of gardens, houses, and hedges, where they had taken up their abode. Multitudes of facts, referred to by those who have resided in India, seem to confirm the opinion that this power is real. T Charming never so wisely. Marg., Be the charmer never so cunning. The word rendered here charming-in, hhobair-means properly to bind; to bind together. The literal meaning of the original Hebrew is, binding spells that are wise,-or, that are cunning; in other words, making use of the most cunning or skilful of their incantations and charms. The meaning is, that the utmost skill of enchantment will be unsuccessful. They are beyond the reach of any such arts. So with the men referred to by

David. They were malignant and venomous; and nothing would disarm them of their malignity, and destroy their venom. What is here affirmed of these men is true in a certain sense of all men. The depravity of the human heart is such that nothing that man can employ will subdue it. No eloquence, no persuasion, no commands, no remonstrances, no influence that man can exert, will subdue it. It cannot be charmed down; it cannot be removed by any skill or power of man, however great. The following remarks from Dr. Thomson, who has spent twenty years in Palestine (Land and the Book, vol. i. pp. 221-223), will illustrate this passage:-"I have seen many serpent

6 Break their teeth, O God, | great teeth of the young lions, in their mouth; break out the LORD.

charmers who do really exercise some extraordinary power over these reptiles. They carry enormous snakes, generally black, about them, allow them to crawl all over their persons and into their bosoms; always, however, with certain precautions, either necessary, or pretended to be so. They repeatedly breathe strongly into the face of the serpent, and occasionally blow spittle, or some medicated composition upon them. It is needless to describe the mountebank tricks which they perform. That which I am least able to account for is the power of detecting the presence of serpents in a house, and of enticing or 'charming them out of it. The thing is far too common to be made a matter of scepticism. The following account, by Mr. Lane, is a fair statement of this matter:-' The charmer professes to discover, without ocular perception (but perhaps he does so by a peculiar smell), whether there be any serpents in the house, and if there be, to attract them to him, as the fowler, by the fascination of his voice, allures the bird into his net. As the serpent seeks the darkest place in which to hide himself, the charmer has, in most cases, to exercise his skill in an obscure chamber, where he might easily take a serpent from his bosom, bring it to the people without the door, and affirm that he had found it in the apartment, for no one would venture to enter with him, after having been assured of the presence of one of these reptiles within. But he is often required to perform in the full light of day, surrounded by spectators; and incredulous persons have searched him beforehand, and even stripped him naked, yet his success has been complete. He assumes an air of mystery, strikes the walls with a short palm-stick, whistles, makes a clucking noise with his tongue, and spits upon the ground, and generally says,-I adjure you, by God, if ye be above or if ye be below, that ye come forth; I adjure you by the most great name, if ye be obedient, come forth, and if ye be disobedient, die! die! die!' The serpent is generally dislodged by his stick from a fissure in the wall or from the ceiling of the room. I have heard it asserted that a serpent-charmer, before he enters a house in which he is to try his skill, always employs a servant of that house to introduce one or more serpents; but I have known instances in which this could not be the case, and am inclined to believe that the dervishes above mentioned are generally acquainted with some physical means of discovering the presence of serpents without seeing them, and of attracting them from their lurking-places. What these 'physical means' may be is yet a secret, as also the 'means' by which persons can handle live scorpions, and can put them into their bosom without fear or injury. I have seen this done again and again, even by small boys. This has always excited my curiosity and astonishment, for scorpions are the most malignant and irascible of all insects. The Hindoos, and after them the Egyptians, are the most famous snake-charmers, scorpioneaters, etc., etc., although gipsies, Arabs, and others are occasionally found, who gain a vagabond livelihood by strolling round the country, and confounding the ignorant with these feats."

6. Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth. The word here rendered break means properly to tear out. The allusion is to his enemies, represented as wild beasts; and the prayer is, that God would deprive

them of the means of doing harm,-as wild animals are rendered harmless when their teeth are broken out. ¶ Break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD. The word here used means properly biters or grinders: Job xxix. 17; Prov. xxx. 14; Joel i. 6. Comp. Notes on

Ps. iii. 7. The word rendered young lions here does not refer to mere whelps, but to full-grown though young lions in their vigour and strength, as contrasted with old lions, or those which are enfeebled by age. The meaning is, that his enemies were of the most fierce and violent kind.

7. Let them melt away as waters which run continually. Let them vanish or disappear as waters that flow off, or floods that run by, and are no more seen. Perhaps the allusion here may be to the waters of a torrent that is swollen, which flow off and are lost in the sand, so that they wholly disappear. See Notes on Job vi. 15-19. The prayer is, that his enemies might perish, or be cut off, and that he might thus be saved from them. When he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows. Literally, "he treads on his arrows." See Notes on Ps. xi. 2. The meaning here is, When he prepares for an attack,-or, prepares to make war, as one does who bends his bow, and places his arrow on the string. The allusion here is to the enemies of David, as seeking his life. ¶ Let them be as cut in pieces. That is, Let his arrows be as if they were cut off or blunted, so that they will produce no effect. Let them be such, that they will not penetrate and wound.

8. As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away. Or rather, As the snail which melteth as it goes; that is, which leaves a slimy trail as it moves along, and thus melts away the more as it advances, until at length it dies. Gesenius, Lex. The allusion is to what seems to occur to the snail; it seems to melt or to be dissolved as it moves along; or seems to leave a part of itself in the slime which flows from it. Like the untimely birth of a woman. The Hebrew word means literally that which falls from a woman; and hence the word is used to denote an abortion. The prayer is, that they might utterly pass away; that they might become like those who never had real life; that their power might wholly disappear. That they may not see the sun. May not be among the living. Comp. Notes on Job iii. 16.

9. Before your pots can feel the thorns. The word thorns hereTON, atad-refers to what is called Christ's thorn,—the southern buckthorn. Gesenius. The fire made of such thorns when dry would be quick and rapid, and water would be soon heated by it. The idea is, that what is here referred to would occur quickly-sooner than the most rapid and intense fire could make an impression on a kettle and its contents. The destruction of the wicked would be, as it were, instantaneous. The following quotation from Prof. Hackett (Illustrations of Scripture, p. 135) will explain this passage: "A species of thorn, now

the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind,

both living, and in his wrath. o Prov. x. 25. 1 as living as wrath.

very common near Jerusalem, bears the name of Spina Christi, or Christ's thorn. The people of the country gather these bushes and plants, and use them as fuel. As it is now, so it was of old. 'As the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool,' (Eccles. vii. 6.) 'Before your pots can feel the thorns,' namely, the fire of them, he shall sweep them away,' (Ps. lviii. 9.) The figure in this case is taken from travellers in the desert, or from shepherds tenting abroad, who build a fire in the open air, where it is exposed to the wind; a sudden gust arises and sweeps away the fuel almost before it has begun to burn. As thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire' (Isa. xxxiii. 12). The meaning is that the wicked are worthless,-their destruction shall be sudden and complete." He shall take them away. The word rendered shall take them away means properly to shiver, to shudder; and it is then applied to the commotion and raging of a tempest. They shall be taken away as in a storm that makes everything shiver or tremble; Job xxvii. 21. It would be done suddenly and entirely. A sudden storm sent by God would beat upon them, and they would be swept away in an instant. Both living and in his wrath. Marg., as living as wrath. This expression is exceedingly obscure. The LXX. render it, "he shall devour them as it were living, -as it were in wrath." The Latin Vulgate: "He shall devour them as living, so in wrath." Prof. Alexander: "Whether raw or done." He supposes that the idea is, that God would come upon them while forming their plans; and that the illustration is derived from the act of cooking, and that the meaning is, that God would come upon them whether those plans were matured or not,-cooked or raw. This seems to me to be a very forced construction, and one which it is doubtful whether the Hebrew will bear. The word rendered living--means properly alive, living; and then, lively, fresh, vigorous; and is applicable then to a plant that is living or green. It may be here applied to the thorns that had been gathered for the fire, still green or alive; and the idea here would be, that even while those thorns were alive aud green-before they had been kindled by the fire (or while they were trying to kindle them), a sudden tempest would come and sweep them all away. It is not, indeed, an uncommon occurrence in the deserts of the East, that while, in their journeyings, travellers pause to cook their food, and have gathered the fuel,-thorns, or whatever may be at hand, and have placed their pot over the fire, a sudden tempest comes from the desert, and sweeps everything away. Rosenmüller in loc. Such an occurrence may be referred to here. The word rendered wrathJi, hharon-means properly burning; and then it is used to denote anything burning. It is applied to wrath or anger, because it seems to burn. Num. xxv. 4; xxxii. 14; 1 Sam. xxviii. 18. Here, however, it may be taken literally as applicable to thorns when they begin to be kindled, though still green. They are seen first as gathered and placed under the pots; then they are seen as still green,-not dried up by the kindling flame; then they are seen as on fire; and, in a moment-before the pots could be affected by them-all is swept away by a sudden gust of wind. The idea is that of the sudden and unexpected descent of God

10 The righteous shall re- vengeance: he shall wash when he seeth the his feet in the blood of the

joice

p Rev. xi. 17, 18.

wicked.

q Ps. lxviii. 23.

on the wicked, frustrating their schemes even when they seemed to be well formed, and to promise complete success. This does not mean, therefore, that God would cut off and punish the wicked while living, but it refers to the fact that their schemes would be suddenly defeated even while they supposed that all things were going on well;-defeated before there was, in fact, any progress made towards the accomplishment, as the arrangements for the evening-meal would all be swept away before even the pot had begun to be warm.

See

He shall wash his

The image here the blood of the

10. The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance. When he sees the just punishment inflicted on the wicked. He will approve of it; he will see that it is right; he will be glad that law is maintained, and that wickedness does not triumph; he will rejoice in the safety of those who do right, and in their deliverance from the assaults and the designs of the wicked. Men everywhere approve of the just administration of law, even though it consigns the transgressors to prison or to death; and it is a matter of gratification to all who love law and order when a righteous government is maintained; when wickedness is checked; when justice is administered in a community. This is the end of government and of law; this is what all magistrates are appointed to secure; this is what all good citizens are aiming to accomplish. There is no evidence that the psalmist had any vindictive or revengeful feeling when he uttered the sentiment in this verse. Notes on Ps. lii. 6. Comp. Ps. xxxvii. 34; xl. 3. feet in the blood of the wicked. Comp. Ps. lxviii. 23. is taken from a battlefield, where the victor treads in slain. It is strong language denoting the entire overthrow of the wicked. There can be no doubt, however, that the allusion is to the feelings of satisfaction and triumph with which a victor walks over such a field;-the exultation which he has that his foes are subdued, and that he has triumphed. The idea is that the righteous will have emotions, when the wicked are subdued and punished, which in some respects resemble the feelings of the victor who walks over a field covered with the blood of the slain. Still it is not necessary to suppose that these are, in either case, vindictive feelings; or that either the victor or the righteous have pleasure in the shedding of blood, or in the sufferings of others; or that they would not have preferred that the discomfited and slain should not have been wicked, and should not have been made to suffer in this manner. All that is essentially implied in this is, that there is a feeling of satisfaction and approval when law is vindicated, and when the triumph of wickedness is prevented. It would be difficult to show that the feelings expressed by the psalmist are less proper than those which an officer of justice may have, and ought to have, and does have, when he has faithfully discharged his duty, and has secured the arrest and punishment of the violators of law; or that the psalmist has expressed anything more than every man must feel who sees just punishment inflicted on the guilty. Assuredly it is a matter of rejoicing that wickedness does not triumph; it is a thing to exult in when it is arrested.