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efteemed for the elegance of their manners, their benevolent inclinations, humanity to Strangers, and piety to the gods; the other; on the contrary, generally reproached and hated for their malignity, brutality, and irreligion; Polybius, I fay, afcribes this difference to the ftudy of mufic (I mean, fays he, the true and noble mufic) cultivated with care by the one, and abfolutely neglected by the other people.

IF fuch have been the effects of the fole and separate power of noble mufic, what might not be hoped from it, when it is built upon, and fupported by, the nobleft, the fublimeft, the moft heavenly strains of divine poetry, by which the world was ever delighted, informed, or amended! And fuch, beyond all controverfy, or pretence of a rational doubt, are the facred hymns and pfalms of David.

PINDAR places this elogium in the front of Hiero's character: That he took a noble delight in the moft exquifite ftrokes and performances of poetry and mufic. Could he have added to this, that he had a maftery over all mortals, in the compofition of both, and crowned all, by the application of both

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to their nobleft ends and uses; the inspiring of true piety and virtue into the hearts of men, and celebrating the praises of GOD; recounting the works and wonders of his providence, and infinite mercies to mankind; how nobly had his character been completed! how had it been, at once, exalted and unrivalled! The thinking reader will cafily satisfy himself, that this glory, which Pindar could not confer upon Hiero, David hath, most unselfishly, and without the least taint or view of vanity, fecured to himself.

AFTER David's laft revifal and edition of the eighteenth Pfalm, now recounted, the facred hiftorian gives us to understand, that the last words which he fpake, and committed to writing, as a prophet, are these which immediately follow this Pfalm, in the second book of Samuel, chap. xxiii. And indeed it is of vaft importance to the faithful, that they are committed to writing; because he there exprefly declares, That the Spirit of God fpake by him.

THE laft words of great men, folemnly delivered, and upon points of great importance, have always been thought worthy of peculiar regard; and have accordingly been

been carefully recorded: and therefore these of fo great a prince and prophet as David, will not, I prefume, be deemed unworthy the regard of the most incurious reader; especially as they will not take up much more than one minute of his time.

Now thefe be the last words of David: David the fon of Jesse said, and the man who was raifed up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the fweet pfalmist of Ifrael, faid; The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. The God of Ifrael faid, the Rock of Ifrael fpake unto me, He that ruleth over men must be juft, ruling in the fear of God and he shall be as the light of the morning, when the fun rifeth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grafs Springing out of the earth, by clear fhining after rain. Although my house be not fo with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and fure: for this is all my falvation, and all my defire, although he make it not to grow.

But the fons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands. But the man that shall

touch

touch me, must be fenced with iron, and the Staff of a spear, and they shall be utterly burnt with fire in the fame place.

How glorious a conclufion of so noble an office is this! to recollect Gop's fignal mercies and bleffings bestowed upon him! His exaltation to royalty, from a low estate! and his gifts of prophecy, poetry and har¬ mony! His special command to him as a king, and his eternal covenant with him and his feed! The continuance of his temporal kingdom, but with no increase of grandeur, in his posterity! Their fure falvation and protection, whilst they continued in the covenant, made with their father! and the final reprobation, and deftruction of the wicked! and, above all, that bleffed and permanent affurance to the faithful, That the Spirit of the Lord fpake by him, and his word was in his tongue! Thus fealing the truth and certainty of his divine inspiration, and in confequence of that, the facred authority of his writings, to endless generations.

THEN follows the noble catalogue of David's worthies; the nobleft and most truly renowned of all antiquity; inasmuch as there is reafon to believe, that any act of

notorious

notorious guilt excluded from it; for why, otherwise, fo great a captain, and fo brave a man as, Joab, should be left out of that lift, when his two brothers, and even his armourbearer, are included in it, I own I cannot comprehend. And this conjecture is, I think, trengthened, by obferving feveral names in the list of these worthies, 2 Sam. xxiii. left out in the subsequent lift, 1 Chron. xi. and a good many other names added in this later lift. From whence, I conclude, that some of the worthies in the first lift, had their namés rafed out, on account of fome fubfequent demerit, after the authors of the fecond book of Samuel were dead.

CHA P. XVII.

DAVID'S Numbering of the People: and the Plague which enfued.

TH

HE people of Ifrael were fcarcely recovered from the calamity of that famine, which infested them for three years, when they were vifited by another chastisement, apparently more fatal, although of a

VOL. III.

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