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[A] Ver. 1. they are abominable in their frolics," Mudge. But, in the LIII Psalm, the noun by would be better rendered by "profligacy" than by "frolics."

[B] Ver. 3. They all." Ps. LIII. "Every one of them.” The true reading, in both places, I should guess to be .-"no not one." Here the LXX add all that we read, Rom. III, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. But in the parallel place of Ps. LIII we find no such addition.

[C] Nothing of this in the LIII Psalm, either in LXX or Vulgate.

[D] Ver. 4. — devourers of my people. They eat bread." MUDGE.

[E] Ver. 5. There they are thrown into terror." The LXX add here in the XIV as in the LIII Psalm, "where no fear was."

The Psalmist, passing from the delineation of the atheistical oppressor's character to the prediction of his future punishment, speaks of the consternation that shall seize him, when he shall perceive the deliverance of the righteous by the helpless one, the instrument of God, approaching, in the usual language of prophecy, as a thing that hath already taken place. The reason of this use of the perfect tense, in

speaking of future things, in prophetic poetry, seems to be this: That a scene, typical of futurity, is presented to the prophet's imagination, and what he sees in that scene he speaks of as done. Thus, in the present instance, while the Psalmist, in the latter part of the fourth verse, describes the oppressive character of the infidel or idolater, when in power; a scene suddenly breaks upon his fancy, signifying the reverse of fortune between the oppressor and the oppressed. He sees perhaps a numerous army, led on by a great conqueror, seized with a sudden panic, upon the point of an engagement with a far inferior force. The panic has taken place. The prophet perceives that God has sent it upon them. He concludes, that the well-concerted schemes of the weaker force cannot but prove successful. He speaks of the panic which he sees, in the perfect time;—of the victory which he expects, in time future. They are dismayed.-The stratagems of that weak band will take effect, and put them to shame."

The particle is used demonstratively, in reference to the scene which lies before the inspired poet's fancy. See there!

[F] Ver. 6. "You have shamed the counsel of the poor."

,תבישם of which no sense can be made, read תבישו for

"the counsel of the helpless man shall put them to shame." The parallel passage in Psalm LIII, in which the verb 77, in the second person, is evidently addressed to the righteous party, or their leader, in some measure justifies the alteration.

LIII, 5.

of him that encampeth against thee."

¿vdewageσxwv, LXX. Houbigant upon this authority would read. If I were to propose any alteration, it should be to read instead of 7, and to divide the lines thus:

כי אלהים פזר עצמות:

הניך הבישתה כי אלהים מאסם

Truly God hath dissipated strength.

Thou hast put to shame a-trained-army,*

Because God with-scorn-hath rejected them.

"Thou.”—The leader of the righteous band is addressed. The obscurity, which arises from addressing the discourse to a person not described or mentioned in the preceding part of is not unsuitable to the prophetic stile.

the song,

a-trained-army." The adversaries of Christianity, upon its first appearance, were, like disciplined troops, furnished with all the regular instruments for their own defence and the annoyance of the enemy. They had power, authority, friends, credit. They were accomplished in the Hebrew theology, and in Greek philosophy and eloquence. And in the latter ages, the irreligious will probably be well provided with all the worldly means of strength;-Numerous armies of the best troops, able generals, and ministers of consummate skill in the lists of wicked unprincipled policy.

* Compare Gen. XIV, 14.

PSALM XV.

AN ODE OF DAVID.

TRUE GODLINESS DESCRIBED AS DISTINCT

FROM THE RITUAL.

This Psalm, in its general subject, bears some resemblance to the Vth; the doctrine of both being this, that righteousness is the qualification which alone may fit any one to be a guest in God's tabernacle. They differ, however, in this, that the XVth Psalm has no allusions to any particular offices of the Levitical priesthood.

Ver. 4. --- a vile person is contemned;" rather, "the reprobate is vile."

PSALM XVI.

[A] Ver. 2, 3. I have said unto Jehovah," &c. For read with the LXX. Bishop Hare and many MSS.. "I have said."

-my my goodness extendeth not to thee." E. T. This passage is obscure, and may be suspected of corruption. Bishop Hare would omit 2, which would make the sense, "My goodness is [due] to thee." Houbigant, not expunging

My goodness is nothing » בלעדיך into עליך would change ,בל

without thee." Bishop Lowth seems to approve Houbigant's emendation which he says is supported by Chald. Syr. Symmachus, and Jerome. The version of the LXX leads, I think, to an easier emendation, which will give as good a Thread ba.

sense.

66

My goodness is of no * בל יועילך read בל עליך For

profit to thee," i. e. I am an unprofitable servant; thy kindness to me is gratuitous.

The chief objection to be made to this emendation of the text, I take to be this; that the noun, being feminine, (for I take it for the nominative singular in regimen of the suffix) requires the feminine form of the verb. And to put the verb in the feminine form, would be a consideable deviation from the present text. But the discord of the verb and the noun is so frequent, when the noun is any thing which belongs not naturally to either sex, that this objection is in truth of little weight. However, if it might be supposed that the original reading was this, which indeed would be the

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-it were easy to trace the pro טובתי בל תועיל,best of all

of

gressive errors by which the text would be brought to its present form.

טובתי בלתי עילך .1 טובתי בלתי עליך .2

טובתי בל עליך .3

No space being left between words

in the old MSS., the first error was
nothing more than a mistake of a for

a. The second was only the transposition of a "; which
might be intentional, to produce a significant word; a word
in itself significant, though not obviously connecting with any

M 4

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