and increased strength to them that have no might.' Each one has had its record in some heart and life. What a history it will be when they are all gathered together and made known, and how the old challenge will be renewed in a higher sphere of divine handiwork! Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.' Psalm 1. RUSKIN says the Psalter contains, in the first half of it, the sum of personal and social wisdom. The 1st, 8th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 23rd, and 24th Psalms, well learned and believed, are enough for all personal guidance; the 48th, 72nd, and 75th have in them the law and the prophecy of all righteous government; and every real triumph of natural science is anticipated in the 104th. The earliest version of the first psalm known in Scotland, in the native tongue, is by Alexander Montgomery, who lived in the reign of James VI. He belonged to the Eglinton family, was a captain in the bodyguard of Regent Morton, and is referred to by James Melville in his diary as 'a good, honest man, and the Regent's domestic.' His best known poem, containing passages which show a true sympathy with nature, is the allegory of the Cherry and the Slae.' He is the author of many odes, sonnets, and psalms; and we extract this as a specimen, and as showing B that love for the Psalms which became so strong a feature in the character of the Scottish people. We have changed obsolete words and spelling, and brought the rhyme closer to our present pronunciation, but the entire rhythm and general expression have been preserved. A French critic remarks on the old versions of Marot and Beza that they owe their great variety of rhythm to their having been formed in the 16th century, before the more monotonous measures of the 17th and 18th began to prevail. It may be that our present Scottish version (Rous's) has suffered somewhat from this later origin, but it has gained by closer fidelity to the original Scripture. I. That man is blest, Of truest rest, Who from ungodly counsel turns his feet; Who walks not in The way of sin, Nor comes within The place where mockers take their shameful seat; But in God's law to go He doth delight; And studies it to know Both day and night. That man shall be-like to a tree Which by the running river spreads its shade; Which fruit does bear-in time of year; Whose root is firm, whose leaf shall never fade. II. His actions all So doth not fall To wicked men; whom, as the chaff and sand, Shall drive away; Therefore I say The wicked in the judgment shall not stand: Whom God disdains, To enter the assembly where For God most pure, keeps record sure; He knows the righteous' heart and converse aye: 'Gainst wicked men, till they consume away. Psalm 2. As the first psalm is the outer door of practical insight with a prophetic close, so the second psalm is the inner door of prophetic foresight with a practical close; and these two interchange and interpret each other through the whole book, in the one case the life bestowing vision, in the other the vision leading to life. The earliest song of thanksgiving and prayer in the Christian Church is drawn from this psalm. It is the beginning of that long history in which David, Christ, and the experience of the Church, are found so often re-appearing in union. (Acts iv. 24-30.) |