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who rejoice at my calamity:

may they be covered with shame and disgrace,
who magnify themselves against me.

Let thofe fhout for joy, and be glad,

who favour my righteous caufe:

and let them ever say:

66

May JEHOVAH be magnified;

"who hath favoured the cause of his fervant."
So fhall my tongue talk of thy juftice;

and daily refound thy praise.

NOTES.

Ver. 13. But I during their infirmity. He feems to allude to the attention which he was wont to pay to Saul: when he was vexed with an evil fpirit.-Ibid. To my bofom my prayer was turned. When the orientalifts pray seriously in grief, they hide their face in their bofom and to this custom the pfalmift here alludes. The fifter of St. Benedict is faid, by Gregory, to have prayed, in this manner, for a ftorm to detain her brother.-Ver. 15. Smiters. The prefent Heb. copy has the fmited: but the change of a letter turns the paffive participle into an active which the fenfe requires.-Ver. 16. While they flattered me, &c. I recede here from all interpreters: but I only change a fingle letter (nor that without authority) in the text: which is thus made intelligible and confiftent. Our common English verfion is, "with hypocritical mockers in feafts," &c.-Liturgy : "With the flatterers were busy mockers, &c."—Ver. 19. Who wink with the eye. It is hard to fay, whether this be meant of a deceitful wink; or an ill-natured fquint: I fhould think the former, from the

context.

:

I

PSALM XXXVI.-al. XXXV.

FOR THE FIRST MUSICIAN; A PSALM OF DAVID,
THE SERVANT OF JEHOVAH.

REBELLION lodgeth in the heart of the wicked: the fear of God is not before his

eyes:

nay, in his own eyes he flattereth himself,

3

left he should discover and deteft his iniquity.

The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit :

4

On his couch he devifeth mischief:

he hath ceased to be wife-to do good.

he perfifteth in a way not good:

of evil he hath no abhorrence.

Thy benignity, JEHOVAH, is felt in the heavens- 6

5

Thy veracity reacheth to the skies :

Thy juftice is steady as the oldeft mountains:

thy judgments are a deep abyss :

man and beast thou preferveft, JEHOVAH!

How admirable, O God! is thy benignity!

7

The fons of man trust under the shade of thy wings;
are inebriated with the good things of thine house;
and a torrent of delights thou makest them drink.
For with thee is the fountain of life:
and by thy light we are illuminated.
Continue thy goodness to those who own thee :
and thy justice to the upright of heart.
Let not the foot of the proud approach me,
nor the hand of the wicked disturb me.

Lo! the workers of iniquity are fallen; are caft down, and are unable to rise.

Ver. 3. appears to me to tranflators, except the Syriac:

NOTES.

8

9

ΤΟ

II

12

13

have been misunderstood by all the who has admirably well paraphrafed his text: "It is an odious thing to him to leave and hate his fins." Our common English verfion is: "For he flattereth himself in his "eyes until his iniquity be found to be hateful." I fhall not here trouble the reader with other conjectural versions.-Ver. 6, 7. These metaphorical expreffions import this fimple truth, That the goodness, veracity, and juftice of God are felt through the whole universe.

PSALM XXXVII.-al. XXXVI.

This is the third alphabetic psalm: but here each of the Hebrew letters includes two verses, or four bemisticbs: although, through the carelessness f transcrilers, the order has been somewhat deranged. Yet I cannot think that it has been mutilated to such a degree as Kennicott and others have imagined. The transposition of two sticks, in my opinion, and the interchange of two very similar letters, restore the text to its primitive integrity.

I

3

4

A PSALM OF DAVID.

N. ALEPH.

FRET not on account of the wicked;
nor envy the workers of iniquity:

for foon fhall they be cut down like the grafs,
and wither like the green herbage.

2. BETH.

Truft in JEHOVAH; and do what is good : fo fhalt thou dwell in the land, and feed fecurely. Place thy delight in JEHOVAH—

and he will grant thee thy heart's defires.

1. GHIMEL.

Refer thy cause to JEHOVAH:

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on him rely—and he will act for thee:

6

will make thy juftice appear as the light,
thy righteousness as the noon-day brightness.

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for the wicked fhall be utterly cut off:

but they who reft on JEHOVAH fhall inherit the

9 10

land.

1. VAU.

Yet, yet awhile-and the wicked fhall be no 10 II

more

Thou mayft look for his place, but he shall not be

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who feeth, that his day is coming on.

T. HETH.

The wicked draw the fword, and bend the bow, 14 15

to overthrow the meek and needy-to flay the up

right!

Their fword fhall enter their own heart,

and their bow fhall be broken in pieces!

2. TETH.

Better to the juft man is a little,

than all the abundance of the wicked:

for the arms of the wicked fhall be broken:

15 16

16 17

17 18

but JEHOVAH fupporteth the righteous.

JOD.

JEHOVAH careth for the days of the innocent, 18 19

and their heritage shall be perpetual:

In the evil hour they fhall not be confounded: in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

19 20

5. CHAPH.

21 20

The wicked and the foes of JEHOVAH fhall

perish :

like the fire of furnaces they shall be diffolved into fmoke:

22 22 for as the bleffed by him shall inherit the land; fo the curfed by him fhall be cut off.

23 21

3. LAMED.

The wicked man borroweth, but repayeth

not:

but the juft man is a liberal giver:

24 26 4he is daily liberal and lending : which brings on his feed a bleffing.

25 23

D. MEM.

The steps of the virtuous are directed by JE-
HOVAH,

and in his way he placeth his delight:

26 24 He may fall, but he shall not be prostrated: for JEHOVAH upholdeth his arm.

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29 27

I am now grown old

but I never faw the just man abandoned;
nor his pofterity begging bread.

D. SAMECH.

Depart from evil-and do good: fo fhalt thou long inhabit the land.

30 28 For JEHOVAH loveth righteousness; and will never abandon his pious ones.

31

. AIN.

They are ever under his protection:
but the feed of the wicked fhall be cut off.

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