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4 Even from his exaltation they consult to cast him

down;

They delight in falsehood; *

With their mouths [B] they bless, but inwardly they curse.

5 Upon God only my soul reposeth, For in him is my expectation.

6 He only is my rock, and my salvation; My fortress. I shall not be shaken.

7 In God is my salvation, and my glory;

The rock of my strength; my shelter is with

God.

8 Put-trust in him, in all seasons, O people;
Pour out your hearts before him,—
God is for us a shelter.

selves

upon the verge of ruin while ye are busied in these wicked plots. This was remarkably the case with the Jewish people, at the time when our Lord was the object of their malice. "In falsehood," i. e. in false doctrines in religion.

9 Nought but vanity are the sons of men; Falsehood are the sons of the great:

In the balance, they are readier to mount

All together, than vanity itself.

10 Put-no-trust in peculation,

Be not proud of rapine;

If substance thrive, set not your heart upon it.

11 Once God hath spoken;

Twice I have heard the same;

That power is for God; *

12 And that kindness †, O Lord, is thine,

Because thou requitest unto every one according to his deeds.

* i. e. That all power is exclusively his; "his own thing ;""his property."

"Benignity, benevolence."

PSALM LXIII.

A BELIEVER TRUSTS IN GOD, AND PREDICTS THE EXTIRPATION

OF THE PERSECUTING FACTION,

1 O God, thou art my God, I-will-rise-early-forthy-service;

My soul thirsteth for thee,

My flesh longeth after thee,

In a land dry and inhospitable [A], without water.

2 Steadily in holiness have I looked after thee, To see thy power and thy glory.

3 Truly thy kindness is better than life; My lips shall praise thee.

4 Constantly I will bless thee, while I live;

In thy name I will lift up my

hands. * [B]

* i. e. "This shall be the avowed and sole object of my worship."

5 As with marrow and fat, my soul shall be full-fed;

And with quivering lips my mouth shall praise

[thee.]

6 Truly I remember thee upon my bed,

In the night-watches, I meditate on thee;

7 For thou hast been a help for me,

And under the shadow of thy wings I shall re

joice.

8 My soul adhereth close to thee,

Thy right-hand sustaineth me.

7 But they are-doomed-to-confusion who seek my life,

They shall go into the-parts-below* the earth.

10 They would shed [C] it by the edge of the

sword ;

They shall be a portion for foxes.

11 But the King shall rejoice in God;

"The-parts-below," i. e. the infernal regions.

Every one that sweareth by him shall glory, For the mouth of the speakers of falsehood * shall be stopped.

PSALM LXIV.

A PRAYER OF THE MESSIAH, WITH PARTICULAR ALLUSION TO

HIS ILL-TREATMENT FROM THE JEWS, AND THEIR DESTINED

PUNISHMENT.

1 Hear my voice, O God, in my-secret-prayer ;t Preserve life from fear of the enemy.

my

2 Hide me from the plot of the wicked,
From the tumult of the promoters of idolatry.

3 Who brandish ‡ their tongue like a sword; They aim their arrow, even a bitter word,

4 To shoot secretly at the blameless man ;

* The advocates of the false religions, and the opposers of the true.

"My-secret-prayer" I think the word

, when it signifies

prayer, denotes private prayer, as distinct from public.

See CXL, 2.

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