16 His mischief returneth upon his own head;

His violence also cometh down upon the crown of his head. 17 I will praise Jehovah, according to his righteousness:

I will celebrate the name of Jehovah, the High God.

PSALM VIII.

THE Occasion on which this Psalm was written is unknown. The evident design of it was to celebrate the surpassing excellency of God, as it is displayed in the works of his hands: and to express his infinite condescension and benignity to men, by the ample donation of dominion over the inferior creation, with which he has distinguished them.

TO THE CHIEF MUSICIAN. UPON GITTITH, i. e. AN INSTRUMENT OF MUSIC SO CALLED. A PSALM OF DAVID.

1 O JEHOVAH! our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! Who hast set thy glory above the heavens.

2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast provided strength, On account of thy enemies,

That thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. 3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,

The moon and the stars, which thou hast formed;

4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou regardest him?

1. Thy name.]-The name of God is his glory, the honour and reputation of his all-perfect nature and character. It is sometimes used for God himself, as Exod. xxiii. 21: "My name is in him," i. e. in the angel-I am in him; it is thus equivalent to the personal pronoun, viz. how excellent art thou!

2. Out of the mouth, &c.]—The sense of this passage appears to me to be, that the faculties and instincts of infants, which are so wonderfully adapted to promote their growth and advancement in life, furnish a powerful argument against irreligion and injustice, by showing the existence of a supreme intelligent power,

and the incessant providence which it exerts in perpetuating and preserving the race of man. That such is the meaning is clearly shown by the next words; for the enemy and the avenger are those impious persons who deny the existence of God, disregard his providence, and abandon themselves to sensuality and cruelty. Such men act in opposition to the evidence which God has given of his existence and perfection, and especially to that which results from his constant care of our infant state. That persons of this description were not unknown in the time of David, many proofs are given in the Scriptures.

5 For thou hast made him little lower than the angels,

And hast crowned him with glory and honour.

6 Thou hast given him dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet:

7 Sheep and oxen, all of them; yea, and the beasts of the field; 8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea,

Which passeth through the paths of the seas.

9OJehovah! our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

PSALM IX.

THERE is so close a resemblance between this Psalm and the tenth, as to make it very likely that they were both written about the same time, and on occasions very similar. Indeed the Greek, Latin, and Arabic versions, and a few Hebrew copies, read them united as one composition. The probability, however, seems to be, that they are distinct poems. The contents of both lead to the conclusion, that they relate to the attacks which were made upon the dominions of David by his Syrian, Idumean, and Arabian neighbours. We learn from the sacred history, that David was engaged in frequent conflicts with these turbulent and treacherous adversaries; who, in addition to their propensities to rapine and plunder, were probably urged to the deeds of violence to which these two Psalms relate, by their hatred of the religion and character of the Jews, and their apprehensions lest David's increasing power should reach to an extent that would prove very injurious to their interests.

But though these Psalms appear to have originated in such causes, there is a difference in the composition of them, sufficient to support a belief that they were distinct poems. The ninth Psalm consists almost entirely of grateful acknowledgments for the success which God had mercifully afforded to his people during former conflicts, and adverts but briefly (ver. 13,) to distresses actually existing. The tenth Psalm contains vehement reprehensions of the impious and cruel character of the enemies of Israel, and most earnest entreaties that God would arise and vindicate at once his own righteousness, as the governor of the world, and the cause of the people whom he had taken under his special protection. In both these odes the eternal dominion of the Most High, and his unchangeable righteousness, are celebrated in the loftiest terms: and in both we witness a confirmation of the hopes of pious and upright men, that to whatever extent the wicked may be permitted to prevail, their triumph will prove but of short duration. Under every dispensation of Providence we may, therefore, exercise the firmest persuasion, that as they who know, i. e. approve and love the name of God, will confide in him, he also will never forsake them that seek him. May this persuasion be found living and active in our hearts!

TO THE CHIEF MUSICIAN.

ON MUTH-LABBEN, i.e. AN INSTRUMENT OF MUSIC SO

CALLED. A PSALM OF DAVID.

1 I WILL praise Jehovah with my whole heart:
I will show forth all thy marvellous works.
2 I will be glad, and rejoice in thee:

I will sing praise to thy name, O High God! 3 When my enemies were turned back,

They stumbled, and perished at thy presence: 4 For thou didst maintain my right and my cause;

Thou didst sit on the throne, judging righteously.

5 Thou didst rebuke the nations, thou didst destroy the wicked, Thou didst put out their name for ever and ever.

6 The devastations of the enemy are ended for ever: Thou hast destroyed their cities; their memory has perished. But Jehovah abideth for ever:

His throne is established for judgment.

8 He will judge the world in righteousness:

He will minister judgment to the peoples in uprightness.

9 Jehovah is a fortress for the oppressed;

A fortress, in times of distress.

10 They that know thy name will put their trust in thee; For thou, O Jehovah! forsakest not them that seek thee.

11 Sing praises to Jehovah, who dwelleth in Zion: Declare among the peoples his doings;

12 For he maketh inquisition for blood; he remembereth it: He forgetteth not the cry of the afflicted.

13 Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah !

Consider what I suffer from them that hate me,
O thou, that liftest me up from the gates of death;

6. The devastations, &c.]-These are the devastations that had been effected by the adversaries of David and Israel. The passage is expressive of a triumphant exultation over the utter discomfiture of the enemies: a discomfiture so complete, as to render them unable to renew the work of destruction: and the honour of which

is gratefully ascribed to God, who had enabled his people to triumph so decisively.

12. He maketh inquisition, &c.]-God animadverts upon the crimes of which his enemies are guilty, and avenges the blood which they shed, however secretly it may be done.

14 That I may show forth all thy praise, In the gates of the daughter of Zion: That I may rejoice in thy salvation.

15 The nations are sunk in the pit which they made:

In the net which they hid, is their foot taken,

16 Jehovah is known by the judgment which he executeth:

The wicked is ensnared in the work of his hands. HIGGAION. SELAH.

17 The wicked shall be turned into Hades;

All the nations that forget God.

18 For the destitute shall not always be forgotten,

Nor the expectation of the afflicted perish for ever.

19 Arise, O Jehovah! let not man prevail :

Let the nations be judged in thy sight.

20 Put them in fear, O Jehovah !

Let the nations know that they are men.

PSALM X.

THE introduction to the ninth Psalm embraces the tenth also.

1 WHY dost thou stand afar off, O Jehovah!

And hide thyself, in times of trouble?

all men indiscriminately pass at death.
It expresses neither their happiness nor
misery. It appears from the common
translation of Psalm xvi. 10, that the word
"Hell" was originally used in the same
sense, though modern usage has appropri-
ated it to the place of future punishment.
When, therefore, the Psalmist says,
"the
wicked shall be turned into Hades," he
indicates the final overthrow of his adver-
saries, and the just punishment of the
enemies of God and his people, by their
death and complete destruction.

PSALM X.

1. Why dost thou stand afar off?]-The general character of this Psalm leads to

2 The wicked in his pride persecuteth the afflicted;

By the stratagems which they devise they lay hold upon him. 3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire,

And blesseth the spoiler whom Jehovah abhorreth.

4 Through his pride the wicked will not inquire; All his thoughts are, there is no God!

5 His ways are always grievous;

Thy judgments are far above out of his sight;
He scorneth all his adversaries.

6 He saith in his heart, I shall not be moved,
For I shall never be in adversity.

7 His mouth is full of cursing, and deceit, and fraud; Mischief and wickedness are under his tongue.

8 He sitteth in ambush in the villages,

In secret places he murdereth the innocent;
His eyes insidiously watch the oppressed.

9 He lieth in wait in a secret place, as a lion in his den;

He lieth in wait to plunder the afflicted;

He plundereth the afflicted when he draggeth him into his net.

the conclusion, that it was written at an earlier period than the ninth. That Psalm is chiefly of a triumphant strain, but the present is filled with mournful complaints of the atrocity and fierceness of the foes to whom it relates; it recounts their savage deeds, expresses their atheistical propensities, and indicates the success which had hitherto attended upon their inhuman and bloody progress; while it passionately pleads with God to induce him no longer to remain an inattentive spectator of the calamities that were inflicted upon his people.

4. The wicked will not inquire.]- The English translation supplies the word "God," which is not in the original. The sense, however, seems to be, that such rapacious destroyers as these adversaries of David are described to be, paid no regard to the evidences which God had given of his existence and righteousness; but being entirely under

the influence of their selfish and savage dispositions, overlooked every thing of this nature, and hardened themselves by their impious imaginations, either that there was no God, or that he was altogether indifferent to human conduct, ver. 11; so that they presumed they might indulge their passions with impunity.

7. Mischief and wickedness are under his tongue.]-A metaphor taken from the venom of serpents, which is concealed within their mouths. So Psalm cxl. 3.

8. In the villages.]—These were moveable encampments, consisting of tents, that were hastily pitched, and as hastily removed, when the purposes of rapine and plunder were accomplished, or when the approach of a superior force rendered flight expedient. These encampments served for concealment and ambush, whence assaults were made upon detached and defenceless parties and individuals. Vide Michaelis, Suppl. ad Lex. Heb.