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Lessons for the Eighth Day of the Month throughout the Year.

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EVENING PRAYER.

Psalm xli. (g)

(3) ante, 193. (4) ante, 215. (5) ante, 201. (6) ante, 136.72. (10) ante, 88. (11) ante, 221. 216. 235. (15) ante, 154. 158. 160.

BLESSED is he that considereth the poor and needy: the Lord shall deliver him in the time of trouble.

2. The Lord preserve (h) him, and keep him alive, that he may be blessed upon earth and deliver not thou him into the will of his enemies.

3. The Lord comfort him when he lieth sick upon his bed: make thou all his bed in his sickness.

4. I said, Lord, be merciful "unto me heal my soul, for I "have sinned against thee."

(g) Written by David during sickness or some great trouble. It calls for blessings on those whose friendship and kindnesses his sickness or adversity had not diminished, complains of the conduct of those who had deserted and opposed him, prays for God's assistance, and thankfully acknowledges the marks of it he had received.

(h) v. 2, 3. B. T. reads all the verbs as futures, "will preserve;"" thou wilt not

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did also eat of my bread, hath laid day and night while they daily say unto me, "Where is now thy "God?"

great wait for me.

10. But be thou merciful unto me, O Lord: raise thou me up again, and I shall reward them. 11. By this I know thou favourest me that mine enemy doth not triumph against me.

12. And when I am in my health, thou upholdest me: and shalt set me before thy face for

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verse our Saviour is supposed to refer, when, in foretelling Judas's perfidy, he says, (John xiii. 18.)" I know whom I have "chosen, but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, he that eateth bread with me "hath lifted up his heel against me;" not, probably, that he meant that this passage was written prophetically with a view to Judas, but merely that it was applicable to him. See ante, 49. note on Matt. ii. 15. In Ps. lv. 12 to 15. David makes a similar complaint of the conduct of some faithless friend, perhaps the same person.

(m) v. 13. This benediction is supposed to have been added by the compiler, on the conclusion of the first book.

(a) The first Psalm of the Second Book. It is supposed to have been written by David on his flight from Absalom. He laments his absence from the tabernacle at Jerusalem, complains of the taunting reproaches of his enemies, points out the greatness of his distress, but declares at the same time his firm reliance upon God. See Psalm 1xxxiv. Bp. Lowth says of it, "The ardent feelings of a devout heart are admirably expressed, whilst the memory

4. Now when I think thereupon, I pour out my heart by myself: for I went (o) with the multitude, and brought them forth into the house of God;

5. In the voice of praise and thanksgiving among such as keep holy-day.

6. Why art thou so full of heaviness, O my soul and why art thou so disquieted within me? 7. Put thy trust in God: for I will (p) yet give him thanks for the help of his countenance.

8. My God, my soul is vexed within me therefore will I remember thee concerning (q) the land of Jordan, and the little hill of Hermon.

9. One deep (7) calleth another, because of the noise of the water

"of former felicity seems to aggravate his "anguish. The extreme anxiety of a mind, "depressed by the burden of sorrow, and yet at the same time impatient under it, "overcome by an accumulation of evils, "yet in some degree endeavouring to "resist them, and admitting, through the "dark cloud of affliction, a glimmering "ray of hope and consolation, is finely "depicted."

(o) v. 4. "I went, &c." calling to mind the triumphant manner in which he used to go up to the tabernacle. Ps. xxvi. 8.— xxvii. 4. xliii. 3, 4.

(p) v. 7. "Will," or "shall," B. T. which seems preferable, as expressing his reliance that God would give him fresh ground for praise, by giving him further assistance.

(q) v. 8. "Concerning," or "even from," i. e. " if I cannot lift up my soul unto thee "in the tabernacle at Jerusalem, I will even from the land of Jordan, &c." So Ps. Ixi. 2. "from the ends of the earth will "I call upon thee, when my heart is in "heaviness."

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(r) v. 9.." One deep, &c." i. e. "cala

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"mities come upon me in such quick suc"cession, that one might be said to call "unto another, one might invite another "to succeed; each as it were within hear"ing of that which preceded."

(s) v. 12. "My bones, &c." i. e. "these "scoffs wound my mind as much as the "smiting my bones asunder would my body." (t) v. 15." Will," or "shall.”

(u) This is supposed to be a continuation of the preceding Psalm. It might be added upon some new trouble. It appeals anxiously to God for deliverance, and seems to have been written when there was no power of going up to the usual place of worship.

(x) v. 3. The joy of going up to the tabernacle is here again referred to. See Ps. xlii. 3.

2. For thou art the God of my strength; why hast thou put me from thee and why go I so heavily, while the enemy oppresseth me?

3. O (x) send out thy light and thy truth, that they may lead me and bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy dwelling.

4. And that I may go unto the altar of God, even unto the God of my joy and gladness and upon the harp will I give thanks unto thee, O God, my God. 5. Why art thou so heavy, O my soul and why art thou so disquieted within me?

6. O put thy trust in God: for I will (y) yet give him thanks, which is the help of my countenance, and my God.

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(y) v. 6. "Will," or "shall."

(2) An anxious Prayer to God for deliverance, written after some calamities and in a time of great dismay, calling to mind what God had before done for the nation, ascribing their former successes to his as sistance, appealing to their continuance in God's worship during their distress, and still professing their confidence in him. It is supposed to have been written in Hezekiah's time, about 713 years before the birth of Christ, when Sennacherib King of Assyria, after having taken the fenced cities of Judah, sent a great host against Jerusalem. See 2 Kings xviii. 13. 17.

Isaiah xxxvi. 1, 2.

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(a) v. 2. “Them," i. e. our fathers."

hast destroyed the nations, and cast them out. (b)

3. For they gat not the land in possession through their own sword neither was it their own arm that helped them;

4. But thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance because thou hadst a favour unto them.

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5. Thou art my King, O God: send help unto Jacob.

6. Through thee will (c) we overthrow our enemies and in thy Name will (c) we tread them under that rise up against us.

7. For I will not trust in my bow it is not my sword that shall help me ;

8. But it is thou that savest us from our enemies and puttest them to confusion that hate us.

9. We make our boast of God all day long and will praise thy thy Name for ever.

10. But now thou art far off, and puttest us to confusion and goest not forth with our armies.

11. Thou makest us to turn our backs upon our enemies so that they, which hate us, spoil our goods.

(b)" Cast them out," or "made "them," (i. e. our Fathers) " to flourish." "Them," in both parts of the verse, refers to "our Fathers;" and the antithesis is, between what God had done to the Heathen, and for them. So Parkhurst, Hebr. Dict. 740. Ainsworth in loco, and many of the writers Pole cites. Poli Synopsis in loco. It alludes probably to the driving out the nations in Joshua's time from the land of Canaan.

(c) v. 6. "Will," or "shall."

(d) v. 13. "For nought," i. e. "treating "them as what is better parted with for nothing, than kept." When Moses denounced upon the people what they should suffer for disobedience, he told them, (among other things,) (Deuter. xxviii. 68.) "Ye shall be sold unto your enemies for

12. Thou lettest us be eaten up like sheep and hast scattered us among the heathen.

13. Thou sellest thy people for nought (d) and takest no money for them.

14. Thou makest us to be rebuked of our neighbours to be laughed to scorn, and had in derision of them that are round about us.

15. Thou makest us to be a by-word among the heathen: and that the people shake their heads (e) at us.

16. My confusion is daily before me and the shame of my face hath covered me;

17. For the voice of the slanderer (g) and blasphemer: for the enemy and avenger.

18. And though all this be come upon us, yet do we not forget thee: nor behave ourselves frowardly in thy (h) covenant.

19. Our heart is not turned back: neither our steps gone out of thy way;

20. No, not when thou hast smitten us into the place of dragons (i) and covered us with the shadow of death.

"bondmen and bondwomen, and no man "shall buy you." So much shall you be despised, that when you are offered for sale, no one shall be willing to give any thing for you, to buy you at the lowest price.

(e) v. 15. "Shake their heads," i. e. "in "ridicule and contempt."

(g) v. 17. "Slanderer and blasphemer," not alluding perhaps to any one in particular, but to the heathen in general (who made a by-word of them), and to the people who shook their heads at them.

(h) v. 18. "Thy covenant," "the service "thou hast required: what thou hast made "matter of covenant with us."

(i) v. 20. "Place of dragons." A figurative expression, to denote the utmost misery.

21. If we have forgotten the | Name of our God, and holden up our hands to any strange god: shall not God search it out? for he knoweth the very secrets of the heart.

22. For thy sake (k) also are we killed all the day long and are counted as sheep appointed to be slain.

23. Up, Lord, why sleepest thou: awake, and be not absent from us for ever.

(k) v. 22. "For thy sake," i. e. "because "of our adherence to thy religion, because "we will not distrust thee, or join in wor"shipping other gods." So far from our being apostates, it is for attachment to thee we suffer : "it is for thy sake we 66 are killed, &c."

(1) This Psalm has been supposed to have been written upon Solomon's marriage with Pharoah's daughter; and if so, as Solomon was a type of the Messiah, the author might be led into expressions more applicable to the Messiah than to Solomon. But the more general, and perhaps the better opinion is, that it applied to the Messiah only. The language, in many parts, sounds far too high for Solomon, and in some, particularly verse 7., would in no sense apply to him: And if any part apply exclusively to the Messiah, it would be strange if the whole had not the same application. See Hales's 9th Dissertation, p. 301. and Poli Synopsis in loco. Bishop Patrick thinks it referred both to the Messiah, and to Solomon's marriage. "Many of the expressions, (he observes,) "are so magnificent, that it is in a very

poor and low sense only that they can "be applied to Solomon, and his bride: "some of them scarcely at all. On the "other hand, some expressions seem so "plainly to belong to him, that it is by "way of allegory only that they can be "applied to our Saviour. The mind of "the Prophet was evidently carried "beyond Solomon, to the great King, "the Lord Christ; at least he was guided "to use words so high, that they proved "too great for Solomon, and we must

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say, as our Saviour does in another case, "Behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

24. Wherefore hidest thou thy face and forgettest our misery and trouble?

25. For our soul is brought low, even unto the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the ground.

26. Arise, and help us and deliver us for thy mercies sake.

Psalm xlv. (1)

My heart is inditing (m) of a good matter: I speak of the

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"And so the best of the Jewish inter"preters acknowledge." The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews clearly considers the 7th and 8th verses as written with a view to the Messiah, for, in bring ing forward passages in which the Messiah is spoken of in higher terms than are ever applied to Angels, he refers to this: "But unto the Son he saith, "Thy throne, "O God, is for ever and ever, a sceptre "of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom: thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity, therefore God, " even thy God, hath anointed thee with "the oil of gladness above thy fellows." The Chaldee Paraphrase says expressly, that it was written prophetically of the Messiah. The Targum, Aben Ezra, and Solomon Jarchi say, that it was a prophecy of the Messiah. Kimchi is clear it was written for the Messiah, and says it was antiently so understood.. Jarchi says, their antient Doctors interpreted it of the Messiah, but he thinks it more expedient to explain it only of David, to put the Christians to silence. See Nicholls and Hammond in loco, and Chandler's Defence of Christianity, 255. 257, 258. The Apostolical Constitution, Lib. 5. c. 20. p. 329. considers it as written of Christ.- So does Justin, M.-Dial. cum Tryphone, 256. 313; and Basil in his Homily Psalm, p. 79.- Dr. Hales says, it cannot relate to Solomon, for he was a man of peace.-1. Hales' Trin. 230. Bishop Horne applies it to the Messiah only; and Bishop Horsley is positive it was intended to have that application and no other. He and many other writers consider it as describing the character of the Messiah, and under the image of a marriage solem

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