6. And now shall he lift up mine head above mine enemies round about me.

7. Therefore will I offer in his dwelling an oblation with great gladness: I will sing, and speak praises unto the Lord.

8. Hearken unto my voice, O Lord, when I cry unto thee: have mercy upon me, and hear me.

9. My heart hath talked of thee; "Seek ye my face (h)." Thy face, Lord, will I seek.

10. O hide not thou thy face from me: nor cast thy servant away in displeasure.

11. Thou hast been my succour : leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.

12. When (i) my father and my mother forsake me : the Lord taketh me up.

13. Teach me thy way, O Lord: and lead me in the right way, because of mine enemies.

14. Deliver me not over into

(h) v. 9. The Bible translation is, "When thou saidst, "Seek ye my face,"

"

my heart said unto thee," Thy face, Lord, will I seek;" which seems preferable.

(i) v. 12. "When, &c." An idea, nearly similar, is beautifully expressed, Isaiah xlix. 15. "Can a woman forget her suck❝ing child, that she should not have com66 passion on the son of her womb? Yea, "they may forget; yet will not I forget "thee."

(*) v. 15. "The living," or "life," perThe haps referring to the life to come. expression "in the land of the living," occurs Job xxviii. 13. Ps. lii. 6. Ps. cxvi.9. Ps. cxlii. 6. Is. xxxviii. 11. Is. liii. 8. and Ez. xxxii. 24, 25, 26, 27.32.; but in most, if not all of those passages, it must mean the present life.

An earnest prayer to God to hear and deliver him, and discomfit the wicked, concluding with a spirited song of exultation, as if God had signified to him, during the progress of the Psalm, that he would

(m) v. 1. "Them that go down into the pit," i. e. " the dead." (n) v. 2. " Mercy seat." In Exod. xxv. and xxvi. is an account of God's commands to the Israelites for making him

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a sanctuary, that he might dwell among "them;" and after giving them directions as to the ark, he told them to make a mercy-seat of pure gold, and to put it above upon the ark, and there, said he, “I "will meet with thee, and I will commune "with thee from above the mercy-seat, "from between the two cherubims which "are upon the ark of the testimony." It was natural, therefore, in his earnest prayers in the tabernacle, that David should direct his eyes to that place. When Moses went into the tabernacle after its sanctification, and after the offerings of the princes," he heard the voice "of one speaking unto him from off the

ther destroy me with the ungodly and wicked doers which speak friendly to their neighbours, but imagine mischief' in their hearts.

4. Reward them according to their deeds and according to the wickedness of their own inventions.

5. Recompense them after the work of their hands pay them that they have deserved.

6. For they regard not (o) in their mind the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands: therefore shall he break them down, and not build them up. 7. Praised be the Lord: for he hath heard the voice of my humble petitions.

8. The Lord is my strength, and my shield; my heart hath trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart danceth for joy, and in my song will I praise

him.

(o) v. 6. "Regard not, &c." So Is. v. 12. God denounces woe to those who riot and feast, but "regard not the work of "the Lord, neither consider the operation "of his hands ;" and see Ps. lxxxvi. 10. -xcii. 4.- cxi. 2.

(p) A hymn of triumph, of great spirit and grandeur, after some victory; probably one in which a storm of thunder, lightning, and rain had contributed to discomfit the enemy. "The matter of this "Psalm," says Bp. Lowth, "is the tre"mendous majesty and excessive glory of "the Most High.' See Ps. xcvii.

(q) v. 3. "The Lord, &c." How magnificent is Job's description of God's power, "which removeth the mountains, and they

10. O save thy people, and give thy blessing unto thine inheritance feed them, and set them up for ever.

Psalm xxix. (p)

BRING unto the Lord, O ye mighty, bring young rams unto the Lord ascribe unto the Lord worship and strength.

2. Give the Lord the honour due unto his Name: worship the Lord with holy worship.

3. It is the Lord (g) that commandeth the waters (r): it is the glorious God that maketh the thunder.

4. It is the Lord that ruleth the sea; the voice of the Lord (s) is mighty in operation: the voice of the Lord is a glorious voice.

5. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedar trees: yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Libanus.

6. He maketh them also to

"know not; which overturneth them in "his anger. Which shaketh the earth out "of her place, and the pillars thereof "tremble. Which commandeth the sun, "and it riseth not, and sealeth up the "stars. Which alone spreadeth out the "heavens, and treadeth upon the waves "of the sea. Which doeth great things

past finding out; yea, and wonders "without number. Lo, he goeth by me, " and I see him not; he passeth on also, "but I perceive him not. Behold he "taketh away, who can hinder him? who "will say unto him, What doest thou? "Job ix. 5 to 12."

(2) "The waters," and, consequently, "the rain."

(s) v. 4. 5. 7, 8. "The voice of the "Lord," i. e. (probably in these passages) "thunder." Thunder is called "the voice "of the Lord, Job xxxvii. 2." So Job xl. 9. "Hast thou an arm like God? "or canst thou thunder with a voice like "him ?"

even them,

(z) v. 8." The hinds;" they being remarkable, in general, for bringing forth with difficulty. But Bp. Lowth considers this below the dignity and grandeur of the other images, and he reads, "shaketh the oaks."

(a)" Discovereth," i. e. " uncovereth, strippeth, maketh bare."

(b) In his temple, &c." or "in the "heavens (poetically called "his tem"ple") does every thing proclaim his "glory." Le Clerc and Bp. Hare.

(c) v. 9. "Sitteth above the waterflood," i. e. (probably) " rules the clouds

3. Thou, Lord, hast brought my soul out of hell (e): thou hast kept my life from them that go down to the pit. (g)

4. Sing praises unto the Lord, O ye saints of his and give thanks unto him for a remembrance of his holiness.

5. For his wrath endureth but the twinkling of an eye, and in his pleasure is life (h): heaviness may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

6. And in my prosperity I said, "I shall never be removed :" thou, Lord, of thy goodness hadst made my hill (i) so strong.

7. Thou (k) didst turn thy face from me and I was troubled.

8. Then cried (1) I unto thee,

"of heaven: the storehouses of rain." So, "He rides in the whirlwind, and directs "the storm."

(d) A thanksgiving, either after a recovery from sickness, or deliverance from an enemy. Bp. Patrick thinks it was written by David, after his deliverance from the rebellion of Absalom. It points out the wisdom of trusting upon God, the efficacy of God's aid, and the vanity of any other dependance.

(e) v. 3. "Brought my soul out of hell," i.e. "extricated me from the greatest perils." (g) "Them that go down to the pit," i. e. "the dead."

(h) v. 5." Life," i. e. " for duration;" the wrath so short, the pleasure so long. (i) v. 6. "My hill," i. e. " my situation, 66 my condition."

(k) v. 7. "Thou, &c." so completely are man's comforts in the power of God! How prosperous soever his condition, God can bring trouble, and again remove it; and prayer is the proper means to obtain its removal.

(l) v. 8. “ Cried, &c." See Sam. v. 13.

the

"Is any one afflicted? let him pray : "fervent prayer of a righteous man "availeth much. James v. 16."

(m) v. 9, 10, 11. This is his prayer. When God told Hezekiah to set his house in order, for that he should surely die, he prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore, and the Lord added unto his life fifteen years; (see Is. xxxviii.) and part of his thanksgiving for this mercy was, "The grave cannot praise "thee, death cannot celebrate thee; they "that go down into the pit cannot hope for "thy truth; the living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day." See Ps. vi. 5. "In death no man remembereth "thee, and who will give thee thanks in "the pit ?" and Ps. cxv. 17. "the dead "praise not thee, O Lord, neither all they "that go down into silence."

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(n) v. 12. "Sackcloth," "the garment "of misery."

(0) An earnest prayer to God for protection, supposed to be written by David, mentioning his present troubles, the falling off of his friends, and the machinations of his enemies, but calling to mind the de

2. Bow down thine ear to me: make haste to deliver me.

3. And be thou my strong rock, and house of defence that thou mayest save me.

4. For thou art my strong rock, and my castle: be thou also my guide, and lead me for thy Name's sake. (p)

5. Draw me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength.

6. Into thy hands I commend (q) my spirit for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of truth.

7. I have hated them that hold of superstitious vanities: and my trust hath been in the Lord.

8. I will be glad, and rejoice in thy mercy for thou hast considered my trouble, and hast known (r) my soul in adversities.

9. Thou hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: but

liverances he had before received, and expressing the most confident assurance that God would still preserve him. "that

(p) v. 4. "Name's sake," i. e. "thou mayest not be lightly spoken of, "for suffering one who fully trusts in thee "to be in misery." See note on Ps. xxv. 10.

(q) v. 6. "I commend, &c." The last words our Saviour uttered upon the cross, "Father, into thy hands I commend "my spirit,' and having said thus, he gave "up the ghost. Luke xxiii. 46." And Bp. Horne's observation upon his quotations from the Psalms in his latest moments is this: "Thus he, who spake as never man spake, "chose to conclude his life, to solace "himself in his greatest agony, and at last "to breathe out his soul in the Psalmist's "form of words rather than his own." No inconsiderable proof that the Psalms deserve from us the most lively and accurate attention !!

(r) v. 8. “ Known," i. e. " preserved, se"cured." See note on Ps. i. 7.