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My

II

may peoples fall down before thee!
may thy shafts, so sharp, pierce
the hearts of the king's enemies !
Thy throne may God establish for ever!
Thy regal sceptre is a sceptre of equity:
thou lovest justice, and hatest wickedness;
therefore JEHOVAH, thy God,
hath anointed thee with the oil of joy, .
more abundantly than any of thy compeers.
Myrrh, lignaloes, and caffia,
from vases of Armenian ivory,
perfume all thy garments.

Daughters of kings are among thy darlings !
At thy right hand is placed the queen,
arrayed in robes of Ophir-gold.
Listen, royal princess ! be attentive, and lend thine

ear:

Forget thine own people and thy father's house: 12 fince the king is captivated by thy beauty.

He now is thy lord : to him bow down :
so shall Tyre bring to thee its gifts,

and the rich to thee pay their court.
14 All-glorious is the queen in her apartment:

her robe is bespangled with gold.
To the king she shall be brought in brocade,
attended by her virgin-companions.

To thee shall they be brought, and introduced: to with joy, rejoicing and exultation,

they shall enter the palace of the king. 17 The place of thy fathers shall be supplied by fons, whom thou shalt make chiefs through all the

land. Thy name I will render memorable 18 through all future generations : so that peoples shall praise thee, for ever and ever.

NOTES.

I trust I have done, nearly, justice to this very beautiful ode, without much deviating from the letter : which however was sometimes necessary, on account of the great difference of the two idioms. I have made one or two flight emendations of the text; but not merely conjectural. It would be tedious here to assign the reasons, which the mere English reader would hardly understand: so I leave them to be explained in my Critical Remarks.–Ver. 2. My iongue Mall be like the reed of a nimble fcribe. This is highly expressive of poetical enthusiasm. He is to compose as fast as an expeditious writer could take down his words. For the rest, a reed was then, and still is in the East, the instrument with which one writes.- Ver. 5. ride prosperously on. The poet places his hero on his royal car, arrayed in splendid armour, ready to protect innocence or punish guilt.- 1b. Thy right band Mall dart terrors. A bold Pindaric image. Horace has a line much resembling it in his second ode, which to the classic reader will naturally present itself.-Ver. 10. Daughters of king's are among thy darlings. Several of Solomon's wives were of royal birth. --Ib. the queen, i. e. the chief favourite sultana ; most probably the king of Egypt's daughter.-Ver. 14. This and the two next verses contain a fine description of Oriental manners, The queen, before The be led to the king's apartment, is gorgeously dressed in her own; and thence proceeds with her female train to the royal palace. Ver. 17. This is a prayer and promise of connubial fecundity, which the poet makes to the prince – Ver. 18. Tby name I will render memorable. The Greek translator seems to have read differently; and renders they, i. e. thy sons, shall commemorate thy name : and this reading is preferred by some moderns. But there is no need for disturbing the text. The poet alludes to his own performance, which is to eternize the name of his sovereign.':,

WTCIS,

PSALM XLVI.-al. XLV. Venema and others tbink tbis psalm was composed in the days of Hezekiah, when Jerusalem was threatened by the Syrians. I would ratber refer it to the battle gained over the Ammonites and Moabites by Josbapbat, wben he returned witb bis victorious army to Jerusalem • with lutes and harps and trumpets, &c." See 2 Chron. 20. 28.

FOR THE FIRST MUSICIAN, OF THE SONS OF
KORAH, TO BE SUNG ON THE ALAMOTH.

GOD is our hope and our strength;
a most ready helper in time of distress.
Therefore we will not be afraid,
should the earth itself be shaken,
and mountains be tossed into the sea :
should its waters roar, and be troubled;
and mountains quake from its swell.

A limpid river with its streamlets,
shall gladden the city of God,
the sacred abode of the most high:
God being in the midst of it,
it shall never be shaken:
for God shall come early to its aid.
When nations raged, and kingdoms were in

motion,
he but uttered his voice, and the earth melted.
JEHOVAH, the God of hosts, was with us:
our refuge was the God of Jacob.
Come, see the works of JEHOVAH :
what wonders he hath done in the land,

causing wars to cease from its boundaries !
· The bow he hath broken, the spear he hath

snapped,

the war.chariots he hath burned with fire. “ Be at ease, faith be; and know that I am a God, II “ exalted among the nations -exalted in all the

“carth.” Jehovah, the God of hosts, is with us :

12 the God of Jacob is our defence.

NOTES. Ver. 5. A limpid river, &c. This, although a poetical metaphor, may have been suggested by the gentle brook of Siloah, which watered Jerusalem. See Isaiah 8. 6.--Ver. 9. what wonders. This is commonly rendered desolations, badly. – Ver. 10. the war-cbariots. Sep. fbields. No improbable rendering.–Ver. 11. Be at ease: commonly rendered : defift, as if addressed to the enemies : but I believe, it is addressed to the Jews : and should be rendered : be at eas, live securely.

PSALM XLVII.-al. XLVI. This psalm seems to bave been composed on the same occasion with the former; if, indeed, it be not a continuation of it. FOR THE CHIEF MUSICIAN, OF THE SONS OF I

KORAH: A PSALM. ALL ye people! clap your hands : fhout to f our God with the voice of triumph : for venerable is Jehovah, the most high, the great king over all the earth.

To us he hath subjected peoples,
and put nations under our feet.
For us he hath selected an heritage ;
the glorious lot of Jacob his beloved,

Let God ascend with shouting,
JEHOVAH, with the sound of trumpets !
Sing praises to God, sing praises :
sing praises to our king, fing praises :

8 for God is king over all the earth :

to him sing melodious praise:
to God who reigneth over the nations :
to God who fitteth on his holy throne.
There, assemble the chiefs of the people,
the people of the God of Abraham :
For to God, fupremely exalted,
belong the votive gifts of the land.

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NOTES. Ver. 6. Let God ascend, i.e. from the victory over his people's enemies. Most probably the ark was carried along with the army, as on other occasions. Some however think a letter is wanting in one of the Heb. words ; and would render : “ Let God be extolled.”Ver. 10. This is a most difficult passage, and is variousy rendered both by the antients and the moderns. I will only give here our common version : “ The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham : for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted." That in the Liturgy is much more intelligible: but incompatible with the present text: which, I believe, I have justly rendered.

PSALM XLVIII.-al. XLVII.
A continuation of the same subje&t.

A PSALM : FOR THÉ SÓNS OF KORAH, .

GREAT is JEHOVAH, and highly to be praised,
in the city of our God, on his holy mountain.
· Beautiful is the site of Mount Zion,

the delight of the whole land.
On the north fide is the city of the great king:
in its palaces, God is the known defence.

For, lo when the associated kings
had come over together against it:
soon as they saw, they were astonished :

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