the sins, Juniorum, of his younger brethren, i. e. of Christians. In the 9th, 10th, and 11th verses, Messiah celebrates the mercy of Jehovah to the faithful. In the 12th, he prays for the deliverance of the true Israel from its afflicted state.

In the 13th verse, a voice of one of the angelic choir, who has observed the extraordinary piety and devotion of the man Christ Jesus, asks with admiration, what man is this who so perfectly feareth God? and prophesies, in the last line of this and in the following verse, of the bliss that awaits him; and that his seed shall inherit the earth, which will be literally fulfilled in the millenary period. In the 15th verse, the same voice declares, that the true knowledge of God is with them that fear him, who are taught by divine revelation. In the 16th verse, the humanity of Christ takes up his prayer again to the Divine Word, or perhaps to the Godhead generally, for support and deliverance, and this prayer is continued to the end of the Psalm.

[C] Ver. 15. The secret of Jehovah," &c. Keαтaιwμa xv

τῶν φοβόμενων αὐτον και ἡ διαθηκη αυτου του δήλωσαι αὐτοις. LXX. “The Lord is the-principle-of-strength to them that fear him, and his covenant is to reveal unto them." The latter clause seems properly rendered. But I cannot find that TO is in any other passage used for and the structure даташлось, of the poem admits not "TID".

[D] Ver. 16.

deserted and afflicted." Μονογενης και

πτωχος

πTWXα, LXX. Solus et pauper, Jerom. See XXII, 20. and XXXV, 17.

[E] Ver. 17. Set at large." I read with Bishop Lowth,

צרות לבבי הרחיב וממצוקותי הוציאני

"Set at large the [sorrowful] contractions of my heart,
And bring me out of my difficulties."

PSALM XXVII.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH, FOR DELIVERANCE FROM THE PER

SECUTION OF HER ENEMIES, AND FOR THE GUIDANCE OF GOD'S HOLY SPIRIT.

Ver. 7. Hear O Lord." These words are the beginning of this elegant supplicatory ode. The six former verses belong to the preceding Psalm.

Ver. 8. When thou saidst," &e. I can make nothing of this verse as the text stands. For wp the LXX and Vulg. seem to have read up. With this reading the sense would be,

Unto thee my heart hath said, my face hath sought thee;
Thy face, O Jehovah, I will seek.

Archbishop Secker renders, without altering the text,

To thee, my heart, he hath said, seek ye my face.

Seek ye, i. e. thou, and all men, says the Archbishop. But if the Church is the speaker in this Psalm, the collective body is properly addressed in the plural imperative. I believe this rendering of Archbishop Secker's is best of all.

Ver. 9.

put not thy servant away in anger;" rather, "turn not away in anger from thy servant." So LXX and Vulg.

leave me not;" rather, "dismiss me not;". "let not go thy hold of me." This is the proper sense of the Hebrew verb w, to set a thing loose-to let it go-to abandon it.

Ver. 11.

such as breathe out cruelty;" rather, "a proclaimer of violence." That is, one who loudly taxes me with acts of violence. See 2 Sam. XVI, 5-8. Matt. xxvi, 61. Luke XXIII, 2. Compare Psalm xxxv, 11. and LV, 3.

Ver. 14. Wait on the Lord," &c.

Expect Jehovah ;

Take courage, and let thy heart be firm *,

And

expect Jehovah.

These seem to be the words of an oracular voice.

i. e. wait in hopeful expectation for.

* See Psalm XXXI, 24.

Expect

PSALM XXVIII.

[A] Ver. 3. Let me not be drawn away." The verb "won I should render in the Hiphil form; thus, "Suffer me not to be drawn away," i. e. to be seduced by their entice

ments.

[B] Ver. 5.

Truly they take no consideration of the works of Jehovah,
And of the operation of his hands.

ORACULAR VOICE.

He shall demolish them and build them not.

A verb seems wanting in the second line, to answer, according to the laws of parallelism, to the verb " regard" in the first: But I am persuaded the omission is from the author. It is, indeed, very beautiful, marking the suddenness with which the oracular voice interrupts the Psalmist's prayer.

[C] Ver. 7. my flesh hath resumed its bloom, and from my heart I will praise him.” Και ἀνεθαλεν ή σαρξ με, και εκ θελήματος με ἐξομολογησομαι αὐτῷ, LXX, and to the same effect the Vulgate. Therefore, for ", their copies must

have had. Bishop Lowth approves this reading. The transposition of the two words, and the reading of "wa are confirmed by the Syriac.

[D] Ver. 8. "The strengthener of the salvation of his anointed one is He." For 2 read y, with many MSS. of Kennicott's and De Rossi's; with the LXX, VTEQUOπISAS TWY σωτηρίων το Χρισε αύτε, and the Vulgate, protector salvationum Christi sui. Mudge thinks, or the true reading. His notion is, that the 8th and 9th verses make a chorus, sung by priests and people, rejoicing at the gracious acceptance of the Psalmist's prayer. I should readily adopt this interpretation, if in the former part of the Psalm the Messiah might be supposed to be the speaker. But the matter of the prayer suits not his character. The particular boon asked is grace, to withstand the enticements of idolaters; under which name all corrupters of worship may be understood. Now to the temptation of their enticements, the Church, in a greater or a less degree, hath been frequently exposed; the Messiah, in his own person, never, except when he was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. But the tempters in this Psalm are spoken of as men. The prayer, therefore, is rather adapted to the person of the Church: and is so near in sound to y, that the emendation, supported as it is by six MSS. and the version of the LXX, Vulg. Syr. and Arab., seems unquestionable.