew word meaning, as well as a " wheel," generally anything 
 in rapid rotatory movement, rolling or rather whirling 
 round and here 'in air.' 
 
 V: 13. 3. * And as the chaff etc? 
 
 'chaff. 1 Nearly all the Versioners render this 'stubble': 
 But which is evidently inaccurate ; unless the word be received 
 to mean the chaff of the corn, or straw beaten to dust, 
 as well as the stalks remaining in the ground which is its 
 only legitimate sense. 
 
NOTES. 443 
 
 PSALM LXXXIV. 
 
 The delight and blessing of communion with GOD 
 in His Temple. 
 
 To the chief Musician upon Gittith. A Psalm for 
 the sons of Korah. 
 
 V: 3. *' The sparrow hath a place of rest etc:" 
 Some of the Commentators take this Verse to be a sort of 
 querulous comparison on the part of the Psalmist, contrasting his 
 own compulsory estrangement from The Lord's House with the 
 happiness of the birds named in there finding a home ; and which 
 indeed is the only sense to be drawn from The A:V:s reading. 
 But this can hardly be the meaning intended : For there seems no 
 reason to conclude that the birds would prefer The Temple to any 
 other Edifice for locating in, but rather the contrary from their 
 being less likely to be disturbed elsewhere. It is pretty evidently 
 nothing more than a poetical illustration of the preceding Verses ; 
 a comparison drawn generally from the case of the birds at home 
 
 so to say and at peace in their nests, contrasted with the 
 
 desolate condition of the Psalmist, who was a houseless wanderer 
 under persecution and in exile, and above all shut out from 
 The House of God. 
 
 At all events the Psalm is a beautiful burst of pious 
 aspiration. It seems one highly suitable to be used on the 
 consecration of a Place of Worship. 
 
 V: 6. i. * They, going thro sorrow's vale etc:' 
 
 There is some obscurity in this Verse : tho chiefly from the 
 ellipticalness of its construction ; and which perhaps might have 
 been easily avoided ; for, when analysed, the sense (as here given) 
 seems sufficiently clear, as a figurative illustration of the two 
 preceding Verses. But there may be some defectiveness in the 
 Text ; for it is very variously interpreted by the Translators. 
 
 In The L:V: it is " the vale of misery." The B: V: has it 
 the valley of Baca : which in II Sam: v. 23 and 24 is rendered 
 mulberry-trees; tho it is not certain that this is our tree so 
 called. This was an arid valley to the Southward of the City, 
 thro which those who came up to the Religious Festivals in 
 Jerusalem had to pass, and probably suffering much from thirst 
 in the journey. 
 
 The Vulgate gives it a quite different sense, and one certainly 
 
444 NOTES. 
 
 not at all either so natural or satisfactory: It says "and who, 
 
 " in this vale of tears, is (or plural) bent in his heart to climb 
 " and raise himself to the place that The Lord has established." 
 
 But the passage altogether is very perplexed : tho the reading 
 here given may suffice for the general sense. The latter part of 
 this Verse in The B:V: 
 
 " in whose hearts are the ways of them" 
 
 is very unfortunately rendered ; as it unnecessarily confuses the 
 sense, which is perfectly clear only with some ellipticalness of 
 expression as rendered in The L:V:.and as here given. The 
 
 " ways" are clearly the ways or laws directing men's ways of 
 
 GOD, and not any others. Some understand it as figuratively 
 preparing a way or road in the heart for the reception of the law 
 of GOD : but which in substance is much the same as the above. 
 
 V: 10. 3. 'I 'd rather on its threshold bide, 
 ' Than with the wicked dwell.' 
 
 The "door-keeping" of The A:V:s here is an entire mis- 
 translation, as to the sense in which we understand the term : the 
 real meaning being, not in any way to guard or attend the door 
 or entrance of the Temple, but (as here intended to be expressed) 
 to stand or take shelter to 'bide' even only on its bare 
 threshold rather than live commodiously with the wicked. More- 
 over, to "keep the door" not being in any way a condition of 
 calamity or suffering, this altogether misses the point intended, 
 which is clearly to contrast the preferableness of even a state 
 of destitution in the "House of GOD" or " His Courts" to one of 
 prosperity in " wickedness's tents." 
 
 PSALM LXXXV. 
 
 Redemption for the People of GOD. 
 To the chief Musician. A Psalm for the sons of Korah. 
 
 PSALM LXXXVI. 
 
 Supplication to GOD, for relief in trouble. 
 A Prayer of David. 
 
 V: 16. 4. * Thine handmaids son." 
 
 Namely 'Thy slave, over whom Thou hast an absolute 
 
NOTES. 445 
 
 power of disposal' : the children of a female slave, or handmaid, 
 belonging of right to her master. This of course said figuratively, 
 for greater emphasis. So in Ps: cxvi. 16. 
 
 PSALM LXXXVII. 
 
 The glory of Zion. 
 A Psalm or Song for the sons of Korah. 
 
 This is one of the most obscure and perplexing of all these 
 Sacred Songs : For, while lending itself to a very obvious typical 
 interpretation, it is yet so worded as to seem only bearing its 
 positive sense, which is complete and sufficient tho of but an 
 ordinary character (at least as some understand it) namely that 
 of pointing out Jerusalem as a City which, like other Countries 
 therein named, had produced eminent men, but more and greater 
 than any other. Others, again, while seeing in it a general reference 
 to The coming SAVIOUR, consider it to name Jerusalem as the 
 font where the Gentiles should be baptized and converted to the 
 true faith, ultimately to form part of the Jewish community. 
 Accordingly all the Translations, as well as The A:V:s, are at 
 variance about it. 
 
 Its occasion also is very differently imagined ; some regarding 
 it as applied generally only, these to some remarkable personage, 
 and those to the place locally, and others as a periodical 
 gratulation to the Holy City. 
 
 Bp: Horsley, in pursuance of his favourite dramatic system for 
 The Psalms, has imagined an hypothesis wherewith he fancies to 
 have solved the difficulty; by supposing this to be in parts, and 
 assigning them to different interlocutors; which then, if his 
 conjectures and interpretations be correct, makes it according to 
 those a plain thing. But this is only cutting the knot, and 
 altogether begging the question for his own answer. 
 
 Another view of it, that combines all the essential points 
 of the other preceding ones, and is distinctly supported by several 
 of its parts while not in contradiction with any, supposes it to be 
 A Song generally of praise to the Holy City : by pointing 
 it out as one that had been distinguished by producing many more 
 eminent Men than the other Countries named in it ; but especially 
 One, not otherwise than thus emphatically alluded to, who in the 
 
446 NOTES. 
 
 positive and primary sense must be supposed to have been one 
 abundantly well known at the time, and in the secondary 
 typical and prophetical of HIM who was to be its Spiritual King, 
 as well as actually descended from its royal line, and might thus 
 be considered "born in her" however perhaps actually brought 
 into existence elsewhere : the sense here intended to be expressed. 
 
 V: 2. 3. Of EaJidb and of Babylon'. 
 
 'Rahab.' A name for Egypt: signifying pridefulness, as 
 eminence ; anything exalted, whether in a good or a bad sense : 
 So that it might have been given as well reproachfully as 
 for honourable designation. See Ps: Ixxxix. 10. 
 
 For the "Morians" of The L:V: see back, Note to 
 Ps: xxxviii. 33. P: 420. 
 
 V: 6. 3. 4. * On thee shall still our songs etc:' 
 This close here is perhaps new: but is fully supported by 
 the Text of The Original ; the " singers " and " players on instru- 
 ments" of The B:V: being rendered by generally "songs" of 
 praise, and the " springs " (out of ^the letter of which nothing 
 intelligible can by any legitimate interpretation be made) from 
 another meaning of the word, by "meditations"; that gives a 
 sense entirely in harmony with the general context while not 
 opposed by any part of it, and clear and satisfactory of itself: 
 which has seemed to us to warrant its adoption. 
 
 Some of the foreign Commentators connect the Title of this 
 Psalm with the First Verse, as if part of the Text ; and making 
 the "foundation" to be that of the "Song": But which is 
 manifestly erroneous. Besides which, it would go to admit the 
 authenticity of those Titles in general, which is quite untenable. 
 See on this subject The Preface, and Notes P: 340 344 424 and 450. 
 
 The OLD VERSION Copy of this Psalm (by Hopkins) is of 
 the general calibre of that Version ; only much less close to the 
 mere words of the Text than usual, while not offering any better 
 sense of its own. 
 
 The NEW VERSION one is remarkable: as being, tho with 
 some sad prosaicalness, a very elegant Paraphrase ; and, whether 
 the true or not, giving (what is quite sufficient where that is 
 doubtful) a generally clear and satisfactory sense : this until the 
 last Verse, which is absolutely preposterous, making the merit 
 
NOTES. 447 
 
 of Sion to consist in producing "skilful musicians"!!!, and the 
 "fresh springs" of GOD to be mere positive waters to whose 
 flowing their successions are compared. 
 
 This shews the danger, in Translation, of at all departing 
 from the Text, as always leading to further divergences; and 
 of endeavouring to "improve upon one's author", which, to 
 say the least of it, is in every instance only in one way or 
 the other more or less misrepresenting him. 
 
 PSALM LXXXVIII. 
 
 Lamentation to GOD, under heavy trials and afflictions. 
 
 A Song or Psalm for the sons of Korah. 
 
 To the chief Musician upon Mahalath*-Leannoth. 
 
 Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite. 
 
 The singularly deep mournfulness of this Lament cannot 
 escape notice. It seems as if the Psalmist's whole soul were 
 absorbed in grief and sunk in the lowest abyss of despondency ; 
 the vocal utterance, as it were, of that feeling to which the music 
 of the famous Miserere so wonderfully corresponds. (See JSTote 
 to Ps: li. P: 403.) And the very abruptness with which it ends 
 seems a burst of inconsolable sorrow; that can no longer find 
 a vent in expression, shutting itself up in inward silence, yet still 
 looking to GOD for comfort and relief. 
 
 * Mahalath (See Title to Ps: liii. P: 404) a wind-instrument; and 
 meaning also 'infirmity', whether bodily or mental. Leannoth has a 
 musical sense ; perhaps best rendered by what we call antiphonal, or 
 singing responsively in parts or turns : it also means ' affliction '. And 
 the compound word, besides its technical meaning, has thus a reference 
 to the nature of the Psalm, which is in a strain of the deepest dejection. 
 
 There were several of the name of Heman, in the time of David and 
 afterwards, musicians and singers as well as others : as see I Chron: 
 vi. 33, xv. 1719, and xvi. 42. But there is nothing to lead- to the 
 identity of the author of this Psalm. 
 
 One of the name was brother to an Ethan, perhaps the one mentioned 
 in the Title to the next Ps: Ixxxix ; both noted for great wisdom. 
 See I Kings, iv. 31. 
 
 No explanation can be given why they should be called " Ezrahites ;" 
 unless this be taken for 'Levites' as belonging to The Temple, but 
 which of course would make them much later than David and cotem- 
 porary with Ezra. 
 
448 NOTES. 
 
 PSALM LXXXIX. 
 
 The praises of GOD, for His greatness and goodness. 
 
 His covenant with His People, and punishment 
 
 of them for their sin. 
 
 Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite. 
 
 V: 3 and 4. ' Now with Thy chosen ones (saidst Thou) etc:' 
 
 These two Verses, standing as they do thus isolated and 
 without any apparent connection with either those preceding or 
 following them, would seem to be misplaced; perhaps so done 
 accidentally in transcription. Yet, if the "mercy" of V: 2 be 
 taken not generally but individually with reference to David, 
 the relation to what follows will be plain. 
 
 Bp: Horsley (as indeed appears obvious) suggests that they 
 should stand after V: 36. B:V: (here 34) : yet this would make 
 the next verse (37) purely tautologous, as it is nearly word 
 for word the same as V: 4. 
 
 One cannot but think that this is one of those transitions, 
 peculiar to the Hebrew, so frequently occurring in these Sacred 
 Songs and several times in this Psalm ; that, however sometimes 
 violent, yet when taken in connection with the whole Piece, are 
 highly poetical and full of beauty ; but which the learning or 
 over-penetration of some of the Commentators so often make 
 out to be because sometimes really so the interlocutions of 
 different actors in a sort of Sacred Drama, thus making an 
 involved and intricate plot out of a simple monologue or at least 
 a Song sung in the first person tho joined in by the Congregation. 
 
 V: 5. * Yea, Lord ! the Heavens etc: 1 
 
 There is some obscurity in this passage: it being doubtful 
 whether the personification of " the Heavens" refers as one and 
 the same by reduplication to "the Congregation of the^aints", 
 or if the latter is intended separately: and which is much 
 increased in The A:V:s by the intervention of the colon 
 after the first clause, which so separates it from the next as 
 to make it uncertain whether a continuation of the sense is 
 intended or not. Neither is it clear if by "the Saints" are 
 understood those on Earth or those in Heaven: and which 
 point is perhaps of some importance on this particular question ; 
 
NOTES. 449 
 
 as the latter reading would go towards affirmatively determining 
 the fact of a belief in a Future State of rewards and 
 punishments among the Jews at all events at the time when 
 this Psalm was composed. See back, Note to Ps: xvi. 10, P: 360, 
 and xlix. 399. 
 
 The general sense, however, is pretty certainly that here 
 given ; which at the same time leaves that latter point, as in 
 the Original, open to either interpretation. 
 
 V: 12. 3. ' Tabor and Hermon etc:' 
 
 Two mountains (the latter one of a chain of hills) in Judaea 
 and properly in Galilee ; the former to its West and the other to 
 its East : thus figuratively designating the whole of the Country. 
 
 V: 15. 2. * That them rejoice in Thee'. 
 
 This is The L:V: reading, and is the general sense of the 
 passage : the "joyful sound" of The B:V: (which is literally 
 closer to the Hebrew) alluding to the blowing of trumpets, by 
 which the Jews were summoned to their great religious festivals, 
 and here probably in especial reference to their use as directed in 
 Numbers x. 10. See back, Note to Ps: Ixxxi. 3. P: 439. 
 
 V: 19. i. 'In vision once of Thine etc:' 
 
 The person or persons here addressed by JEHOVAH are 
 differently understood by the Translators and Commentators. 
 The B:V: has it in the singular "Thy holy one": And The 
 L:V: (as given in our Small Edition) "Thy Saints"; which 
 is the same, if the former be understood in the plural number 
 1 Thy holy ones' ; by whom some suppose to be meant the Elders 
 or mighty men of Israel. But the general reference is evidently 
 to David, alluding to what is related in II Samuel, vii. 817. 
 
 V: 25. ' His hand, for lordship to its shores etc:' 
 See Note to Ps: Ixxii. 8. P: 426. The Nile may perhaps also 
 be meant, as one of the borders of the Land promised to the 
 Israelites. See Gen: xv. 18, and Exod. xxiii. 31. 
 
 V: 27. 3. ' And him I my first-born will make'. 
 
 "first-born." Under the Jewish law, to primogeniture was 
 assigned a double portion of honour and possessions : which makes 
 this much more emphatical than if merely 'son' were used. 
 
 a G 
 
450 NOTES. 
 
 V: 36. 4. ' The faithful witness shown'. 
 
 The interpretation of most of the Commentators, which makes 
 this to signify the rainbow in allusion to Genesis, ix. 12_14., is 
 certainly erroneous. For the rainbow is merely a meteorological 
 accident, and therefor can in no way be perpetual. It clearly 
 refers to the Moon, in continuation of the figure by which this is 
 represented as ever-during; and abstractly with reference to 
 the permanence and stability of the heavenly bodies, for Cre- 
 ation in general. 
 
 The B:V: Title ascribes this Psalm to Ethan the Ezrahite, 
 who was of kin to Heman the author of the preceding one. 
 Its occasion is disputed : but it is generally thought to refer to 
 the Babylonian Captivity, and David to be used in it only 
 figuratively for the Kingdom and People of Israel in general. 
 
 This Psalm ends the Third Book. 
 
 PSALM XC. 
 
 The greatness of GOD, and the nothingness of Man. 
 A Prayer (or Psalm) of Moses, the man of GOD. 
 
 This Psalm is very remarkable, and most highly interesting as 
 being (according to the B:V: headings, admitting these for 
 genuine) the composition of Moses*; and therefor, next to his 
 Song of deliverance on the escape out of Egypt Exodus xv, the 
 oldest Sacred Song extant.f This however is disputed. And 
 indeed there is nothing in it particularly characteristic of Moses 
 or his times ; iho neither has it anything that would not equally 
 apply to those as to David and his.J At the same time, as 
 
 * Some of the Jewish Commentators further claim for him the 
 authorship of the next eleven Psalms, to ci. inclusive : tho several of 
 them are manifestly subsequent to his time. 
 
 f This not to consider the two Fragments as they may be called 
 in Gen: iv. 43. ' Lamech to his Wives,' and Numbers, xxi. 17. ' The Song 
 of the Well.' 
 
 t S'- Augustin says that it is more probably the composition of David, 
 he having only drawn the materials for it from the writings of Moses. 
 
NOTES. 451 
 
 these Titles, tho not coeval with The Psalms themselves, are 
 of very high antiquity, and moreover may fairly be supposed to 
 have been derived from tradition if not inscription, there seems 
 no reason to call their justness in question where there is no 
 internal or other evidence to the contrary ; and we may therefor 
 with sufficient confidence receive this Piece for what it asserts 
 itself to be the writing of Moses. And most wonderful and 
 deeply interesting it is to think that we are in possession of such 
 a thing ! that a composition made for the Israelites in the desert, 
 by their divinely inspired leader, three thousand years ago, 
 should have come down to us unaltered and unimpaired, and 
 that we should join in the same song of praise with them and 
 utter the same words in which they prayed to our common GOD. 
 This observation of course applies more or less to all the Psalms : 
 but it suggests itself with infinitely more force as to this, from the 
 higher antiquity of the Piece and the character of its imputed 
 author; and to the belief in which our best feelings must 
 irrepressibly love to cling. 
 
 V: 3. * Thou to destruction turnest man etc:' 
 
 This passage is very obscurely expressed in The A.V:s, 
 especially in The L:V:. The sense, however, is pretty evidently 
 as here given : " destruction " of course, as here qualified, meaning 
 only bodily death -the natural cessation of life. The words 
 there translated " destruction" and "return" (L:V: "come again") 
 however, also sometimes respectively signify 'contrition' and 
 to 'repent': And some understand them in this sense here, 
 nearly as given in The Vulgate; which, if so, the Verse 
 might stand thus 
 
 Thou to contrition dost him lead : 
 
 Thou say'st to man " Turn ye ; 
 " Children of men ! leave sin : thence freed, 
 
 " Repent, and turn to me." 
 
 But the other interpretation, and which is that generally adopted, 
 seems much the better one and altogether preferable, as more 
 obvious and simple and much more in harmony with the context. 
 
 V: 10. ' Man's days are threescore years and ten etc:' 
 From this Verse it has been supposed by some that This 
 Psalm was written upon the life of Man (as they assume) being 
 
452 NOTES. 
 
 reduced to its present term, when GOD punished the murmurings 
 of the Israelites in the desert by condemning them to forty years 
 sojourn therein.* See Numbers xiv. 33, and Deut: i. 34. 
 
 But this is a conclusion drawn from merely hypothetical 
 premisses, and not warranted by anything that really appears. 
 For it is evident that the Psalmist here does not allude to 
 any recent dispensation respecting it, but to a state of things 
 that must have been long existing and had thus made the 
 reflection introduced one of habitual contemplation to the mind. 
 This is indisputably the deduction to be drawn from the Psalm 
 if Moses was its author. Those who think otherwise about the 
 years of Man must consider it to be of a much later date and by 
 some other hand. 
 
 We are not anywhere told at what time human life was set 
 within its present limits, as stated in the Psalm : and tho Moses, 
 as well as Aaron, themselves lived to a great age ; the former dying 
 at 120, and the latter at 123; there is nothing that points to a 
 generally more extended term fora period long many centuries- 
 antecedent to the above epoch : and even such can only be con- 
 cluded from inference ; for it appears by Genesis, vi. 3. that even 
 before the flood it was confined to 1 20 years, tho Noah himself is 
 said to have lived to 950, and his sons to nearly half that age. 
 
 But the question altogether is a very curious as well as inter- 
 esting one, and requiring an infinitely deeper examination than we 
 can presume to give it or indeed would be suitable here. 
 
 V: 11. ' Yet who Thy wrath's dread power regards etc:' 
 In the second part of the Verse both The A:V:s are here 
 totally unintelligible. It is quite inconceivable how their Trans- 
 lators, who are generally so correct and have so admirably 
 rendered both the spirit and the letter of the Sacred Text, 
 could, as in such instances as this, be content to give for a sense 
 a mere sequence of words from which can be drawn no meaning 
 whatever. The real sense is pretty clearly that here given. 
 
 * It may be observed that All the Israelites, who were so much as 
 twenty years of age at the time of the Exodus, died before the end 
 of their " forty years' " peregrination in the desert, and consequently 
 before their sixtieth year (See Numbers, i. 20, xxvi. 33.) which, taking 
 into account those born earlier, would make the average limit of their life 
 seventy or to its utmost extent eighty years, and that it is possible 
 reference is made to this in the passage in question. 
 
NOTES. 453 
 
 V: 15. ' For late, when Thou didst us distress etc:' 
 The NEW VERSION here makes the Psalmist make a curious 
 sort of stipulation with GOD : It says 
 
 " Let happier times, with large amends, 
 
 " Dry up our former tears ; 
 " Or equal at the least, the term 
 
 " Of our afflicted years." 
 
 This is being both precise and moderate in petition. But it is 
 exactly the antithetical feeling so constantly exhibited in that 
 Version : tho which, however at the expense of both sense and 
 propriety, is, because in smooth verse, by many considered to be 
 just translation and fine poetry. 
 
 Mr. Holland, in his " Psalmists of Britain," gives a Version of this 
 Psalm by Lord Bacon, speaking of it (as generally of H: Lp's other 
 Versions) in terms of the highest panegyric, especially the first two Verses, 
 the former of which he calls "absolutely perfect." But this praise, 
 however in part certainly deserved, admits of great qualification. The 
 Version is of Ten Sixain Stanzas of heroic lines ; consequently of Sixty 
 long lines, or nearly double the quantity of the Text ; which necessarily 
 involves considerable departure from it and great general diffuseness. It 
 is, in fact, a lengthy Paraphrase ; but, as such, certainly of very great 
 merit. For a specimen (as it may interest the Reader) perhaps not the 
 most favorable nor exactly an ex pede, V: 7 is thus rendered 
 
 " Thus hast Thou hang'd our life on brittle pins, 
 " To let us know it will not bear our sins." 
 
 PSALM XCL 
 
 The security of the righteous in the protection of GOD. 
 
 V: 11 and 12. ' For He, with plenteous mercies large etc:' 
 Besides the obvious applicability of some other parts of the 
 Psalm, these two Verses from there the third line of the first, are 
 quoted by Satan in his temptation of THE SAVIOUR. Matt: iv. 6 : 
 
 And this in so perfectly clear a manner, so distinctly and closely 
 
 literally word for word, as not to admit of a doubt that, however 
 also referring to the Psalmist in their primary and positive sense, 
 they were prophetically applied to CHRIST. There is no passage 
 
454 NOTES. 
 
 in the whole Book that points more clearly and strongly than 
 this to the two-fold interpretation of these Sacred Songs : And 
 this one is abundantly sufficient to remove any hesitation in 
 admitting the same of numerous others where the spiritual or 
 typical sense may be somewhat less evident : however not war- 
 ranting the almost indiscriminate application so made of many by 
 some (as Hutchinson, Home, Horsley, Fry, Watts, Goode, 
 Marsh, and others) who seem to see in them nothing else. The 
 rule for such instances would seem to be not to seek for them 
 where not apparent ; as, in such a temper of mind, they will be 
 found where they do not exist ; and not to be inattentive to their 
 presence, as otherwise they will possibly often be overlooked. 
 
 V: 13. * The adder and the lion thou 
 
 ' Shalt, treading on, down-beat ; 
 ' The dragon and young lion bow, 
 ' And trample 'neath thy feet.' 
 
 When Frederic Barbarossa basely made submission on his 
 knees to Pope Alexander the in dt at Venice in 1171, the 
 "servant of the servants of GOD" set his foot on Frederic's 
 neck, while his attendants calling out aloud quoted the above 
 " Super aspidem et basiliscum ambulabis, et conculcabis leonem et 
 " draconem." Stung with the insult and disgrace " Non tibi, sed 
 Petro." replied the Emperor : ' Et ntihi et Petro.' cried the repre- 
 sentative of the meek and lowly JESUS 1 
 
 Did Ps: xxxvi. 1 1 . then occur to either the haughty Pontiff or 
 the degraded Monarch ? " Let not the foot of pride come against 
 " me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me." 
 
 Such then was Papal domination. It remained however 
 for a much later age the middle of the xix th< Century, and 
 this not in the mother-land of Popery but in Protestant Great- 
 Britain, to show a Priest of GOD formally pronouncing a 
 malediction on His servants, cursing them from the altar by 
 " bell book and candle," and excommunicating them with " the 
 greater excommunication" cutting them off from all intercourse 
 with their fellow-creatures, for reading His word! This savage 
 anathema, for obeying GOD'S commands to " Search the Scrip- 
 tures*" and "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel 
 " to every creaturef." 
 
 * John. v. 39. t Mark, wi i:. 
 
NOTES. 455 
 
 At the same time there can be little doubt but that the 
 curser and excommunicator* here thought he was only doing 
 his duty and rendering an acceptable service to GOD and in- 
 directly to Man ; as it is pretty certain did many of the burners 
 and other martyrisers of former days. It is only and deeply 
 to be lamented, as not less marvelled at, that, among men of 
 education judgement and good-feeling, there should still be found 
 so many to countenance a System of Religion, enslaving the mind 
 as well as the body (not to speak of its puerilitiesits mummeries 
 and absurdities, the numerous false doctrines of its own invention, 
 its minor fallacies and misleadings, nor its greater turpitudes in 
 
 deceiving consciences to their damnation, absolving from sin for 
 
 money, and this not only retrospectively but even by anticipation 
 franking for crime} that sets itself in direct opposition to the 
 principles upon which it professes itself to be founded; con- 
 tradicting the very words of its institution, and repudiating the 
 code of its own law ; teaching hatred even to the destruction 
 both temporal and eternal of one's fellow-men, where this in- 
 culcates charity to all and the love even of one's enemies ! 
 
 But" The Lord shall laugh at hirrf : for He seeth that his 
 " day is coming." { " The needy shall not always be forgotten : 
 " the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever." " The 
 " pride of her power shall come down||." "The great whore 
 
 " that sitteth upon many waters : that great City which reigneth 
 " over the Kings of the Earth : MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT 
 " THE MOTHER or HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS or THE EARTH : 
 " her flesh shall be eaten up : and she shall be made desolate 
 "and burned with fire^J"." 
 
 See back also, Note to Ps: xviii. 36. P: 373. 
 
 * This happily however not entirely with impunity. See the Case 
 ' M'Loughlin versus Walsh' : as reported in " The Record " Newspaper 
 of March 26 th ' 1846. It seems very extraordinary that so remarkable and 
 interesting a case was not reported in the London Daily Papers ? 
 
 t See also II Thess: ii. 4. Ps: xxxvii. 13. 
 
 Ps: ix. 18. || Ezek: xxx. 6. If Rev: xvii: 1. 5. 16. 18. 
 
456 NOTES. 
 
 PSALM XCII. 
 
 The praises of GOD, and the pleasantness of His service. 
 A Psalm or Song for The Sabbath Day. 
 
 In the Chaldee Version this Psalm is attributed to "The 
 First Man". And the Jewish Commentaries have a tradition 
 (or rather a conventional story, probably founded on that) of 
 its being composed by Adam. But this, as may be supposed, 
 is (with the exception of the above) entirely unsupported by any 
 authority whatever but their own Rabbinical writings; which, 
 while with some valuable matter of both metaphysical dis- 
 quisition and Scriptural comment, yet are full of the greatest 
 puerilities and absurdities*: So that it does not deserve a 
 moment's attention. Besides which the whole Psalm bears 
 internal evidence against the thing, as many of its details cannot 
 by any possibility apply to any very early much less an 
 antediluvian date ; and it is one of the most purely so to say 
 Davidian of the whole Book. Its author however is uncertain : 
 It may have been written by David, after his triumphs over 
 his enemies ; or by one of the Levite Captives at Babylon, 
 on a prospect of release and return home. 
 
 It is entitled in The B: V: (as above) " A Psalm (or Song) for 
 The Sabbath Day." But it does not seem peculiarly calculated for 
 such an occasion, nor so much as several others : and indeed its 
 latter half is altogether personal to the Writer : the preceding 
 part, however, V: 1 to 8 inclusive, is a fine anthem of praise ; 
 and, as a recital and consideration of the excellency of GOD'S 
 works, may well be used on the day especially dedicated to His 
 service, which the Jews regularly do. 
 
 PSALM XCI1I. 
 The greatness of GOD. 
 
 V: 2. i. 2. * The world hath He establish'd fust ; 
 
 * That not to be subvers'd'. 
 One of the recent Commentators f has thought it necessary 
 
 * See back, Note to Ps: xvi. 10, P: 360. 
 
 t W&ke.W: 'Literal Version of The Psalms.' IL""" Bath. IT":! 
 See also his foolish remark on Ps: cviii. 4. 
 
NOTES. 457 
 
 here, where the Psalmist speaks of having established the World 
 (as at Ps: xcvi. 10 and cxix. 90) " so sure, that it cannot be 
 moved", to apologise for, or express regret a learned surprise 
 at, if not absolutely deprecate, what he chuses to assume the 
 astronomical ignorance of The Royal Bard ; intimating thereby 
 his own superior knowledge, by implying that as the Earth 
 goes round the Sun of course it may be moved. But there is in 
 this much more acuteness than there is any occasion for, and a 
 great deal more discovered than really exists. See Ps: cxix. 90. 
 
 It is quite clear, considering their avowedly poetical character 
 and consequently the figurative language so prevalent generally 
 in these compositions, that the Sacred Text here intends no 
 allusion whatever to either the form of the Earth or its state 
 whether of motion or of rest, but merely to its stability in a 
 general sense in opposition to the contrary, and this in a moral 
 still more than a material one. 
 
 It is equally clear that The Psalmist never could have 
 considered it as of any danger or detriment to the Earth that it 
 might be moved; because no investigation of the hypothesis or 
 process of reasoning on the matter would have led him to draw 
 the conclusion that it could so in any sense of the word that would 
 imply a prejudicial consequence, which if none were to follow 
 would make the remark superfluous or worse. 
 
 Moreover, altho there is no positive evidence about it either 
 one way or the other (unless indeed an affirmative one may be 
 deduced from some of the Stars being called by their names in 
 Job. xxv. 5 and Amos. v. 8. See also Ps: cxlvii. 4.) as the Jews 
 must have brought with them the astronomical knowledge of the 
 Egyptians, to whom the real form of the Earth and the Solar 
 System was well known as Pythagoras its first propounder 
 notoriously learned it of them, it is not at all unlikely that their 
 
 information tho perhaps limited was at least correct, and not 
 
 at all calling for the supercilious commiseration of us Moderns. 
 
 It may be held unnecessary to speak in such strong terms of 
 so comparatively slight a matter as this. But it is of so much 
 importance that the confidence of simple-minded persons should 
 not be shaken in any part of The Sacred Volume which they 
 think to understand, but that it should (with all its whatever 
 seeming anomalies or at least uncertainties) be depended upon 
 by them, that it has here been thought well to notice this with a 
 seriousness that otherwise might seem uncalled for. Passages 
 that are of an obscure or unintelligible nature of course come 
 
458 NOTES. 
 
 under a different category; as they do not call for the assent of 
 the understanding, or at least allow it to be suspended ; while 
 such as the present ask immediate acceptance. 
 
 PSALM XCIV. 
 
 Complaint against the oppression of the wicked, 
 whom GOD will punish. 
 
 PSALM XCV. 
 Praise to GOD. 
 
 V: 7. ' The People of the pasture His, 
 ' The sheep of His own hand'. 
 
 The above is the reading of both The A:V:s, as of the 
 Hebrew. But one of the Commentators suggests that it would 
 be more accurate to connect the "hand" with the "People" 
 and the ' pasture' with the 'sheep', as in Ps: C. 3: Which perhaps 
 is true : And it may have been originally so, and the present 
 apposition merely the effect of accident in transcribing : tho such 
 metatheses are not at all uncommon. But at most the point is 
 hardly worth noticing. 
 
 PSALM XCVI. 
 Praise to GOD. 
 
 V: 8. i. Within His Holy Temple now'. 
 
 The " beauty of holiness" here, and where elsewhere occurring 
 in The Psalms (xxix. 2 and ex. 3) of The A:V:s (in The B:V: 
 marginal reading " the glorious Sanctuary," but more closely ' the 
 glory of holiness') is only a periphrasis for The Temple : But 
 it has a moral rather than a material or physical sense ; and, 
 tho intended generally for the Sanctuary, with a reference not 
 to the local beauties of the Place but the admirableness and 
 purity of worship. It means therefor the 'Holy Temple', 
 as here given, including tlu abstract 'beauty' inseparable 
 from its purposes. 
 
NOTES. 459 
 
 This Psalm occurs nearly verbatim as The B:V:, with only 
 some little variation in V: 1 10 and 13 (there 23 30 and 33) 
 here 1 10 14, in I Chronicles, xvi; where it forms part of 
 a " Psalm of thanksgiving" by David, on bringing up the 
 Ark to Mount Sion. The preceding part of that Song, beginning 
 at V: 8 to 22, forms the first fifteen Verses of Ps: cv. 
 
 PSALM XCVII. 
 The greatness of GOD. 
 
 V: 1. 3. ' Thereat let all the Islands sing*. 
 
 "Islands" is very commonly used in THE OLD TESTAMENT, 
 
 not in its exclusive sense alone but as well, for Coasts _ Countries 
 
 washed by the Sea; as also for distant lands generally, that, 
 being unknown and vaguely conceived of, were indistinctly 
 assumed to be surrounded by waters, as indeed not unfrequently 
 the real case. So " Isles" Ps: Ixxii. 10. 
 
 PSALM XCVIII. 
 Praise to GOD. 
 
 PSALM XCIX. 
 The greatness of GOD, shown in His favour to His People. 
 
 V: 1. * JEHOVAH reigns : Adoring Him etc:' 
 This passage is very unskilfully rendered in The L:V:, as 
 it would seem to imply that "JEHOVAH reigns" in despite of 
 and however the People may be impatient of His rule, and " be 
 the Earth never so unquiet" under it. Moreover it speaks of 
 them in the Indicative ; which entirely loses the beauty and force 
 given by the Imperative, as in The B:V:, that renders it 
 perfectly well, as here given. 
 
 V: 1. 3. 'He sits between the Cherubim'. 
 See back, Note to Ps: Ixxx. 1. P: 438. 
 
460 NOTES. 
 
 PSALM C. 
 Praise to GOD. 
 
 V: 2. 2. ' 'T is He who for His own us made'. 
 
 'for His own'. The "and not we ourselves" of The A:V:s, 
 additional to the " It is He that hath made us", tho a translation 
 of the Hebrew, also admits of a different reading as in The 
 B:V: margin "and His we are": Which certainly is a much 
 better sense ; and more likely to be the right, the other being too 
 obvious a truism justly to find a place there. It has accordingly 
 been generally adopted here; and the other preserved only in 
 one of the Versions (the Third) merely in compliance with long- 
 received custom, that it might not be missed altogether. 
 
 The OLD VERSION Copy of this Psalm (which is by Hopkins' ) 
 tho not altogether faultless, is so good so in every way what 
 such ought to be, that we have inserted it here as worthy of 
 all honour and eternal preservation; and freely giving it the 
 preference over our own ; tho here inferiority could hardly be 
 avoided, competing with one who had the advantage of coining 
 tirst to the task and that so very short a one. 
 
 This Piece seems a pattern of the manner in which THE 
 PSALMS should be versified : keeping closely to the Text in 
 letter as well as in spirit, without introducing anything that 
 is not there whether in the thought or its expression, as without 
 any omission of either. With just sufficient poeticalness in 
 numbers and language to give it the character of Song, it has 
 all that pure simplicity, which, while avoiding rudeness, pre- 
 serves all the warmth and strength of the Sacred Poem, expressed 
 
 * There is " Another Version" of it, also by Hopkins : but, as might 
 be expected, much inferior to the First ; the subject, as well as apparently 
 his own powers, having been exhausted by that : It is quite inconceivable 
 indeed how, after succeeding so well with the First, he could be contented 
 with this poor repetition ; and almost looks as if after all he had no true 
 sense of either the task or his own execution of it, but was only 
 momentarily warmed for the former. 
 
 It may be noted, as a minor point, that both The O:V: and N:V:, 
 and several other Versions, have in this Psalm used the alternation of 
 masculine and feminine rhymes ; whether designedly or not of course 
 does not appear, but it cannot be denied to their great embellishment. 
 See some remarks on this matter in The Preface. 
 
NOTES. 461 
 
 in the primitiveness and raciness of the old vernacular " english 
 undefiled": It rolls on the ear with a fullness and roundness 
 in admirable unison with the solemn feelings awakened by the 
 occasion, exciting and promoting them; and is peculiarly fitted 
 for the simple minds and inartificial voices of an unlettered 
 multitude as a Country Congregation, while not at all be- 
 neath that of a cultivated one, joining in adoration and praise to 
 their common GOD. 
 
 This fine Psalm is further admirable and venerable in this 
 form (the Long Metre) for being sung to "The Old Hundredth "_ 
 the music of Luther, which is in wonderful harmony with its 
 sentiments; and in both which features it will doubtless ever 
 continue a high favourite with us, and endure with a lastingness 
 coeval with that of music and the language. 
 
 If all The Psalms, or even any considerable number of them, 
 had been done in this manner, THE OLD VERSION would never 
 have been complained of for whatso defect, nor been distinguished 
 by an epithet referring to a time past, nor superseded by any 
 NEW of whatever date ; but would have remained an imperishable 
 monument, in true poetry and genuine English, erected 
 while to the glory of GOD to the eternal fame of the 
 Writers among Men. We have given our First Version only 
 for the completeness of the Work ; and not altogether to shrink 
 from the competition, however here, from the circumstances, 
 almost hopeless of equalling still less surpassing the excellence 
 of our honoured antecessor. 
 
 The NEW VERSION Copy, tho also very good, is not at all 
 equal to it; for that is all but perfect, while this has faults 
 which IN so SHORT A PIECE are wholly inexcusable : The ' devoutly 
 pressing to His Courts' from that is after having 'entered 
 His Temple Gates ' (V: 3) is a superadded prettiness extremely 
 puerile (tho, by the way, altogether in the taste of that Version) 
 and the provincial rhyme of " repeat" with "g-afe", bad any 
 where, is here quite inadmissible. The last Verse is on the same 
 rhymes as and nearly verbatim with the OLD VERSION 
 one: but, with their common Original, that perhaps could 
 hardly be avoided : This remark, by the way, may be of frequent 
 application when- comparing different Versions where the later 
 may seem to borrow from anterior ones ; and may not less apply 
 to those charges of Plagiarism so often made where an acci- 
 dental resemblance appears in Writers, as if the like idea could not 
 occur to different minds even where not suggested by the 
 same or similar archetypes. 
 
462 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 The SCOTCH VERSION*, with the difference of only one word, 
 has the O:V: Copy. And, strange to say, it has in the face 
 of that (for nationality ?) given a Second Version of its own, in 
 Common Metre', one in every way so miserably so deplorably 
 bad, as really to exceed in wretchedness; and that leaves one 
 absolutely in amaze that such pitiable stuff (not to call it 
 by any harsher name) could have been so long and now to 
 the present day suffered to occupy so high and privileged a 
 place; and which it is really a duty to do everything in one's 
 power towards removing, as a positive dishonour to the language 
 the ritual and the Country. 
 
 As the piece is so short, that the Keader may judge 
 for himself and see that this reprobation is not too severe, it 
 is here subjoined. 
 
 PSALM C. 
 
 Old Version. 
 Hopkins. 
 
 1. 
 
 All People, that on Earth do dwell ! 
 
 Sing to The Lord with cheerful voice ; 
 Him serve with fear, His praise forth tell, 
 
 Come ye before Him and rejoice. 
 
 2. 
 The Lord, ye know, is GOD indeed, 
 
 Without our aid He did us make : 
 We are His flock ; He doth us feed, 
 
 And for His sheep He doth us take. 
 
 3. 
 
 O enter then His Gates with praise, 
 Approach with joy His Courts unto : 
 
 Praise,laud,and bless HisNamealwayse; 
 For it is seemly so to do. 
 
 4. 
 For why ? The Lord our GOD is good, 
 
 His mercy is for ever sure ; 
 His truth at all times firmly stood, 
 
 And shall from age to age endure.' 
 
 PSALM C. 
 
 Scotch Version. 
 Another of the same. 
 
 1. 
 O all ye lands ! unto The Lord 
 
 make ye a joyful noise ; 
 Serve GOD with gladness ; Him before 
 come with a singing voice. 
 
 2. 
 Know ye The Lord that He is GOD : 
 
 not we but He us made. 
 We are His People, and the sheep 
 
 within His pasture fed. 
 
 3. 
 
 Enter His Gates and Courts with praise ! 
 
 to thank Hun go ye thither ; 
 To Him express your thankfulness 
 
 and bless His Name together. 
 
 4. 
 Because The Lord our GOD is good ; 
 
 His mercy faileth never ; 
 And, to all genera-ti-ons, 
 
 His truth endureth ever. 
 
 * For some other remarks on this Version see The Preface P. xx and xlvi, and 
 in the Notes P. 394 404 and 417. 
 
NOTES. 403 
 
 V Here are offered Six Versions of this Psalm. This for 
 the purpose of enabling it to be sung to any of the usual 
 Measures the " Tunes used in Churches"; as it does not seem 
 necessarily confined to the customary Long Metre alone. 
 
 From being used always to hear it sung to that Measure, 
 we are led (habit in general assuming such a despotical mastery 
 over us) to fancy that it is the only one agreeable to it : But 
 which perhaps is erroneous ; for, the Psalm being altogether of a 
 jubilant character, it may be found as suitable to a livelier 
 measure as to the usual more solemn one. At all events, as 
 variety is often wished for in this matter and is in itself not 
 undesirable, we have thought that for the sake of an occasional 
 change these Aliters might not be unacceptable. 
 
 The last Version the Sixth (as intimated at P: 378) is 
 arranged in the Alphabetical or Acrostical manner, as a slight 
 exemplification of that form of composition for some of the Psalms 
 in The Original. 
 
 PSALM CI. 
 
 The rule of a righteous King. 
 A Psalm of David. 
 
 PSALM CII. 
 
 Lament under calamity, yet with confidence 
 in the sure support of GOD. 
 
 A prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed 
 and poureth out his complaint before THE LORD. 
 
 V: 7: 2. 'I 'm like a sparrow* etc:' 
 
 The precise nature of the bird here mentioned (zephur) 
 
 * The accounts given of the Sparrow (Passer) by the Naturalists are 
 somewhat contradictory ; it being called in different passages both gregarious 
 and unsocial : And it is not easy to make out from them if this refers to 
 diversities of the Bird or to differences obtaining in it generally according 
 to circumstances. There is a species of it named from its assumed 
 loneliness (perhaps borrowing this from The Vulgate) Passer Solitarius : 
 And, in corroboration of which, Buffon derives the French name 
 Moineau from the Greek monos _' single '; tho without absolutely 
 asserting that its habits warrant this. So that nothing positive is to 
 be deduced about the matter from their authority. 
 
464 NOTES. 
 
 rendered "sparrow" is altogether uncertain, and the Com- 
 mentators very much differ about it : One of them* considers 
 it is not a bird that is intended, but 'a wild-goat of the rock', 
 
 to which the Psalmist compares himself; he and not the 
 
 animal being on the "housetop" (which in the East are flat 
 roofs) retired there for solitude. It is clear and quite sufficient 
 that it was some bird, which, like our sparrow, frequented the 
 roofs of the houses : and, as in almost every other similar 
 instance, nothing can be better than the general sense of The 
 A:V:s. See back, Note to Ps: Ixxxiv. 2. P: 442. 
 
 V: 10. * For Thou didst set me up : So too 
 * Thou now hast cast me down.' 
 
 Some of the Translations render this passage, not as above in 
 
 antithesis, but only stating its latter point, and for the former 
 
 describing The Lord (of course all figuratively) to have "taken 
 
 " (or lifted) the Psalmist up in order to throw him down with the 
 " greater fall" ! An attributing this of mechanical artifice, which, 
 however legitimate as applied to Men and of allowable ascription 
 to Pagan Divinities, is unspeakably derogatory to the majesty 
 of THE DEITY. 
 
 The true sense is obviously as here given, contrasting the now 
 displeasure of The Lord with His previous favour. 
 
 V: 13. 3. * Her time is come to be restored etc:' 
 This "time" is supposed to refer to the expiration of the 
 seventy years appointed for the Babylonian Captivity. The 
 Psalm is not assigned to any particular Author; and is not 
 unlikely to have been written by one of the Prophets 
 during that exile. 
 
 V: 14. ' Yea do Thy servants love her stones etc:' 
 This is not at all exaggerated. It is traditionally recorded 
 that, when the Jews were taken captive to Babylon, they 
 carried with them of the soil and stones of Jerusalem wherewith 
 to erect a Place of Worship in their land of exile. And to 
 this day pious Israelites, who make the pilgrimage of the Holy 
 City, bring back with them and delight to treasure up to their 
 death some of its earth, to be mingled with the meaner dust 
 of their graves. Many too go to die there. 
 
 * Fry J: Lyra Davidis. 8 VO< London. 1819. 
 
NOTES. 465 
 
 V: 16. ' For Thou Thy Sion shalt upbuild etc: 1 
 In the Original V: 16 and 17 are in the Past, given in The 
 A:V:s (as here) in the Future. But (as already said) from the 
 elliptical and otherwise arbitrary forms of its poetical idiom, the 
 Tenses in the Hebrew are perpetually expressed differently from 
 what should seem the ordinary construction, and must only be 
 understood with reference generally to the context. 
 
 See back, Notes to Ps: xviii. 37. P: 371, and Ixxx. 16. 438. 
 
 V: 25 26 and 27. ' 'T was Thou in the beginning first etc:' 
 These Verses are quoted, or at least repeated, in Hebrews, i. 
 10 11 and 12, as addressed to THE SAVIOUR. 
 
 PSALM CHI. 
 
 The praises of GOD, for His great goodness to Men. 
 A Psalm of David. 
 
 V: 3. 3. 4. ' With youth renew'd thee He restores, 
 
 1 And makes thee like an eagle strong'. 
 
 The B:V: reading here is literally that of the Hebrew, and 
 with which The Vulgate agrees. The L:V: one appears intended 
 for a paraphrase of the comparison ; and perhaps embodies all 
 that is intended by the Original, and not that the Eagle absolutely 
 renews its youth unless this may refer to the moulting of 
 its feathers (tho which is not peculiar to him) and that can 
 only be taken figuratively ; as above endeavoured to be 
 expressed, combining both. 
 
 The fabulous Phrenix naturally here suggests itself, as not 
 impossible to have been in the mind of the Psalmist when writing 
 this (as one might almost fancy it to be alluded to in Job xxix. 18, 
 and it is at any rate a notion of the highest antiquity) while, not in 
 any way to adulterate his Composition by the admixture of Pagan 
 fiction, he made a positive creature, which has some of the points 
 of this, the type of his general comparison. 
 
 V: 1 1. 'All such as keep His law declared'. 
 
 There is here some variation from the form of the Text 
 in the first half of this Verse, to accommodate the general sense 
 of the whole to a separate Stanza. 
 
46(3 NOTES. 
 
 There it is a separate Verse, continuing the sense of that 
 preceding, and unconnected with the following one : Here they 
 are thrown into one ; and a rather more general idea has therefor 
 been given, that may suit with both, as connected with the first 
 and not altogether insulated from the last. 
 
 PSALM CIV. 
 
 The greatness of GOD, and His provident goodness 
 to all His creatures. 
 
 V: 7. i. 2. 'Upflowing to the hills they go : 
 
 'Down in the valleys course they free'. 
 
 This is the reading of both The A:V:s, and generally of most 
 the other Translations. The Original however is verbally as 
 in The B:V: marginal reading "the Mountains ascend and the 
 valleys descend" : but which can only be taken as a figurative 
 manner of expressing the same thing ; the recession of the waters 
 producing in appearance the same effect as if the mountains 
 really rose above them and showing the valleys below : besides 
 that the latter would interrupt the sense, which now is continuous 
 between the verses preceding and following this one. It seems 
 not unlikely that the flood is here alluded to as well as the 
 general creation of the waters. 
 
 V: 14. 4. 'The conies 'mong the rocks reside'. 
 
 It is not certain what the creature is here so called : Neither 
 is there any etymology of the English word. But it is generally 
 supposed to be a species of Rabbit ; for which animal this was 
 formerly another name, now obsolete. 
 
 V: 20. i. ' There sail the Ships: 
 
 ' ships.' This is the reading of the Hebrew, as followed by 
 The A:V:s and generally all the Translations. But it has 
 recently been suggested that this should benot "ships" but 
 shell; intending "the little Nautilus,"* and assuming 'ships' to 
 have been used only metaphorically for the fish. And, however 
 founded, the idea is certainly ingenious : for, when wafted along 
 the smooth surface of the water by the wind filling its arm-sails 
 
 * ' Learn of the little Nautilus to sail, 
 
 ' Spread the thin oar, and catch the driving gale.' 
 
 l'ii|>c. Essay on Man. iii. 1778. 
 
NOTES. 467 
 
 and the concavity of its shell, it presents exactly the appearance 
 of a Vessel in miniature sailing over the waves. And it is not 
 
 at all improbable to suppose that it concurred at least in 
 
 giving the first idea of a Ship to the inhabitants of the Sea-Shore, 
 
 especially those on the smooth Sea of the Mediterranean 
 
 "the Isles"*: for the prows of the most antient vessels, retained 
 indeed in part up to the present day, as those of many 
 Island- Savages, bear a remarkable likeness to the 'returning' 
 scroll of that conch. Besides which the Psalmist is here 
 describing, and in the largest terms, only the works of THE 
 OMNIPOTENT Nature alone, and not making the remotest 
 allusion to Art to the contrivances of Men : So that an 
 allusion to Ships might seem altogether obtrusive ; and, how- 
 ever infinitely more poetical in their invention management and 
 purposes, not more admissible here than would be ' Carriages' 
 for the Land. 
 
 On the other hand The shell seems rather too trivial an 
 object to be here specifically brought forward as an instance of 
 the wonders of Creation : while Ships, in their relation to the Sea, 
 are certainly highly interesting and picturesque; and they are 
 again coupled with the " wonders of the deep" in Ps: cvii. ; which 
 makes the change, even if there were an open choice, altogether 
 of doubtful advantage, and at all events however specious 
 hardly warranting adoption on merely conjectural grounds. 
 
 %* This magnificent Psalm is in a manner a compendium 
 of the Creation. As the subject is of the first grandeur, so 
 the composition is no way beneath it and in nothing falling 
 short of the strength the sublimity and the harmony that 
 should clothe its expression ; of an execution, in short, fully equal 
 to the design, and altogether of unsurpassable beauty. While 
 complete as a narrative and descriptive Poem, it also combines 
 all the especial points of a Sacred Song, being a Hy tun equally of 
 adoration praise and prayer, and concluding with admonition and 
 precept ; so that it is in every way perfect. 
 
 So far as it is possible, out of so many compositions of the 
 highest order and of nearly equal merit that THE PSALMS contain, 
 to select one as pre-eminent above the rest, considering its 
 extent and perfectly sustained excellence throughout, this civ th * 
 may perhaps be pronounced the finest of them all. 
 
 * Ps: Ixxii. 10, xcvii. 1, 
 
468 NOTES. 
 
 Its author is not stated : but The Vulgate (tho of course 
 without authority) attributes it to David ; and whose it may 
 well be ; for it is worthy of whatever hand, and human never 
 penned a nobler lay. 
 
 Bp: Horsley chooses to suppose, from there being no allusion 
 in it to the Mosaic ritual nor any mention of the deliverance 
 of the Jews from Egypt, that this Psalm is of an earlier 
 date than the Exodus. But that reason seems altogether 
 insufficient to justify any conjecture of the sort, as there was no 
 necessary occasion whatever for here declaring those things. 
 
 But this is only another instance of that weakness, to which 
 the most learned and the best if not the wisest of Men 
 are sometimes subject, when getting the pen in hand, of not 
 being content to leave anything so good as they find it, but 
 always to be making out something that had never been dis- 
 covered before : a most fruitful source, this, of real mischief, in 
 leading one to look for more or suppose less than what simply 
 appears, and shaking confidence in everything theretofore re- 
 ceived as settled and true. 
 
 See back, upon this, Note to Ps: Ixxviii. 2. P: 433. 
 
 PSALM CV. 
 
 The praises of GOD, for His rescue of Israel 
 from the Land of Egypt. 
 
 V: 15. 3. * The Lord thus trying him'. 
 
 In both The A:V:s (V: 19) this passage is altogether un- 
 intelligible, tho still more densely so in The B:V:. The sense 
 is apparently that here given, tho necessarily in a very compressed 
 form; meaning that * The Lord "tried" Joseph with suffering 
 till his elevation by Pharaoh on his explication of the latter's 
 dream.' But it must rather mean 'till His "word" (the 
 
 1 inspiration of The Lord) " came" and instructed him to that end.' 
 See Gen: xli. 16, 38 and 39. 
 
 V: 16. i and 3. * Then sent the King etc:' 
 ' The People's ruler etc:' 
 Some refer this to THE ALMIGHTY, as the remote deliverer of 
 
NOTES. 469 
 
 Joseph : But which seems an entirely unnecessary assumption ; 
 as the words manifestly point to Pharaoh, who did so order him 
 to be released and brought before him. See Gen: xli. 
 
 V: 18. ' As Israel etc:' 
 
 Israel and Jacob are of course identical, and merely varied 
 for poetical amplification and adornment : but here especially in 
 pursuance of the idiomatic Hebrew system of Parallelism or 
 varied repetition, which for the most part is but a reduplication 
 in the second hemistich of the proposition put forth in the first.* 
 GOD changed the latter name for the former on the occasion of 
 Jacob's wrestling with the Angel at Peniel. See Genesis xxxii. 28. 
 
 V: 22. * As His word ordered, brought about ; 
 ' Nor was it disobeyed'. 
 
 In the latter clause of this Verse in The A:V:s (there V: 28) 
 there is the most direct contradiction between them: and in 
 neither of them is the sense intelligible ; for it cannot be made 
 out who are meant by the "they" whether Moses and Aaron or 
 the Egyptians. Tho perhaps applicable to the stubbornness of 
 the latter (the L:V: reading) the sense is certainly as here given 
 that the aweful events of the plagues occurred at the command 
 of GOD thro the organ of His named servants. 
 
 *** The first fifteen Verses of this Psalm (here twelve) 
 are part (there V: 8 to 22) of "A Psalm of thanksgiving" by 
 David, on bringing up the Ark to Mount Sion, in I Chronicles 
 xvi ; V: 23 to 33 being Ps: xcvi. 
 
 * This when in its simplest form : When more complicated, it 
 extends to the second and even the third line, with a graduated cor- 
 respondence between the respective limbs and clauses of the sentence : 
 which, however, perhaps not to the unlimited extent that some writers 
 have imagined. It may be remarked that this Parallelism is often of use 
 in determining the sense of obscure or doubtful passages ; as, at least in 
 the metrical or rather poetical parts of The OLD TESTAMENT, it is 
 never absent ; and a connection and correspondence, however varied or 
 remote, may always be traced between the different parts of a sentence 
 whether long or shorthand thus any defectiveness be remedied or deficiency 
 supplied by observing the relation existing between the others. 
 
 For a succinct exposition of this see Home's " Introduction etc: " 
 
470 NOTES. 
 
 PSALM CVI. 
 Israel in the Desert. 
 
 V: 7. 4. ' And the Red Sea whence brought'. 
 
 It may here be observed that the name of Red Sea for the 
 Arabian Gulf, however antient, is of uncertain derivation ; and that 
 there is not anything about its waters physically to warrant the 
 designation. In the Hebrew it is always called ' the Sea of SupV ; 
 which word, tho in one of its senses bearing the signification 
 of 'red', means simply weeds or reeds or sedges. In II Kings 
 xviii. 21 the name of "reed" appears, tho with amphibology, to be 
 given to Egypt ; probably from the numerous reeds growing on 
 the banks of its great river the Nile (See Note to Ps: Ixviii. 31. 
 P: 421.) and would thus perhaps be applied to the Sea washing 
 its Southern shores. In The NEW TESTAMENT too however 
 (Heb: xi. 29) it is called erythra, equally signifying ' red'. 
 
 V: 14. 4. * And them abundance sent'. 
 
 All the Translations and Versions generally, as The A:V:s, 
 here for 'abundance' give leanness or some corresponding word. 
 But which certainly is not in harmony with the context ; neither 
 is there any authority for it in the other Scripture accounts 
 (Exodus xvi.) of the events here referred to : while abundance 
 is perfectly suitable to it ; and is only the usual and indeed here 
 necessary amplification of the Hebrew idiom. 
 
 The " He sent leanness into their soul." of The A:V:s is 
 explained by some of the Commentators to be an Hebraism 
 for 'being visited with affliction', by a metaphor or sort of 
 figurative comparison imitative of the leanness that is the 
 consequence of disease in the body which is here intended by 
 " soul". Others, however, think it should be nausea or loathing 
 instead of " leanness" ; as the consequence of repletion : And 
 The Vulgate gives it ' saturation' or ' satiety' ; which may stand 
 in or a good or a bad sense, suiting either. 
 
 But the sense here adopted (from Durell) seems on every 
 account the better, however certainly not justified by the Text. 
 In our Small Edition the common reading is retained. 
 
 V: 24. i. ' Then, lifting up His hand thereto'. 
 In The A:V:s (V: 26.) this is ' He lifted up His hand agaimt 
 them : as might be thought, in the ordinary figurative sense of 
 
NOTES. 471 
 
 hostility; tho which it certainly is not, but (as above given) 
 intending only the usual form of swearing (as see in Note to 
 Ps: xxviii. 2. P: 380) to the same purport as in Ps: xcv last 
 Verse. For this is only a threat, of execution conditional on 
 their continued offence, and not an actual chastisement. 
 
 V: 25. i. * Among the Nations, wandering there etc:' 
 Bp: Horsley very justly notices the discrepancy between the 
 statement in this Verse and the historical facts respecting the 
 sentence passed on the Israelites in the Wilderness as related 
 in Numbers, xiv. But he offers no solution of the difficulty. 
 It seems not improbable that the prophecy here mentioned or 
 punishment denounced, extending over the subsequent and inter- 
 vening possession of the promised land, referred to the later and 
 final dispersion of the Jews ; only expressed in a form so 
 elliptical as to have foiled the Translators in rendering it with 
 any clearness, if not to have escaped their notice altogether : For, 
 as it stands, it is evidently inaccurate : And the condition stated 
 above would fully justify that ultimate punishment. 
 
 V: 26. i. * They join'd to Baal-Peer likewise'. 
 
 4 Baal-Peor'. Baal was an idol of the Moabites, whose temple 
 was on Mount Peor in their Country : whence the compound 
 name. But Baal was also a name generally given by the 
 Heathen to their gods. See Numbers xxiii. 28. xxv. 3. xxxi. 16, 
 and Deut: iii. 29. He was the Juggernaut of that India. 
 
 V: 26. 4. ' And offerings of the dead'. 
 
 This is said figuratively ; meaning by " the dead" the idols and 
 false gods of the Heathen in opposition to The living GOD. 
 
 V: 28. ' Was then done judgement by Phineas'. 
 
 The L:V: reading of this passage is not at all so correct 
 as The B:V: one, whether with reference to the Text of the 
 Psalm or the connection between the crime and its punishment 
 the judgement executed by Phineas, as related in Numbers 
 xxv. 8. But, as usual, it has here followed The Vulgate. 
 
 *** The transitions in this Psalm are so abrupt, and many of 
 its parts so unconnected, that it might be suspected there is 
 from whatever cause some defectiveness in it. 
 
 But this is not an inference necessarily to be drawn : For 
 
472 NOTES. 
 
 it is very possible that the author alluded to the events named 
 only generally as they came into his mind, without thinking it 
 necessary to observe their chronological order or close appositeness 
 in the mention of them. " Of the abundance of the heart the 
 mouth speaketh*": At any rate in merely versifying, it was 
 here of course not permissible to alter this, even if desirable 
 which is altogether doubtful. Moreover that this manner of 
 writing is altogether Oriental and especially Hebraic ; and 
 everywhere belongs to the poetical style, where the regular 
 succession of historical narrative would be tame and prosaic. 
 
 This Psalm ends The Fourth Book. 
 
 PSALM CVII. 
 
 The praises of GOD, for His deliverance of Men 
 from their whatever ills. 
 
 V: 38. * He on their Tyrants pours His wrath etc:' 
 This Verse is here rendered from The B:V: (V: 40) which, 
 tho somewhat obscurely expressed, is close to the Hebrew, and 
 also agreeing with The Vulgate. The L:V: reading differs from 
 both those, and seems altogether its own: makingnot the op- 
 pressor but the oppressed to be made wander in the wilderness ; 
 and which, besides wanting authority, certainly seems much the 
 less good sense of the two ; for, the former is in the usual antithesis 
 with the context, while this forms no such opposition but is merely 
 an additional and moreover a redundant circumstance. 
 
 PSALM CVIII. 
 
 The praises of GOD : By the King. 
 A Song or Psalm of David. 
 
 This Psalm is composed of the last five Verses of Ps: LVII and 
 last eight of Ps: LX, with a few tho altogether immaterial variations. 
 The connection, however, where the two Parts meet, is by no 
 means intimate nor clear : and V: 6, tho quite in its place where 
 it stands in Ps: LX, is here dislocated and alone. As those 
 
 * Luke vi. 45. 
 
NOTES. 473 
 
 are from Psalms acknowledged to be David's, of course this 
 Whole is attributed to him : But the conjunction was probably 
 by some other hand, perhaps that of an inattentive Transcriber ; 
 or it may have been done purposely, for some reason now unknown. 
 
 PSALM CIX. 
 
 The judgements of GOD against the wicked. 
 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. 
 
 V: 6. i. 'Be o'er him set the Judge : they say etc:' 
 The terrific maledictions contained in these Verses*, 6 to 18 
 inclusive, are in The A:V:s, as generally in all the Trans- 
 lations, at least up to modern times, t ascribed to the Psalmist, 
 and indeed viewed otherwise by scarcely any but some of 
 the Jewish Commentators. 
 
 Nevertheless it seems difficult to conceive how such a man 
 as David ; who tho occasionally sinning was eminently 
 righteous, so much as to merit the all- surpassing praise of 
 being one "after GOD'S own heart" j; could, under whatever 
 provocation and with all the allowances to be made for the 
 Judaic law of retaliation and the vindictive feelings of Eastern 
 Nations, utter such dreadful imprecations as these against a 
 fellow-man, and that too in the same breath with which he was 
 
 * The occasion of the Psalm was not improbably that related in 
 II Samuel xvi, when David fled from his son Absalom in rebellion 
 against him and was cursed by Shimei. Or it might be when Doeg was 
 carrying on his artful machinations against him, I Sam: xxii. 
 
 For some general remarks on such imprecations occasionally occurring 
 in The Psalms see back, Note to Ps: Ixix. P. 421. 
 
 f The common reading, attributing these curses to David, was first 
 called in question among us about a hundred years ago, in a Sermon 
 (subsequently printed) by the Rev d> C. Peters (Author of "A Critical 
 Dissertation on Job." 4 to> London. 1751) and soon afterwards by several 
 other learned men both on The Continent and here, among whom the 
 great Hebraist Kennicott himself a host on such a point. So that 
 it may now be considered at least sub judice. 
 
 J I Sam: xiii. 14. 
 
474 NOTES. 
 
 himself imploring the mercy of GOD for his own infirmities and 
 His favour under his afflictions. It really does seem almost a 
 contradiction in words to admit of this sense : so much so as, 
 however universally it has hitherto been received, fairly to allow 
 room to call that reading in question, and to inquire whether 
 in truth it is not an erroneous one and that these curses are 
 not his own but those of his enemies against him here only 
 quoted by him as theirs : Which latter, with whatever hesi- 
 tation and deference to better judgements, it is here decidedly 
 inclined to conclude. 
 
 The first point in support of this view is (as already 
 observed) The general character of David, which entirely 
 militates against the supposition of his entertaining much less 
 giving expression to such dreadfully inhuman execrations as 
 here uttered, and which no conceivable aggression could have 
 justified: and nextly The inconsistency and entire improba- 
 bility of his uttering such while himself imploring the Divine 
 pardon and favour. 
 
 This for a priori reasoning. And now for the facts, which 
 seem to oppose the usual reading still more indeed altogether 
 contradicting it 
 
 In the Verses before those of the curses, as in those after 
 them, the Psalmist uniformly speaks of his enemies in the plural 
 number; while the curses are directed in the singular against 
 one only : And this distinction is preserved throughout. However, 
 by ellipsis or other poetical figure, the number or person in 
 the Hebrew is sometimes varied or interchanged, there seems not 
 the remotest reason why such a change should be used here 
 for variety in the expression only and unless it had in view a 
 positive difference of application. These curses then must be 
 considered as uttered by his enemies against him singly, as they 
 are expressed; and not by him against them, of whom he hero 
 throughout speaks as being many. 
 
 Again, in V: 28. B:V: (here 27) he distinctly and positively 
 refers to the curses of his enemies " Let them curse : but bless 
 Thou etc:" ; that cannot but apply to those curses immediately 
 preceding, and which it is plain as day could not have referred to 
 his enemies if they had proceeded from himself. 
 
 Then V: 20. B:V: (here 19) tho, according to the Translations, 
 appearing a corroboratiori of the usual reading, when coupled 
 with V: 2 and 3 as the antecedent to this relative, clearly slioxvs 
 the contrary, implying that this (the curses) is what the 
 
NOTES. 475 
 
 Psalmist's adversaries seek from The Lord to be his infliction 
 and prejudice ; which he then, in the next verse, prays to be 
 averted from him.* 
 
 The great ground upon which the common view of these 
 curses is based is of course the allusion to this Psalm by S lt Luke, 
 Acts i, and this quotation (V: 20) of one line of it part ofV: 8 
 "let another take his bishopric." i.e. office charge or place: 
 For, the previous part of the Apostle's quotation is not verbatim 
 in the Psalm, tho its substance is implied j. But this is by 
 no means necessarily conclusive on the point : For, the twofold 
 character of numerous passages of The Psalms is well-known; 
 as bearing primarily a simply literal and absolute meaning, and 
 secondarily a typical and prophetical one prefiguring THE 
 MESSIAH and both His personal advent on Earth and spiritual 
 reign in Heaven: and therefore those or parts of them are 
 frequently quoted by the Apostles in THE NEW TESTAMENT for 
 their specific application alone, and without in the remotest 
 manner diverting the general and more obvious primary sense 
 from its original object nor adopting more of it than is just 
 necessary for the purpose in hand. And this is what seems 
 to be done here : the short passage in question " let another take 
 his bishopric" applies as was prophetically intended directly 
 to Judas and is therefor quoted against him, leaving the whole of 
 the rest of the curses unreferred to_as not applicable: Since, 
 for a general charge to be legitimately addressed, all. or at least 
 its principal points must be just and true : And, however enormous 
 was the guilt of Judas in the betrayal of his Divine Master, 
 we are nowhere told and there seems no reason to believe 
 that before this act he was "unmerciful" or a "persecutor" or a 
 "curser", nor that otherwise the subject of the curses could 
 refer to him ; while, on the other hand it is but fair to assume 
 
 * It is true that V: 20 (here 19) as there worded, is in The B:V: put 
 in the mouth of David absolutely, making him desire this to be "the 
 reward of his adversaries" : But it is to be observed that the Imperative 
 which makes it so " let be" is in italics and belongs wholly to the 
 Translators, assumed by them from their previous misconception of the 
 passage, and is not in the Original : Neither is it in any way fairly to 
 be understood' (sub-audito) there : or at the most he can only mean, 
 Indicatively, that such would be "their reward from The Lord", 
 without himself desiring it. 
 
 f See on this point ante, Note to Ps: xiv. P: 353. 
 
476 NOTES. 
 
 from the mere fact of his being one of JESTJS'S Disciples, that, 
 before the Evil-one tempted him to his great crime, he was 
 (notwithstanding John xii. 6.) not a man to whom such reproaches 
 could in any way apply. The quotation of the Apostle then, 
 can only be taken to be as intended partial and specific, and 
 to have otherwise no reference generally to this Psalm. 
 
 This collateral but important point being thus disposed of, 
 the question remains to be decided upon its general grounds: 
 1* The inconsistency and improbability of the Psalmist's being 
 the utterer of the curses as his own : and 2 0< The contradiction 
 offered to that by the curses being against one singly while he 
 throughout speaks of his enemies as many. On consideration 
 
 of which, the conclusion is here come to (and wherein only 
 following others) that The usual reading of these curses is 
 erroneous, and that they are not uttered by the Psalmist 
 against his enemies but only quoted by him as their evil 
 wishes against him. And which sense, under a firm persuasion 
 of its truth, and as such as but a retributory justice due 
 to the Royal Psalmist, and as glorifying to GOD in the 
 assertion of His first attribute that of Mercy, is here ventured 
 to be adopted. 
 
 V: 13. ' Be his father's wickedness etc: 
 
 * Nor e'er forget his mother's sin.' 
 
 The above seems to point to the custom that still prevails 
 among the Oriental Nations, especially the Arabs, of reviling 
 the father and mother of a person when speaking reproachfully 
 to him ; either as thus wounding him thro the sides of those he 
 loves, or invoking reflected shame and evil upon him from them. 
 
 PSALM CX. 
 
 The reign of CHRIST on Earth. 
 A Psalm of David*. 
 
 * # * This Psalm is universally considered as a prophecy of 
 the advent and royal dignity and everlasting Priesthood as 
 Head of The Church of THE SAVIOUR, under the personation 
 
 * See Acts ii. 34, when- V. I i> ili.-lmrth <nu>U-<l from him. 
 
NOTES. 477 
 
 of the Royal Psalmist as temporal King ; and indeed admits of 
 no other interpretation. 
 
 It is moreover very remarkable ; from the positive reference in 
 it to both GOD The Father and GOD The Son, "THE LORD," 
 or JEHOVAH, who speaks to "my Lord" V: 1.; and the 
 distinctive difference established between them, while retaining 
 both their integral and joint character without separation*. 
 
 On the other hand, while this general feature is manifestly 
 evident in it, the details are very difficult to understand, some 
 of them altogether so : but which, whether from any real obscurity 
 in the Original thro defectiveness of the Text, or our imperfect- 
 ness of acquaintance with the language, is more than appears ; 
 not impossibly both. 
 
 To expound at full upon all this, either the general nature 
 of the Psalm or its particular points, is altogether beyond the 
 scope of these pages : as it is a subject that has occupied the 
 pens of many learned and able men, and on which numerous 
 separate Treatises and even whole Volumes have been written, 
 and that after all has been left by them much the same as 
 they found it. No more, therefor, than some brief remarks 
 are here offered (and those with great deference and under 
 correction) merely not to let the points pass wholly without 
 notice : for altogether this Psalm may be considered the most 
 obscure and the great crux of the whole Book. 
 
 V: 3. ' Thy People, in Thy rule's day as King etc:' 
 In this Verse The A:V:s are greatly at variance, and in 
 part equally unintelligible. In The L:V: the first sentence is 
 sufficiently clear, as here given: but the second is quite im- 
 possible to be understood ; as is the whole Verse in The B:V:, 
 additionally darkened moreover by improper punctuation that 
 dislocates its parts. 
 
 Various interpretations are given of this latter passage; among 
 which some as difficult to understand as what they pretend to 
 explain, and none wholly clear or satisfactory. Womb, morning, 
 dew, and birth, are all in The Original : and it is in the respective 
 relation and connection of these words with one another, and 
 then of the figures intended by the different combinations they 
 form (for the whole is metaphorical) that lies the variety of 
 the different senses assumed. 
 
 * V: 1 is quoted by THE SAVIOUR in Matt xxii. 44. See also Acts 
 ii. 34 and I Cor: xv. 25 ; and, for V: 4, Heb: v. 6. 
 
478 NOTES. 
 
 Some make it to be that " In the day of The Lord's power etc:" 
 the "People" the worshippers of The Lord shall be as 
 numerous as deivdroips from the womb of night or on the birth 
 of the morning*. Others make various arrangements of them, 
 some of which too senseless to mention. Some again suppress 
 them altogether. The Vulgate, following The SJBPTUAGINT, says 
 
 4 1 engendered Thee (or caused Thee to be) before the morning star.'f 
 
 It is pretty certain, from the obscurity of the passage as 
 expressed, that, however they may have fancied to do so, neither 
 of the A:V: Translators realty understood it or had any definite 
 idea in their minds of what they meant to say when writing 
 it; or at all events they have not made it in any manner 
 intelligible. Concluding, therefor (as seems may reasonably be 
 done) that the meaning involved in them is not essential, but 
 only adjunctive and auxiliary to the general sense whether by 
 figure or otherwise, and not to risk misinterpreting them, 
 the words in question have (except dew) here been omitted 
 altogether (as some part of them in most Versions is) and only 
 that latter expressed. 
 
 V: 4. 3. 'As the order of Melchizedek, 
 ' Thou art a Priest for e'er.' 
 
 For the reasons stated above, only the slightest consideration 
 can here be given to this passage ; referring the Header for more 
 to the professed Commentaries above alluded to. 
 
 Melchizedek, as well as being a temporal King, was High 
 Priest to the true GOD in the Land of Canaan, when Abraham 
 dwelt in that Country (Gen: xiv) : Then, as he is described by 
 S u Paul (Heb: vii) he seems to have been more eminent in 
 his mission and authority than was later even Aaron the especial 
 High Priest of the Israelites : And, as having thus been the 
 
 * This reading, with some diversity and amplification, is adopted 
 by The NEW VERSION. The OLD VERSION (here Norton) renders 
 it, with all but the difference required for the measure, verbatim et 
 literatim as The L:V: ; and therefor equally unintelligibly, being 
 mere meaningless jargon. 
 
 f " Ex utero ante luctfcrum genui Te." 
 
 ' lucifer' or ' morning-star', for the light of day. 
 
NOTES. 479 
 
 greatest Hierarch theretofore appointed by GOD, he is here 
 represented as a type of THE MESSIAH ; however this latter was 
 eventually far to surpass him in every earthly attribute, not 
 to speak of His divine nature. 
 
 The passage, therefor, is a prophetic declaration of the earthly 
 office of THE SAVIOUR: made plain to the understanding by a 
 reference to His well-known antecessor in the Priesthood ; while 
 the name itself, Melchizedek, which means "Righteous King" 
 or " King of Righteousness," implies his eventual supremacy also 
 in His divine character of THE SON or GOD. 
 
 V: 5, 6, and 7. * The Lord, at His right hand who is etc:' 
 
 As these Verses (5 to the End inclusive) are worded in 
 The A:V:s, and especially in The B:V:_ as "THE LORD" is 
 there printed, the sense is entirely confounded and of necessity in 
 one way or the other totally misrepresented. 
 
 From V: 1 to 4 inclusive all is perfectly clear ; the Nominative 
 in V: 1 2 and 4 being obviously GOD " THE LORD," addressing 
 CHRIST (primarily as David) as the " my Lord" of Y: 1. 
 
 But here, at V: 5, as they (The A:V:s) express it, the 
 Declaration or Predicate entirely changes : For, as the several 
 subsequent sentences are constructed and follow each other, they 
 are consecutively and inseparably connected; all the "Hes" 
 being the same Nominative as "THE LORD" in V: 5 : While it 
 is, from the words, impossible that they should be so; as the 
 "THE LORD at Thy right hand" V: 5, as printed, is evidently 
 GOD, and the two "Hes" of V: 7 as evidently the other 
 Person CHRIST as David's " my Lord" : which is contradictory 
 and unintelligible. 
 
 What the Translators intended to say cannot be known : 
 But it is quite clear that what they have said has no 
 understandable sense. 
 
 All this is certainly from the Hebrew : But it is mere not 
 literal but verbal Translation ; without any regard to the 
 abruptness of transition and the elliptical construction so common 
 there, and merely giving its words in English. 
 
 As to the real sense of the passage from V: 5 to the End 
 there seem two ways of considering it: I- If the "THE 
 LORD" of V: 5 be taken for the secondary Person the "my 
 Lord" of V: l,_and the " thy" there for GOD the "THE LORD" 
 of V: 1, all will be quite clear; the several Nominatives or 
 
480 NOTES. 
 
 Pronouns being the same, and attributing to CHRIST the offices 
 and acts for which the previous four Verses 1 to 4 had 
 prepared Him as His mission. And for this there would only 
 be to change a word or two in the first sentence of V: 5, as 
 thus * The Lord, at THE LORD'S right hand, etc:' 
 
 IP- If taking the "THE LORD" of V: 5 with the "Hes" 
 of V: 6 to refer to GOD, and the "thy" of V: 5 with the 
 "He" of V: 7 to CHRIST, "at thy right hand" being taken for 
 'near thee '' beside thee,' it will be equally clear; with only 
 the difference of making GOD " THE LORD" the agent in V: 5 
 and 6 instead of CHRIST which is perhaps a still better sense, 
 and referring V: 7 wholly to CHRIST to whom alone it can by 
 any possibility apply*. The former has been adopted in our 
 First Version, and the latter in the Second ; both being 
 essentially the same. 
 
 V: 7. 3. 4. ' Drink of the waters in the way, 
 ' And high uplift the head'. 
 
 Tho comparatively unimportant, this is one of the most 
 obscure and difficult passages in the whole Book of Psalms: 
 that is in our Translations of them, worded in the loose manner 
 in which it there is. Yet hardly any of the Commentators! have 
 endeavoured really to explain it : and the few who have done 
 so very much differ, some diametrically; these referring it to 
 the sufferings experienced by THE KEDEEMER in His passage 
 thro Earth, as if the waters of the " brook" were bitter or muddy ; 
 
 * It seems somewhat strange that not one of our Commentators has 
 observed, or at least pointed out, this anomaly of The A:V:s. And is not 
 
 this at least worth while altering ? Or must ambiguity 
 
 not to say much worse be perpetuated, and in matters however 
 important, because once admitted or overlooked ? 
 
 f At the head of whom Bp: Horsley; who in his Translation takes 
 no notice whatever of it, merely adopting the words of The B:V: his 
 exclusive Text-Book. The previous difficulties of the Psalm he gets over 
 by assuming defectiveness in the Original, and by the interposition of his 
 usual Greek Chorus of " an Oracular Voice." But of course, as already 
 said, his Work is only partial and incomplete. 
 
 Sec on this point baok, Note to Ps: xxxix. 4, P: 388. 
 
NOTES. 481 
 
 and those to the consolations He received from His Heavenly 
 Father, as if they were pure and refreshing ; and others 
 to the blood of His enemies shed in His victories over them*. 
 But none of them have fairly and fully analysed it with 
 reference whether to the idiomatic and figurative language* of The 
 Original or the customs to which it possibly may have allusion. 
 
 A not altogether improbable meaning of the passage (tho not 
 suggested by any of the Commentators) may be that As Judaea 
 was a very hot and arid Country, and frequently much distressed 
 for water which was consequently an object of great value,, 
 to express the prereminence and prosperity of the King here 
 spoken of whether figuratively or positively, it is said that 
 'brooks should never be wanting by the way for him to drink 
 * from'. This may not be the true sense : But at least it is 
 clear and plausible : and none better, indeed none whatever of a 
 practical kind, is anywhere proposed. 
 
 The latter partthe " lifting up of the head" is more clear, 
 and is generally considered to be figurative of His ultimate 
 exaltation and triumph as a conqueror after whatever difficulties 
 or opposition. But for the unfortunate lowering that association 
 with common-place idiom and ideas so often unavoidably causes in 
 otherwise the best phrases, we would here have said, as perfectly 
 applicable and much more expressive in a good sense, 
 
 * And carry high the head'. 
 
 PSALM CXI. 
 
 The praises of GOD. 
 
 This, as also the next cxii, is one of the Alphabetical or 
 Acrostical Psalms ; two consecutive letters respectively beginning 
 the two lines or hemistich s of each Verse. But they have only 
 ten Verses; the last two having three letters in each, thus 
 making up the whole number twenty-two. 
 
 * The marginal Notes of the Geneva Bible interpret it by saying that 
 " GOD" is there represented " under the similitude of a Captain that is 
 ' ' so greedy to destroy his enemies that he will not scarce drink by the 
 "way". But which is no explanation at all; because "GoD" is 
 described in the Text as " drinking by the way", and not as, for whatever 
 reason, refraining from doing so. 
 
 i i 
 
482 NOTES. 
 
 PSALM CXII. 
 
 The blessedness of the righteous, and the reprobation 
 of the wicked. 
 
 V: 4. 3. * He is kindly etc:' 
 
 The Vulgate, and some other Translations, make this to refer 
 to THE LORD. But which must be erroneous; because the 
 attributes of GOD are nowhere in question here at all, but only 
 the qualities of the Just Man. 
 
 PSALM CXIII. 
 
 The praises of GOD ; for His wonderful greatness, 
 and His goodness to Men. 
 
 This Psalm, and the next five to cxviii inclusive, form the 
 
 set that the Jews call Hallel signifying ' Praise'; that are recited 
 
 on the Paschal Night, the New-Moon, and other of their Feasts ; 
 and the cxxxvi th> called The Greater Hallel. One of those, tho it 
 
 cannot be ascertained which but supposed to be this, is thought 
 
 to have been the "Hymn" sung by CHRIST and His Disciples 
 after The Last Supper : Matt: xxvi. 30, and Mark xiv. 26. 
 
 PSALM CXIV. 
 The terror of the Earth at the aweful presence of GOD. 
 
 V: 1 . 2. ' And Jacob from the stranger s /awe?.' 
 In The B:V: "from a people of strange language." which 
 is only a periphrasis for the foreigner ; or, as The L:V: has it, 
 from The Vulgate, " from among the strange people." The latin 
 barbaro of The Vulgate (from The SEPTUAQINT) seems perfectly 
 well rendered here by "strange:" orstill better 'stranger.' 
 There can be no doubt that we are accustomed to lay too much 
 stress on the word "barbarian" as used by the Romans (as well 
 as Greeks) with reference to other Nations, applying it as they 
 did to all who were not under their dominion or formed no part 
 
NOTES. 483 
 
 of the Empire and did not speak their language. As applied 
 to Nations with us the word has but one meaning, savage \ 
 intending 'uncivilised' unsocial and unlettered: But in the 
 latin, tho of course often and perhaps generally bearing this 
 meaning, yet it certainly was occasionally used in a much less 
 strong and exclusive sense (as perhaps the unlucky Chinese do at 
 this day the word that we so render in English) and signifying 
 merely stranger or foreign, as here : For most assuredly the 
 Egyptians, the very parents of all civilisation, were anything but 
 " barbarians". See back, Note to Ps: Ixxxi. 5, P: 439. 
 
 In The Spectator N- 461 is given the well-known Version of 
 this fine Psalm by D r - Watts; with an Epistolary Preface by 
 him in comment upon it, pointing it out as a fine instance of 
 the figure anastrophe or inversion, tho perhaps more properly 
 that of ' suspended sense.' 
 
 Like all the Sacred Lyrics of that amiable and justly- 
 celebrated Divine but rather loose Versifier, this Piece is very 
 generally admired. Yet we cannot but think much more than 
 it really deserves, for it has several and great faults : In the 
 first place, it is very paraphrastical, widely departing from 
 the severe conciseness and simple sublimity of the Original, and 
 in so much weakening its effect ; and, where he amplifies upon it, 
 not doing so in expansion of its ideas, but rather by collateral 
 and unnecessary circumstances. Nextly in his third Stanza, 
 while describing the movement of the mountain, he states the 
 reason of it both its terror and the cause ; thus, overturning 
 his own comment, anticipating and thereby altogether enfeebling 
 the suspended explanation that follows and is the point of 
 the whole. Lastly the indiscriminate use of the Present 
 and Preterit (like elsewhere of the Singular and Plural of 
 Pronouns) quite confuses the sense, and destroys the illusion 
 that would be kept up by either used singly. 
 
 The OLD VERSION Copy (here Whyttingham) is for the 
 most part pitiably poor, at the close ludicrously so. The NEW 
 VERSION is a great deal better, indeed very fair, tho much too 
 paraphrastic and diffuse ; in these respects with the same 
 faults as Watts's, and still more negligent in its versification. 
 
 For the satisfaction of the Reader this latter is subjoined. 
 
484 NOTES. 
 
 PSALM cxiv. 
 
 Watts. I: 
 
 1. 4. 
 
 When Israel , freed from Pharaoh's hand, What power could make the deep divide 
 
 Left the proud tyrant and his land ; Make Jordan backward roll his tide ? 
 
 The Tribes with cheerful homage own Why did ye leap, ye little hills ? 
 
 Their King, and Judah was His Throne. And whence the fright that Sinai feels ? 
 
 2. 5. 
 
 Across the deep their journey lay : Let every mountain every flood 
 
 The deep divides to make them way ; Retire, and know the approaching GOD : 
 
 The streams of Jordan saw, and fled The King of Israel. See Him here 
 
 With backward current to their head. Tremble, thou Earth ! adore, and fear. 
 
 3. 6. 
 
 The mountains shook like frighted sheep ; HE thunders : and all Nature mourns. 
 
 Like lambs the little hillocks leap : The rocks to standing pools HE turns. 
 
 Not Sinai on her base could stand, Flints spring with fountains, at His word ; 
 
 Consciow of sovereign power at hand. And fires* and seas confess their LORD ! 
 
 * "fires". Qy. 'floods'? 
 
 PSALM CXV. 
 
 GOD the strength and confidence of His People. 
 
 The SEPTUAGINT, and Vulgate, and some other Versions 
 (Geddes, without specifying them, says ' Seventy MSS:') make this 
 Psalm to belong to as a continuation of the preceding one 
 cxiv; as accordingly it is in The Romish Psalter. But it is 
 not so in most of the Hebrew Copies : and there is not 
 only no necessary but not even the most remote connection 
 whatever between them. 
 
 V: 1. * Not for our sakes, Lord ! not for us 
 
 * But Thy Name's sake Thy glory show etc:' 
 
 This Verse requires a particular consideration, from the 
 reading of The A:V:s: It might seem rendered there, not from 
 the Hebrew (which is as above) but The Vulgate ; and, whatever 
 may be intended, as worded is both indistinct and manifestly 
 erroneous ; because in no case could " glory," thanks or praise, 
 suitably be rendered to Man for serving himself, and most especially 
 when in any manner in concurrence with THE DEITT. 
 
NOTES. 485 
 
 The sense intended is clearly (as here given) that The 
 "glory" of GOD is to be displayed, not "for the sake" of His 
 
 creatures but, His own; however He shows it in His "mercy" 
 
 and "truth" to them: And with no antithesis whatever about 
 any such being attributed to "us" to Men. See Ezek: 
 xxxvi. 22. But, the Non nobis etc:* is now, from long pre- 
 scription, in a manner appropriated and will probably ever 
 continue to express a sentiment perfectly just and good of 
 itself, tho not exactly that of the Original Text. 
 
 %* Henry 5 th - at Agincourt (1415) immediately the fighting 
 was over, called his forces together, and caused his Prelates 
 and Chaplains to return thanks in the most solemn manner to 
 GOD for the victory; singing the foregoing Psalm cxiv (then, 
 as above-said, forming part of this in the Romish Church) 
 and making all kneel down when come to this Verse 
 "JVbn nobis, Domine ! non nobis; sed Nomine Tuo da gloriam" 
 not taking any merit to themselves for their success, but justly 
 giving all the praise to Goof. 
 
 V: 3. ' Their idols silver are and gold etc:' 
 
 As an instance of the latitude with which occasionally to 
 understand the Tenses in the Hebrew, all the predicates here 
 referring to the "idols" in V: 3 4 and 5 (as in the cor- 
 responding passage in Ps: cxxxv) are in the Future obviously 
 for the Present, as here given. But, the Future is there very 
 generally used, even when a different would obviously seem 
 to be required. 
 
 PSALM CXVI. 
 A Thanksgiving for the saving mercies of GOD. 
 
 V: 11. i. 'Salvation's cup will I receive.' 
 
 The "cup" here perhaps alludes to a consecrated vessel used 
 by the Jews in their families for drinking from on solemn 
 occasions whether of thanksgiving or commemoration of some 
 
 * Its indiscriminate use, however (as that of the Te Deum on successes 
 in unjust or unnecessary wars) often on occasions of mere feasting and 
 revelry, may seem of questionable propriety. 
 
 f See Hall's Chronicles. 1448. Fol: 51. 
 
486 NOTES. 
 
 deliverance or other signal favour from Heaven. See Matt: 
 xxvi. 27. Or it may refer to the wine that formed part of 
 the thanksgiving-offering in Numb: xxviii. 7. See also I Cor. 
 x. 16. Taking it typically, another sense of it for Christians 
 is sufficiently obvious. 
 
 PSALM CXVII. 
 Praise THE LORD. 
 
 This Psalm is supposed by some of the Commentators to 
 belong to the next the cxviii th> , as part of the exordium its first 
 three Verses evidently are ; which perhaps further supported- 
 by the circumstance of like that its not being assigned to any 
 author. Yet the conjecture, tho plausible, is not at all necessary ; 
 as it may very well be a separate Piece, tho in fact little 
 more than a pious ejaculation or burst of praise, and so far a 
 very beautiful one it is. 
 
 V: 1 is pretty evidently the passage referred to by S u Paul 
 in Romans xv. 11 (as at V: 3 there he alludes to Ps: Ixix. 9, 
 and at V: 9 to Ps: xviii. 49) where he speaks of CHRIST being 
 thereafter to be received by the Gentiles, in pursuance of " the 
 promises made unto the fathers" V: 8 ; as also said by S 1 ' John 
 x. 16. " And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, 
 " them also I must bring ; and they shall hear my voice ; and 
 " there shall be one shepherd and one fold." 
 
 Here have been noticed only a few of the principal passages 
 in THE PSALMS typical of THE SAVIOUR or that are quoted by the 
 NEW TESTAMENT writers. But there are numerous others; 
 which may at once be seen by looking into a BIBLE with marginal 
 references ; and from which it appears that nearly Fifty of these 
 Songs are in one way or another there alluded to. 
 
 Considering the extreme shortness (four or five lines, thirty- 
 three words) and the simplicity of this little Piece, it affords a 
 curious instance of the pliancy of language and the endless 
 combinations of words, to see it versified in so many manners* 
 and in most so very differently and in no two very nearly alike. 
 
 * As already said (See The Preface) _ besides partial ones innu- 
 merable, there are above Four- Score printed Complete Rhymed Versions 
 of The Psalms. 
 
NOTES. 487 
 
 PSALM CXVIII. 
 Thanksgiving to GOD, for all His saving -mercies. 
 
 V: 16. ' The stone, the builders did reject, 
 ' The corner's head-stone is.' 
 
 It is not clear what exactly is here meant, in its material and 
 literal sense, by the "headstone of the corner," whether the 
 key-stone of an arch, or the transverse joist of a stone door-frame, 
 or as some take it to be a foundation stone. Its chief sense 
 however the typical one is obvious enough; as quoted by 
 S - Matthew xxi. 42 ; with the next Verse, S e> Mark xii. 10, and 
 Eph: ii. 20. 
 
 The London Jews, in the last century*, taking what had 
 been The "Bricklayers' Hall" in Leadenhall Street for a 
 Synagogue, made what they considered a very happy application 
 of the Verse by placing it as an Inscription over its portals. 
 
 V: 20. i. * GOD is The Lord who hath shown us light' 
 ' light.' This is thought by some to allude to the luminous 
 cloud shown by GOD to the Israelites on their passage thro the 
 Wilderness: See Exodus, xiii. 21, and Ps: cv. 39. But the word 
 is of frequent occurrence in THE OLD TESTAMENT in a figurative 
 sense for whether 'support' generally as in Ps: xxvii. 1, or 
 'mental illumination' Ps: xxxvi. 9. It may here also refer 
 to the "shining of GOD'S countenance" upon His People, 
 metaphorically used as a token of approval or favour and 
 assistance, as in Ps: iv. 6, Ixvii. 1, and Ixxxix. 15. But here 
 (as at Ps: xcvii. 11.) it seems rather to mean more generally 
 'joy' succeeding to the gloom of calamity, as otherwise expressed 
 at Ps: xxx. 5. Occasionally also (as at Ps: xliii. 3, and in 
 numerous other parts of Scripture) it may be thought to have a 
 larger sense, typical of that radiance before which all darkness 
 should ultimately fade away. 
 
 * In 1760. Now no longer a Place of Worship, but a Literary 
 Institution ; and called ' Sussex Hall', in honour of the late Duke, who, 
 with a just liberality, was a great patron of that People. 
 
488 NOTES. 
 
 PSALM CXIX. 
 
 The blessings and delight of keeping the law of GOD. 
 
 This is a very remarkable Composition. It is one of those 
 Psalms called Alphabetical (See the Note to Ps: xxv. P: 377) and 
 divided into Twenty-two Parts (the number of the Hebrew 
 
 Letters) each of eight Verses, and each Verse of every Part 
 
 severally beginning with the same and proper Letter of the 
 series.* The Hebrew letters being also numeral, the Sections 
 are further pointed out thereby. 
 
 It may be remarked, as another artifice in it, that, with 
 only two or three seeming exceptions (for in fact they really are 
 not so, there always being some equivalent) every Verse contains 
 some word (this sometimes repeated in the Section) expressive 
 of the relation of GOD to His People as their Governor or 
 Teacher : as commandments, judgements, law, ordinances, pre- 
 cepts, statutes, testimo7ties, way, ways, word, and words. And 
 yet, so skilfully or happily is this done, that their continual 
 recurrence does not produce any monotony ; and, so far from 
 seeming tautologous, it is often even not noticeable. One 
 or two of these may require a word of explanation, as being 
 used in our Bibles in an appropriated sense rather than a 
 strictly literal one 
 
 judgements signifies the same thing as the statutes 
 commandments -ordinances or appointments! of GOD; and 
 
 * This arrangement (as already said) was no doubt made with some 
 mnemonical view, rather than for a poetical embellishment. And this 
 Psalm, in the then absence of Calendars or Almanacks, is said to have 
 been used as such in their daily prayers, one Verse (beginning at the 
 Passover) being said every day, two series of which 176 would make up 
 within a day their year (lunar) of 354 ; thus memorating the current one. 
 It is still at present used among the Jews at the consecration of a new 
 house, by reciting such of the Verses as in their initial letters correspond 
 with the names of the master and mistress. 
 
 In the Venice Bible of 1478 it is arranged into twenty-two parts, 
 according to its Alphabetical division ; making a separate Psalm of each : 
 so that the whole number of the Psalms there, instead of 150, is 171. 
 
 t It is rather singular that this excellent word ' appointment', in its 
 moral signification, which would apply in so many of the senses expressed 
 by the other words, should never have suggested itself to the Translator! ; 
 for it is not once u&ed throughout the Psalm. 
 
NOTES. 489 
 
 seems to be employed chiefly for variation of the word. 
 testimony ies is used for in general The Scriptures or The 
 Word of GOD, that declares what is to be believed practised 
 and looked-for by us in our relations with Him. The Tables, 
 whereon were written the Ten Commandments or the Law, are 
 so called in Exod: xxv. 16 21, and xxxi. 18; from "testifying" 
 exhibiting what He therein required of His People, 
 and being "testimonies" or witnesses of the covenant He 
 thereby made with them. 
 
 way is put both for the laws of GOD and His acting in 
 respect of us ; and implies generally all excellence in the same. 
 
 word words is used for the declarations and promises of 
 GOD, and generally the contents of Scripture as dictated by 
 Him. And, however specific, they all may be used almost 
 convertibly one for the other. 
 
 Altho the longest and considerably so of all these Sacred 
 Songs, this has but little variety ; being almost entirely composed 
 of so to say personal or individual matter, self-humiliation, and 
 complaint supplication and prayer, with an occasional inter- 
 weaving of general praise. It is written throughout, however, in 
 the warmest strain of devotion ; and is altogether of the most 
 edifying character, and eminently didactic and hortatory. It is 
 called by the Fathers " The Alphabet of the People of God" : and all 
 the Theological Writers concur in giving it the highest eulogies ; 
 as it well deserves. There are also some very fine passages in 
 it, in Part 12 V: 89 to 96 some remarkably so. 
 
 It is uncertain who is the author of this Psalm : tho it is 
 thought not to be the composition of David, but of a later 
 date; and is by some attributed to Daniel, by others with 
 more probability to Ezra. 
 
 None of The Psalms have attracted more notice than this ; 
 as, from its ethical and altogether practical character, might be 
 expected. Innumerable commentaries upon whether the whole 
 or parts of it have been written : Among ourselves Manton's 190 
 Sermons and Brydges' Exposition are well known. 
 
 ** All the metrical Versioners have followed the arrangement of The 
 Original, in rendering the eight Verses of each Part by eight separate 
 Verses or Stanzas, whether the sense really required the extension or not. 
 It has not here been thought necessary to do this ; but merely to give the 
 sense of the Text simply as it is, and without reference to any con- 
 ventional number of lines wherein to express it, and which in most 
 
490 NOTES. 
 
 P- V. V: 4. i. (36). ' My heart from sinfulness still hold'. 
 
 This word in the Text here is " covetousness" : But it is pretty 
 clear that what is intended is, not the emphatic and restricted sig- 
 nification of 'cupidity', but an undue attachment to worldly things 
 unregulated desires in general, in which sense it is not in- 
 frequently used in The Scriptures. We have therefor chosen 
 that which best expresses the real meaning : Tho in several 
 other similar instances, where no material difference of the 
 sense is involved, we have preferred using the letter of one or 
 the other sometimes both of The A:V:s to what might perhaps 
 be a closer translation of The Original, but that would suggest 
 new or unaccustomed ideas and so far shake the confidence loved 
 to be reposed in the old authorities. 
 
 P u IX. V: 5. 3, 4. (71) 'T is good for me t' have troubled been, 
 
 ' Thy statutes so to learn.' 
 
 When Francis I st * was taken prisoner at the battle of 
 Pavia (1525) where he lost "all but honour" (reason 
 justice humanity, the blood of thousands* shed in wars of mere 
 ambition, standing for nothing !) he was conducted to the Church 
 of the Carthusian Convent in that City ; where, Service being 
 
 instances has been in less than the eight Verses. It is therefor clear that 
 to extend the shorter ones to the full length of the others must have 
 weakened the sense by diffuseness if not impaired it still more by super- 
 addition. In consequence the present Version (where not a particle of the 
 sense of the Text is omitted) is of ninety-two lines, somewhat more than a 
 seventh part less than both The OLD VERSION and NEW VERSION 
 Copies, whose excess it is quite clear can only have been eked out by 
 superfluous expansion if not wholly additional matter. As has been 
 already remarked Some little latitude must unavoidably always be taken 
 in fitting a prose sense to a given form of verse, by occasionally whether 
 condensing or expanding it, tho which to be done always the former 
 with great caution and the latter with still more reserve : but, in such 
 short Stanzas as are used in Church-singing, this does not call for much 
 of that modification, as one Verse can so easily be continued in the 
 next ; and to do so without absolute necessity is entirely unwarrantable, 
 as it almost necessarily leads to interpolation and alterations of the 
 thought, as of which there are endless instances in all those Versions 
 that have allowed themselves this liberty. 
 
 * 10,000 French perished in that battle alone ; and on the Spanish 
 side scarcely fewer. 
 
NOTES. 491 
 
 performing, now awakened by his reverses and humiliation to a 
 sense of human error, with loud and animated devotion he joined 
 the Monks in chaunting the above Verse 
 
 " Bonum mini quia humiliasti me, ut discam justification es Tuas." 
 
 How universal is its application ! The impression however 
 (as so often the case where not founded on a deeper basis than 
 mere feeling) was but momentary. Already he brooded revenge. 
 So soon as recovered he dismissed his Monkship : he was scarcely 
 released than he looked for means of retaliation ; and a political 
 peace alone (1529) suspended his projects. He soon afterwards 
 entered upon new wars, not more just and little more successful 
 than the previous ones ; till (like his successor Louis xiv th> , 
 tho much earlier*) he ended his life with the mortification of 
 baffled schemes of greatness humbled pride and the absence 
 of all general sympathy or regret ; with (save his patronage of 
 learning and the fine arts, and his cruel persecution of the 
 Vaudois} not one self- applauding reflection upon which to 
 fall back for solace and support in his dying hour. Yet was he 
 a great Prince, of fine parts and many good points : And, had he 
 really been what he professed himself a CHRISTIAN, would have 
 maintained his "honour" indeed unsullied ; and, instead of being 
 (like that Louis) one of the scourges of Mankind, would with the 
 heathen Trajan have been its blessing and delight. 
 
 "Give the King Thy righteousness, O GOD! and Thy 
 "righteousness unto the King's son". Ps: Ixxii. 1. 
 
 P u XL V: 3. 3. (83). 'For as a wine-shin am I grown etc:' 
 'wine-skin'. The word for this in The A:V:s "bottle" was 
 used by the Translators to render what in The Original expresses 
 a thing employed for the same use but of a very different 
 material from ours ; being a skin, generally that of the goat, used 
 as a vessel for liquids and especially wine, as is done to this day in 
 many countries of the East and even in Europe as Spain and 
 Portugal. It is clear that only some such a material could be so 
 affected by exposure to smoke, implying of course heat also : 
 the Psalmist meaning, by the comparison, to say that he is 
 withered or dried up by the intensity of his sufferings. 
 
 P- XIV. V: 5. i. 2. (109). ' My life is ever in my hand'. 
 
 This is a Hebraism, a figurative and idiomatic mode of speech ; 
 
 * Died 1547 : aged 53. 
 
492 NOTES. 
 
 the Psalmist meaning to say that his life, being perpetually 
 exposed to violence, might be wrested from him as easily as any 
 thing out of his hand. 
 
 P- XVII. V: 3. i. (131). 4 1 oped my mouth etc:' 
 This is one of those bold figures of Eastern imagery that can 
 hardly be rendered in our language but by paraphrase. The 
 Psalmist means that he was as eager to comprehend and fulfil the 
 Divine Law as a man running, and so out of breath, to overtake 
 and obtain a desired earthly object. 
 
 PSALM CXX. 
 
 Prayer to GOD, for deliverance out of the hands 
 of cruel enemies. 
 
 A Song of Degrees. 
 
 V: 3. * O thou false tongue I etc:' 
 
 This Verse is differently understood : Some making the first 
 sentence to be 'What reward dost thou look for in this?' and 
 applying the second to the "false tongue", comparing it to the 
 "arrows" and "coals" for mischievousness. But the reading 
 here given (which seems at least to be that of The L:V: ; 
 for the B:V: one is ambiguous) making those to be the liar's 
 " reward" is that more generally received ; and seems much the 
 better, as the more obvious and simple. 
 
 V: 3. 3. 4. * E'en coals of burning gleed, 
 4 And arrows keen'. 
 
 4 burning gleed'. The B:V: gives this, after The Original, 
 "coals of juniper". In The L:V: "hot burning coals". It is 
 not certain that the wood so rendered from the Hebrew is this 
 one; but it was no doubt some fiercely burning resinous tree, 
 a species of which, tho generally a rather insignificant one little 
 more than a shrub our 'juniper' is. 
 
 Some understand the "arrows" and "coals" figuratively of 
 GOD, as His punishment of the wicked. 
 
 V: 4. Woe is me, that must, constrained, 
 
 4 In Mcscch bide etc:' 
 Mesech and Kedar were the names of some heathen Tribe* 
 
NOTES. 493 
 
 hostile to the Israelites, among whom the Psalmist might here 
 be supposed to lie in captivity. But most of the modern 
 Commentators take them to be used figuratively for compulsory 
 and protracted solitariness, gloominess, and affliction in general ; 
 the words themselves bearing that import. 
 
 %* This Psalm, and the fourteen following to cxxxiv inclusive, 
 are called in The B:V: (from The Original) " Songs of Degrees" 
 otherwise ' Gradual,' or ' of the Steps,' also ' of Ascents' or 'Ascensions' 
 or ' Heights*.' The Commentators are not agreed about the meaning 
 of this Title : Some contending for its deriving from the Songs 
 being sung, whether by the Priests or the Worshippers, on 
 the greece or steps of the Temple (See Nehemiah. ix. 4.) and 
 others from a gradual ascension of the voice in singing them : the 
 former derivation plausible enough, but the latter altogether 
 remote and trivialf. Others again explain it by considering 
 all these Psalms (as some seem clearly to do) to refer to the return 
 from the Babylonian Captivity, which the Jews rendered by 
 "going up" i.e. to Jerusalem, in the same way that we now 
 speak with reference to a metropolis : and which seems not 
 improbable. But this would confine them to the very latest 
 period of the composition of The Book ; whereas several of them 
 have an obvious reference to David, besides his being named in 
 the text of some and the headings of others. It seems on the 
 whole more probable that they were of long time used by 
 companies "going up" to the celebration of the periodical 
 religious festivals at Jerusalem, and thence occasionally sung 
 afterwards in commemoration of those pilgrimages, as ultimately 
 resumed on the return from Babylon : which hypothesis would 
 include all their points. This Title, therefor, as so entirely 
 obscure and quite immaterial, might perhaps well be dropped 
 altogether : Nevertheless it may be observed that the general 
 adoption of it in one or other of its acceptations gives to 
 those Psalm-Headings a certain authority, or at least consider- 
 ation, they would otherwise want. 
 
 * The Hebrew word rendered by degree also admits the meaning 
 of ' excellence' ; which, applied to these Psalms as a mere abstraction, 
 or epithet, would not require explanation. 
 
 t Tingstadius calls them " Songs of Festal Expeditions". 
 
494 NOTES. 
 
 PSALM CXXI. 
 
 THE LORD'S protection of His People. 
 A Song of Degrees. 
 
 There is a slight peculiarity in the heading of this Psalm 
 in the Hebrew, which has not been followed in The B:V:. It 
 is there not as in the others "of" but '/or (or to} Degrees': 
 which may seem to point especially to its use at the time of 
 " going up" to Jerusalem, as said above. 
 
 PSALM CXXII. 
 Peace in the City of GOD. 
 A Song of Degrees of David. 
 
 PSALM CXXIII. 
 
 Look unto THE LORD. 
 A Song of Degrees. 
 
 PSALM CXXIV. 
 
 Assured safety in THE LORD. 
 
 A Song of Degrees. 
 
 PSALM CXXV. 
 
 Trust in THE LORD. 
 
 A Song of Degrees. 
 
 V: 3. ' The wicked's rod shall not still lie 
 
 * Upon the righteous' land.' 
 
 "rod" is here put for 'sceptre,' used in a figurative sense 
 for generally 'dominion' 'power'; not_a8 in Ps: xxiii. 4 .for 
 
NOTES. 495 
 
 good, but the contrary the oppression of the wicked (here, it is 
 thought, the Heathen Kings assaulting Jerusalem) which would 
 corrupt the " righteous," the Israelites, to desert the true GOD and 
 imitate them in their evil and idolatrous practices. It may also be 
 understood more abstractly for 'lest injury should rouse the 
 'injured to recriminatory acts of violence and wrong.' The 
 "lot" of the Text of course is put for 'inheritance' 'land,' 
 as in Ps: xvi. 5 and Josh: xv. 1. 
 
 The "coineth not into" of The L:V: gives quite a different 
 and an improper sense: for it does often come into, but is 
 not allowed to remain there. 
 
 PSALM CXXVI. 
 
 Redemption for the People of GOD. 
 A Song of Degrees. 
 
 V: 5. ' Our thrall is turn'd : as streams etc:' 
 
 This Verse is very perplexed; and of somewhat uncertain 
 meaning ; as is its connection with the two following ones : And 
 the Commentators give no satisfactory explanation of it. 
 
 The Psalm is pretty evidently written upon the return from 
 the Babylonian Captivity. And, as the Jews were not all 
 released at once and together, some take the passage to refer 
 to those still left in thraldom praying for their ultimate delivery 
 also ; as, in its now reading, it seems in contradiction with 
 what precedes it. 
 
 As water in those arid Countries was always a thing 
 desiderated, the "streams in the South" no doubt allude in 
 some way to the fertility produced by full rivers abundant 
 waters, and is here used figuratively for such, praying for 
 plenteousness and prosperity to accompany their return home. 
 
 The last two Verses separately are expressions of confidence 
 in the superintending goodness of GOD for ultimate good, not- 
 withstanding adverse appearances ; and are probably antici- 
 pative by retrospection. 
 
 In Livy's Roman History, L: xxxiii. 32, is recorded an 
 incident of the most remarkable similarity to the circumstances 
 and language of this Psalm, on occasion of a Proclamation made, 
 at the celebration of the Isthmian games at Corinth, by Titus 
 
496 NOTES. 
 
 Quintius the Roman General on his final defeat of the Mace- 
 donians, Of the Grecian States being thenceforth freed from 
 their domination and restored to full liberty. It is most stirringly 
 told, and highly worth reading : excellently well rendered in 
 Baker's Translation 8 VO> London. 1797. V: 4. P: 402. 
 
 The next Section also (33) in eulogy of the Roman Empire 
 as the champion of the weak and the liberator of the captive, is 
 wonderfully fine : And, from its at least partial applicableness 
 to ENGLAND in this our favoured age, must be read by every 
 Briton with a glow of conscious pride and exultation at the 
 parallel; however mourning deeply mourning that, with the 
 great means given her, it should not be yet far closer : 
 Still Nil desperandum. 
 
 PSALM CXXVII. 
 Increase is only of THE LORD. 
 
 A Song of Degrees. For (or of) Solomon. 
 
 V: 1. i. * Unless The Lord the house up-build.' 
 As in several other places in Scripture, tho of course the 
 primary sense is the literal one, " house" is here perhaps rather 
 figuratively used in the sense of a family : and to this the 
 reference to "children" below seems also to point. See back, 
 Note to Ps: xlix. 1, P: 400. 
 
 V: 3. 4. * So children to their parents are.' 
 
 This passage is differently rendered by The A:V:s, as by 
 other Translations : Some of the latter give it " the children 
 of the faithful" or "of the pious." The reading here followed 
 is, with a little amplification, that of The L:Y:, at least its 
 spirit if not the letter; because this sense is simple and clear 
 and sufficiently good, and not leaving room for any question 
 about it. The B:V:, verbally following the Hebrew without 
 reference to any thing but the words, has it "the children 
 of the Youth :" implying, as some of the Commentators (equally 
 mistaking its real meaning) imagine, the children of young 
 parents. Upon this reading certain of them have indulged in 
 a great deal of very questionable indeed wholly false, and in 
 no way edifying, at all events very profitless dissertation ; 
 
NOTES. 497 
 
 but where it would be equally exceptionable to follow them*. 
 But in fact the words are a mere Hebraism, an idiomatic 
 manner of speaking merely for 'children' generally. 
 
 V: 4. 4. 4 But with their enemies contend.' 
 
 The latter part of this verse is rather obscure, and differently 
 rendered by the Translators : It seems uncertain whether it refers 
 to the parent or the " children" ; and whether to foreign enemies 
 in fight, or civil antagonists in the arena of forensic contest; 
 yet more likely the latter; tho perhaps meant generally and 
 for both, as here given: the Courts of law being at the "gate" 
 of the City, where was also the place of general resort for meeting 
 (See Ps: Ixix. 18, and Judges v. 8.) and this being also the 
 part that would be attacked by external assailants. See back, 
 Note to Ps: ix. 14. P: 347. 
 
 The Heading "For (or Of) Solomon" to this Psalm has led 
 some to suppose that it refers to the appointment of Solomon by 
 GOD for "building Him an House" instead of David: as see in 
 I Chron: xvii. 12, and I Kings, xi. 1 2, and vi. 1, and Acts. vii. 47. 
 But the connection seems very remote. Others take it to allude 
 to the building of the Second Temple and repeopling the Land 
 after the Babylonian Captivity : a not improbable notion, however 
 not supported by anything that appears on its face. 
 
 * But, even if it were otherwise and their explanations were correct, 
 such close analysis and dissection of the words of The Sacred Text on such 
 points as these is altogether unnecessary. It is quite sufficient that the 
 general sense be understood, without going into demonstrations to prove 
 why it should be so : to the intelligent this is superfluous, and to others 
 either useless or worse. And it surely is a kind of desecration of such 
 to submit it to the same prying and perking and petty investigation that 
 ordinary every-day matters are made to undergo. A certain 
 
 " dim religious light " 
 
 is as becoming and advantageous to sacred things as it is to the Holy 
 Place where they are taught ; while the glare of 
 
 " the garish eye of day" 
 
 but lowers and vulgarises them as does that, without at all making 
 them more apparent. 
 
498 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 PSALM CXXVIII. 
 
 The blessedness of the People of GOD. 
 
 A Song of Degrees. 
 
 V: 3. 3. 4. ' As olive-plants, the children thine 
 * About thy table set.' 
 
 As this passage is given in The B:V: it makes not the 
 children but the olive-plants to be "about thy table": And 
 which the Commentators explain by supposing that the "tables" 
 or repast -boards of the Jews were placed out of doors, where 
 were olive-trees planted about them for pleasantness and shade. 
 But this sense cannot be admitted ; as such, tho occasionally done, 
 is not an habitual custom in any civilized Country, and could 
 still less be so in such a hot climate as that of Judaea. The 
 meaning is pretty evidently that here given, the olive being 
 in parallelism with the vine ; and as most probably intended 
 by our Translators, but confused by want of proper stops. The 
 olive is especially named no doubt from its perennialness and 
 longevity as well as fruitfulness. See Ps: Hi. 8, and cxliv. 12. 
 
 The "walls of thine house" B:V: (L:V: "sides") are disputed 
 about : Some understanding them literally : And others taking 
 them to refer not to the vine but to the wife, for her private 
 apartments ; but that would assume a state of society in this 
 particular like the present one of the East, for which, tho it 
 may have been partially so, there seems no sufficient evidence. 
 
 PSALM CXXIX. 
 
 Against the persecution of the wicked. 
 A Song of Degrees. 
 
 V: 4. 2. * That on the house-top grows.' 
 
 ' house-top.' See back, Note to Ps: cii. 7. P: 464. 
 
 V: 5. 3. 'His bosom etc:' 
 
 See back, Note to Ps: Ixxix. 12. P: 438. 
 
 V: 6. ' That they, who pass, them nothing heed etc:' 
 See Ruth ii. 4. 
 
NOTES. 499 
 
 PSALM CXXX. 
 
 A prayer to GOD, under the burthen of sin. 
 A Song of Degrees. 
 
 V: 1. i. * From woe's all lowest depths' 
 
 In The B:V: "out of the depths," and The L:V: " out of the 
 deep:" that is calamities, troubles, or afflictions; figured by 
 floods or overwhelming waters ; pretty evidently a traditionary 
 remembrance of the deluge. 
 
 V: 4. * As those who watch the day.' 
 
 ' Who watch the morning light.' 
 
 Among the Jews the Night was divided into four watches, of 
 about three hours each ; as see Mark. xiii. 35 ; when those in the 
 service of The Temple (who are here alluded to) were naturally 
 anxiously looking for the coming day, to offer the Morning 
 Sacrifice. See Ps: cxix. 43, and cxxxvii. 1. 
 
 PSALM CXXXI. 
 
 The meekness of the children of GOD. 
 A Song of Degrees of David. 
 
 V: 3. 3. * Still trust in Him, as e'er before etc:' 
 This Verse would seem to be improperly placed here, and 
 more to belong to the last Psalm as its close; for it has no 
 connection whatever with the preceding ones of this. But the 
 whole Piece appears rather of a fragmentary character. 
 
 PSALM CXXXII. 
 
 Establishment of The House of GOD. 
 
 A Song of Degrees. 
 
 V: 5. ' Lo, thereupon as we conferr'd etc:' 
 
 This passage is a very obscure and difficult one. It is quite 
 unintelligible in both The A:V:s (V: 6) from the abrupt and 
 elliptical way in which it is there given. The Commentators 
 generally seem to agree, tho after all with much uncertainty, that 
 
50U NOTES. 
 
 its sense is as here attempted to be rendered. See I Chron: xiii. 6. 
 The "the fields of the wood" B:V:, "the wood" L:V:, is thought 
 to mean a City so called, Kirjath-jearim, from its situation near to 
 woods ; thus poetically referred to. Ephratah, the land of the 
 Tribe of Ephraim, is another name for Bethlehem. 
 
 V: 9. 3. 4. ' The fruit, that of thy body is, 
 ' I on thy throne will set.' 
 See Acts. ii. 30 : where this is distinctly applied to CHRIST. 
 
 PSALM CXXXIII. 
 
 The blessedness of union. 
 A Song of Degrees of David. 
 
 V: 2. 4. ' And garment's neck ran down.' 
 
 ' neck.' The " skirts" of The A:V:s in this passage appears so 
 full of objectionableness, that, justifiable as the above change 
 verbally is, it is here adventured. 
 
 It seems most unlikely that ' skirts ' can be the sense intended ; 
 as this would exhibit the dress and certainly that of the most 
 solemn occasions as covered by a liquid unguent of a soiling 
 and staining nature however fragrant it might be : This surely 
 could not have been the case ; as, under any such circumstances 
 as those here supposed of Aaron, care on the contrary would 
 be taken to prevent any maculation of it. The meaning, therefor, 
 is apprehended to be that the ointment (or oily perfume) being 
 "poured upon the head," "flowed down" to the beard, and 
 not outwardly down to the "skirts" but inwardly to the 'neck' 
 or opening of the garment, as it must in fact do ; which would 
 thus admit the idea of profuse or rather unstinted quantity, 
 while saving the dress from external defilement. And this is 
 fully borne out by the Hebrew word (pee) which, tho 
 bearing the signification of 'skirts' hem or rather 'fringes,' 
 also means (besides entrance in general) the opening or mouth of 
 a sack, to which the neck-opening of a robe might well be 
 compared and that would naturally suggest the word. 
 
 Tho reference is here made especially to Aaron and no doubt 
 on occasion of some religious ceremony, the general allusion has a 
 much greater force from the circumstance of its being customary 
 to anoint the head with oil, probably as a grateful refresh ingness, 
 
NOTES. 501 
 
 but more especially at feasts of any kinds. See Ps: xxiii. 5, 
 Iv. 21, civ. 15, cix. 18, and Matt: xxvi. 7; also here the Note 
 to Ps: cxli. 5. P: 504. 
 
 The point of comparison here intended between the fraternal 
 union and the " ointment" seems to be not (as might at first be 
 imagined) the perfuming merely of the person of Aaron but the 
 exhaling of the fragrance all around him and thus on others 
 by the profuse effusion. So "the dew of Hennon" and of "the 
 mountains of Sion," in its plenteousness and from its fertilising 
 nature, is promiseful of abundance and therefor of joy. 
 
 The brotherly love, here so beautifully commended, is by some 
 understood not so much in a literal sense as with reference to 
 assembling for Divine Worship and especially in The Temple 
 on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, as did the assembled Nation 
 periodically three times a year, supposed to be alluded to 
 in Ps: Ixxxiv and cxxii. ; but it may very well be taken 
 for both conjointly. 
 
 V: 3. 2. ' And Sion's fertile store.' 
 
 This Sion is probably not intended for especially the Jerusalem 
 Sion, but generally the mountains of the Country, and thus 
 conjoined with Hermon for iteration of the sentiment. Yet 
 see Deut: iv. 48. 
 
 As to the philosophical explanations given by some of the 
 Commentators, literally following The L:V:, about 'the con- 
 * densation of vapours on the higher Hill of Hermon and their 
 'subsequent descent in dew on the lower Mountains of Sion 
 
 'etc:', not here to discuss the meteorological point, we presume 
 
 to think all that entirely chimerical whether in a positive 
 or poetical view, and that nothing more is intended than the 
 usual pleonastic repetition one of the features of the never- 
 absent Parallelism of Hebrew Poetry, and which here is 
 abundantly sufficient for the purpose. 
 
 PSALM CXXXIV. 
 
 THE LORD ever to be blessed by His Saints. 
 A Song of Degrees. 
 
502 NOTES. 
 
 PSALM CXXXV. 
 
 The greatness and goodness of THE LORD, and the 
 nothingness of false gods. 
 
 PSALM CXXXVI. 
 Thanks and praise to THE LORD, for His 
 
 never-ending mercy. 
 
 The present is a remarkable instance of a Choral Psalm ; 
 where, the Text or chief matter of the Piece being spoken by the 
 Priest, the Choir of persons appointed for that office joined 
 in the Response, as directed to be done on such occasions in 
 I Chron: xvi. 41. 
 
 This Chorus was no doubt used in very many of the Psalms, 
 perhaps in all those of a general character; only omitted in 
 this Compilation of them, to avoid tautology. It seems to have 
 partially remained in some, as the cvi th - cvii th> and cxviii th< 
 
 PSALM CXXXVII. 
 
 Lament of Israel in Captivity. 
 
 * # * On this Psalm as a singing-one see back, Note to 
 Ps: xlii. P: 393. 
 
 PSALM CXXXVIII. 
 
 The praises of GOD, for His continual support 
 of His servants. 
 A Psalm of David. 
 
 V: 1. 3. ' Before Thy Throne, to Thee, O Lord.' 
 In both The A:V:s "before the gods:" which is sense- 
 less and preposterous, giving the idea of a reference to the 
 heathen Pantheon. 
 
 There certainly is some obscurity in the passage : And it is 
 very differently interpreted ; some explaining the " gods" to mean 
 Kings and Princes generally the mighty or great ones of the 
 Earth, and others the false gods of the Heathen ; in either case 
 importing that the Psalmist desires to make a public confession of 
 
NOTES. 503 
 
 his faith, as in Ps: cxix. V: 46. The Vulgate, after The 
 
 LXX, renders it "Angels:" which seems the least accurate of 
 all ; as it evades the question, being neither one thing nor the 
 other, unless used merely figuratively and in a general manner, 
 and not admitting of the general conclusion ; as David could have 
 no knowledge of nor communication with such beings. 
 
 It seems not altogether unlikely to be that "the gods" is 
 here used in a figurative sense for the abstract presence of 
 
 GOD the place of worship of THE DEITY The Temple: And, 
 
 as neither of the above readings is at all satisfactory, and this is 
 sufficiently so, and moreover in immediate connection with the 
 next Verse, it has here been adopted. See further on the point 
 back, Note to Ps: xxix. 1, P: 381. 
 
 V: 3. ' For Thou Thy Word hast magnified 
 ' E'en Thy great Name above.' 
 
 This passage, as worded, is at first sight very obscure and 
 requiring explanation. And the Translators and Versioners 
 generally have not given it any clear meaning in their Text 
 nor without a subsequent elucidation, while some have merely 
 thrown the words loosely together for the Eeader to explicate for 
 himself. The L:V: here (as do The SEPTUAGINT and Vulgate) 
 very closely follows the Hebrew; apparently meaning that 
 1 The Lord had exalted the greatness of His " Name " and the 
 ' holiness of His " word" above " all" things i.e. His works ; that 
 'they (the former) might be honoured accordingly': His "word" 
 here being taken for His promises to His People, and His 
 "Name" for Himself as at Ps: v. 11. (See Note in loco P: 345.) 
 The B:V: expresses it somewhat differently ; taking, as it would 
 seem, the " all Thy Name" for GOD in His every abstraction, and 
 meaning that ' He had proved the immutableness of His word by 
 'exalting it even above that.' We have here followed the 
 
 B:V: reading merely as the simpler of the two, with a little more 
 unfolding of the Text for greater clearness. 
 
 V: 9. ' Thy hand etc: Yea Thy right hand etc:' 
 The repetition of "hand," with the additional enforcement 
 of specifying the "right hand" as significative of greater power, 
 is of frequent occurrence in Scripture, as one of the usual 
 Hebraisms the idiomatic amplifications of The Original. But 
 it may be noticed that there also seems a distinction in their 
 use; "hand" simply being more frequently employed as the 
 symbol of power or of punishment, and " right hand " that of 
 
504 NOTES. 
 
 protection and defence : as here, where both are used with a 
 clear reference to their respective offices separately while con- 
 jointly, the " hand" smiting the persecutor, and "the right hand" 
 succouring the oppressed. The " right hand" is also commonly 
 used as the type of proximity nearness, as at Ps: xvi. 8 and 11, 
 cxx. 5, passim ; and figuratively in some other senses. 
 
 See back, Notes to Ps: xxviii. 2. P: 380, and Ixxviii. 2. 431, 
 also to Ps: cxliv. 8. P: 506. 
 
 PSALM CXXXIX. 
 
 The yreatness of GOD, in His creation and care of Man. 
 To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David. 
 
 This is by some considered the finest of all the Psalms. It is 
 indeed a wonderfully grand composition, highly figurative and 
 poetical, and teeming with expressional beauty. It exhibits in 
 the fullest yet most concise manner the beneficence as well as 
 the greatness and glory of GOD, and leaves the creature entirely 
 satisfied with whatever may be His dispensations concerning him. 
 See back, Note to Ps: civ. P: 467. 
 
 The "heaven" and "hell" of V: 5 (B:V: 8) are of course 
 only used metaphorically, and in antithesis to each other, as 
 mere abstractions; for the abodes of unembodied existences, 
 without intending any specification of their states ; the former 
 for the Skies ; and the latter meaning, not a place of punishment, 
 but the grave generally the habitations of departed spirits.* 
 So, " the wings of the morning" and " the uttermost parts of the 
 sea" (B:V: 9.) mean respectively the East and the West, 
 the day first appearing in the former and closing in the latter : 
 All, as imaginary points in the realms of unbounded space, and 
 to express by abstract locality the ubiquity and omnipresence 
 of THE CREATOR. 
 
 PSALM CXL. 
 
 Prayer to THE LORD, for deliverance from wicked enemies. 
 To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David. 
 
 * See back, Note to Ps: ix. 7. P: 348. 
 
NOTES. 505 
 
 PSALM CXLI. 
 
 Prayer to THE LORD, for His purifying grace. 
 A Psalm of David. 
 
 Part of this Psalm, V: 5 6 and 7 in The A:V:s (here 
 extending to the V: 8) is very obscure ; some of it quite 
 unintelligibly so ; from the different meanings or rather 
 applications of which the words admit. If its occasion were 
 known, this would at once give a key to all: But there is 
 nothing to lead to more than vague conjecture about it: And 
 consequently the Commentators are divided in opinion, each 
 explaining the parts according to the view they take of the 
 whole. Not to risk going astray by adopting a sense that 
 might be erroneous, we have here simply followed the 
 B:V: Text: that of The L:V:, at least in this Verse 5, 
 is altogether confused and uncertain. 
 
 V: 5. 3. ' As fragrant oil to anoint my head.' 
 Some, following The SEVENTY and The Vulgate, refer this 
 "oil" to the wicked and their sinister flatteries, and deprecating 
 its acceptance. And others understand it of the anointing-oil 
 of the King the Royal Psalmist, and his praying that he might 
 not be intoxicated, as it were, with the regal power this conferred 
 upon him (combining a material allusion to the potency of the 
 aromatic ingredients comprising this) so as to misuse it : but 
 which seems a very far-fetched sense. 
 
 See back, Note to Ps: cxxxiii. 2. P: 500. 
 
 V: 7. When shall their Rulers be laid low etc:' 
 Assuming the Psalm to be a complaint of David against 
 his enemies^ this Verse is generally thought to refer to their 
 Chiefs, who had shut their ears against his good counsel, 
 persisting in their unjustifiable hostility until at last perishing 
 or to perish in consequence : But it is also differently explained. 
 And the next Verse is referred by some (as here) to David 
 and his followers persecuted by the above, and by others 
 prophetically or warningly to the latter. The rest, as the 
 
 beginning, being more abstract, is sufficiently clear. 
 
506 NOTES. 
 
 PSALM CXLII. 
 
 Prayer to THE LORD under calamities, with confidence 
 
 in His relief. 
 Maschil of David. A Prayer when he was in the Cave.* 
 
 PSALM CXLIII. 
 
 Prayer to THE LORD, for protection against wicked enemies. 
 A Psalm of David. 
 
 PSALM CXLIV. 
 
 Praise to GOD, for His greatness and goodness ; 
 and prayer for His continued favour. 
 
 A Psalm\ of David. 
 
 V: 8. 3. " And whose right hand etc:" 
 
 Some other senses, in which the "right hand" is used in 
 THE SCRIPTURES, have already been noticed in the Notes to Ps: 
 cxxxviii. 9, and cxlii. 5. Here it seems to have a reference 
 to the Eastern mode, as still used there and in many other 
 parts of the World, of holding up the right hand when taking 
 an oath : implying that they (the wicked) were always ready to 
 swear falsely. Indeed the action seems instinctive and mechanical 
 of solemn asseveration. See Ps: cxix. 48, and Deut: xxxii. 40, 
 also the BIBLE marginal reading to Exod: xvii. 16. 
 
 %* The custom of holding out the hand in pledge of promise, 
 without further adjuration, seems to have been continued even to 
 comparatively modern times. There is an interesting story told 
 of the German Emperor Henry III d - (1039-56) who, in the act of 
 
 * The Cave of Adullam. See I Sam: xxii. 1. 
 
 t A Psalm. It may be noticed that in the Title to this Psalm, as in 
 several others (first at Ps: xi. where here omitted to be remarked) the 
 first words "A Psalm" are not in the Hebrew, but supplied in italics by 
 the Translators. This no doubt from the omission's being considered as 
 merely an ellipsis obviously and naturally to be filled up ; the words 
 appearing as necessary there as in all the other Titles where they do occur. 
 
NOTES. 507 
 
 " holding out his hand" (which was also a legal form in the con- 
 veyance of property) in promise of continuing a certain grant 
 of land, held by one of his Nobles lately dead, to his widow, the 
 floor suddenly gave way, and most of the persons present in the 
 room were killed by the fall, Henry alone escaping unhurt 
 perhaps that he had truly intended. Not that " towers of Siloam" 
 fall only on the guilty head; but we do sometimes see that 
 " there shall no evil happen to the just." 
 
 V: 12. * Bless Thou us : that our sons, strength-fraught etc:' 
 Some understand this and the remaining Verses of the Psalm 
 to refer to the Heathen the ' stranger's children' of the 
 preceding one, as a boast of theirs that it should be so with 
 them. But, besides that this would be altogether misplaced 
 in their mouths here, it is in direct contradiction with the 
 close, which evidently shows it to be the prayer of the Psalmist 
 for the People of The Lord of that true GOD who alone could 
 ensure such blessings to them. 
 
 This misapprehension comes from that frequent source of 
 misunderstanding the true sense of The Psalms and unnecessary 
 suggesting of new readings the overlooking the transitions 
 and frequent and sudden changes of person so peculiar to 
 Hebrew Poetry and idiomatic of its language, as clearly exhibited 
 in this one. 
 
 V: 12. 4. " The Temple's corners" 
 
 There is nothing to lead to what is here meant by the 
 "corner stones" etc: B:V:, in The L:V: "polished corners of the 
 Temple." Some understand by it one thing, and some another ; 
 but which, as all equally conjectural, need not here be noticed. 
 But, of course, as the term is metaphorical, it must have been, 
 whether in the richness of materials or beauty of design or 
 workmanship or all these in combination, some highly orna- 
 mented part of the Edifice, that might thus be used as a 
 prominent and striking type of comeliness. 
 
 PSALM CXLV. 
 
 The praises of GOD, for His greatness and goodness. 
 David's Psalm of praise. 
 
508 NOTES. 
 
 This being one of the Alphabetical Psalms, it should properly 
 have twenty two Verses, to correspond with the number of the 
 Hebrew Letters: while, in the greater part of the Original 
 Copies (as in our Bibles) it has but twenty one. In those 
 Copies that have the full number, the here missing Verse is 
 (with the necessary difference of the initial letter Nun the same 
 as V: 17 our 14) inserted in its place between Mem and Samech 
 V: 13 and 14. 
 
 It seems to have been in particular estimation among the 
 Jews ; and still, with the next cxlvi, forms part of their daily 
 Service. The Talmudists have a saying that " He could not 
 " fail to be a child of the World-to-come who would say this 
 " Psalm three times every day." This is at any rate a precedent 
 for some of the Romish " Indulgences" at least the gratis ones. 
 
 PSALM CXLVI. 
 
 The praises of GOD, in whom alone to confide. 
 
 This Psalm, and all the remaining ones, have the Title of 
 Hallelujah, or ' Praise THE LORD,' which is also expressed at 
 their beginning : But its repetition at their end in The B:V:, 
 being so in only a few of the Hebrew Copies while not in the 
 greater number, is supposed by most of the Commentators to be 
 an error of the Copyists, as belonging to that next respectively 
 following; as in some previous instances. 
 
 PSALM CXLVII. 
 
 The praises of GOD ; for His greatness, and His favour 
 shown to His People. 
 
 PSALM CXLVIII. 
 All Creation called to join in the praises of GOD. 
 
 V: 12. 3. 'For that alone claims fame.' 
 
 4 fame'. See back, Note to Ps: Ixvii. 3. Pg: 414. 
 
NOTES. 509 
 
 This is a most noble Song : calling upon all Creation, all 
 
 things animate or inanimate, both celestial and sublunary the 
 
 ethereal and the positive, to join in praising their common GOD ; 
 bringing forward their whole succession in a most natural and at 
 the same time artistical arrangement, and endowing all with a 
 common voice for the grateful service. 
 
 Both the OLD VERSION and NEW VERSION Copies of this 
 Psalm being done in the same Metre that of Ps: cxxxvi, and 
 sung to the Tune called " Proper " as especial thereto, we have 
 on that account adopted it here and the more as the Piece 
 seems eminently suited to it. 
 
 Both those Versions give, as here, a Chorus ; but taking for 
 it part of the Text, as it proceeds ; and therefor have fewer Verses 
 than this. But that appears to have the objectionableness of 
 necessitating a greater compulsion of the sense to the rhyme 
 than with a same one throughout, and of taking away from 
 the refrain or ' return ' that Choral character which is so fine 
 and effective iri Sacred Song. Here, therefor, as in Ps: cxxxvi, 
 the subject has been confined entirely within the Verses ; and 
 a Chorus proposed, which in fact is in The B:V: at its 
 close ; and that may be used or omitted at pleasure, thus leaving 
 the Text complete. 
 
 This Psalm is in substance precisely the same as the 
 Benedicite Omnia Opera of The Morning Service, " The Song of 
 The Three Children" : and for which, as the Apocrypha is now 
 virtually discarded, it might perhaps advantageously be sub- 
 stituted : moreover that this, while equally full, is much shorter. 
 
 PSALM CXLIX. 
 The People of GOD called to join in singing His praise. 
 
 V: 3. i. 2. ' With music let them praise His Name : 
 ' With pipe and timbrel praise.' 
 
 It may here be remarked that throughout this Version, while 
 aiming at the closest literalness, equal care has been taken not to 
 give the mere words of the Text at the expense of the sense, that 
 
 is not giving those when they might convey a meaning not the 
 
 true one however apparently so ; which in many instances would 
 be the case if too servilely following the letter, as of course no 
 explanation could be given in the verse itself. 
 
510 NOTES. 
 
 The present case is one of that kind. The "dance" of The 
 A:V:s (as in Ps: CL. 4.) here expressed by * music etc:', may also 
 be rendered "pipe," for a musical instrument, as in the B:V: 
 margin. And ' dance,' in the common acceptation of the word, 
 would excite ideas very discordant with those of a religious 
 ceremony. Besides which, the "dance" (if 'dance' indeed be 
 intended) was not at all our saltatorial motion or exercise for 
 amusement, but certain stated and modulated movements slow 
 and solemn, that took place around the altar at the ceremonial of 
 Divine Service, keeping time with the music of the Sacred Song 
 or Chaunt and perhaps Prayer: In the worship of the Jews 
 to this day a movement of this kind is still used. Therefor the 
 words here used fully express the sense intended ; while a more 
 verbal rendering would misrepresent it and mislead. 
 
 V: 5. 3. * Now let them in their feasts rejoice.' 
 This passage comes under the same category as the last. 
 The "beds" of The A:V:s here is only a term used by 
 metonymy for Feasts or Table-entertainments; at which, as 
 among the Romans, it was the custom with at least the later 
 Jews to sit or recline on couches and that might perhaps also 
 at other times serve the purposes of beds on which to sleep. 
 Such at least is the opinion of some very able Commentators. 
 It may possibly however be intended literally; as in Ps: iv. 4, 
 where the word used for " beds" is the same : But the context 
 here clearly shows that a season of rejoicing is intended, and 
 not one of repose and silence. For instances of this see Amos 
 vi. 4 ; Luke vii. 368, if it were properly rendered ; John xii. 
 3. xiii. 4 to 12., and especially xiii. 23. and xxi. 20., where the 
 " leaning," which could not have been done had they been sitting 
 instead of lying at the Supper Table, make this perfectly clear.* 
 
 * Leonardo da Vinci's famous picture of The Last Supper (a fresco 
 painting in the Ambrosian Library at Milan) seems to have been done 
 without reference to this custom ; as all the Apostles, as well as THE 
 SAVIOUR, are there represented as sitting separately, and St. John is not 
 in any way lying or "leaning" on His "bosom" as described in John 
 xiii. 23 and xxi. 20. But the anachronisms, anatnpisms, and anomalies, 
 of all sorts, in the " Old Masters" are continual ; and indeed seem to 
 be perpetuated in no small degree as prescriptive conventionalisms among 
 Artists of all walks even in our own days ; common sense not yet being 
 loud enough to make itself heard above learned absurdity. 
 
 See back, upon thi, Note to Ps: xviii. 2, P: 364. 
 
NOTES. 511 
 
 PSALM CL. 
 
 All tongues and powers called upon to praise THE LORD. 
 
 The systematical manner in which these Sacred Songs are 
 arranged, however we may not always be able to trace its exact 
 plan nor understand why it appears to depart from a chrono- 
 logical order, cannot escape the most cursory observation ; and 
 affords the strongest internal evidence, could any additional such 
 be wanted, of the genuinenessnot only of the Pieces in general 
 but of all the details and incidental points occurring in them. 
 
 As Psalm I is an admirable Preface or opening to the whole 
 Book, so this last CL most appositely and appropriately closes the 
 Collection : calling upon All, with heart and mind and soul and 
 strength with hand and voice with their "glory* "and their 
 "best member" (L:V:) to join in the praises of The GOD of 
 might majesty and dominion of truth mercy and love, of HIM 
 before whom Kings are as the ground and Potentates as dust, in 
 whose sight all are equal, and who takes pleasure in raising 
 the down-bowed comforting the afflicted and showing mercy 
 to the repentant. 
 
 Blessed be THE LORD for ever and ever! And may His 
 goodness hasten the time when Mankind shall be as brethren 
 " one fold under one shepherdf ;" and, as called upon to do in 
 this beautiful Psalm, all join consentaneous in heart and song to 
 bless and glorify His Holy Name. Amen ! 
 
 snnbsb natp DbEtti on 
 
 * Ps: xvi. 9. Ivii. 8. cviii. 1. f John x. 16. 
 
 THE END OF THE NOTES. 
 
COREIGENDA. 
 
 PSALM XIX.* 
 
 V: 4. B:V: " Their line is gone out thro' all the Earth, 
 " and their words to the end of the World." 
 
 In an old Polyglot Psalter with Annotations (Fol- Geneva. 
 1516) the Commentator on this Psalm has inserted a Sketch 
 of the Life of Columbus; for the purpose of illustrating this 
 Verse ; stating a most curious circumstance respecting it, namety 
 that Christopher used to apply it to himself, boasting to be 
 the person appointed by GOD to verify the exclamation of the 
 Psalmist by carrying " their words to the end of the World." 
 
 It may be observed of this weakness in that great man, if 
 indeed the thing be true, that he at least had discretion enough 
 not to notice the prophecy till after its accomplishment. 
 
 It is, however, not mentioned in any of the usual Biographies 
 of him : But, in his Life by his Son, is stated a circumstance 
 that may seem to bear upon the point 
 
 * Omitted at Pg. 373. 
 [To the Binder. Insert this after the Notes.] 
 
Ferdinand and Isabella, as an additional inducement to 
 vigilance, had promised thirty crowns a year for life to whom- 
 ever should first see the looked-for Land. After several un- 
 
 mistakeable indications of its proximity in the day the fortieth 
 
 of their voyage from the Canaries, Columbus himself at about 
 ten at night saw a light, which he concluded to be from some 
 shore : And about four hours later, at two A:M:, land was actually 
 seen, the first Old- World knowledge of The New, by a sailor on 
 board one of the other ships : But the thirty crowns a year were 
 not awarded to this latter man, but to Columbus ; " who had (says 
 his Son) seen the light in the midst of darkness ; signifying the 
 spiritual light he was then spreading in those dark regions." 
 A Court of Law would perhaps have decided otherwise, adhering 
 to the letter of the promise : But " poor Jack ", as often since, 
 had no Counsel at Court. 
 
 It seems not unlikely that the idea (which was altogether 
 Their Spanish Majesties') would be taken up by Columbus, 
 whether in sincerity or from a natural desire to enhance his own 
 merit ; and so would be referred for authority, whether by himself 
 or his admirers, to the passage in The Psalm. 
 
PSALM LXIII. 
 
 Third Version.* 
 
 OGOD! Thee still I '11 seek, to see, 
 At morning's early first : 
 As in a barren land and dry, 
 Where water lacks to its supply ; 
 For Thee my soul still longs athirst, 
 My flesh still longs for Thee. 
 
 2. Still sought the seats, thereon to gaze, 
 
 Thy power and glory fill. 
 For, more, and far surpassing this, 
 Than life, Thy loving kindness is. 
 
 Yea, while I live, my hands I still 
 Will in Thy Name upraise. 
 
 3. As 't were with marrow and fatness fed, 
 
 Shall I be cated well, 
 When Thee with joyful lips I laud. 
 My waking thoughts on Thee employ 'd ; 
 
 in the night hour on Thee they dwell, 
 Forgetful of my bed. 
 
 4. 'Neath Thy wings' shadow will I joy, 
 
 Whose fences safe maintain. 
 For still me Thy right hand upholds, 
 Thy bounteous care me still enfolds : 
 
 So still Thy praise shall load my strain, 
 Thy lauds my tongue employ. 
 
 5. But those, who seek my soul, to slay ; 
 
 In their own pits shall fall ; 
 They to the Earth's lower parts shall go ; 
 They by the sword shall be laid low ; 
 
 They for the foxes shall be all 
 A portion and a prey. 
 
 * Substituted for that at Pg. 121. This may be sung 
 with any Common Metre Tune, only repeating the bars that 
 correspond with the longer lines. 
 
6. Still shall The King in GOD rejoice, 
 
 His hold on HIM ne'er clropp'd : 
 And they, the true, by HIM who swear, 
 Shall glory, nor subverted e'er. 
 
 But shall the liars' mouths be stopp'd, 
 And silenc'd all their voice. 
 
 Note to Ps: LXXXVIII Title. Pg. 447. 
 For the last Paragraph, read 
 
 Different explanations are given of their being called 
 Ezrahites : Some taking the name to be a patronymic, 
 altered by paragoge from Zerah named in 1 Chron: ii. 6, 
 as being his descendants; and others considering it, from 
 the meaning the word may bear, as an honorary title refer- 
 ring to their rank and office in the Choir; but which latter 
 sense seems much the less obvious of the two. 
 
 Note to Ps: CVI. 7. Pg. 470. 
 Read, in addition, at the end 
 
 The general opinion, however, is that it took the name 
 from the Country of Edom (Idumaea) which signifies red, 
 that lay on its North Eastern shores. 
 
 %* The asterisks have accidentally been omitted at 
 several Passages in the Psalms commented upon in The 
 Notes: but all which are noticed in the following Table. 
 Some slight inaccuracies, also, whether of the Press or other, 
 may here and there be observed ; and which, not to encum- 
 ber with an ERRATA, the Reader is requested to excuse, 
 and to correct for himself. 
 
PSALMS NOTICED GENERALLY. 
 Ps: i. vi. x. xi. xiv. xv. xvin. xx. xxi. xxn. 
 
 XXIV. XXV. XXVI. XXIX. XL. XLII. XLI1I. XLV. 
 XLVI. XLIX. LI. LXI. LXVIII. LXX. LXXII. 
 LXXIV. LXXV. LXXVII. LXXXVII. LXXXVIII. XC. 
 XCTI. CIV. CV. CVIII. CX. CXI. CXITI. CXVII. 
 CX1X. CXX. CXXVI. CXXVIl. CXXXVI. CXXXVII. 
 CXXXIX. CXLI. CXLVI. CXLVIII. CL. 
 
 PASSAGES IN THE PSALMS* NOTICED. 
 
 SEE NOTES. 
 
 Ps: ii. 6. 7. 8. 12. 
 in. 2. 
 iv. 2. 7. 
 v. 5. 11. 
 vn. 7. 
 vin. 2. 
 ix. 6. 14. 17. 
 x. 3. 10. 15. 
 xi. 1.3.6. 
 xn. 8. 
 XIH. 6. 
 
 xiv. 5. 6. 7. L:V: 
 xv. 4. 
 
 xvi. 2. 3. 6. 9. 10. 
 xvn. 10. 13. 15. 
 xvin. 2. 7. 8. 9. 29. 37. 
 xix. 13. 
 
 xxn. 15. 20. 21.26. seq: 
 xxin. 4. 
 xxv. 14. 
 xxviii. 2. 
 
 Ps: xxix. 1 . 9. 
 xxxi. 5. 
 xxxii. 7. 
 xxxiii. 3. 
 xxxiv. 10. 20. 
 xxxvu. 3. 10.34.36.37 
 xxxix. 4. 6. 11. 13. 
 XL. 6__7_8. 17. 
 XLI. 1. 8. 9. 12. 
 
 XLII. 9. 
 
 XLIV. 12. 19. 
 
 XLV. 8. 
 
 XLVI. 4. P: 414. 
 
 XLVII. 9. 
 
 XLVIII. 2. 4. 11. 
 XLIX. 4. 5. 7_8_9. 11 
 
 12. 20. 
 L. 2. 20. 
 LI. 5. 7. 18. 
 LII. 2. 
 
 LIII. 5. 
 
 The Verses refer to The Bible Version. 
 
 L L 
 
514 
 
 PASSAGES IN THE PSALMS NOTICED. 
 
 Ps: LV. 20. 
 
 LVI. 8. 
 
 LVII. 5. 6. 8. 
 LVIII. 7. 8. 9. 
 LIX. 6. 14. 
 LX. 4. 6. 8. 
 LXI. 2. 
 LXII. 3. 11. 
 
 LXIH. 1. 10. 
 LXV. 9. 
 
 LXVIII. 6. 8. 11. 13. 14. 
 
 15. 18.22.26.30.31. 
 LXIX. 12. 21.2328. 
 Lxxn.l.3.6.8.16.End. 
 LXXIII. 10. 20. 28. 
 LXXIV. 2. 5. 6. 13__14. 
 LXXV. 1. 2. 3. 8. 
 LXXVI. 4. 
 LXXVII. 2. 
 LXXVIII. 2.9.24.25.26. 
 
 46.51.54.61. 64. 
 
 LXXIX. 12. 
 
 LXXX. 1. 16. 17. 
 LXXXI. 2. 3. 6. 7. 16. 
 
 LXXXII. 5. 
 LXXXIII. 10. 13. 
 
 LXXXIV. 3. 5. 6. 10. 
 
 LXXXVI. 16. 
 
 LXXXVII. 2. 7. 
 
 LXXXIX. 3.4.5.12. 15. 
 
 19. 25. 27. 37. 
 xc. 3. 10. II. 
 xci. 11_12. 13. 
 
 XCIII. 1. 
 
 xcv. 7. 
 
 Ps: xcvi. 9. 
 xcvu. 1. 
 xcix. 1. 
 c. 2. 
 en. 7. 10. 13. 14. 16. 
 
 27_28. 
 cm. 5. 18. 
 civ. 6__7. 18.26. 
 cv. 19.20.23.28.29. 
 cvi. 7. 15. 26. 27. 28. 
 cvn. 40. 
 cix. 6. 14. 
 ex. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 
 cxii. 4. 
 cxiv. 1. 
 cxv. 1. 4. 
 cxvi. 13. 
 CXVITI. 22. 27. 
 cxix. 36.71.83.8996. 
 
 109. 131. 
 cxx. 3. 4. 5. 
 cxxi. Title. 
 cxxv. 3. 
 cxxvi. 4. 
 cxxvn. 1. 4. 
 CXXVIH. 3. 
 cxxix. 6. 7. 8. 
 cxxx. 1. 6. 
 cxxxi. 3. 
 cxxxii. 6. 1 1. 
 cxxxin. 2. 3. 
 CXXXVIH. 1. 2. 7. 
 CXLI. 5. 6, 
 CXLIV. 8. 12. 
 CXLIX. 3. 5. 
 
ENTIRE VERSIONS OF THE PSALTER. 
 
 IN THE ORDER OF THEIR PUBLICATION.* 
 
 Crowley. R: 1549 
 
 Parker. M: Abp: .... 1557 
 OLD VERSION^ THE. 1562 
 
 Pont. R: 1575 
 
 Sidney. Sir P: 1580 
 
 Dod. H: 1603 
 
 JAMES r i -t 1611 
 
 Ainsvvorth. H: J6T2 
 
 Wither. G: 1632 
 
 Fairfax. J. Lord M:S: 163- 
 
 Sandys. G: 1636 
 
 R. B. (rathwayte) ..1638 
 
 Boyd. Z: 1640 
 
 New England Version.1640 
 
 Barton. VV: 1644 
 
 Rous or ROUSE. F:f 
 
 The Scotch Version. 1646 
 Mure. Sir W: M:S: . . 16_ 
 
 Roberts. F: 1649 
 
 King. H: Bp: 1651 
 
 Goodridge. R: 1655 
 
 White. J: 1655 
 
 Leigh. S: 1661 
 
 Woodford. S: 1667 
 
 Smyth. M: 1668 
 
 Ford. S: 1688 
 
 Baxter. R: 1692 
 
 NEW VERSION^-. THE. 1696 
 
 Milbourne. L: 1698 
 
 Denham. Sir J: 1714 
 
 Patrick. J: 1715 
 
 Blackmore. Sir R:f . .1721 
 
 Pike. H: 1751 
 
 Wheatland. S: and Syl- 
 vester. T:J \.1754 
 
 Prince. S: 1756 
 
 Merrick. J:f 1765 
 
 Smart. C: 1 7()5 
 
 Scott. G: N: . , . 1 768 
 
 Maxwell. T: 1773 
 
 Barclay. T: 1776 
 
 Boswell. R: 1784 
 
 Anonymous 1794 
 
 Cottle. A: 1805 
 
 Dennis. J: 1808 
 
 | Anonymous 1 809 
 
 Towers. W: ...1811 
 
 Goode. W: 1811 
 
 Donald. R: 1815 
 
 Anonymous 1815 
 
 Goodwin. E: M:S: . . 181- 
 
 Caldwell. W: 1821 
 
 Woodd.B: 1821 
 
 Anonymous 1822 
 
 Mant. R: Bp: 1824 
 
 Turner. B: N: 1824 
 
 Sankey. M: 1825 
 
 Rowland. E: 1826 
 
 Maule. J: 1827 
 
 Usher. J: 1827 
 
 Patullo. M: 1828 
 
 Wrangham. W: 1829 
 
 Bartholomew. A: 1831 
 
 Marsh. E: G: 1832 
 
 Gahagan. H: 1832 
 
 Musgrave. G: 1833 
 
 Bartrum. J: P: 1833 
 
 Sadler. M: J: M:S: ..183- 
 
 Farr. E: 1836 
 
 Foster. C: and Colling. 
 
 E: Misses 1836 
 
 j Keble. J: 1839 
 
 I Burgess. G: 1839 
 
 Eden. T: 1840 
 
 Anonymous 1845 
 
 Presbyter Cestriensis 1846 
 
 Cole. B: 1848 
 
 B: W: B: . .1848 
 
 Excepting the three in M:S: 
 J In Heroic Couplets. 
 
 "Allowed" or Authorised. 
 In Blank Verse. 
 
TABLE OF THE PRESENT VERSION PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM. PAGE 
 
 AGAIN unto Thy land, Lord LXXXV. . 172 
 
 All ye lands ! now come in throng Sixth Version c. . 208 
 
 All ye Nations ! praise The Lord Sec : Vers : cxvn. . 253 
 
 As is Thy goodness, Lord Sec : Vers : LI. . 100 
 
 As pants for running waters free XLII. . 79 
 
 As Thy great goodness is, Lord LI. . 99 
 
 Awake, my soul ! and with the sun Morning Hymn i. . 331 
 
 BEHOLD, how pleasant 'tis and good cxxxm. . 28ft 
 
 Blessed the dead yea blessed are : Burial Hymn. . 334 
 
 Blessed they are, yea hlessed they cxix. . 25ft 
 
 Blest are all they, who fear The Lord cxxvin. . 280 
 
 Blest be The Lord, our stead Benedictus. . 321 
 
 Blest be The Lord, who by me stands CXLIV. . 303 
 
 Blest he, guile -free within Sec : Vers : xxxn. . 52 
 
 Blest he, whose fault forgiven is xxxn. . 51 
 
 By Babel's waters, where in thrall cxxxvu. . 292 
 
 CHRIST from the dead is risen, and made Easter Hymn n. . 327 
 
 Clap clap your hands, ye People all XLVII. . 89 
 
 Clap your hands, ye People all Sec : Vers : XLVII. . 90 
 
 Clojth'd with power, and strength -bedight Sec: Vers : xcm. . 194 
 
 Come, all Lands ! now come the whole Earth. . Fourth Vers : c. . 207 
 
 Come all ye Lands, all Earth Sec : Vers : LXVI. . 126 
 
 Come, all ye Lands ! and in Third Vers : c. . 206 
 
 Come, Holy Spirit ! quickening us Vent Creator n. . 318 
 
 Come, Holy Spirit ! wakening us Veni Creator i. . 317 
 
 Come, Nations, Lands, come, all the Earth c. . 205 
 
 Come, Nations, Lands, come, all the Earth Sec : Vers : c. . 206 
 
 Come now to The Lord, rejoiced Fifth Vers ; c. . 207 
 
 EARTH, and all its orb contains Sec : Vers : xxiv. 
 
 Except The Lord the house upbuild CXXMF. . -,'7'.i 
 
 l>t The Lord the house upbuild Sec: J'ers : x\\ n. . 280 
 
TABLE OF THE PRESENT VERSION PSALMS. 517 
 
 PSALM. PAGE. 
 
 FOR David, when in grief down-bow'd cxxxii. . 283 
 
 For the ungodly one's success xxxvu. . 62 
 
 For unto us a Child is born. Christmas Hymn in. . 325 
 
 From woe's all lowest depths, Lord Sec : Vers : cxxx. . 282 
 
 'GAINST an ungodly People now XLIII. . 81 
 
 Give thanks unto The Lord /foe : Vert : cxxxvi. . 290 
 
 Give, ye great ones, to The Lord Sec : Vers : xxix. . 46 
 
 Glorious things of thee are spoken Third Vers : LXXXVTI. . 177 
 
 Glory to Thee, my GOD ! this night Evening Hymn i. . 332 
 
 GOD in the nighty's Courts e'erwhere LXXXII. . 166 
 
 GOD is our hope, our refuge is Sec : Vers : XLVI. . 87 
 
 GOD is our hope : our strength is this XLVI. . 86 
 
 GOD our strength and refuge is Third Vers : XLVI. . 88 
 
 Great is The Lord ; most great avow'd XLVIII. . 41 
 
 HAD not The Lord been with us then cxxiv. . 276 
 
 Hark, the herald Angels sing Christmas Hymn n. . 324 
 
 Heavenwards will I lift mine eyes Sec : Vers : cxxi. . 274 
 
 He is blest, that doth regard the poor XLI. . 78 
 
 High let us swell our tuneful notes Christmas Hymn i. . 323 
 
 How amiable, Lord of hosts LXXXIV. . 169 
 
 How blest is he, that doth not in i. . 1 
 
 How long wilt Thou forget me, Lord xin. . 17 
 
 I CRIED unto The Lord : CXLII. . 300 
 
 I cry unto The Lord in strait Sec : Vers : CXLH . . 300 
 
 I said ' I to my ways will tend' XTXTY. . 73 
 
 In GOD be joyful, all ye Lands LXVI. . 125 
 
 In Hallelujahs to The Lord Hymn. . 333 
 
 In Judah GOD doth dwell Sec : Vers : LXXVI. . 150 
 
 In Judah GOD is known and well LXXVI. . 149 
 
 In Judah's Country Shepherds were Nativity Hymn. . 325 
 
 In Thee, Lord ! I trust xxxi. . 48 
 
 In Thee, Lord ! in Thee LXXI. . 137 
 
 JEHOVAH reigns. Adoring Him xcrx. . 204 
 
 JEHOVAH reigns. The Lord is King xcvir. . 201 
 
 JESUS CHRIST is risen to-day Easter Hymn m. . 327 
 
 LET not Thy wrath against me stand Sec : Vers : xxxvm. . 72 
 
 List, sinners ! and rejoice Hymn. . 330 
 
 Lo GOD arises : and straightway LXVIII. . 129 
 
 Lord ! from us why, refusing heed x. . 13 
 
 Lord ! give Thy justice to The King LXXTI. . 140 
 
 Lord GOD ! avenger Thou of wrong xcrv. . 195 
 
 Lord ! hear my cry : my calling hear XVH. . 21 
 
 Lord ! hear my cry : my prayer attend See : Vers : LXI. . 117 
 
 Lord ! hear my prayer: my crying hear Sec : Vers : cii. . 213 
 
 Lord ! hear my prayer: now gracious be Sec : Vers : CXLIII. . 302 
 
 Lord ! hear the voice of my complaint LXIV. . 122 
 
518 TABLE OF THE PRESENT VERSION PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM. PAGE. 
 
 Lord ! help me Thou : lest man prevail LVI. . 107 
 
 Lord ! I'll extol and honour Thee xxx. . 47 
 
 Lord ! in Thy wrath rebuke me not vi. . 6 
 
 Lord ! in Thy wrath rebuke me not Sec : Vers : vi. . 7 
 
 Lord ! in Thy wrath rebuke me not xxxvm. . 78 
 
 Lord ! judge me Thou : for I have walk'd xxvi. . 41 
 
 Lord ! list my prayer : in this distress CXLIH. . 301 
 
 Lord ! nothing haughty is my heart cxxxi. . 283 
 
 Lord ! save me from my foes, and them LIX. . 112 
 
 Lord ! save me from the wicked man CXL. . 297 
 
 Lord ! Thou dost search me out and know cxxxix. . 295 
 
 Lord ! unto Thee I cry xxv. . 39 
 
 MY GOD ! and is Thy table spread Sacramental Hymn i. . 328 
 
 My GOD ! how much increas'd they are m. . 3 
 
 My GOD ! my GOD ! why in my need xxn. . 32 
 
 My King ! my GOD ! I Thee will laud CXLV. . 305 
 
 My prayer I to The Lord preferr'd Sec : Vers : XL. . 77 
 
 My song shall evermore make known LXXXIX. .17!) 
 
 My soul doth magnify The Lord Magnificat. . 323 
 
 My trust is in the Lord reposed xi. . 15 
 
 NE'ER through the ungodly fret Sec: Vers : xxxvn. . 66 
 
 Not for our sakes, Lord ! not us cxv. . 249 
 
 Now call I unto Thee : hear CXLI. . 298 
 
 Now GOD His mercy to us show Sec : Vers : LXVII. . 129 
 
 Now gracious to me be, O Lord LVII. . 108 
 
 Now, Lord ! to us incline LXVII. . 128 
 
 Now praise The Lord, with one consent cxxxrv. . 285 
 
 Now sing to The Lord a song of new choice . . Sec : Vers : CXLIX. . 314 
 
 Now to Salvation's King in Heaven Sacramental Hymn in. . 329 
 
 Now to Thy servant give release Nunc Dimittis. . 323 
 
 Now unto GOD, our strength and stay LXXXI. . 165 
 
 O BLESS The Lord : my soul ! Him bless cm. . 214 
 
 O bless The Lord, my soul, my frame Third Vers : cm. . 218 
 
 bless The Lord : my soul, my heart Sec : Vers : cm. . 216 
 
 bless The Lord, ye His sen-ants all Sec : Vers : cxxxiv. . 286 
 
 come now ; and, to Him forth pour'd xcv. . 197 
 
 give ye thanks unto The Lord cv. . 222 
 
 give ye thanks unto The Lord cvi. . --i'Jti 
 
 O give ye thanks unto The Lord cvu. . 231 
 
 give ye thanks unto The Lord cxvm. . 208 
 
 give ye thanks unto The Lord cxxxvi. . 288 
 
 GOD ! at late as early tide Third Vers : LXIII. . 12 1 
 
 O GOD ! my crying hear LXI. . 116 
 
 O GOD! my GOD ! with earliest day Sec : Vers . I.XMI. . 120 
 
 GOD! my soul with thirst doth -TV i.xm. . 119 
 
 O GOD! no longer Thee refrain i \\.\ni. . Hu 
 
TABLE OF THE PRESENT VERSION PSALMS. 519 
 
 PSALM. PAGE. 
 
 GOD ! now gracious be Sec : Vers : Lvn. . 109 
 
 O GOD ! now rise in my defence cix. . 236 
 
 O GOD ! on Thee do I depend xvi. . 20 
 
 O GOD ! the Heathen, raging wild T.TTTX. . 160 
 
 GOD ! the Heathen, raging wild Sec : Vers : Lxxix. . 161 
 
 O GOD ! Thee praise in Sion waits LXV. . 123 
 
 O GOD ! thereto my heart is framed. . . cvm. . 235 
 
 O GOD ! Thou 'st shown us pain ..Sec: Vers : LX. . 115 
 
 O GOD ! Thou 'st with us been displeased LX. . 114 
 
 O GOD ! unto my prayer give ear LV. . 104 
 
 O GOD ! we 've heard, attent thereto xuv. . 82 
 
 GOD ! why still thus absent keep LXXIV. . 145 
 
 O haste Thee, Lord! now to me speed LXX. . 137 
 
 O hear me, Lord ! in piteousness LXXXVI. . 173 
 
 O hear ye me, ye Peoples all XLIX. . 93 
 
 O help me, Lord ! for, thro the land xii. . 16 
 
 O King ! e'er in the troublous day xx. . 29 
 
 O King ! in trouble's day Sec : Vers : xx. . 30 
 
 O list my prayer : now, when implor'd en. . 210 
 
 O Lord ! give my petition ear v. . 5 
 
 O Lerd, my GOD ! whate'er my woes vii. . 8 
 
 O Lord, my rock ! to Thee I call xxvin. . 44 
 
 O Lord ! o'er all the Earth Sec : Vers : vm. . 10 
 
 O Lord, our GOD ! from e'en till now Sec : Vers : xc. . 186 
 
 O Lord, our GOD ! since e'er to now xc. . 184 
 
 O Lord, our GOD ! spread far and nigh vm. . 9 
 
 O praise The Lord, my soul ! Him bless civ. . 219 
 
 O praise The Lord, my soul ! Him bless CXLVI. . 307 
 
 O praise The Lord, my soul ! Him praise. . . . Sec : Vers: CXLVI. . 308 
 
 O praise The Lord, ye Nations all cxvn. . 252 
 
 O save me, Lord ! for Thy Name's sake LIV. . 104 
 
 O sing to The Lord a song of new frame Third Vers : xcvi. . 201 
 
 O sing ye to The Lord xcvm. . 203 
 
 O sing ye to The Lord Sec : Vers : xcvm. . 204 
 
 O sing ye to The Lord, all Earth xcvi. . 198 
 
 O Thou, my Saviour GOD ! e'ermore LXXXVUI. . 177 
 
 O Thou, o'er Joseph, leading him LXXX. . 163 
 
 O Thou, that in the Heavens dost dwell cxxm. . 276 
 
 O Thou, who freed'st me when distress'd. iv. . 4 
 
 O Thou ! whose bounty us, anew Morning Hymn n. . 331 
 
 O ye, His servants ! praise The Lord Sec : Vers : cxm. . 247 
 
 O ye, my People ! hear my speech Lxxvm. . 153 
 
 Of a good matter here my heart XLV. . 84 
 
 Of mercy and judgement will I sing ci. . 209 
 
 On GOD my soul doth ever wait mi. . 118 
 
 Out of woe's depths, Lord cxxx. . 282 
 
520 TABLE OF THE PRESENT VERSION PSALMS. 
 
 PSALM. PAOE. 
 
 PRAISE The Lord : Him praise loud- toned Third Vers: CL. . 3J6 
 
 Praise The Lord : the just among Third Vers : cxi. . 243 
 
 Praise The Lord, ye eternal tongues Sec : Vers : CXLVTII. . 312 
 
 Praise The Lord, ye His sen-ants all Sec : Vers : cxm. . 247 
 
 Praise ye The Lord ! His praises sing OXLVH. . 308 
 
 Praise ye The Lord : His servants all cxxxv. . 286 
 
 Praise ye The Lord in His dread height CL. . 315 
 
 Praise ye The Lord ! Praise GOD ! Him praise. . Sec : Vers : CL. . 315 
 
 Praise ye The Lord wheree'er CXLVIII. . 310 
 
 Praise ye The Lord : your voices raise cxm. . 246 
 
 REJOICE ye in The Lord xxxin. . 53 
 
 SAD by Babylon's waters we sat down and wept S : V : cxxxvii . . 293 
 
 Save me, GOD ! where fiercely pour LXIX. . 183 
 
 Since CHRIST, our Passover is slain. Easter Hymn i. . 326 
 
 Sing a new song unto The Lord Sec : Vers : xcvi. . 199 
 
 Still many a time (may Israel say) cxxix. . 281 
 
 Strive Thou for me, Lord GOD of might XXXY. . 58 
 
 THAT man is blest, who fears The Lord cxn. . 244 
 
 That man is blest, who fears The Lord Sec : Vers : cxn. . 244 
 
 The Earth, and all that therein is xxrvr. . 37 
 
 The fool within his heart has said xiv. . 18 
 
 The fool within his heart has said LHI. . 103 
 
 The Heavens, and all the realms on high xix. . 28 
 
 The King, Lord ! sustain'd by Thee xxi. . 31 
 
 The Lord, e'en The most mighty GOD L. . 94 
 
 The Lord, e'en The most mighty GOD Sec : Vers : L. . 96 
 
 The Lord is King : He reigns o'er all xcm. . 194 
 
 The Lord loves Israel LXXJII. . 142 
 
 The Lord my light and safeguard is xxvu. . 42 
 
 The Lord my shepherd is and guide xxni. . 35 
 
 The Lord my shepherd is and guide Sec : Vers : xxm. . 36 
 
 THE LOUD unto my Lord did say ex. . 239 
 
 THE LORD unto my Lord thus said Sec : Vers : ex. . 240 
 
 The ungodly one him still applies xxxvi. . 61 
 
 Thee, Lord ! with my whole heart Sec : Vers : cxxxvin. . 293 
 
 They, in The Lord their trust who place Sec : Vers : cxxv. . 277 
 
 They, Lord ! who trust in Thee Sec : Vers : cxxv. . 278 
 
 Thou art my ward 'gainst every shock xvin. . 23 
 
 Thro Thy abounding goodness, kept Evening Hymn 11. . 332 
 
 'T is good and meet, O Lord Sec : Vers : xcn. . 192 
 
 'T is good to give Thee thanks, Lord xcn. . 190 
 
 To GOD I with my voice applied LXXVII. . 151 
 
 To Him now sing ye a new song CXLIX. . 313 
 
 To Thee, GOD ! on high LXXV. . 147 
 
 To Thee, LORD ! with my whole heart ix. . 11 
 
 To Thee, with my whole heart outpour'd \xxvm. . 201 
 
TABLE OF THE PRESENT VERSION PSALMS. 5*21 
 
 PSALM. FAOK. 
 
 UNTO The Lord continually .......................... xxxiv. . 55 
 
 Unto The Lord I cried .................................. cxx. . 272 
 
 Unto The Lord on high ................................ cxxi. . 274 
 
 Upon the Holy Hills, past fall ........................ Lxxxvn. . 3 75 
 
 Upon the Holy HiUs, past fall ............ Sec : Vers : LXXXVH. . 176 
 
 WE a strong City have ................................ Hymn. 330 
 
 We praise Thee, GOD ! we Thee avow .............. Te Deum. . 319 
 
 Well-pleas'd am I, that He hath heard .................... cxvi. . 251 
 
 When came from Egypt Israel's hand .................... cxrv. . 248 
 
 When I in trouble was, enthrall'd ............ Sec : Vers : cxx. . 273 
 
 When, in her bonds, The Lord, from thrall .............. cxxvi. . 278 
 
 When Israel forth from Egypt went .......... Sec : Vers : cxiv. . 249 
 
 Who, in Thy Tabernacle still ............................ xv. . 19 
 
 Who makes The Almighty his retreat .......... Third Vers : xci: . 190 
 
 Who, 'neath His shelter, shunning ill .................... xci. . 187 
 
 Who, under The Most High's defence .......... Sec : Vers : xci. . 189 
 
 Why furiously, with menacings ............................ n. . 2 
 
 Why, Tyrant ! in thy malice thus ........................ LH. . 102 
 
 With my whole heart outpour'd ................ Sec : Vers : cxi. . 242 
 
 With my whole heart, unto The Lord .................... cxi. . 241 
 
 With joy I heard the call .............................. cxxn. . 275 
 
 With patience, to His will resign'd ........................ XL. . 74 
 
 YE great ones ! homage to Him pay .................... xxix. . 45 
 
 Ye men of might ! to righteousness ...................... LVTII. . Ill 
 
 Yea Thou wast slain : and by Thy blood ...... Sacrum : Hymn n. . 326 
 
 335 
 
 END OF THE TABLE. 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 AARON, his age. Pg: 452. 
 
 Abimelech. Ps: xxxiv. 10. 384. 
 
 Abraham. M r< P: Professor of 
 Hebrew. Ix. 
 
 Adam. Ps: xcii attributed to him. 456. 
 
 Age of Man. Ps: xc. 10. 451. 
 
 Agincourt. Battle of. Ps: cxv sung 
 after the. 485. 
 
 Aljeleth-shahar. What. Ps: xxxii 
 Title. 375. 
 
 Alamoth. What. Ps: xlvi Title. 397. 
 
 Alexander III d ' Pope, and the Em- 
 peror Frederick I st ' 454. 
 
 Aliters : or Additional Versions. 
 xxxix. Ixxvi. 370. 386. 
 
 Alphabetical Psalms. See PSALMS. 
 
 Al-taschith. What. Ps: Ivii. 406. 
 
 Ambrose S l< on The Psalms, liii. 
 
 Anastrophe. instancedin Ps: cxiv. 481 . 
 
 " Angels' food." Ps: Ixxviii. 25. 435. 
 
 Anthropomorphisms : their use un- 
 avoidable. 365. 
 
 Antiphonal singing. Ixxi. 374. 
 
 Aphorisms Oriental. Ps: xxx. 5. 302. 
 xxxix. 6. 388. 
 
 Art Conventionalisms. 364. 510. 
 
 ART OF VERSE THE. A recently pub- 
 lished Poem. Ivi. 
 
 Asaphs The. Temple Musicians. 1. 401 . 
 
 Athanasius S<- On The Psalms, lii. 
 
 A:V: or Authorised Versions. 344. 
 
 Authorised Versions of The Psalms, 
 xviii. passim. 
 
 Augustine S l - On The Psalms, liii. 
 On Ps: xc. 450. 
 
 " Axes and trees ". Ps: Ixxxiv. 5. 428. 
 
 BAAL-PEOR. Ps: cvi. 26. 474. 
 
 Baca. Valley of. Ps: Ixxxiv. 15. 419. 
 
 Bacon. F: Lord. His Version of Ps: 
 ex. 7. 453. 
 
 " Banner." Ps: Ix. 4. 410. 
 
 Barbarossa Frederic I* 1 ' Emperor, 
 his abject submission to Pope Alex- 
 ander 1 1 1"- 454. 
 
 Bashan. Hill of. Ps: Lxviii. 15. 419. 
 " Beauty of holiness." Ps: xcvi. 8. 458. 
 " Beds." Ps: cxlix. 5. 509. 
 Bernard St. On Hell. 348. 
 Beveridge. Bp: On THE OLD VER- 
 SION of The Psalms, xl. 378. 
 BIBLE, language characterised, xii. 
 
 English Translators of The. xiv. 
 " Bird to hill." Ps: xi. 1. 349. 
 BLACKMORE. SIR R d : his Version of 
 
 The Psalms, xxviii. his Ps: viii and 
 
 Ixvii quoted xxviii. xxx. 
 " Blessings The." Jewish Prayers so 
 
 called. 243. 
 
 " Bosom." What. Ps: Ixxix. 2. 438. 
 Boswell, Mr. J: On THE SCOTCH 
 
 PSALMS, xxi. 
 
 " Bowing wall." Ps: Ixxii. 3. 412. 
 BRADY. N: Author of THE NEW 
 
 VERSION of The Psalms, xlii. 
 | " Brook in the way." Ps: ex. 7. 481. 
 Bricklayers' Hall. Motto on. 487. 
 Bridges. C: On Ps: cxix. 489. 
 B:V: Bible Version of The Psalms. 
 
 xii. 378. passim. 
 
 "CAPTIVITY led captive." Ps: 
 
 Ixxviii. 19. 420. 
 " Catholics." The Papists improperly 
 
 so called. Ixvii. 
 Charles I"' Anecdote of him and a 
 
 Scotch Minister. 404. 
 Cherubim. Plural number. Ps: xviii. 
 
 8. 366. Ixxx. 1. 438. 
 " Children of youth." sense of. Ps: 
 
 cxxvii. 3. 485. 
 
 Chinese The: their" barbarians. "483. 
 Clarke. A. Commentator on The 
 
 Psalms. 1. 
 j CLERGY OF ENGLAND THE. Appeal 
 
 to. Ixviii. 
 
 Clovis I"' and Ps: xviii. 37. 371. 
 Columbus. C: and Ps: xix. 4. 373. 
 ('ominriit.itors on The Psalms. 1. 
 
 K\in. 588. -1 IS. 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 523 
 
 " Company of spearmen." Ps: Ixviii. 
 
 30. 420. 
 
 " Conceived in sin." Ps: h'. 5. 403. 
 Conies. What. Ps: civ. 14. 466. 
 " Corn: handful of. "Ps:lxxii. 16.426. 
 " Corner-stones of The Temple." Ps:" 
 
 cxviii. 16. 487. cxliv. 12. 506. 
 "Covenant": What. Ps: xxv. 14. 
 
 378. Iv. 18. 405. 
 Covetousness. Ps: cix. 5. 4. 490. 
 " Cupportion of." Ps: xli. vi. 349. 
 Cup _of salvation. Ps: cxvi. 11. 485. 
 CursesDenunciationsImprecations 
 
 in The Psalms. Ps: Ixix. 23. 423. 
 
 cix. 473. 
 
 " DANCE ": What. Ps:cxlix. 3. 509. 
 " Darling." Ps: xxii. 18. 376. 
 Day The Last. Sonnet. Ivii. 
 Daughter Figurative sense of. Ps: 
 
 ix. 14. 347. xlvii. 11. 399. Ixxiii. 
 
 End. 428. 
 
 David: in Ps: cix. 473. 
 " Dead. Offerings of the." Ps: cvi. 
 
 26. 474. 
 
 Deliverance songs. Ps: xxxii. 5. 383. 
 Deliverance. Ps: xiv. 10. 354. 
 DENHAM. SIR J: His Version of The 
 
 Psalms, xxiii. His Ps: i quoted, xxv. 
 Denunciations in The Psalms. See 
 
 Curses. 423. 473. 
 Desert The Israelites in. 452. 
 Desbarreaux. His Sonnet on The 
 
 Atonement. Ivi. 
 Dimock. H: Annotator on The 
 
 Psalms. 1. 
 
 " Dogs -return ". Ps: Ix. 6-14. 409. 
 D'Oyly. Dr. Editor of The Bible, xlv. 
 Dragons: What. Ps: xliv. 19. 395. 
 
 Ixxiv. 13. 428. 
 
 " Dream-vanish ". Ps: Ixxiii. 20. 427. 
 Durell. D: Annotator on The Psalms. 1. 
 
 EAGLE, renewing its youth. Ps: 
 
 ciii. 3. 465. 
 
 " Ears opened ". Ps: xl. 6. 389. 
 Earth The Ends of. Ps: xlviii. 2. 
 
 398. Ixi. 2 411. Ixii. 8. 426. 
 Eclectic Review The. January 1816. 
 
 On Bp: Horsley's Psalms. 352. 
 "Eighteen The". Jewish Prayers 
 
 so called. 343. 
 ELIZABETH QUEEN. Her Version of 
 
 Ps: xiv. 355. 
 Ephraimites-The. Ps: Ixxviii. 9. 434. 
 
 Ephratah. Ps: cxxxii. 3. 465. 
 Ethan. Author of Ps: Ixxix. 447. 
 " Evil disease ". What. Ps: xli. 8. 390. 
 Ezra. Compiler of The Psalms, li. 
 Ezrahites. or Zerahites. Ps: Ixxxviii. 
 and Ixxxix. 447. 
 
 FALSE tongue. Ps: cxx. 3. 492. 
 " Fame " of GOD. xxxi. 415. 
 Fat-enclosed in. Ps: xvii. 10. 413. 
 " Fear where no fear was". Ps: 
 
 xiv. 8. 354. liii. 5. 404. 
 Fenwick. G: On the Titles to The 
 
 Psalms, li. 
 Figurative language of Scripture. Ps: 
 
 Ix. 8. 411. 
 
 First-born. Ps: Ixxxix. 27. 449. 
 "Foolish". Ps: v. 4. 348. 
 " Foundations " destroyed. Ps: xi. 3. 
 
 349. Ixxxii. 3. 441. 
 "Fountain of Israel". B:V: Ps: 
 
 Ixviii. 27. 421. 
 Foxes. Ps: Ixiii. 10. 413. 
 Francis I st - King. andPs: cxix. 71.490. 
 French Protestant Bibles, xii. 
 Fry. J: His over-spiritualization of 
 
 The Psalms. Ps: ciii. 7. 464. 
 Future State. Belief of one among the 
 
 Early Jews. 360. 399. 
 
 GALILEO. His penance in prison 
 
 at Rome. 345. 
 Gall-vinegar. Ps: Ixix. 22. 
 Gate_s. Ps: ix. 14. 347. Ixix. 12. 422. 
 Geddes. Dr. A: On Ps: cxv. 484. 
 Geneva Bible The. On Ps: ex. 7. 481. 
 " Gifts ": between GOD and Man. 
 
 Ps. Ixviii. 19. 420. 
 Gittith. What. Ps: viii. 346. 
 " Glory ". GOD'S : for ' brightness '. 
 
 Ixxviii. 58. 437. 
 " Glory ". for ' tongue '. Ps: xvi. 9. 
 
 359. Ivii. 8. 407. 
 GOD'S sword The wicked. Ps: xvii. 
 
 13. 361. 
 GOD speaking " once and twice". 
 
 Ps: Ixii. 12. 412. 
 
 ' Gods '. What. Ps: cxxxviii. 1. 501. 
 Goode. W: His Version of The 
 
 Psalms, xlix. 
 
 " Grace ". misuse of the word. 393. 
 " Great offence". Ps: xix. 13. 373. 
 " Ground ofheart". Ps: Ixviii. 27. 421. 
 
 HALLEL.What. Ps: cxiii. cxviii. 482. 
 
524 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 HamThe Land of. Egypt. Ps: 
 
 Ixxviii. 437. 
 Hands stretching out. Ps: Ixxvii. 2. 
 
 431. cvi. 24. 470. 
 Hand. General remark on the word. 
 
 cxxxviii. 9. 503. cxliv. 8. 506. 
 Handmaid's son. Ps: Ixxxvi. 16. 
 
 444. cxvi. 16. 
 Head, "lifting up" the. What. Ps: 
 
 ex. 7. 481. 
 
 Heavens The" dropping", figura- 
 tive. Ps: Ixviii. 8. 417. 
 Hebrew. The language, dead. lix. 
 Hebrew Poetry. Mechanism of un- 
 known. Ixiii. 
 Hell. Different senses of. Ps: ix. 7. 
 
 348. See Soul. 341. 
 Heman. Author of Ps: Ixxxviii. 447. 
 Henry III d - Emperor. Anecdote of. 
 
 506. See Hand. 
 Henry 5 th ' King, at Agincourt and 
 
 Ps: cxv. 485. 
 Hermon and Tabor, locality of. Ps: 
 
 Ixxxix. 12. 449. 
 
 Hexapla. The of Origen. lost. 354. 
 Higgaion. What. Ps. ix. 347. 
 Hogg Mr. J: The Ettrick Shepherd. 
 
 On THE SCOTCH PSALMS, xxi. 
 Holland. Mr. J: His " Psalmists of 
 
 Britain", xvii. 453. 
 44 Holy one Thy". Whom referring 
 
 to. Ps: Ixxxix. 19. 449. 
 Honey from the rock. Ps: Ixxxi. 
 
 16. 441. 
 
 Hooker. R: On The Psalms, liv. 
 HOPKINS. J: One of THE O:V: 
 
 Authors, xxxviii. 379. 402. 408. 
 
 413.462. 
 
 " Horn." What. Ps: xviii. 2. 
 Horns on Michael Angelo's statue of 
 
 Moses. 363. 
 Home. Bp: His Work On The 
 
 Psalms. 1. 
 Home. Mr. T. H. His Introduction to 
 
 The Scriptures. 1. 343. 
 Horsley. Bp: His Partial Translation 
 
 of The Psalms, Account of. xliv. 
 
 Incidentally noticed. 351. 369. 380. 
 
 384. 388. 398. 402. 407. 448. 
 
 468. 474. 
 
 Houbigeant. On Ps: Ixxxi. 16. 444. 
 Houses. Figurative sense of. Ps: xlix. 
 
 1. 400. cxxvii. 1. 496. 
 HiiL'lics. I. condemns THE O:V: xl. 
 Hyssop. What. P>: li. 7. 403. 
 
 I and J. Letters improperly con 
 founded, xli. 
 
 Infallibility of The Popes of Rome, 
 xlv. 373. 
 
 " Iniquity of heels." Ps: xlix. 4. 399. 
 
 Inscription for a Church. 377. 
 
 Interpretation of Scripture. Ixi. Rab- 
 binical latitude of. 377. 
 
 " Islands". What. Ps: xcvii. 1. 459. 
 
 Iteration in The Psalms. Ixiv. 
 
 44 Ivory palaces ". Ps: xlv. 8. 396. 
 
 J and I. Letters improperly con- 
 founded, xli. 
 
 Jacob and Israel. Names identical. 
 Ps: cv. 18. 469. 
 
 Jebb. J: Bp: On Parallelism. Ixiii. 
 
 Jebb. J: The Revd. His Prose Trans- 
 lation of The Psalms. 342. 
 
 Jeduthun. Temple Musician. Ps: 
 xxxix. 387. 
 
 Jesuits The. the sleepless emissaries 
 of The Papal Church. Ixv. 
 
 Jerusalem, and the Jews. Ps: cii. 
 14. 464. 
 
 Jews. The Early. Question of their 
 belief in a Future State. 449. 
 
 Jonath-elem-reckohim. What. Ps: Ivi 
 Title. 406. 
 
 Johnson. S: D r - On Sacred Poetry. 
 His opinion examined, xxxvi. 
 
 Joseph 44 tried" by The Lord. Ps: 
 cv. 15. 468. 
 
 Josephus. On Hebrew Poetry. Ixiii. 
 
 44 Joyful sound ". Ps: Ixxxix. 15. 449. 
 
 Juniper wood or Tree. What. Ps: 
 cxx. 3. 492. 
 
 44 Judges overthrown". Ps: cxli. 7. 504. 
 
 KENNICOTT. R: On Ps: cix. 473. 
 Kethe. One of THE OLD VERSION 
 
 Authors, xxxix. 
 King, and 44 Kings Son ". Ps. Ixxii. 
 
 1. 425. 
 Kings. Righteousness in. Ps: Ixxii. 
 
 424. 490. 
 
 " Kiss The Son ". Ps: ii. 11.344. 
 Korah. and the Sons of. Authors, or 
 
 Musical Composers, of some of 
 
 The Psalms. Ps: xlii. 392. 
 
 LAMECH. To his Wives. Gen: xiv. 
 
 3. 450. 
 " Language strange ". Ps: Ixxxi. 5. 
 
 I III. ,-xiv. I. 48:*. 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 525 
 
 Lawes. H: set Sandys's Psalms to 
 
 music, xix. 
 " Leanness sent into the soul ". Ps: 
 
 cvi. 14. 470. 
 
 Leanoth. What. Ps: Ixxxviii. 447. 
 Leonardo da Vinci. His Painting of 
 
 The Last Supper. In reference to 
 
 Ps: cxlix. 5. 509. 
 Leviathan. What. Ixx. 13. and civ. 
 
 20. 428. 
 ''Light". How to be understood. 
 
 cxviii. 20. 487. 
 " Lifein one's hand ". Ps: cxix. 
 
 14. 490. 
 
 " Lines ". What. Ps: xvi. 1. 359. 
 Lions. Ps: xxxiv. 10. 384. 
 L:V: or LITURGY VERSION of The 
 
 Psalms, xii. 340. 379. 459. passim. 
 Livy. L: xxii. S. 32. Compared with 
 
 Ps: cxxvi. 495. 
 
 " Lot ". What. Ps: cxxi. 3. 395. 
 Lowth Bp: On The Sacred Poetry of 
 
 The Hebrews, 1. Ixii. 
 
 MADE" not we ourselves ". Ps: c. 
 
 2. 460. 
 
 Mahalath. What. Ps: liii. 404. 
 Manna. Ps: Ixxviii. 23. 434. 
 MANT. R: BP: His Version of The 
 
 Psalms, xxxv. xlvi. His Ps: xciii 
 
 and c. quoted, xxxvii. 
 Manton. T. On Ps: cxix. 489. 
 Mardley. One of THE OLD VERSION 
 
 Authors, xxxix. 
 Marriage Ceremonial : among the 
 
 Jews. 360. 
 Marsh. E. G. His Version of The 
 
 Psalms, xlix. 
 
 MaschiL What. Ps: xxxii. 383. 
 Mason W. On versifying The Psalms. 
 
 His opinion examined, xxvii. 
 " Men of Thy right hand ". Ps. Ixxx. 
 
 17. 440. 
 
 Melchizedeck. Ps: ex. 4. 478. 
 Meribah. Waters of strife. Ps: Ixxxi. 
 
 7. 440. 
 MERRICK. J: His Version of The 
 
 Psalms, xxxi. xlvi. His Ps: xxiii 
 
 quoted, xxx. On The Psalms, liv. 
 MESSIAH THE. Typified in The 
 
 Psalms, xlix. Ps: ii. 6. 7. 8. 340. 
 
 xvi. 10. 359. xxi. 5. 375. 383. 
 
 xxxiv. 18. 385. xl. 389. xli. 9. 391. 
 
 li. 6. 402. Ixix. 421. Ixxv. 430. 
 
 xciii. 12. 453. ex. 476. cxvii. 
 
 485. passim. 
 
 Metres of The Psalms. On the. xv. 
 
 Ixxiv. 402. 
 
 Metres of THE OLD and NEW VER- 
 SIONS. 370. 386. 
 Mesech Kedar. Ps. cxx. 3. 492. 
 Michtam. What. Ps: xvi. 358. 
 " Mighty men ". Ps: xxix. 1. 381. 
 Miserere The. at Rome. Ps: li. 1. 403. 
 M'Loughlin. Case of versus Walsh : 
 
 for Papally cursing him. 455. 
 M:M: Version of The Psalms. The 
 
 present, xiv. passim. 356. 394. 
 Moon, "faithful witness ". Ps: Lxxxix. 
 
 36. 450. 
 
 Moon -The New. Ps: Ixxxi. 3. 439. 
 Morian's Land. Ethiopia. Ps: Ixviii. 
 
 31. 422. 
 Moses. Author of Ps: xc. 364. 454. 
 
 Homed statue of him by Michel 
 
 Angelo. 364. His water-rock at 
 
 Venice. 434. 
 Moth. " fretting a garment ". Ps: 
 
 xxxix. 11. 388. 
 Mountains : " bringing forth peace ". 
 
 Ps: Ixii. 3. 425. 
 Mountains" of prey ". B;V: Ps; 
 
 Ixxvi. 2. 431. 
 
 " Mown grass ". Ps: Ixxii. 6. 426. 
 MSS: D r - A: Geddes on Ps: cxv. 484. 
 Muthlablen. What. Ps: liii. 404. 
 Mudge. Z. Critical Annotator on The 
 
 Psalms. 1. 
 
 " NAME", commonly put for GOD. 
 Ps: v. 11. 345. 
 
 Names Royal become Titular. 384. 
 Often improperly taken for things : 
 should be distinguished. Ixvii. 
 
 Napoleon: his rise and fall. 386. 
 
 Nautilus The. shell, "ships". Ps: 
 civ. 20. 466. 
 
 Neginah. What. Ps: lxxi.424. 
 
 Neginoth. What. Ps: vi. 345. 
 
 Nehiloth. What. Ps. v. 344. 
 
 "New Song". What. Ps: xxxiii. 1. 
 383. Bp. Horsley on. 384. 
 
 N:V: or THE NEW VERSION of The 
 Psalms. General Account of. xlii. 
 Characterised, viii. xliii. xlvi. pas- 
 sim. Its Ps: xv quoted. 357. Inci- 
 dental Notices of. Ps: xviii. 8. 368. 
 xlii. i. 392. Version of Ps: 1. 402. 
 Iviii. 505. Ixvii. 3. "fame" of 
 GOD. 415. 8. Ixviii. 418. Ixxxvii. 
 446. xc. 15. 453. c. 460. xc. 478. 
 cxiv. 483. cxlviii. 509. 
 
526 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Nile The River. Ps: Ixxxix. 25. 449. 
 
 Non nobis Domine. Ps: cxv. 1. Sense 
 differently taken. Occasional irre- 
 verent use of. 485. 
 
 Norton. One of THE OLD VERSION 
 Authors, xxxix. 
 
 " Nostrils" of GOD. Ps: xviii. 13. 361. 
 
 NOTES to The Present Version. Ixv. 
 339. Excursionary. Ixv. 
 
 Numeration of The Bible Chapters 
 and Verses. 378. 
 
 OIL Anointing with. cxli. 5. 504. 
 
 O:V: or THE OLD VERSION of The 
 Psalms. General Account of. xxxviii. 
 369. 392. Character of. viii. xlvi. 
 passim. Arguments or Headings to 
 its Psalms. 339. Authors of. xxxix. 
 369. "Allowance" or Authorisa- 
 tion of questioned, xxxviii. 369. 
 Its Version of Ps: xv. and c. quoted. 
 357. 462. Its Version of Ps: xviii. 
 8. 9. examined. 365. Incidentally 
 noticed on Ps: xxv. 14. 378. 1. 402. 
 lii. 404. Iviii. 408. Ixviii. 8. 418. 
 Ixx. 446. Ixxviii. 2. 6. 435. ex. 478. 
 cxiv. 483. Metres of. 370. 386. 
 
 Olive Plants. Ps: cxxviii. 3. 487. 
 
 " Open-mouthed". Ps: cxix. 17. 491. 
 
 Orchestra singing of The Psalms, 
 condemned, xvi. Iviii. 
 
 PAPAL Aggression on England. Ixv. 
 
 Papal Church The. Generally on. Ixv. 
 
 Papistry. The Religion of Rome. Ixv. 
 373. 434. 454. 
 
 "Parable". What. xlix. 4. 399. 
 Ixxxviii. 2. 432. 
 
 Paraphrase and Translation : distin- 
 guished, xxi. xlix. 
 
 Peculiar Metre. What. Ixxv. 
 
 Parallelism. What. Ixii. 339. 469. 
 
 Persons. Change of. in The Psalms, 
 xxiv. 364. cxviii. 317. 
 
 Peters The Rev^- C: on Ps: cix. 473. 
 
 Parents : Jewish cursing of them. Ps: 
 cix. 14. 476. 
 
 Penitential Psalms The. Ixx. 345. 
 
 " Perfection of beauty". 1. 2. 401. 
 
 Pius IX th - Pope, etc: his ignoble flight 
 from Rome. 373. 
 
 Poetry : Nice appreciation of. 368. 
 Of the Psalms. Ixiii. Characteristics 
 of Sacred or Drvniimuil. xxvi. 
 
 " Poor and nc-cfly ". \\. '>\. 389. xli. 
 1. 390. 
 
 Popes placed in Hell by Dante. 372. 
 
 Popes: "Infallible." Ixvi. 373. 
 
 " Pots, lien among the." What. Ixviii. 
 13. 419. 
 
 " Potsherd". What. xxii. 15. 375. 
 
 " Preachers' Company" What. Ixviii. 
 11.419. 
 
 Proem. Ixxx. 
 
 PSALMS THE. Authors of. 1. Ixxi. 
 General Account of. xlviii. Peculiar 
 characteristics of. Ixxii. Ixxi. 374. 
 Chronological Arrangement of. li. 
 Ixxii. Commentators on. 1. Ixxiii. 
 Characterised, lii. Improper singing 
 of. xvi. Ixxvi. Singing of : the prac- 
 tice advocated. Ivii. Those more suit- 
 able for. Ixx. 393. Singing of after 
 the Sermon : Practice condemned. 
 Ivii. Spiritualised Versions of. xlix. 
 464. Titles to. li. 340. 344. 424. 
 426. Two-fold sense of. xlix. Me- 
 trical Versions of Entire, xvii. 
 xliv. 486. 515. SANDYS'S. xviii. 
 xlvi. Rous's or THE SCOTCH, xx. 
 xlvi. 395. 404. 418. 462. SIR R' 1 - 
 BLACKMORE'S. xxviii. xlvi. SIR J. 
 DENHAM'S. xxiii. xlvi. MERRICK'S 
 xxxii. xlvi. Bp: MANT'S. xxxv. 
 xlvi. THE OLD VERSION. Preface 
 passim, viii. xxxviii. xlvi. 357. 365. 
 369. 378_9. 402. 404. 408. 435. 
 446. 462. 478. 483. THE NEWVER- 
 SION. Preface passim, ix. xlii. xlvi. 
 357. 368. 392. 402. 405. 418. 416. 
 453. 478. 483. 509. Variorum read- 
 ings of. Ixi. Classification of. Ixx. 
 Collateral points of uncertain. 
 Ixxiii. Transitions in. Ixvi. 471. 
 Metres of. xiv. Ixxiv. Tunes cha- 
 racterised. Ixxvii. Books : Division 
 of into. li. 391. Aliters: or Addi- 
 tional Versions, xxxix. Ixxvi. 370. 
 386. Alphabetical. 377. 481. 488. 
 505. Of Degrees. Ixxiii. 493. Pe- 
 nitential. Ixx. 345 : Version of By 
 M:M: vii. Quotations from, in 
 THE NEW TESTAMENT. 353. 435. 
 Numeration of. 348. The Present 
 Version. Account of. xiv. lix. 394. 
 
 Psalm : a musical instrument. Ixxxi. 
 2. 439. 
 
 Pullain. One of THE OLD VERSION 
 Authors, xxxix. 
 
 Punctuation of Tlir IV.ihns. Autltor- 
 i-.-.| Versions, ii. 12. 341. 402. 
 
 "Purchase "by GOP. l.xxn. ' 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 527 
 
 QUARTERLY Review. No. Ixxv. 
 Article on Psalmody. 369. 
 
 RABBINS. Jewish: their absurd 
 fancies. 360. Classification of 
 Christians, ibid. 
 
 Rahab or Egypt. Ps: Ixxxvii. 2. 446. 
 
 Rainpoetically considered. Ps: Ixviii. 
 8. 417. 
 
 " Razor" how figuratively cutting. Ps: 
 lii. 2. 403. 
 
 Red Sea. or Sea of Edom_rerf. Ps: 
 cvi. 7. 470. 
 
 Relics. Papistical. Ixvi. 434. 
 
 "Remembrance. To bring to". Ps: 
 xxxviii. 387. 
 
 " Renown "_of GOD. xxxi. 
 
 Rhymes of THE OLD and NEW VER- 
 SIONS, xxxiv. 370. 
 
 Rhyme : a source of beauty, xxxiv. 
 
 Rhymes. Masculine and Feminine. 
 Ivi. 460. 
 
 River. The Euphrates. Ps: Ixxii. 8. 
 426. Of GOD. Ps: Ixv. 9. 414. 
 
 " Rod and staff". Ps: xxiii. 4. 376. 
 cxxv. 5. 494. 
 
 ROME. The Church of: Characterised : 
 Its insolent pretensions. Ixv. 372. 
 434. 454. 
 
 Rous or ROUSE. Author of THE 
 SCOTCH PSALMS, xx. 
 
 Royal Exchange The New. Inscrip- 
 tion on. 377. 
 
 SACRED things : how occasionally 
 
 vulgarized. 497. 
 " Salmon : snow in". What. Ps: Ixviii. 
 
 14. 419. 
 SANDYS. G: His Version of The 
 
 Psalms, xviii. xlvi. His Ps: xxix 
 
 quoted, xix. 
 
 SAVIOUR THE. See MESSIAH. 
 SCOTCH PSALMS THE. General Ac- 
 count of. xx. xliv. Ps: xliii. and c. 
 
 quoted. 395. 462. On Ps: Ixviii. 8. 
 
 418. Incidentally quoted. 404. 
 Seagar. F: quoted. Ix. 
 Seeker. Archbp. praises THE O:V: xl. 
 Selah. What. Ps: iii. 2. 345. 
 " Select Psalms". Publication by 
 
 Lord Aston. 355. 
 " Selling for nothing". GOD. Ps: xliv. 
 
 2. 395. 
 Senses. Forty- nine different of one 
 
 passage. 369. 
 
 SEPTUAGINT THE : or Greek Bible. 
 
 xiii. passim. 400. The Alexandrian 
 
 one. 353. 
 
 Sevens, or Trochaics. xx. Ixxv. 
 Shemminith. What. Ps: vi. 345. 
 " Shields of The Earth". B:V: Ps: 
 
 xlvii. 9, 397. 
 
 Shiggaion. What. Ps: vii. 346. 
 " Ships". What. Ps: civ. 20. 466. 
 " Shoe throwing the". Figurative 
 
 sense of. Ix. 8. 407. 
 Shushan-eduth. What. Ps: Ix. 410. 
 Sion Hill. Ps: cxxxiii. 3. 499. 
 Skirts of garments. Ps: cxxxiii. 2. 499. 
 " Snail", if " dissolving". Ps: Ixviii. 
 
 8. 407. 
 
 " Solitary the". Ps: Ixviii. 6. 417. 
 Song of The Well. Gen: xxi. 17. 450. 
 Song of the Three Children. Ps: 
 
 cxlviii. 508. 
 
 Sonnet. Desbarreaux's On The Atone- 
 ment. Ivi. 
 
 ,, On The Last Day. Ivii. 
 " Sons of men". Ps: iv. 2. 344. 
 Sonntag. A German Author. On the 
 
 Titles to The Psalms, li. 
 " Sore ran my". Ps: Ixxvii. 2. 432. 
 " Soul", senses in which used. Ps: 
 
 iii. 2. 341. 360. 399. 
 South. " Streams from the". Ps: cxxv. 
 
 3. 495. 
 "Sparrow" The-What. Ixxxiv. 3. 
 
 442. cii. 2. 463. 
 " Spearmen Company of". Ixviii. 
 
 30. 421. 
 Spectator The. No. 461. on D r - 
 
 Watts's Version of Ps: cxiv. 483. 
 Spiritualizing The Psalms, xlix. 464. 
 STERNHOLD. J: Author of THE O:V: 
 
 vii. xxxviii. passim. 
 Street. S: Prose Translator of The 
 
 Psalms. 361. 
 "Stubble": improperly used for 
 
 ' chaff'. Ps; Ixxxiii. 13. 
 
 TABOR and Hermon. Ps: Ixxxix. 
 
 12. 449. 
 TATE N: One of THE N:V: Authors. 
 
 xlii. His application of fame to 
 
 GOD. 414. 
 Tattersall. W: Dr. Editor of Derrick's 
 
 Psalms, xxxii. 
 Tear-bottle. Ps: Ivi. 8. 405. 
 Tennant. Mr. W: On The Scotch 
 
 Psalms, xxxii. 
 
528 
 
 GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Tenses, in the Hebrew : elliptically 
 used. 371. 485. 
 
 " Thunder secret place of". Ps: 
 Ixxxi. 7. 440. 
 
 Tingstadius. I: A: Swedish Translator 
 of The Psalms. 408. 493. 
 
 Titles of The Psalms. On the. li. 
 Ixxiii. 344. 
 
 Titus at Jerusalem : incidentally no- 
 ticed. 429. Arch of, at Rome, and 
 The Jews. 429. 
 
 Tunes of the Psalms, xvii. Ixxv. Ixxvi. 
 Tune of Ps: Ixxxi. Original at Jeru- 
 salem. 441. 
 
 Todd. Mr. J: H: On THE OLD 
 VERSION, xlii. 
 
 ,, Continuator of Johnson's Dic- 
 tionary, xlii. 
 
 Transitions : a poetical feature : fre- 
 quent in The Psalms. Ixxi. Ps: xx. 
 374. xlv. 396. cvi. 24. 471. 
 
 Translation : and Paraphrase, distin- 
 guished, xi. xlix. 447. 
 
 TrumpetsFeast of. Ps: Ixxxi. 3. 439. 
 
 Typical sense of The Psalms, xlix. 
 339. passim. 
 
 U and V. Letters improperly con- 
 founded, xli. 
 
 Unicorn The. What. Ps: xxii. 19. 376. 
 
 " Uplifted and cast down". Ps: cii. 
 10. 464. 
 
 V and U. Letters improperly con- 
 founded, xli. 
 
 Venice Bible of 1478. Peculiar nu- 
 meration of Ps: cxix. 488. 
 
 Versions of The Psalms. Metrical 
 Entire, xvii. xlvii. 515. Principal 
 ones, xviii. xlvi. Allowed or Au- 
 thorised, xviii. xxxviii. 
 
 | Vine on walls. Ps: cxxviii. 3. 498. 
 Vulgate The. Bible, xiii. On Ps: x. 
 348. xiii. 353. passim. 
 
 WAKE. W: On Ps: xciii. 2. 456. 
 Warton. J: condemns THE O:V: xl. 
 " Waters_of a full cup ". Ps: Ixxiii. 
 
 10. 427. 
 Watts. Dr. His Version of The 
 
 Psalms, xlix. 393. 483. 
 
 ,, His Version of Ps: cxiv. 483. 
 Weston. S: Annotator on The Psalms. 
 
 364. 424. 
 Whale - Crocodile _ Leviathan. Ps: 
 
 Ixxiv. 13. 428. 
 
 " Wheel". What. Ps: Ixxxiii. 13. 442. 
 White. H:K: condemns THE OLD 
 
 VERSION, xl. 
 Whyttingham. one of THE O:V: 
 
 Authors, xxxix. 369. 402. 481. 
 "Widows: none left". Ps: Lxxviii. 
 
 60. 438. 
 Wilson. C: Professor. On the Word 
 
 Selah. 347. 
 Winds. South. East, sense of. Ps: 
 
 Ixxviii. 26. 435. 
 'Wine of astonishment, deadly'. Ps: 
 
 ix. 3. 410. 
 
 Wine Red. Ps: Ixxv. 8. 430. 
 Wine-skin. Ps: cxix. 11. 491. 
 Wisdome. One of THE OLD VERSION 
 
 Authors, xxxix. 
 "Witness faithful". What. Ps: 
 
 Ixxxix. 36. 450. 
 Woodford. H: Editor of Sir R: Black - 
 
 more's Psalms, xxv. 
 "Word above Name". Ps: cxxxviii. 
 
 2. 502. 
 Wordery : A new word. 368. 
 
 ZIPHIMS. Who. Ps: liv. 405. 
 
 THE END.