of the north; on the south, the mountain of Offiner interposed with the valley of Gehinnom; and on the west it was formerly fenced with the valley of Gihon, and the mountains adjoining. The situation was such as to be easily rendered impregnable. The Lord is round about his people] He is above, beneath, around them; and while they keep within it, their fortress is impregnable, and they can suffer no evil. Verse 3. For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous] Rod, here, may be taken for persecution, or for rule; and then it may be thus interpreted: "The wicked shall not be permitted to persecute always, nor to have a permanent rule." In our liturgic version this clause is thus rendered: "The rod of the ungodly cometh not into the lot of the righteous." 'This," said one of our forefathers, "is neither truth nor scripture. First, it is not truth; for the rod of the wicked doth come into the inheritance of the righteous, and that often. Secondly, it is not scripture; for the text saith, The rod of the wicked shall not rest there.' It may come, and stay for a time; but it shall not be permitted to abide." This is only one, and not the worst, of the many sad blemishes which deform the Version in our national Prayer-book. In short, the Version of the Psalms in that book is wholly unworthy of regard; and should be thrown aside, and that in the authorized Version in the Bible substituted for it. The people of God are misled by it; and they are confounded with the great and glaring differences they find between it and what they find in their Bibles, where they have a version of a much better character, delivered to them by the authority of church and state. Why do not our present excellent and learned prelates lay this to heart, and take away this sore stumblingblock out of the way of the people? I have referred to this subject in the introduction to the Book of Psalms. Lest the righteous put forth] Were the wicked to bear rule in the Lord's vineyard, religion would soon become extinct; for the great mass of the people would conform to their rulers. Fear not your enemies, while ye fear God. Neither Sanballat, nor Tobiah, nor Geshem, nor any of God's foes, shall be able to set up their rod, their power and authority, here. While you are faithful, the Lord will laugh them to scorn. Verse 4. Do good, O Lord, unto those that be good] Let the upright ever find thee his sure defence! Increase the goodness which thou hast already bestowed upon them; and let all who are upright in heart find thee to be their stay and their support! Verse 5. As for such as turn aside] Who are not faithful; who give way to sin; who backslide, and walk in a crooked way, widely different from the straight way of the upright, ¬w yesharim, the straight in heart; they shall be led forth to punishment with the common workers of iniquity. Thus thy church will be purified, and thy peace rest upon thy true Israel. Let him that readeth understand. preceding psalm. ANALYSIS OF THE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIFTH PSALM. It is the purpose of the Psalmist to comfort the people of God,— I. By an assurance of their perpetuity, both from God's presence and protection, ver. 1, 2. II. That though he may permit them to be harassed by the wicked, yet he will not leave them under their rod, ver. 3. III. He prays for the good; and, IV. Sets down the portion of the wicked, ver. 4, 5. I. A general promise of the perpetuity of the church; that is, of them "that trust in God." 1. "They that trust in the Lord :" "The congregation of God's faithful people, who have the pure word of God preached, and the sacraments duly administered," Acts xix. 2. "Shall be as Mount Zion," secure and immoveable; immoveable, because a mountain,—a holy mountain, and particularly dear to God. 3. "Which abideth for ever:" So surely as Mount Zion shall never be removed, so surely shall the church of God be preserved. Is it not strange that wicked and idolatrous powers have not joined together, dug down this mount, and carried it into the sea, that they might nullify a promise in which the people of God exult! Till ye can carry Mount Zion into the Mediterranean Sea, the church of Christ shall grow and prevail. Hear this, ye murderous Mohammedans! 4. "As the mountains are round about Jerusalem" to fortify it. 5. "So the Lord is round about his people"-to preserve them. 6. "From henceforth, even for ever:" Through both time and eternity. II. 1. But the church is often persecuted and harassed. Granted; for the "rod," the power and scourge, "of the wicked, may come into the heritage of the righteous." 2. But then may it not finally prevail? No: for though it come, it shall not rest. 3. And why? Because it might finally destroy the church, pervert the good, and cause them to join issue with the ungodly. Therefore, they shall not be tempted above that they are able." III. Therefore the Psalmist prays,— 1. "Do good to the good:" Give them patience, and keep them faithful. 2. And "to the upright in heart:" Let not the weak and the sincere be overcome by their enemies! IV. He sets down the lot of the ungodly :1. "They turn aside." 2. They get into crooked paths; they get into the spirit of the world, and are warped into its crooked and winding ways. 3. They shall be condemned, and then led forth to punishment. The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways; he shall have writhing in pain, for crooked walking in sin. 4. But while this is their portion, "peace," prosperity, and blessedness, "shall be upon Israel." The Israelites rejoice PSALMS. at their deliverance. PSALM CXXVI. The joy of the Israelites on their return from captivity, and the effect their deliverance had upon the heathen, 1-3. The prayer which they had offered up, 4. The inference they draw from the whole, 5, 6. 2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. a Heb. returned the returning of Zion. Ps. liii. 6. lxxxv. 1. Hos. vi. 11. Joel iii. 1.- b Acts xii. 9.- Job viii. 21. NOTES ON PSALM CXXVI. This psalm is not of David, has no title in the Hebrew or any of the Versions, and certainly belongs to the close of the captivity. It might have been composed by Haggai and Zechariah, as the Syriac supposes; or by Ezra, according to others. It is beautiful, and highly descriptive of the circumstances which it represents. Verse 1. When the Lord turned again the captivity] When Cyrus published his decree in favour of the Jews, giving them liberty to return to their own land, and rebuild their city and temple. We were like them that dream.] The news was so unexpected that we doubted for a time the truth of it. We believed it was too good news to be true, and thought ourselves in a dream or illusion. When the Romans had vanquished Philip, king of Macedon, they restored liberty to the Grecian cities by proclamation. It was done at the time of the Isthmian games, and by the crier, who went into the circus to proclaim them; none but the Roman general, T. Quintius, knowing what was to be done. Multitudes from all Greece were there assembled; and the tidings produced nearly the same effect upon them, according to Livy, that the publication of the decree of Cyrus did on the Jews, according to what is here related by the Psalmist. I shall give the substance of this account from the Roman historian. When the Romans had sat down to behold the games, the herald with his trumpet went into the arena, according to custom, to proclaim the several games. Silence being obtained, he solemnly pronounced the following words— | - See Jer. xxxi. d Heb. hath magnified to do with them. The effect that this produced on the astonished Grecians who were present, is related by this able historian in a very natural and affecting manner; and some parts of it nearly in the words of the Psalmist. Audita voce præconis, majus gaudium fuit, quam quod universum homines caperent. Vix satis se credere se quisque audisse: alii alios intueri mirabundi velut somnii vanam speciem : quod ad quemque pertineret, suarum aurium fidei minimum credentes, proximos interrogabant. Revocatur præco, cum unusquisque non audire, sed videre libertatis suæ nuncium averit, iterum pronunciaret eadem. Tum ab certo jam gaudio tantus cum clamore plausus est ortus, totiesque repetitus, ut facile appareret, nihil omnium bonorum multitudini gratius quam LIBERTATEM esse. T. Liv. Hist. lib. xxxiii., c. 32. This proclamation of the herald being heard, there was such joy, that the people in general could not comprehend it. Scarcely could any person believe what he had heard. They gazed on each other, wondering as if it had been some illusion, similar to a dream; and although all were interested in what was spoken, none could trust his own ears, but inquired each from him who stood next to him what it was that was proclaimed? The herald was again called, as each expressed the strongest desire not only to hear, but see the messenger of his own liberty: the herald, therefore, repeated the proclamation. When by this repetition the glad tidings were confirmed, there arose such a shout, accompanied SENATUS Romanus et T. QUINCIUS IMPERATOR, PHI- with repeated clapping of hands, as plainly showed LIPPO REGE MACEDONIBUSQUE DEVICTIS; LIBEROS, IMMUNES, SUIS LEGIBUS ESSE JUBET CORINTHIOS, PHOCENSES, LOCRENSESQUE OMNES, ET INSULAM EUBAM, ET MAGNETAS, THESSALOS, Perrhæbos, Achæos, Phthiotas. "The Roman Senate, and T. Quintius the general, having vanquished king Philip and the Macedonians, do ordain that the Corinthians, Phocensians, all the Locrensians, the island of Euboea, the Magnesians, that of all good things none is so dear to the multitude as LIBERTY." O that God may raise up some other deliverer to save these same cities, with their inhabitants, from a worse yoke than ever was imposed upon them by the king of Macedon; and from a servitude which has now lasted three hundred years longer than the captivity of the Israelites in the empire of Babylon! Analysis of the PSALM CXXVI. preceding psalm. Constantinople was taken by the Turks in 1453; and since that time till the present (October 1822), three hundred and sixty-nine years have elapsed. Why do the Christian powers of Europe stand by, and see the ark of their God in captivity; the holy name by which they are called despised and execrated; the vilest indignities offered to those who are called Christians, by barbarians the most cruel, ferocious, and abominable that ever disgraced the name of man? Great God, vindicate the cause of the distressed Greeks as summarily, as effectually, as permanently, as thou once didst that of thy oppressed people the Jews! Let the crescent never more fill its horns with a victory, nor with the spoils of any who are called by the sacred name of JESUS: but let it wane back into total darkness; and know no change for the better, till illuminated by the orient splendour of the Sun of righteousness! Amen! Amen! How signally has this prayer been thus far answered! Three great Christian powers, the British, the French, and the Russian, have taken up the cause of the oppressed Greeks. The Turkish fleet has been attacked in the Bay of Navarino by the combined fleets of the above powers in October, 1827, under the command of the British Admiral, Sir Edward Codrington, and totally annihilated. After which, the Mohammedan troops were driven out of Greece and the Morea; so that the whole of Greece is cleared of its oppressors, and is now under its own govern-pecting family in triumph, praising God for the wonment, protected by the above powers.-March, 1829. Verse 2. Then was our mouth filled with laughter]| The same effect as was produced on the poor liberated Grecians mentioned above. Verse 5. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.] This is either a maxim which they gather from their own history, or it is a fuct which they are now witnessing. We see the benefit of humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God; we have now a sweet return for our bitter tears. Or, We have sown in tears; now we reap in joy. We are restored after a long and afflicting captivity to our own country, to peace, and to happiness. Then said they among the heathen] The liberty now granted was brought about in so extraordinary a way, that the very heathens saw that the hand of the great Jehovah must have been in it. Verse 3. The Lord hath done great things for us] We acknowledge the hand of our God. Deus nobis hæc otia fecit, “God alone has given us this enlarge ment." We are glad.] This is a mere burst of ecstatic joy. O how happy are we! Verse 4. Turn again our captivity] This is either a recital of the prayer they had used before their deliverance; or it is a prayer for those who still remained in the provinces beyond the Euphrates. The Jewish captives did not all return at once; they came back at different times, and under different leaders, Ezra, Nehemiah, Zerubbabel, &c. As the streams in the south.] Probably the Nile is meant. It is now pretty well known that the Nile has its origin in the kingdom of Damot; and runs from south to north through different countries, till, passing through Egypt, it empties itself into the Mediterranean Sea. It is possible, however, that they might have had in view some rapid rivers that either rose in the south, or had a southern direction; and they desired that their return might be as rapid and as abundant as the waters of those rivers. But we know that the Nile proceeds from the south, divides itself into several streams as it passes through Egypt, and falls by seven mouths into the Mediterranean. Verse 6. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed] The metaphor seems to be this: A poor farmer has had a very bad harvest: a very scanty portion of grain and food has been gathered from the earth. The seed time is now come, and is very unpromising. Out of the famine a little seed has been saved to be sown, in hopes of another crop; but the badness of the present season almost precludes the entertainment of hope. But he must sow, or else despair and perish. He carries his all, his precious seed, with him in his seed basket; and with a sorrowful heart commits it to the furrow, watering it in effect with his tears, and earnestly imploring the blessing of God upon it. God hears; the season becomes mild; he beholds successively the blade, the ear, and the full corn in the ear. The appointed weeks of harvest come, and the grain is very productive. He fills his arms, his carriages, with the sheaves and shocks; and returns to his large ex ders he has wrought. So shall it be with this hand- ANALYSIS OF THE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIXTH PSALM. The parts of this psalm are three :— I. An expression of joy for their strange deliverance from captivity. II. A prayer for the return of the remaining part. 1. From the cause, Jehovah. Cyrus gave a commission for it; but it was the Lord who disposed his heart so to do: "When the Lord turned," &c. 2. From the manner of it. It was strange and wonderful; they could scarcely believe it. 3. From the joy at it, inward and external. 1. Their "mouths were filled with laughter." 2. Their 'tongue with singing." A thankful tongue expressed the feelings of a thankful heart. That God did this for them he proves by two evidences : 1. The heathen: "Then said they among the hea No prosperity without PSALMS. God's blessing. then." They saw that they were permitted to return the land will become fruitful, like the parched by virtue of a royal edict; that the very king who ground when powerful rivulets are sent through it in gave the commission was named by a prophet; that all directions. they had rich gifts given them, the vessels of gold and silver restored, &c. Who could do all these things but GOD? 2. The Jews. It is true, said the Jews, what you acknowledge. 1. "The Lord hath done great things for us." Beyond our merit, beyond our hope. 2. "Whereof we are glad," for we are freed from a galling yoke. III. The benefit of this will be great; for although it may cost us much hard labour and distress in the beginning, yet the maxim will hold good-" They who sow in tears shall reap in joy." Which the Psalmist amplifies in the next verse. 1. "He that goeth forth and weepeth." The poor husbandman, for the reasons given above and in the notes, bearing precious seed-seed bought with a high II. But there were some Jews left behind, for price, which augments his grief, being so poor. whom they pray. 1. "Turn their captivity also." Put it in their hearts to join their brethren. Several, no doubt, staid behind, because they had married strange wives, &c. | 2. "Turn it as the streams in the south." Or, as some read it, streams of water on a parched land. Judea has been lying waste; we need many hands to cultivate it. When all join together in this work 66 2. He shall doubtless come again"-in harvest, with joy, having a plentiful crop; for every grain sown at least one full-fed ear of corn, with at the lowest thirty-fold. Some maxims are to be gathered from the whole: Penitential sorrow shall be followed by the joy of pardoning mercy; he that bears the cross shall wear the crown; and, trials and difficulties shall be followed by peace and prosperity. PSALM CXXVII. The necessity of God's blessing on every undertaking, without which no prosperity can be expected, 1,2. Children are an heritage from the Lord, 3, 4. A fruitful wife is a blessing to her husband, 5. NOTES ON PSALM CXXVII. The Hebrew, Chaldee, and Vulgate attribute this psalm to Solomon. The Syriac says it is "A Psalm of David concerning Solomon; and that it was spoken also concerning Haggai and Zechariah, who forwarded the building of the temple." The Septuagint, Ethiopic, Arabic, and Anglo-Saxon have no title, but simply "A Psalm of Degrees." It was most likely composed for the building of the second temple, under Nehemiah, and by some prophet of that time. Verse 1. Except the Lord build the house] To build a house is taken in three different senses in the sacred writings: 1. To build the temple of the Lord, which was called an habbeith, the house, by way of eminence. 2. To build any ordinary house, or place of dwelling. 3. To have a numerous offspring. In this sense it is supposed to be spoken concerning the Egyptian midwives; that because they feared the Lord, therefore he built them houses. See the note xxviii. 4. 8 Heb. hath filled his quiver with them. See Job v. 4. Prov. xxvii. 11.- —Ör, shall subdue, as Ps. xviii. 47; or, destroy. on Exod. i. 21. But, however the above passage may be interpreted, it is a fact that 1 ben, a son, and 72 bath, a daughter, and ♫ beith, a house, come from the same root 2 banah, to build; because sons and daughters build up a household, or constitute a family, as much and as really as stones and timber constitute a building. Now it is true that unless the good hand of God be upon us we cannot prosperously build a place of worship for his name. Urless we have his blessing, a dwelling-house cannot be comfortably erected. And if his blessing be not on our children, the house (the family) may be built up. but instead of its being the house of God, it will be the synagogue of Satan. All marriages that are not under God's blessing will be a private and public curse. This we see every day. Except the Lord keep the city] When the returned Jews began to restore the walls of Jerusalem, and rebuild the city, Sanballat, Tobiah, and others formed plots to prevent it. Nehemiah, being informed of this, set up proper watches and guards. The enemy, finding this, gathered themselves together, and determined to fall upon them at once, and cut them all off. Nehemiah, having gained intelligence of this also, armed his people, and placed them bebind the wall. Sanballat and his company, finding that the Jews were prepared for resistance, abandoned their project; and Nehemiah, to prevent surprises of this kind, kept one-half of the people always under arms, while the other half was employed in the work. To this the Psalmist alludes; and in effect says, Though you should watch constantly, guard every place, and keep on your armour ready to repel every attack, yet remember the success of all depends upon the presence and blessing of God. While, therefore, ye are not slothful in business, be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; for there is no success either in spiritual or secular undertakings but in consequence of the benediction of the Almighty. Verse 2. It is vain for you to rise up early] There seems to be here an allusion to the daily and nightly watches which Nehemiah instituted. The people were worn out with constant labour and watching; he therefore divided them in such a manner, that they who had worked in the day should rest by night, and that they who worked by night should rest in the day; and thus his beloved, a title of the Jews, the beloved of God, got sleep, due refreshment, and rest. As for Nehemiah and his servants, they never put off their clothes day or night but for washing. Verse 3. Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord] That is, To many God gives children in place of temporal good. To many others he gives houses, lands, and thousands of gold and silver, and with them the womb that beareth not; and these are their inberitance. The poor man has from God a number of children, without lands or money; these are his inberitance; and God shows himself their father, feeding and supporting them by a chain of miraculous providences. Where is the poor man who would give up his six children, with the prospect of having more, for the thousands or millions of him who is the centre of his own existence, and has neither root nor branch but his forlorn solitary self upon the face of the earth? Let the fruitful family, however poor, lay this to heart: "Children are an heritage of the Lord; and the fruit of the womb is his reward." And he who gave them will feed them; for it is a fact, and the maxim formed on it has never failed, "Wherever God sends mouths, he sends meat." “Murmur not,” said an Arab to his friend, "because thy family is large; know that it is for their sakes that God feeds thee." Verse 4. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man] Each child will, in the process of time, be a defence and support to the family, as arrows in the quiver of a skilful and strong archer: the more he has the more enemies he may slay, and consequently the more redoubted shall he be. Children of the youth.] The children of young people are always more strong and vigorous, more healthy, and generally longer lived than those of elderly, or comparatively elderly persons. Youth is preceding psalm. the time for marriage; I do not mean infancy or a comparative childhood, in which several fools join in marriage who are scarcely fit to leave the nursery or school. Such couples generally disagree; they cannot bear the boyish and girlish petulancies and caprices of each other; their own growth is hindered, and their offspring (if any) have never much better than an embryo existence. On the other hand age produces only a dwarfish or rickety offspring, that seldom live to procreate; and when they do, it is only to perpetuate deformity and disease. It would be easy to assign reasons for all this; but the interpretation of Scripture will seldom admit of physiological details. It is enough that God has said, Children of the youth are strong and active, like arrows in the hands of the mighty. Verse 5. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them] This is generally supposed to mean his house full of children, as his quiver is full of arrows; but I submit whether it be not more congenial to the metaphors in the text to consider it as applying to the wife: "Happy is the man who has a breeding or fruitful wife;" this is the gravida sagittis pharetra, "the quiver pregnant with arrows." But it may be thought the metaphor is not natural. I think otherwise; and I know it to be in the Jewish style, and the style of the times of the captivity, when this psalm was written, and we find the pudendum muliebre, or human matrix, thus denominated, Ecclus. χχνί. 12: Κατέναντι παντος πασσάλου καθήσεται, και evavri Beλovç avoižei paperpav. The reader may consult the place in the Apocrypha, where he will find the verse well enough translated. With the enemies in the gate.] "When he shall contend with his adversaries in the gate of the house of judgment."-Targum. The reference is either to courts of justice, which were held at the gates of cities, or to robbers who endeavour to force their way into a house to spoil the inhabitants of their goods. In the first case a man falsely accused, who has a numerous family, has as many witnesses in his behalf as he has children. And in the second case he is not afraid of marauders, because his house is well defended by his active and vigorous sons. It is, I believe, to this last that the Psalmist refers. This psalm may be entitled, "The Soliloquy of the happy Householder:-The poor man with a large loving family, and in annual expectation of an increase, because his wife, under the divine blessing, is fruitful." All are blessed of the Lord, and his hand is invariably upon them for good. ANALYSIS OF THE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVENTH PSALM. The Jews were at this time very busy in rebuilding their temple, and the houses and walls of their city; and the prophet teaches them that, without the assistance of God, nothing will be blessed or preserved, and that their children are his especial blessing also. This the prophet shows by these words repeated, nisi, nisi, frustra, frustra; and proves it by an induction. I. In civil affairs, whether in house or city. 1. "Except the Lord build the house," &c. God |