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:] The Pronouns in the two foregoing Verses, and in that which immediately follows, are all of the fecond Perfon; and ought doubtless to be fo in this Verfe. Whether the Text had originally the Affix or 7, may poffibly never be determined. This, however, is certain, that all the ancient Verfions, without Exception, have here-THY mighty Acts, and THY Kingdom; and I think we might admit their Reading without Scruple.

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V. 8. The Lord openeth the Eyes of the blind: "y_mpin'] There is no Neceffity for fupplying the Word Eyes in the Version; for the Verb po fignifies TO GIVE LIGHT, or TO CAUSE ONE TO SEE, Exod. IV. 11. XXIII. 8.

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V. 1. for it is pleasant, and Praife is comely. :) DIVI!)] There feems to be but one Member in this Hemiftic, which may be thus rendered FOR A BECOMING PRAISE is PLEASANT.

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V. 14. He maketh Peace in thy Borders: Dibw braa Dwn], Rather --- HE MAKETH THY COUNTRY PEACEABLE; for he is the Abstract for the Concrete, as in a thousand other Inftances.

1 ,Rather [הנתן שלג כצמר

V. 16. He giveth Snow like Wool: think-HE SENDETH FORTH &c. Thus Virgil, Georg. I. 397. Tenuia nec lana per cælum vellera ferri.

And Martial, Lib. IV. Epig. III. V. 1.

Denfum tacitarum vellus aquarum.

Herodotus fays, that the Scythians called the Flakes of Snow wlepa, Feathers — 8κ οια τε είναι ετι προσωτέρω έτε οράν, ὅτε διεξιέναι τοσο πλέρων κ χυμένων· πτερων γαρ των γιω και τον αέρα είναι πλεον. Lib. IV. Cap. vii.

V. 18. - be caufeth his Wind to blow, and the Waters flow.

vix. HE CAUSETH - רוח ויזלו - The Syriac reads [רוחו יזלו מים:

THE WIND TO BLOW, AND THE WATERS FLOW: or, THE WIND BLOWETH, AND THE WATERS FLOW, as Ifa. XL..7.

V. 20. — and as for his Judgments, they have not known them. —NOR HAVE JUDGMENTS IN

Rather [ומשפטים בל ידעום:

STRUCTED

STRUCTED THEM. So y in Hiphil fignifies; and in this Form and Sense we may find it, Judg. VIII. 16. Ezek. XLIV. 23. &c. This is exactly the Senfe of what Mofes fays, Deut. IV. 8.

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V.7. -ye Dragons and all Deeps. :iann bai buun] Rather --- YE GREAT SERPENTS, AND ALL DEEP CAVERNS: viz. where they dwell. I tranflate inn, Caverns, because it fignifies the deep Parts of the Earth. Pf. LXXI. 20.

תהלה לכל חסידיו וגו'

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It is not [ וירם קרן לעמו

V. 14. He also exalteth the Horn of his People, the Praife of all his Saints, &c. easy to distinguish whether our Tranflators meant to put man, the Praife, in Appofition to He (viz. God) or to Horn; though I think the latter. The former would be preferable; and I am perfuaded is the true Senfe. Thus it would be better and more clearly expreffedHE ALSO EXALTETH THE HORN OF HIS PEOPLE; he is A PRAISE AMONG ALL HIS SAINTS, AMONG THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.

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V.4.—he will beautify the meek with Salvation. :nyiwa □ny ¬8D'] Rather, I think

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HE WILL ADORN &c.

V. 5. Let the Saints be joyful in Glory; 'n πby'] Rather I think in the Future THE SAINTS WILL TRIUMPH GLO

RIOUSLY.

ירננו על משכבותם : .let them fing aloud upon their Beds

We read of Songs in the Night, Job XXXV. 10. and Pf. XLII. 8. but these it is prefumed were uttered in an erect, not in a recumbent or horizontal, Attitude. For befides that the Singer could not exert his Voice with so much Advantage, there is a manifeft Impropriety of Behaviour in a Person finging aloud in Bed, whether he be alone or in Company. I would therefore understand this Place and Pf. IV. 4. (where exactly the fame Phrase occurs) agreeably to the Genius of the Arabic Language, which delights in calling the Heart A BED; and this it must be confeffed is no improper Metaphor, the Affections being there

quietly

quietly compofed as in a Bed, till they are roufed by fome unexpected Accident: thus the Poet Motanabbius, Carm. XVI. 8.

i. e. Gladius ejus infpicit CUBILIA CORDIS. And, Carm. XLVI.

يري حده غامضاة القلوب **

مقبل حب محبة فرح به

ومقبل غيظ عدوة مقروح

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25:

غمض

and

i. e. CUBILE AMORIS amici fui lætatur, fed CUBILE ODII in adversarium vulneratum eft. The Scholiaft Wahedienfis explains by; and though neither of thefe Words, or, be found in Golius or Castle in the Sense of Bed, yet I doubt not of their having that Signification in the Camus or other Lexicons; for both the Verbs J fignify to fleep, and to roll, to turn about. I would therefore render this Place thus HEART ; which Sense it is evident is well connected with the Context, which contains an Exhortation to prepare for an offenfive War, to which nothing can be more oppofite than the Notion of rolling on a Bed: but, on the contrary, if this be understood to have reference to a martial Song before the Engagement, the Climax will be kept up, and the Harmony preferved. See the Prepofition by used in this Senfe, Noldius, II.

THEY WILL SING ALOUD FROM THE

Rather בגרונם

V. 6. Let the high Praises of God be in their Mouth: Sa mipan GOD will be EXALTATIONS (or, HIGHLY EXALTED) IN THEIR MOUTHS, AND A TWO EDGED SWORD &c. -this Honour have all his Saints. Praife ye the Lord.

V. 9:

- הללו יה: There Words are an Epiphonema, as [הוא לכל חסידיו

in the last Verse of the preceding Pfalm, and should be thus tranflated --- HE is AN HONOUR AMONG ALL HIS SAINTS. PRAISE YE THE LORD.

V. 1.

PSALM CL.

Praife God in his Sanctuary: praise him in the Firmament

Rather - PRAISE [הללו אל בקדשו הללוהו ברקיע עזו : .of bis Power

GOD ON ACCOUNT OF HIS HOLINESS: PRAISE HIM ON ACCOUNT OF THE EXTENT OF HIS POWER, (or, HIS EXTENSIVE POWER.) That the Prepofition has this Force here, is evident from the Use made of it in the next Verse; and that yp is not confined to the Firmament (or fpacious Extenfion between the Earth and the Clouds) but fignifies also any Extenfion, may be inferred from the general Senfe of the Verb yp, To spread forth, To ftretch out.

I CANNOT

I CANNOT conclude my Remarks on the Book of Pfalms without making a few general Obfervations on the Authors, and the Titles of them; and this I thought might best be done by bringing the whole into one View.

THIS Collection of Divine Hymns has always been held in the highest Degree of Veneration, both by Jews and Chriftians; and it must be confeffed that their Excellence is obvious, either in the Light of Compofitions, or in refpect to the Subject Matter of them. But this very Circumstance has proved prejudicial to them; for as they have been more frequently tranfcribed, they abound more in Faults, than other of the facred Books; a Circumftance unavoidable without the Divine Interpofition, which we cannot fuppofe would have interfered further than in providing that they should be tranfmitted down to Pofterity fufficiently intire.

any

By the Word Pfalms, the Jews feem fometimes to have understood the whole of the Hagiographa, or moral Books, when put in Contradiftinction to the Pentateuch, and the Prophets; which laft Divifion comprehended alfo the Prior Prophets, (as they called them) or the Historical Books. See Luke XXIV. 44. This Collection has been di'vided into different Parts, and in different Modes, according as their Fancy, or perhaps fome more folid Reafon, now unknown to us, fuggefted. It is certain however, that in their prefent State neither the Order of Time, the Unity of the Subject, nor the Diftinction according to the Authors feem to have been much regarded; that fome of the Pfalms are a literal Tranfcript one from the other; and that two of them have been made from what was originally but one, and this perhaps with no other View than that of making a round Number of the Sum total.

SOME of the Fathers held that all thefe Pfalms were compofed by David. But though this Opinion was abetted by Chryfoftom, Theodoret, Ambrofius, Auguftin, and fome other refpectable Names, yet it is fo weak that it will not bear the Teft of Examination; no more than the Inference which fome of them made on another Occafion, viz. that our Lord's Miniftry had continued only one Year, because they thus understood the acceptable Year, prophefied of by Ifaiah, LXI. 2. When these Men, more remarkable for their Piety than their critical Skill, were preffed by their Opponents with the Titles which fome of the Pfalms bore, and the Matter they contained, which proved the contrary, they gave evafive Replies to the first Point, and afferted that David could predict all the Circumstances relative to the Captivity and other

Periods,

Periods, in as ample a Manner as if he had been an Eye Witness to the Tranfactions there mentioned; an Abfurdity equal to that of the Romanists, who reprefent the Almighty as conftantly engaged in working Miracles without Neceffity.

WHEN thefe Titles were firft added is a Point which cannot now be determined: That they were not added by the Authors of the refpective Pfalms, is I think probable; because few or no Compofitions had any Titles anciently, (this being a later Refinement) and many of them have none to this Day. Who they were that made this Addition is alfo very uncertain. It is generally fuppofed to have been the Work of Ezra, Nehemiah, or fome of the latter Prophets. Others have imagined that "they might have been prefixed by Transcribers upon their own Conjectures, and perhaps upon fome uncertain Tra"ditions. And if fo, they can have little more Authority, than if "modern Commentators were to affix their Opinions or Conjectures, "as the Occafions of writing any of thefe Pfalms." See Fenwick on the Titles of the Pfalms; P. 4. These Additions feem however to be prior to the Existence of the Verfion of the LXX, as they appear there.

THAT feveral of thefe Pfalms could not have been compofed by the Authors whofe Names they bear, appears evident from internal Marks. The following Inftances may fufficiently prove this Point. The XIVth is faid to be David's, though the laft Verfe proves that the Author lived during the Captivity. Calmet entertains the fame Idea of the XXVIIIth, from what is faid V. 2d. The LXXXIXth has the Title of Ethan, the Ezrahite, a cotemporary with David, (1 Kings IV. 31.) and yet from the laft 15 Verfes it feems to have been written during the last mentioned Epocha. The XCth is attributed to Mofes: but, from the common Period of human Life there mentioned, must have been written feveral Centuries after his Time. And among the feveral Pfalms which are diftinguished by the Name of Afaph, the Master of David's Band of Mufic, the following are thought by the moft judicious Critics to be of the fame Æra, viz. the LXXIVth, LXXVth, LXXVIth, LXXXth, as are the LXXXIVth, and CIId, the Songs of Degrees (as they are called) from the CXXth to CXXVIth, so likewise those that are anonymous from the CXLVIth to the End.

BESIDES the Hiftorical Titles, there are other Words prefixed to many of the Pfalms, which feem to denote their Quality; as MASCHIL, inftructive, XXXIId; MICHTAM, golden, XVIth; NEGINOTH, merry, LIVth; SHIGGAION, plaintive, VIIth; &c. or to have reference to Seafons, as SHOSHANNIM, to Feftivity, wherever it occurs;

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