character of a suppliant he first pours forth his earnest prayers to the God of his hope: "I lifted up my voice unto God and cried, "I lifted up my voice unto God, that he should "hear me. But even prayers afford him no sufficient consolation. He next endeavours to mitigate his sorrow by the remembrance of former times; but this, on the contrary, only seems to exaggerate his sufferings by the comparison of his present adversity with his former happiness, and extorts from him the following pathetic expostulation: "Will the Lord reject me for ever? "Is his mercy eternally ceased? Doth his promise fail from generation to gene "ration? "Hath God forgotten to be merciful? "Or hath he in anger shut up his pity?" Again, recollecting the nature of the Divine dispensations in chastising man, "the change of the right-hand of the Most High;" in other words, the different methods by which the Almighty seeks the salvation of his people, appearing frequently to frown upon and persecute those "in whom he delighteth:" reconsidering also the vast series of mercies which he had bestowed upon his chosen people; the miracles which he had wrought in their favour, in a word, the goodness, the holiness, the power of the great Ruler of the universe; with all the ardour of gratitude and affection, he bursts forth into a strain of praise and exultation. In this passage we are at a loss which to admire most, the ease and grace with which the digression is made, the choice of the incidents, the magnificence of the imagery, or the force and elegance of the diction: "Thy way, O God, is in holiness; "What God is great as our God? Thou art the God that doest wonders: "Thou hast made known thy strength among the "nations: "With thy arm hast thou redeemed thy people, "The sons of Jacob and Joseph. "The waters saw thee, O God! "The waters saw thee, and trembled; "The depths also were troubled. "The clouds overflowed with water; "The skies sent forth thunder; "Thine arrows also went abroad: The voice of thy thunder was in the atmosphere ; Thy lightnings enlightened the world, "The earth trembled, and was disturbed." LOWTH, Lect. 26. PSALM LXXVIII. I HAVE little doubt of this psalm's being a continuation of the preceding one. It is a beautiful recapitulation of all that Jehovah had done for the Israelites; and of their unaccountable ingratitude and frequent relapses.-GEDDES. Amongst those poems which by the Hebrews were adapted to music, and distinguished by the general appellation Shirim, there are some which differ in their nature from lyric poetry, strictly so called. These it will be more regular to class with those compositions anciently termed Idylliums. The term Idyllium is a vague and general one, which denotes nothing certain relating to the nature of the poem; it however appears by use and custom to have obtained a certain and appropriated destination; and perhaps it may not be improperly defined, a poem of moderate length; of an uniform, middle style, chiefly distinguished for elegance and sweetness; regular and clear as to plot, conduct, and arrangement. There are many perfect examples of this kind of poem extant in the writings of the Ilebrews; some of which, I presume, it will not be unpleasing singly to point out and explain. The first of these poems which attract our notice are the historical psalms, in celebration of the power and the other attributes of the Deity, as instanced in the miracles which he performed in favour of his people. One of the principal of these, bearing the name of Asaph, (Psalm LXXVIII.) pursues the history of the Israelites from the time of their departure from Egypt to the reign of David, particularizing and illustrating all the leading events. The style is simple and uniform, but the structure is poetical, and the sentiments occasionally splendid. The historical, or rather chronological order, cannot be said to be exactly preserved throughout; for the minute detail of so protracted a series of events could scarcely fail to tire in a work of imagination. The Egyptian miracles are introduced in a very happy and elegant digression, and may be considered as forming a kind of episode. The same subject affords materials for two other psalms, the hundred-and-fifth, and the hundred-and-sixth: the one including the history of Israel, from the call of Abraham to the Exodus; the other, from that period to the later ages of the commonwealth: both of them bear a strong resemblance to the seventy-eighth, as well in the subject as in the style (except perhaps that the diction is rather of a' more simple cast); the mixture of ease and grace, displayed in the exordium, is the same in all. These psalms, both in plot and conduct, have a surprizing analogy to the hymns of the Greeks. Indeed the Greek translators might very properly have given the title of Hymns to the book of Psalms, as that word agrees much more exactly with the Hebrew title Tehillim, than that which they have adopted.-Lowth. PSALM LXXVIII. PARENT of universal good! We own thy bounteous hand, Struck by thy power, the flinty rocks The feather'd wanderers of the air Thy guiding instinct know, |