I IfOKl

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

NEW TRANSLATION OF THE
PRAYER of HABAKKUK*
THE
PRAYER of MOSES,
'AND THE
CXXXIX PSALM;
WITH A
C OMMENTA'RY on each.
TO WHICH ARE ADDED
NOTES Critical and Explanatory.
By WILLIAM GREEN, M.A.
Fellow of CLARE HALL.

CAMBRID G E,
Printed by J. BE NTH AM, Printer to.the Univerfity.
Sold by T.Merrill in Cambridge; J.Whiston and B.White in Fleet-Street,
and B. Dod in A ve-Mary-Lane, London ; J. Fletcher in Oxford;
and J.Hildyard at York.
M.DCC.LV.

THE
PREFACE.

I HAVE long been of Opinion, that moll of the obfcufe PafTages of the
poetical Scriptures may be cleared from that Darknefs and Perplexity,
in which they now lye involved. Under this Perfuafion, I applied myfelf
to a particular Examination of The Song of Deborah -, which was, not
long fince, offered to the Publick. The Prayer ofHabakkuk now fol
lows ; a Part of Scripture, acknowledged on all Hands to be obfcure in
almoft every Period of it. To this are added new Veriions of The Prayer
ofMofes, and of The CXXXIX Pfalm, as reduced to Metre by Bifhop
Hare. In drawing up thefe Pieces, the Maforetical Text has been cri
tically examined, and the Hebrew Metre ftriclly attended to ; which
was the Method followed in The Song of Deborah. And if the Reader
fhall judge that I have fucceeded in thefe, he will, I hope, be convinced
as well as myfelf, that it is the right Method ; and that it is not poflible
to clear the Scriptures from Obfcurity, if we adhere too fervilely to the
"Maforetical Text. Almoft every Examination of this Text affords frefti
Proofs of its Incorreclnefs. One of thefe, which occurred to me while I
was drawing up this Preface,' I (hall lay before the Reader ; and it is fuch
a ftriking Proof, as might, one would think, of itfelf fufEce, to convince
the moft prejudiced, and demonftrate the Neceffity of reviling the Text.
The Paffage I mean, is in the XX Chapter of Job, where Zophar is
defcribing the inevitable Fate of the wicked Man, according to our Tran-
flation in thefe Words, f. 24. He Jha II fee from the iron Weapon, and the
Bow of Steel Jhallftrike him through. Ht.z$. It is drawn and cometh out of
the Body ; yea, the glittering Sword cometh out of his Gall : Terrors are
upon him. y. 26. All Darknefs fhall be hid in hisfecret Places. Words,
A 2 it

iv PREFACE.
it rauft be owned, very intricate and perplexed ! What principally em-
barrafles them is the Want of a Nominative Cafe in the beginning of the
2$tb Period ; which the Seventy had in the Copy they tranflated from,
and which they render by jSeAos. If then we can recover this Word, the
Text will be fet right. And this I think we may do, only by the Change
and Tranfpofition of a fingle Letter in the firft Word of this Period.
That isj ifinftead of*)VtP we read t\UT\ (which in Pfalm LXX VI. 4. fig-
nifies an Arrow, and is exactly equivalent to barak) we (hall have-, I
apprehend, the very Word which the Seventy render by j8eAo?i and the
Period will run thus,
vajjeze refep miggevaht
ubarak mimmemorato.
In the next Period, if we read col before the plural Noun animt
which at prefent comes after it, the following Senfe will arife from
the Hebrew. Should he flee away from the iron Weapon,
The Bow of Steel fhall ftrike him through.
For either the (harp Arrow (hall pafs through his Body ;
Or the glittering Sword through his Gall.
All the Horrors of Death (hall come upon him ;
And Darknefs is laid up in Store for him.
Such Inftances as this (and there are many fuch to be met with,) will
ever convince the impartial, that the Text of the Old Teftament has
fuffered from Time, or from Tranfcribers ; and that before we begin to
translate, we muft endeavour to reftore it to its primitive Integrity. Dur
ing the laft two Centuries, learned Men have tried all other Expedients,
but in vain : the Fruitlefirtefs therefore of their Labours mould diredt us
to this, the only Expedient left.
If a critical Skill in Hebrew and the other Oriental Languages, if a
large Fund of Theological and Claffical Learning, if great Induftry in
confulting Verfions and Commentators, if Strength of Parts and Matu
rity of Judgment, were fufficient to clear fuch Paflages as this without altering

PREFACE. v
altering the Text, we might reafonably have expected it from the great
Schultens, whofe Title to thefe was unqueftionable, and who was more
particularly concerned to do it, as he would not allow the leaft Alteration
to be made. But with all thefe Advantages, what has he done more
than others before him ? Why really, it grieves one to fay it, very little.
When he tranflates a Paflage of this kind, if he can force a Senfe upon it,
he is fo blind to the Blemifties'of the Text, as fometimes to cry them up
for Beauties j if he cannot, rather than alter a Letter, he is content to
let it fpeak Nonfenfe. Left this Charge (hould be thought too heavy, I
will produce an Inftance from his Verfion of the Proverbs. The Origi
nal Text of Chapter VII. 22. has been injured by Tranfcribers; but the
Blemilh is fuch, that a Man of Schultens" Penetration, would he only
have opened his Eyes, muft have difcerned and corrected it. This how
ever was not to be expected from him : He muft go on in his own Way,
and indeed in any Way rather than this. The Tranflations of others are
to be rejected, the ancient Verfions examined, and the Arabic Language
ranlacked — For what ? Why truly, to prefent us with this very curi
ous and inftructive Verfion. f. 22. He went headlong after her; as an
Ox goeth to the Slaughter; and as bound Head to Feet, for the Correction
of a Fool. ^.23. Even till a Dart fir ike through his Liver: as a Bird
hafieth to the Snare, and knoweth not, that it is for his Life.
Here is a remarkable Inftance how very little Men of the greateft A-
bilities are capable of doing, while they obftinately (hut their Eyes againft
the Blemiflies of the Maforetical Text. This learned Profeifor was ut
terly averfe to altering the Text, but not averfe, it feems, to expofe the
Word of God to Scorn by fuch a Tranflation as this. He was afraid to
change a Letter, though the Senfe neceflarily required it ; but not afraid
to make a facred Writer fpeak, as he himfelf would have been alhamed
to lpeak. How much would it have been to the Honour of this great
Man, if he had followed the Example of the celebrated Profeflbr of He
brew in the Univerfity of Oxford ; who has a Veneration for the Mafo~
retical Text, but none for the Miftakes of its Publifhers, or the Errors
of its Tranfcribers ; adhering to it when he can make a Senfe worthy
of the inlpired Writers, but when otherwife, not afraid to amend it ;
and

vi PREFACE.
and who by the Change of a fingle Letter in this very Paffage has made
fuch good Senfe of it, as needs neither Comment to explain it, nor his
great Name to recommend it.
He ftraightway goeth after her,
As an Ox goeth to the Slaughter ;
Or as an Hart boundeth into the Toyls,
Till a Dart ftrike through his Liver ;
Or as a Bird hafteth to the Snare,
And knqweth not that it is for his Life.
To make an infpired Writer fpeak Nonfenfe, or what compared with
the Context is little better than Nonfenfe, is the moft glaring Abfurdity
imaginable ; and yet if we tenacioufly adhere to the Maforetical Text,
it will oftentimes fcarce be poftible to avoid it. If then we would have
the Scriptures received for, what they really are, infpired Writings, we
muft depart from this Text where it is faulty ; and no longer tranflate
for genuine Readings, the palpable Blunders of Tranfcribers. From what
has been done by thofe, who are blindly attached to this Text, it plain
ly appears that a good Tranflation is not to be expected from them. It
is high time therefore to turn our Eyes upon thofe, who, after they have
ufed every Help to make the Old Teftament intelligible, are not afraid,
when all others fail, to examine and correct the Text. This is a Liberty
which our own Tranflators have fometimes taken ; and would have
taken more frequently, if they had lived in thefe Days. A Liberty, which
if ufed with Judgment and Difcretion, can be attended with no bad Con-
fequences, but may be attended with the happieft and beft. In (hort, it
is the only Expedient that can effectually recommend the Old Teftament
to the Admiration and Efteem of all that perufe it, by making it fpeak
like what in Truth it is, The Oracle of God.

A

(7) A
NEW VERSION
OF THE
Third Chapter of HABAKKUK.
A PRAYER OF THE PROPHET HABAKKUK.
i /^V JEHOVAH, I have heard thy Report :
Y^J I am in Pain, O JEHOVAH, for thy Work;
In the midft of the Years revive it.
2 In the midft of the Years (hew Companion ;
In Wrath remember Mercy.
3 God came from Teman,
And the Holy One from mount Paran.
4 His Majefty covered the Heavens,
And his Glory filled the Earth,
The Tranflation in the Englifli Bible.
A Prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon years make known : in wrath remember mercy.
•*•*¦ Shigionoth. God came from Teman, and the Holy One
O LORD, I have heard thy fpeech, and from mount Paran, Selah. his glory covered
tuas afraid: &LORD, revive thy work in the heavens, and the earth was full of his
the midjl of the years, in the midft of the praife.
COMMENTARY.
J-JABAKKUK having been informed by God of his Defign to fend the Jews
into Captivity for their Sins, and of his Determination that they fhould ferve
the Babylonians feventy Years, the Prophet takes upon him, as became his Office,
to interceed with God in their Behalf.
He begins his Prayer for them, with laying before Jehovah (Period i. & 2.)
the Diftrefs into which he was thrown by the Judgments denounced againft them;
befeeching him, that he would (horten the Time determined for their Captivity,
and reftore them to their Country before it was half expired.
The Prophet, having offered up his Petition for (hortening their Captivity,
proceeds in the next place (from Per. 3. to the 21.) to recount the wonderful Works.

8 A NEW VERSION OF THE
5 His Brightnefs was as the Brightnefs of the Sun ;
He had Rays of Light beaming from his Hand,
And there was the Hiding-Place of his Power.
6 The Peftilence walked before Him,
And devouring Fire followed after Him.
7 He flood, and meafured out the Land ;
He beheld, and fcattered the Nations.
8 The eternal Mountains difperfed,
The everlafting Hills bowed,
The everlafting Ways owned their Lord.
9 I faw the Tents of Cuftian in Confirmation,
And the Tent-Curtains of the Land of Midian trembled.
The Tranflation in the Englifh Bible.
And his brightnefs was as the light ; he had held, and drove afunder the nations ; and the
horns coming out of his hand: and there was everlajling mountains were fcattered, the pet -
the hiding of his pcwer. petual hills did bow: his ways are everlafting.
Before him went the peftilence, and burning 1 faw the tents of Cuftian in affliclion :
coals went forth at his feet. and the curtains of the land of Midian did
He flood, and meafured the earth : he be- tremble.
COMMENTARY.
Works which Jehovah had formerly wrought,- to deliver his People from E-
gyptian Slavery, and to put them in pofleflion of the Land of Canaan; intimating
by this, that he would, in his good Time, (hew him felf equally powerful, in de
livering them from the Bdbylonifh Captivity, and reftoring them to their own
Land. In recounting thefe wonderful Works, Hahakkuk firft exhibits a Defcription
of Jehovah, as King and Commander of the ten thoufands of Ifrael, march
ing at their head in a Pillar of a Cloud, to conduct them and put them in pof-
feffion of the promifed Land. When Jehovah fets out (Per. 3.) from Teman
and Paran, fo great is the Majefty and Glory with which he is arrayed, that
(Per. 4.) the Heaven and the Earth are too little to contain it. His Bright
nefs (Per. 5.) like that of the meridian Sun, is infupportable -, and his Power
irrefiftible ; the Peftilence and devouring Fire (Per. 6.) attending him, to do
Execution, upon the Enemy, at his Command. As foon as he enters the Land
of Canaan (Per. 7.) he takes Pofleflion of it as rightful Lord ; and the feven
Nations, confcious that they had forfeited it by their wickednefs, fly at the
Sight of him. The Mountains of the Land (Per. 8.) difperfe to make way for
him, the Hills bow to pay him obeifance, and the High- ways own him for
their Lord. And fo great is the Dread of him, that (Per. 9.) the neighbouring
Nations tremble, while he pafies by. After

PRAYER OF HABAKKUK. l>
io Was Jehovah difpleafed at the Rivers?
Was thine Indignation againfl: the Rivers ?
1 1 Was thy Wrath againfl: the Sea,
When thou rodeft on thine Horfes
And thy Chariots of Salvation ?
12 No; Thou laideft bare thy Bow to fight for Ifrael,
According to thy Oath unto the Tribes, and thy Promifei
13 Thou cleavedft the dry Land into Rivers ;
The Mountains faw Thee, and were in Pangs.'
14 The overflowing Water hafted away j
The Deep uttered its Voice,
And lifted up its Hands on high.
15 The Sun and Moon flood (till in their Habitation :
By their Light, thine Arrows flew abroad j
And by their Shining, thy glittering Spear.
The Tranflation'in the Englifli Bible.
Was the LORD difpleafed againfl the ri- the mountains faw thee, and they trembled :
vers? w&sthine anger againfl the Rivers? was the overflowing of the water paffed by : the
thy wrath againfl thefea, that thou didft ride deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands
upon thine horfes and thy chariots offalvation ? on high.
Thy bow was made quite naked, according The fun and moon flood ft ill in their habi-
to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word, tation : at the light of thine arrows they went,
Selah. thou didft cleave the earth with rivers, and at thefhining of thy glittering fpear.
COMMENTARY.
After this Defcription of Jehovah, the firft of his wonderful Works, is the
Paflage through the Red Sea ; where the Prophet represents him , ( Per. 10.11.&12.)
as appearing at the Head of the Ifraelites in his Chariot of War, with his Bow
drawn in his Hand, to refcue them from their cruel Oppreflbrs, the Egyptians;
and to give them the Land of Canaan, according to the Oath which he fware
unto them.
The next, is Jehovah's giving them (Per. 13.) Water to drink in the Wilder-
nefsj where the Mountains tremble at his Prefence.
The next, his Paflage (Per. 14.) over Jordan ; where the Waters, teftifying
their ready Obedience to his Will, open to the right Hand and left, to make a
Way for his People to pafs through.
The next, his Interpofition at Jofhua's Engagement with the Afnorites ; when
the Sun and Moon (Per. 15.) flood (till to give them Time to difcomfit their
Enemies.
B The

rio a NEW VERSION OF THE
1 6 Thou marchedft through the Land in Indignation,
And trampledft under, foot the Nations in Anger.
17 Thou wenteft forth for the Salvation of thy People,
For the Salvation of thine Anointed.
18 Thou woundedft the Head of the Houfe of the Wicked;
Thou rafedft the Foundation even to the Rock j.
Thou piercedft thro' with thy Scepter the Head of the Villagea.
1 9 When they came out as a Whirlwind to fcatter us,
Their Rejoicing was, as when about
To devour the poor Man in Secret.
20 Thou marchedft with thine Horfes to the weftern Sea,
To the Heap of great Waters.
2 1 I heard thy Report, and my Bowels were troubled ;
My Lips quivered at thy Voice j.
A Wafting entered into my Bones,
And my Steps tottered under me.
'The Tranflation in the Englifli Bible.
Thou didft march through the land in in- whirlwind to fcatter me : their rejoicing was
dignation, thou didft threfh the heathen in as to devour the. poor fecretly*
anger- Thou didft walk through the fea with thine
Thou wenteft forth for the fahation of thy horfes, through the heap of great waters.
people, even for fahation with thine anointed: When I heard, my belly trembled ; my lips
thou woundeft the head out of the houfe of the quivered at the voice : rottennefs entered into
wicked, by difcovering the foundation unto the my bones, and I trembled in my felf, that 1
neck. Selah. l , might reft in the day of trouble : when he com-
Thou didft flrike through with Ms flaves eth up unto the people, he will invade them
the head of Ms villages : they came out as a with his troops.
COMMENTARY.
The laft wonderful Works which the Prophet recounts, were performed after this
Engagement, when Jehovah marched before them to execute Vengeance (Per. 16.)
on the Canaanites who had filled up the Meafure of their Iniquities, and to pro
tect (Per. 1 7.) the Ifraelites whom he had chofen for his peculiar People; deftroy-
ing utterly (Per. 18.), the Princes of Canaan and their States, at a Time when
they made fure (Per. 19.) of Ifrael for their Prey; and giving his own People
(Per. 20.) entire Pofleflion of their Country, from the River Jordan on the Eaft,
to the Mediterranean Sea on the Weft.
The Prophet having recounted,, for the prefent Encouragement of the faithful,
the wonderful Works which God had formerly done for his People, returns a-
gain to fet forth (Per. 21.) in what Manner he was affected with the Judgments de-

PRAYER OF HABAKKUK. li
22 Oh that I may be at Reft before the Day of Diftrefs,
When the Invader<4hall come up againft the People with his Troops.
23 For then the Fig-tree (hall not flourifh,
Nor (hall Fruit be on the Vines ;
The Produce of the Olive mail fail,
And the Fields (hall yield no Food ; . .
The Flock (hall be cut off from the Fold,
And no Herd (hall be left in the Stalls.
24 Neverthelefs, I will rejoice in JEHOVAH,
I will be. exceeding joyful in the God of my Salvation*'
25 The Lord JEHOVAH is my Strength;
He will make my Feet like Hinds Feet,
And caufe me to tread again on my own High-Places.
TO THE CHIEF MUSICIAN ON HIS STRINGED INSTRUMENTS.
The Tranflation in the Englifli Bible.
Mthough'the fig-tree fhall not bloffom, nei- joy in the God of my falvation. f
ther fliall/hwV be in the vines ; thelabmr of The Lord GOD is myflrengtb, and he will
the oTtve fhallfail, and the fields fhall yield no make my feet like hinds feet, and he will make
meat ; the flock fhall be cut off from the fold, me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief
end there (hall be no herd in the flails : finger on my'Jlringed inftruments.
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will
COMMENTARY.
denounced againft them : And takes Occafion from thence to pray (Per. 22.) that
he may be gathered to his Fathers in Peace, before the King of Babylon ihould
invade Judea, and carry the People away captive; adding, as a Reafon for his
Prayer, a Description (Per. 23.) of the Defolation which fhould then come upon
the Land.
After thisj Habakkuk concludes his Prayer for the Jews, with declaring (Per.
24.) that, whatever became of himfelf, he would ftill rejoice in Hope, that God
would vint his People again with his Salvation. And then (Per. the laft.) glory
ing in Jehovah as their Strength, the Prophet refts allured, that he would re-
ftore, in due Time, the captive Jews to their own Land, giving them the Agility
of the Hind, to return once more to the fertile and darling Hills of Judea.

B2 NOTES

12 NOT E S
ON '
THE PRAYER OF THE PROPHET HABAKKUK.
PERIOD I. Lin. i. 0 JEHOVAH, 1 have heard thy Report) That is, what thou
haft revealed to me, concerning the Captivity of thy People, and the Defolation of
thy Land.
Lin. 2. / am in Pain) All Tranflations, both, ancient and modern, fupply the Copula
tive, and connect this Verb with the Words foregoing. But, beftdes that this makes the
Pronoun affixed to the next Verb redundant, it is not agreeable either .to Senfe or Metre.
What has prevented the Learned from feeing that jareti, I am in Pain, muft be con-
ftrued with poyleca, thy Work, is this, the Prepofition le,fbr, is not exprefled but under^
ftood ; and yet nothing is more common in the poetical Scriptures. The Reader may fee
this Prepofition exprefled after this Verb in Prov. xxxi. 21.
She is in no Pain for her Houfhold becaufe of the Snow :
For all her Houfhold are cloathed with double Garments.,
Lin. 2. / am in Pain, 0 JEHOVAH, for thy Work) The People of God are called
in Ifai.XLV.ii. the Work of God. Thus faith JEHOVAH, the Holy One of Ifrael, and
the MAKER of him, Do ye.enquire of me concerning Things to come? Do ye command me
concerning my Sons, and concerning the WORK of my Hands ? See likewife Deut. xxxu.
$. The Jews were peculiarly God'j Work ; T>ecaufe he chofe them to be his People before
all the Nations of the Earth, redeemed them from Slavery, gave them a Land to inha
bit, prefcribed them Laws to obferve, and vouchsafed to become their Ruler and King*
The Meaning then of thefe Words muft be this, I am in Pain for the Calamities which
thy People will undergo during fo long a Captivity.
Lin.3. In the midft of the Years revive it) To fend a People into Captivity, is to inflicT:
Civil Death upon them ; and to reftore them to their own Land, is to revive or give
them a new Life. Thus the final Reftoration of the Jewifh People is called by St. Paul,
Life from the Dead. In thefe Words therefore the Prophet prays, that God would reftore
the Jews to their own Land before, the Seventy Years, determined for their Captivity,
were half expired. In this Senfe of the Verb it is, that the Pfalmift expoftulates with
God^ Pfal. lxxxv. 6.
Wilt Thou not return and REVIVE us,
That thy People may rejoice in Thee ?
And then follows a Petition (Per. 7.) of the fame Import with that which follows in the
Prophet;
Shew us, O JEHOVAH, thy MERCY,
And grant us thy Salvation.
Per.2. Lin. 1, Shew Compaffton) The Metre led me to obferve, that a Word is want
ing in the Original; and the next Line fuggefted to me, what that Word probably was;
namely, tafed, which is exactly equivalent to ratem., and is the fame Word which is tran-
flated in the Note above MERCY ; but I was forced here to render it Compaffton, be
caufe ratem is tranflated Mercy in the next Line.
Per. 3.) Teman and Mount Paran were two Stations of the Ifraelites,when they fojourn-
ed in the Wildernefs ; the former fituated in the Land of Edom, the latter in the WiJ-
dernefs of Paran. It was from thefe, that God led them forth to give them Pofleflion of
the Land oi Canaan. And as hevouchfofed to become the King of the Ifraelites, he con
stantly refided amongft them in a Cloud of Glory.. When they marched forward, he went
before

NOTES ON HABAKKUK. 13
Defore them to conduit them, and fearch out a Place to pitch their Tents in. When they
engaged in Battle, he vifibly fought for them from the Cloud, and employed the Artille
ry of Heaven in the Deftru&ion of their Enemies.
In this Paflage, Habakkuk feems to have had Deut. xxxm. 2. in his Eye ; where Mofes,
fpeaking of JEHOVAH's conducting the Ifraelites in the Cloud of Glory, mentions
one of the Stations here Specified :
JEHOVAH came from Sinai,
And arofe upon them from Seir ;
He fhone forth from Mount Paran,
And went with ten thoufands from Kadelh.
Per. 4. Lin. 2. And his Glory, utehillato) This Word, which is plainly equivalent to
hodo, his Majefty, is, I apprehend, the Nominative Cafe to the Verb. And fince it comes
from a Verb which fignifies Xofhine as well as to praife, it may in this place properly be
tranflated Glory.
Per.5. Lin. 1. And his Brightnefs, venogah) The Vau, and, is redundant in Senfe be
fore this Word, and wanting after it. Who then can doubt but that it was firft dropped
in tranfcribing, and then placed in the Margin ; and afterwards prefixed to it inftead of
being affixed, the conftruflive Form of the Word being changed into the abfolute. '
Here the redundant Vau is only inelegant ; but in fome Places it contributes to pervert
the Senfe. The Perplexity of Job. xxii. 29. is owing principally to a redundant Vau. If
we throw this out, and read the Period thus,
ci tafpil, vattomer, gevati ;
vefat ymaim jofh.
we (hall reftore Senfe to a Paflage, which at prefent lias none ; and have both the Con
text and the Alex. Copy of the Seventy to juftify us. In the next Period, ift can neither
iignify an Ifland, nor be a defective Reading of m, not ; for how mould a Man be deli
vered for the Purity of his Hands who is not innocent. It feems rather to be a defective
Reading ofeloh, God ; and poffibly the Affix to the laft Word of this Period ought to be
Vau inftead of Caph final, for which it has frequently been miftaken. If the Learned
fhould agree with me in thefe Emendations, then the Sentiment of both the Periods may
be illuftrated by comparing them with the 24,25,26 and 27 Periods of the xviii Pfalm,
and the Tranflation of them will run as follows.
When thou fhalt humble thyfelf, and fay, It is my Pride ;
Then he fhall fave him, that is lowly in his own Eyes.
God fhall deliver the innocent Man,
And he (hall be delivered for the Purity of his hands.
Let the Reader turn to the Place, and fee with what Weight and Dignity thefe Words
clofe the Speech of Eliphaz.
Ibid. His Brightnefs was as the Brightnefs of the Sun) When the Glory of JEHOVAH
fhone through the Cloud, the Luftre and Brightnefs of it was like that of the Sun at
Noon-Day. The Word or, which our Tranflators render Light, is here ufed by Way of
Eminence for the Sun, and is fo rendered by them in Job xxxi.26. And it is remarka
ble that Mofes in Deut. xxxm. 2. cited above, fpeaks of this Glory in Words properly
ufed of the Sun, fuch as arifing and fhining forth upon them.
Per.5. Lin. 2. He had Rays of Light beaming from his Hand) Mofes in the parallel
Place Deut.xxxm. 2. (if with the ingenious Mr. Kennicott we read or inftead of dat)
exprefles himfelf thus,
Fire from his right Hand gave them Light :
Or (if we retain the Chaldee Word dat) thus,
Fire from his right Hand was a Signal unto them- ;
that is, when to ftrike their Tents and march forward, and when to pitch thsm again. Per.

14 NOTES Ok THE
Per <. Lin.?. And there was the Hiding-Place of his Power) As the Cloud was a Hid-
ing-Place or Veil to the Glory of JEHOVAH, when it did not fhine forth, fo was it
confidered as the Hiding-Place of his Power, when not manifefted in Aft. We have an
Inftance where both of thefe were manifefted from the Cloud at the fame Time. In Num.
xvi. 4.2. it is faid, that they looked toward the Tabernacle of the Congregation ; and behold,
the Cloud covered it, and the GLORY of J E HO VAH appeared. And it is added ver.46.
that Wrath was gone out from JEHOVAH, and the PLAGUE, a fignal Mamfeftation
of his Power, was begun. It is true, the Peftilence and devouring Fire are reprefented as
attending him here; but then it is only to be in Readinefs to manifeft his Power; and
therefore the Cloud may ftill be confidered as the Hiding- Place of it.
As the Cloud was the Hiding-Place of JEHOVAH's Power and Glory, the Ark
of the Covenant, over which the Cloud refided, is exprefsly called in Pfal. ixxvm.61.
by thefe two Names :
He delivered his POWER into Captivity,
And his GLORY into the Hands of his Enemies.
Per. 6. Lin. a. Devouring Fire, refep) This Word is varipufly tranflated. In Pfal.
lxxviii. 48. it means the Fire, mentioned Exod.1x.a3. which ran along the Ground, and-
may properly be tranflated Lightning or devouring Fire.
He gave up their Cattle to the Hail,
And their Flocks to the Lightnings.
And fo, I apprehend, it fignifies here j Lightning or devouring Fire, being frequently
reprefented in the poetical Scriptures as attending the Divine Prefence. Thus Pfal. l .3.
A Fire devoureth before Him,
And a Tempeft rageth around Him.
See likewife Pfal.xvni.8. Lxxvm.63. andxcvn.3. If however any one fliould think
this Word exactly equivalent to daber, the Peftilence, he may tranflate it, The burning Dif-
eafe, or Ulcer. But this does not carry with it the Notion of inftantaneous Death, which
in my Opinion it fhould do.
Per.7. Lin. 1. He flood and meafured out the Land) It was cuftomary for a Conqueror,
as foon as he became poflefled of a Country, to meafure it out and divide it amongft his
People. Thus David,
I will triumph and divide Sichem,
And meafure out the Valley of Succoth.
Hence JEHOVAH, who takes Pofleflion of the Land of Canaan upon the Flight and
Ceflion of its guilty Inhabitants, is reprefented as dividing it amongft the Tribes oi Ifrael.
Ibid. Lin. 2. He beheld and fcattered the Nations) Such was the Dread which fell upon
the feven wicked Nations of Canaan at the Approach of JEHOVAH, that they are
reprefented as flying before Him, and leaving him in quiet Pofleflion of the Land,
which they had forfeited by their Wickednefs.
Per. 8. The eternal Mountains he.) Not only the Inhabitants of Canaan betrayed a
Confcioufnefs that the Land was forfeited to the Donor of it, but even the Land itfelf is
poetically reprefented, as betraying the fame. — I tranflate lo, owned their Lord, becaufe
the literal Senfe of it, were for Him, or on His Side, amounts to the fame.
Per. 9. Lin. 1. I faw the Tents of Cufhan in Confier nation) Since Afo^'s Wife who
was a Midianite, is called Num.xn.i. a Cujhite, Cu/han may be here only another
Name for Midian : and then the two Members of this Period will be equivalent. But
if it fhould be different, then it muft mean an Arabian Nation which dwelt in Tents
near Midian, and which was feized with the fame Confternation at the Approach of
JEHOVAH, as they. — For tatat on, Father Houbigant reads fiatatim, which feems to
be the true Reading. Indeed, the Senfe which the Place requires, had direded me to
tranflate it as I have done, before I faw his Work. Per.

PRAYER OF HABAKKUK. 15
Per. 3,4,3,6,7,8,9.) We can never fufficiently admire the Strength and Spirit, as
well as Juftnefs and Propriety of this Defcription. The Defign of the Prophet was
to give us right Conceptions of JEHOVAH, as King and Commander of the ten
thoufands of Ifrael. And what more proper Circumftances could he have chofen, to irt-
fpire us with a juft Idea of his Magnificence and Gr^eatnefs on this Occafionf The Glory
with which He is arrayed is fuch, as filJeth the Heaven and the Earth, A Glory which
arifes, not from the Pomp of external Grandeur and the Parade of honourable Fol
lowers, but from HIMSELF. His Power is the Terror ©f all the World around Him;
the Inughia of it being, not the Sword or the Fafces, but the Peftilence and devouring
Fire. And fo great is the Dread of Him, that the Canaanites fly at his Approach, the
Land trembles at his Prefence, and the Nations around are not able to hide their Dif-
may. Such is Habakiuk's Defcription of JEHOVAH, fimple and plain, hut yet grand
and fublime; as much excelling the Pagan Defcriptions of Jupiter, as Light furpafles
Darknefs. David indeed has given us a Defcription Pfal.xviir.7. — 16. in which the
Majefty and Greatnefs of JEHOVAH are more remarkably difplayed than here. But
then the Occafion upon which it was given, ferved the more illuftrioufly to-difplay them.
It is a Defcription of JEHOVAH when he was wroth, when his Power was acJually
manifefted as well as his Glory, when He bowed the Heavens and came down, to refcue
him from his Enemies, to whom he had delegated his royal Supremacy over Ifrpel.
Per. 1 1. Was thy Wrath againft the Sea &c.) When thou appeared!!, O JEHOVAH,
at the Red Sea in thy Chariot of War, with thy Bow drawn in thy Hand, Was it that
thou waft difpleafed with the Sea ? The Amfwer follows in the next Period, which I
have exprefled in the Tranflation as well as I could, by the Addition of three or four
Words in Italicks ; namely, it was only fo fight for Ifrael, and conduct them fafe to the
Land of Canaan, which he had promife'd them with an Oath.
Per.ri. Lin. 3. Thy Chariots of Sahation) If we would know what thefe Chariots, were,
Mofes will inform us, Deut. xxxm. 26.
There is no God like the God pf Jefhurun,
Who rideth on the Heavens for thy Help,
And on the Clouds for thine Advancement.
And if we want to be told what were the Weapons, with which JEHOVAH fought at
the Red Sea, another facred Poet defcribes them, Pfal. lxxvii. 17, and 18.
The Clouds poured down Water ;
The Heavens uttered their Voice j
And thine Arrows flew abroad.
The Voice of thy Thunder was in the Whirlwind :
Thy Lightnings blazed o'er the World ;
The Earth trembled and fliook.
Per. 12. Lin.2.) 1^ tne critical Reader would confult Pfal. cv. 9. or his Concordance
upon fibuyot, Oaths, he may poffibly be convinced that the Prepofition le, to^ has been
dropped before mdlot, tribes. The Seventy had it in their Copy, and render it by hn. —
In the next place, both Senfe and Metre require Vau,, andy before omer, thy Promife.
Per. 13. Lin. 2. The Mountains faw Thee, and were in Pangs) All Nature was in Corn*-
motion at the Approach of Nature's God.
The Mountains fkipped like Rams,
And the Hills like affrighted Lambs.
Tremble, thou Earth, at the Prefence of the Lord,
At the Prefence of the God of Jacob;
Who turneth the hard Rock into a ftanding Water, >
And the flinMlone into a running Fountain. " Per.

16 NOTES ON THE
Per. 14. The overflowing Water hafted away &c.) When the Ifraelites parted over Jor
dan, this River overflowed its Banks. But as foon as the Priefts who bare the Ark en
tered into it, the Waters, rearing themfelves up on the right Hand and on the left, part
ed afunder with a mighty Noife ; thofe on the right ftanding on a Heap, and thofe on
the left falling into the dead Sea. See Jofh. in. 15, and 16.
Per. 15. Lin. 2, and 3, By their Light, thine Arrows few abroad tic.) When Jofhua
fought againft the Amorites, at his Command the Sun and Moon flood ftill to give them
Time for the Deftruction of their Enemies. And while thefe gave them Light,
J E H O VA H fent out his Arrows, and fcattered them ;
He fhot forth his Lightnings, and deftroyed them.
Ibid. Flew abroad, jehallecu) This Verb fignifies any progreflive Motion ; and fliould
always be tranflated by fuch a Word as beft fuits the Subject : When ufed of Ships, it
fliould be tranflated failing ; when of Rivers, running ; when of any Thing that moves
upon Wings, flying. To walk (as this Verb is rendered Pfal. civ. 3.) upon Wings, is fuch
an Impropriety, as is not eafily to be endured. By the Alteration of this Word, and the
Tranfpofition of a Line to avoid a Parenthcfis, the four firli Periods of this Pfalm will
run thus, 1 O JEHOVAH my God, thou art tranfcendently great,
Thou art cloathed with Majefty and Grandeur.
2 Blefs JEHOVAH, O my Soul,
Who arrayeth himfelf with Light, as with a Garment,
And fpreadeth out the Heavens like a Canopy ;
3 Who flooreth his Chambers with Waters j
Who maketh the Clouds his Chariot,
And flieth on the Wings of the Wind.
4 Who maketh his Angels Winds,
And his Minifters a Flame of Fire.
Per. 16. Lin. 2. Thou trampled/I under foot the Nations in Anger) J E HOVA H is here
Teprefented as marching before his People through the Land of Canaan in his Chariot of
War, and .trampling under foot thofe that rife up againft him. It is in the fame figurative
Language that David {peaks of him in Pfal. lx. 12.
Through God we fhall behave valiantly ;
And He fhall trample under foot our Enemies.
Ibid.) The Metre fhews that the Copulative has been dropped before the firft Word
of this Line. And the fame may be obferved^upon -the fecond Line of the ninth Period.
The Greek Verfion retains it in both- Pla^lr
Per. 17.) The Seventy make thp*two Members of this Period equivalent; and the Me
tre does the fame, by rejectingj^in the fecond Member, and placing it before rof in the
Verfe below. — The Seventy yake Xgis-®-, anointed, equivalent to *«©¦ tsSeb, the People
of God, not only in this Place, but in Pfal. xxvii. 7. The Apoftle to the Hebrews does
the fame Chap. xi. 25 and 26, which ought to be tranflated thus, Chufing rather to fuffer
Affliclion with the PEOPLE OF GOD, than to enjoy the Pleafures of Sin for a Seafon •
Efteeming the Reproach of the ANOINTED (i. e. of the Ifraelites) greater Riches than the
Treafures of Egypt; for 'he had refpecl to the Recompenfe of the Reward.
Per. 18. Lin. I.) No Senfe can be made of this Line, unlefs we fuppofe that the Mem
.jbefore bit belongs to the next Word, and that the two Words fliould be read ht refavim
the Houfe of the Wicked. JS>
Ibid. Lin. 2.) The Seventy, and indeed all the ancient Verfions, read yarita, thou rafedft-
which is undoubtedly the true Reading. The Tranfcribers have fince their Time length ened

PRAYER OF HABAKKUK. 17
ened the jod into a vau. — The Mention of a Houfe in the Line above, and of the Foun
dation in this, fhews that the laft Word in this Line fliould be read ^ar, a Rock, and not
stavver, a Neck. The Learned F. Houbigant has made the fame Remark.
Ibid. Lin. 3.) I don't remember that matfim, Staves, ever fignifies Weapons of War.
And one of the Commentators is fo fenfible it does not, that he tells us, the Arms of the
Canaanites were called fo by way of Contempt. The Seventy read this Word in the Sin
gular, which feems to be the true Reading. If then we do the fame, affixing to it Caph
final inftead of Vau, (which two Letters have frequendy been miftaken for each other ;)
and if in the next place, with the Seventy and F. Houbigant, we add Tau to the laft Word
of this Line, reading it pera^ot ; the Senfe will be clear and proper, which at prefent is
confufed and unintelligible. — The Perfons who are faid in this Period to be wounded and
pierced through, were fome of the Kings of Canaan ; but which of them are meant, the
Hiftory in Jofhua is not partieular enough to inform us.
Per. 19. Lin. i. They came out as' a Whirlwind) When the Kings of Canaan had reco
vered their Spirits, they entered into a Confederacy againft the Ifraelites ; and fet upon
them in Battle with fuch Fury, as if they would have fwept them away, like a ftormy
Wind. Our Whirlwind gives us but a faint Idea of the rut seiarah, fcorching Wind of
the Eaft, which was frequently employed as an Instrument of divine Vengeance, and
brought with it certain Deftruction. See Job xxvn. 21. Jer.xxin. 19. and xxx. 23.
This Verb is ufed in Pfalm lviii.io. and by attending to the Meaning and Force
of it here, we may poffibly recover the true Reading of a Word in that period, which is
manifeftly corrupted. The corrupt Reading is >J1 J hut what the true is, no one has yet
been able to fay. That a Comparifon was intended, plainly appears from the Particle
preceeding it. But if fo, what Comparifon can fuit the Force of the Verb and Senfe of
the Place, fo well as flYl? which in this Connection may properly be tranflated a ftormy
Wind. And then the Senfe of the Period, [which in the old Verfion is exprefled thus,
Or ever your Pots be made hot with Thorns ; fo let Indignation vex him, even as a thing that
israw: And in the new thus, Beforeyour Potscan feel theThorns, he fhall takethemaway as
with a Whirlwind, both living, and in his Wrath~\ will be- as follows ;
Before the Bramble can heat your Pots,
God's Wrath, like a ftormy Wind, fhall fweep him away.
Ifaiah has the fame Comparifon, Chap. lxiv. 6. Our Iniquities, (that is, God's Wrath
inflicted upon us for our Iniquities) like the Wind, have taken us away. If it fhould be afked,
how rut came to be changed into tat. I anfwer, it may not be poflible to fay exactly,
how it happened ; but probably in this Manner. The firft Letter might not be legible, and
the other two not making a Hebrew Word, the Tranfcriber might fubftitute »n in their
Stead. This, I apprehend, has happened in other Inftances. For how elfe fhould jadi,
my Hand, or as our Tranflators render it, my Sore, have been fuhftituted in Pf. lxxvii.
2. for yE»/, mine Eye. To be convinced that yeni is the true Reading in this Period, we
need only compare it with a parallel Place in Lament. 111.49. and with the Chaldee Pa-
raphrafe. Or perhaps it may be fufficient to read the following Tranflation.
In the Day of my Diftrefs I fought the Lord ;
In the Night mine Eye trickled down without ceafing,
And my Soul refufed to be comforted.
Ibid. To fcatter us) In this and the 9th Period the Prophet fpeaks in thePerfon of an Ifrae-
lite who lived in the Days oi Jofhua. In the laft Period we fhall find him fpeaking in the
Perfon of a captive Jew at Babylon. The former he does, to give Life to his Poetry ; the
latter, to give Confidence to the Jewijh People. — To fcatter is more properly ufed of a
Number, than of a fingle Perfon. I therefore conclude that the jod at the End of this
Verb was originally Vau. All the Difference between thefe two Letters, is only this; the
former is a little fhorter than the latter. No wonder then that they have frequently been
miftaken for each other. C Per.

!8 NOTES ON JtABAKKUK.
Per. zo.Thou marchedft with thine Horfes to the wtftern Sea, &c.) Jam is frequently put
by Way of Eminence for the Weftern or Mediterranean Sea. Now as the Ifraelites enter
ed the Land of Promife on the Eaft, it is more probably the Meaning of the Prophet, that
JEHOVAH marched before them to give them Pofleflion of the whole Land, even to
the Weft ; than that, after fo many Incidents mentioned by him fince their Paflage thro*
the Red Sea, he fhould return to fpeak of that again. But let every one judge for himfelf.
Per. 21. Lin. I . My Bowels were troubled) Hebr. My Belly trembled.
Ibid. Lin. 2. A wafting) Rottennefs, I think, expreffes the Original in this Place too
ftrongly. Wafting indeed is not a good Word, but it is the belt I could think of. The
Latin Word Tabes expreffes it better.
Per. 2 1 .Lin. 4. And my Steps totter edunder me) The Seventy render this Paflage K«» vmx»7«6»
p8 /lafaxfl" * ££,; f*B> Alex. H W* /*a» (probably it fhould be ij^i f»».) Hence it appears, that
in their Copy they found a Nominative Cafe to the Verb with a Pronoun affixed to it, and
that they read the Verb in the third Perfon. But in' the Maforetical Copy the Nomina
tive Cafe is ftripped of its Affix, and made to begin the next Period,where all the Com
mentators are puzzled what to make of it ; and the third Perfon of the Verb is changed
into the firft. If we only apply the Metre to this Paflage, the Blunders will be immediately
detected, the right Readings reftored, and the Hebrew Verfe will run thus, vetattai tirgaz
efurai. For the Conftrudtion, let the Reader compare this Verfe with Pf. xxxvu. 31.
When the true Metre fhould be-difcovered, it was reafonable to expect that it would
rectify fuch Embarrafsments, as arofe from a wrong Divifion of the Period. Bifhop Hare's
Metre does this in numherlefs Places : therefore we may prefume, that it is the true Metre.
Per. 22. Lin. 1. Oh that I may be at Reft) This Verb is ufed of refting in the Region
of the Dead ; and it is probably in this Senfe that the Prophet ufes it here. A good Man
would rather wifh to be gathered to his Fathers in Peace, than furvive fuch a Defolation
of his Country, as is defcribed in the next Period.
Per. 23. For then the Fig-tree fhall not four ifh, &c.) During this Defolation it was, that
their Land refted from Tillage, and enjoyed its Sabbatical Years; which before, it feems>
it had not been fufFered to do, through the Avarice and Wiekednefs of the Jews. See
2 Chron.xxxvi. 20,21.
Per. 24. Neverthelefs) Or, But for my Part.
Per. 25. Lin. 3. He will caufe me to tread again on my own High-Places) By High-Places
the Prophet feems to mean the fruitful Hills o.f Judea. At leaft, Mofes ufes the Word in
this Senfe, Deut. xxxn.13. See likewife 2 Sam. 1. 19. Some are of Opinion, that Habai-
kuk fpeaks only of the ftrong Holds of the land. But if we reflect on the naked and de-
fencelefs State Judea was in, when the Jews returned from Captivity, we may rather be
induced to think that the Prophet meant no more than this, That' after the Land had
refted feventy Years and enjoyed its Sabbaths, it fhould become fruitful again ; and that
then the Jews fhould once more delight themfelves in the Plenty of its pleafant Hills, as
the Hind did on her favourite High-Places.
As Habakkuk feems to have had the Beginning of Mofes' Bleffing in his Eye at Pe
riod 3; fo in this, he alludes to the Conclufion of it.
Happy art thou, O Ifrael! What Nation
Is like unto thee, O People faved by JEHOVAH,
Who is thy £hield to protect thee, -^
And thy Sword to advance thee!
Thine Enemies fhall cringe and fubmit to thee,
And thou fhalt tread upon their High- Places.
To the chief Muftcian on hisflringed Inflruments) It appears from thefe Words, that this*
Prayer was fung in the Temple-Service. The Vau at the end of the laft of thefe Worda
has been changed into jod fince the Greek Verfion was made. As Shigionoth and Sehh do
not belong to the Senfe, which is compleat without them; I have omitted them, as being
only an Encumbrance to an Englifli Tranflation. A

(*9)

NEW VERSION
OF THE
NINETIETH PSALM.

o

A PRAYER OF MOSES THE MAN OF GOD.
LORD, thou haft been our Refuge
Throughout all Generations.

2 Before the Mountains were brought forth,
Or the Earth and the World were formed,
Thou art from Everlafting, and to Everlafting.
3 Turn not frail Man to Deftrudtion ;
And fay not, Return to Duft, ye Children of Men.
4 For a thoufand Years in thy Sight,
Are but as Yefterday when it is paft ;
Or as a Watch of the Night. COMMENTARY.
Mofes having feen many of that Generation perifli, which God had doomed to
die in the Wildernefs for their Difbbedience, offers op a Prayer for the reft ; that
God would be pleafed to reverfe his Sentence, and receive them into Favour.
The meek Man addreffes himfelf to JEHOVAH (Per. i.) as the perpetual
Refuge of the Ifraelites, and (Per. 2.) as the everlafting God: interceeds (Per. 3.)
in their Behalf, and begs of JEHOVAH, not to fhorten their Lives: And
<Per. 4.) enforces his Intereeflion with this Plea, that a thoufand Years in his
fight were but an inconfiderable Number; much more, the few remaining Years
of this Generation, fuppofing he fhould reverfe his Sentence, and fuffer them to
live to the ufual Period of human Life.
Mofes, in the next place, endeavours to move God to Compaffion, by laying
before him the deplorable State his People were in, while Under the Sentence of
his Difpleafurc. s c 2 5 Thou

20 A NEW VERSION OF
5 Thou watereft them with the Dew of Sleep,
And in the Morning they are as the Grafs which fpringeth up.
6 In the Morning it fpringeth up, and flourifheth;
But before the Evening it is cut down, and withereth :
7 So are we confumed by thine Anger,
And carried off by thy Wrath.
8 Thou haft fet our Iniquities before thee,
And our fecret Sins in the Light of thy Countenance.
9 For all our Days are paffed away
Through thy Difpleafure, and our Years
Come to an End like a Tale that is told.
io The Number of our Years are threefcore and ten;
Or if we be very ftrong, fourfcore Years.
1 1 And the beft of them is but Labour and Sorrow;
For they foon pafs away, and we are gone.
12 Yet who regardeth the Vehemence of thine Anger,
And that, according to thy Fear, fo is thy Difpleafure?
13 Oh teach us to number our Days,
That we may apply our Hearts unto Wifdonx
14 At length, O JEHOVAH, return unto us,,
And be reconciled to thy Servants.
COMMENTARY.
They grew up indeed, and advanced in Years; but it was only (Per. 5, 6,
and .7) like the Grafs, to be cutdown at an immature Age. They lived (Per.8.)
under manifeft Tokens of God's Difpleafure : Saw (Per. 9.) their Brethren around
them fuddenly fnatched away : Had loft all hopes of feeing the promifed Land,
or of reaching (Per. 10.) to the Age of their Fathers: And the only ProfpecT:
before them (Per. n.) was, after a fruitlefs Wandering from Station to Station,
to die fooner or later in the Wildernefs; but how foon they knew not. Nay,
what was ftill worfe,. they were perifhing for their Sins; and yet no one (Per.12.)
fufficiently laid it to Heart.
Having thus reprefented to JEHOVAH the deplorable State of this Gene
ration, and efpecially their Infenfibility under his Judgments ; the tender-hearted
Prophet prays earneftly, (Per. 13.) That God would teach them by his Spirit,
what he could not by his Judgments, namely, the Wifdom of fearing him: That
on Condition of their Repentance, he would alfo (Per. 14.) repent of the Evil
which

THE NINETIETH PSALM. 21
15 Satisfy us early with thy Mercy,
That we may fing and rejoice all our Days.
1 6 Gladden us according to the Days thou haft afflicted us,
And according to the Years we have fuffered Adverfity.
17 Let thy Work be feen by thy Servants,
And thy Glory by their Children.
18 Let the Countenance of JEHOVAH
Our God fmile upon us ;
And profper thou the Work of our Hands.
COMMENTARY.
which he purpofed to do unto them, and receive them into Favour : That (Per.
15. and 16.) after a long Night of Affliction, he would refrefh them with his
Mercy, and chear them with his gracious Prefence: That (Per. 17.) what he
did, he would do foon ; in order to make the Fathers, as well as Children, par
takers of it: Laftly, that (Per. 18.) he would mercifully lift up the Light of
his Countenance upon them, conduct: them to the promifed Land, and prof
per their Arms in taking Poffeffion of it.

NOTES

22 NOTES ON
THE NINETIETH PSALM.
j Prayer of Mofes) This Prayer appears by its Title to be the moft ancient CornpoG-
« tion in the whole Book of Pfalms ; being compofed by Mofes, the great Lawgiver
of the Ifraelites, on a memorable Occafion. When he had led this People to the very
Borders of Canaan, and had fent forth Spies to fearch out the Land, we are told,
Num. xiv. that, at the evil Report of thefe Men, they obftinatdy refufed to go op, and
take PofTeffion of it ; wifhing rather that they had died in Egypt, or even in the Wilder
nefs. The Lord therefore, in juft difpleafure at their. Contumacy, doomed all of them,
from twenty Years old and upward, to die in the wildernefs. Upon this Occafion it was,
that the companionate Prophet offered up to God the following Prayer.
Some learned Men indeed argue, from the 10th Verfe, that this Prayer could not be
compofed by Mofes ; becaufe in his Days, the Period of human Life was not fo fliort, as
feventy or eighty Years. But this Argument proceeds upon a miftake; for the Prophet is
not fpeaking there of the ftated Period of human Life, but of the fhortened Period of
that Generation, who were untimely cut off for their Sins : and therefore we may ftill
afcribe this Prayer to Mofes, as the Hebrew and all the ancient Verfions do ; and indeed,
as the Turn of the Compofition directs us to do.
Per. i. and %) The meek Interceflbr begins his Prayer for Ifrael in the fame (train of
Piety, with which he afterward concluded his Bleffing of them, Deut. xxxm, 27. name
ly, with acknowledging JEHOVAH for their never-failing Refuge.
The eternal God is thy Refuge,
And his everlafting Arms thy Support.
Per. 2. Lin. 3. Thou art from Everlafting, and to Everlafting) The Vau before me-
volam is plainly redundant in Senfe. And if the critical Reader will confult Pf. xli, 14.
cm, 17. cvi, 48. and 1 Chron. xxix, 10. or his Concordance on this Word, he will be
convinced that the Vau is mifplaced, and ought to be prefixed to the next Word, as it
is in a MS. which I have feen. Had the great Bp Hare obferved this, it appears from
his Notes on the Place, that he would have difpofed the Verfe . in this Manner, mesolam'
vt\tad yolam attah. And thus the Metre infallibly determines 7^ to belong, not to this
Period according to the Maforetical Copy, but to the next according to the Copy of the
Seventy ; as indeed the Defign of the Pfalm, and the Drift of the two next Periods,
evidently require it fhould. — Beftdes, if 7}$ had belonged to this Period, the Pofition
of the Words would have been, as I apprehend, el attah, and not attah el.-
The Tranfpofition of Letters has been a fruitful Source of Obfcurity in the Hebrew Scrip
tures. The learned'Dr. Ry Grey, and after him F. Houbigant, have recovered the Senfe of
Prov.xxvn.21. by taking 7 away from one Word, and prefixingit to the Word foregoing;
in which they are juftifyed by the Structure of the Sentence, and the Verfion of the Seventy.
As Silver is tried by the fining Pot, and Gold by the Furnace ;
So is a Man tried by the Mouth of him that praifeth him.
Here 7 has evidently been mifplaced. I would refer it to the Confideration of the
Learned, whether the fame Letter has not been mifplaced in the very fame Manner
Prov. xvi. 4. At leaft this is certain, that if we take 7 away from the Word it is pre
fixed to at prefent, and prefix it to the Word fpregoing, the Harfhnefs of this Text will
vanifh; andaSenfe arife from the Words, which will be worthy of the Wife man, agree
able to the Perfections of God, and fuitable to the Defign and Tenor of Revelation:
JEHOVAH hath made all Things to anfwer each other j
Even the Day of Calamity for the wicked Man. Per.

NOTES ON PSAL. XC. 23
• Pdr.4. For a thoufand Years in thy Sight &c.JI Another Pfalmift makes Ufe of the fame
Plea with God not to fhorten his Life. Pf. cu. 20.
I faid unto hirn, Take me not off,
O Lord, iri the midft of my days ;
Thy Years endure throughout all Generations.
Such was the Plea which Mofes ufed with God, not to cut off the Ifraelites in the midft
of their Days; and a very natural one it was. But how this fame Plea could be urged
as a Reafon for cutting them off, as the Maforetical Divifion of the two foregoing Periods
makes it, is what I could never yet comprehend.
Per. 4. Lin. 3. Or as a Watch of the Night) A thoufand Years to come are in the Sight of
God no more, than a Day when paft ; or, what is ftill lefs, than a Watch or fourth
Part of a Night when paft.
Per.5. Lin. 1. Thou watereft thtm with the Dew of Sleep) There cannot be a ftronger
Proof of a Verfion's being juft, than that it preferves the Integrity of the Metaphor;
which this of the ingenious Le Clerc does. He was happy in tranflating into a Language,
which furnifhed him with a Phrafe to exprefs it, as the Latin Tongue does, namely,
perfundere vel irrigare fomno. Our Language not having fuch a Phrafe, I was obliged,
in order to convey the Metaphor, to add in Italicks, the Dew of.
Per. 6. Lin. f . In the Morning it fpringeth up, and four ijheth) In the Original the two
Verbs of this Line are plainly tranfpofed. For who does not know, that the Grafs muft
firft fpring up before it can flourifh. In the next place, vetalop fhould be jatlop in the
future; and then it will be an elegant Repetition oi jatlop in the Period foregoing; and
the two Verbs in the former part of this Period, will exactly correfpond to the two in
the latter. Let the Reader for his Satisfaction compare this Verfe thus reftored, babboker
jatlop veja^i^, with the foregoing and following.
Mifplacing a Word generally marrs the Elegance of a facred Writer, and fometimes
perverts the fenfe. In Pfalm lxv ni. 19. the fenfe is perverted : If we reduce the .laft
Word in the 18th Period to its true Place in the Beginning of the 19th,
yalita bakkodejf lammarom.
Thou art gone up into thy Sanctuary on high.
the Senfe will return with it; agreably to the 24th Period, and to Pfalm Lxxvm.69.
He built his Sanctuary on high.
— In Pfalm lxxiv. 2. The Elegance of the Period is in my Judgment marred. If
we place the Word, which now ends the 2d Line, at the Beginning of it, hatlateca gaalta
Jfebet, the Elegance of it will be reftored.
Remember thy Congregation, which thou haft purchafed of old ;
Thine Inheritance, which thou haft redeemed by thy Scepter;
And this Mount Sion, in which thou haft dwelt.
There is indeed an Inftance, in which febef preceeds natlah : but this, I think, is no
Objection to the Order, in which I have here placed the Words. Let the Reader com
pare it with Pf. lxxvii. 15. for the Senfe, and then judge for himfelf.
Per. 6. Lin. 2. 'Before the Evening) As the prepofition prefixed to the Word Evening is
different from that prefixed to the Word Morning, Mofes muft have meant fotnething dif
ferent by it. The Senfe directs us to render it before ; for theSeafon of mowing and wither
ing is before the Evening. It is ufed in the fame Senfe in the Prayer of Habakkuk. Per. 22.
Per 7. Lin. 1. So) Bp Hare, not knowing what to make of the Caufal ci in this Place,
removed it to the next Period. But had this learned Man obferved, that the Comparifon
ufed by Mofes, requires this Period to compleat it, he would, probably, have only changed
it into cen, for which it has frequently been miftaken. See Pfalm lxxiii. 22. where our
Tranflators acknowledge the Miftake.-^  David fpeaking of the wicked, ufts the fame
Comparifon, Pfalm xxxvii. 2.
They fhall foon be cut down like the Grafs,
And wither like the green Herb.
No

24 NOTES ON PSAL. XC.
No Writers carry on the Simile or Metaphor with more Exactnefs than the facred:
And neither Critic nor Tranflator can have a better Rule to difcover the right Reading
or true Senfe, than to purfue them with Exactnefs.
Per. 9. Thou haft fet our Iniquities before thee, &c.) The Cloud of Glory is frequently
called in Scripture the Face or Countenance of JEHOVAH. And when God remem
bers and punifhes Sin, he is reprefented as placing it before his Countenance ; when he
forgets and forgives it, he is reprefented as hiding or turning away his Countenance from
it. See Pfal. hi. n.
Per. 10. Lin. 2. Or if they be very flrong, fourfcore Years) If the Writer of this Pfalm be
fpeaking of the common Period of human Life at the Time he compofed it, why does
he complain in the foregoing Verfe, that the People were untimely cut off through God's
Difpleafure ? If they lived to the utmoft Term of human Life, what Reafon for Com
plaint ? Hence I conclude that the ordinary Period of Life when this. Pfalm was wrote,
was more than fourfcore Years ; and that no Argument can be drawn from this Verfe,
that it was not compofed by him whofe Name it bears, in whofe Time the Age of
Man was probably a hundred and twenty Years.
Per. 11. And the beft of them is but Labour and Sorrow &c) Another facred Poet, fpeak
ing of this Generation, expreffes himfelf thus on this Occafion, Pfal. LXXVIII. 33.
He confumed their Days in Vanity,
And their Years in Trouble.
Ibid, Lin. 2. We are gone) Hebr. We are f 'own.
Per. 12. Yet who regardeth the Vehemence of thine Anger &c.) In this Period, Mofes lamentj
the Infenfibility of the Ifraelites under the Judgments of God. They faw his Wrath fweep-
ing Numbers away for their Sins ; and yet none ftudied to divert it, by fearing him as they
ought. God's Difpleafure againft thofe who difregard him, is great in proportion to the
Reverence due to him ; and the more he is difregarded, the more feverely he punifhes.
This the Ifraelites would not attend to ; and this it was, that drew from Mofes the follow-
ingPetition, that God would teach them the Wifdom of reverencing his divine Majefty.
Per. 14. Lin. r. At length, O JEHOVAH, return unto us) Hebr. Return, O JEHOVAH,
how long? The Phrafe how long is elliptical, and ought to be fupplied with, wilt thou ab-
fent thy felf from us ? The Words which I have fupplied, amount to the fame Thing, and
avoid a Parenthefs.
Ibid. Lin. 2. And be reconciled to thy Servants) Hebr. And repent concerning thy Servants.
This is fometimes exprefled more fully thus, Repent of the Evil which thou purpofedft to do
unto thy Servants; which is in other Words, to be reconciled to them, as I have expreffed it.
Per. 17. Lin. 1. and 2. Let the Countenance of JEHOVAH our God f mile upon us) In
thefe Words I have expreffed the Original, as well as I was able. God at prefent beheld
them with an angry Countenance : and Mofes begs, that he would look upon them with a
pleafed Countenance. For nesam in this Connection muft mean Sweetnefs, or rather
Gracioufnefs of Countenance. What were the Signals of Favour or Difpleafure from the
Cloud of Glory, we know not: but we may be certain, there were fuch. By the next
Words it appears, that the particular Favour here requefted, was, that JEHOVAH
would conduct them to the Land of Canaan, and profper their Arms in taking Pofleflion
of it. Another Pfalmift devoutly acknowledges, that they owed the Pofleflion of this
Land to the Cloud of Glory, Pf. xliv. 2.
For they gat not Pofleflion of the Land by their own Sword,
Nor was it their own Arm, which faved them;
But thy right Hand, and thine Arm,
And the Light of thy Countenance ; becaufe thou favouredfl them.
The Maforetical Copy adds at the End of this Period, Upon us, and profper thou the
Work of our Hands. But thefe Words, as Bp Hare, and after him F. Houbigant have
obferved, are nothing more than a blundering Repetition of the Words foregoing; which
neither the Copy of the Seventy acknowledges, nor the Metre and Elegance of the Com-
pofition admit of. A

(*5)

A
NEW VERSION
OF THE
CXXXIX PSALM.
A'PSALM OF DAVID.
i /"TpHOU fearcheft me out, O JEHOVAH, and knoweft me;
JL Thou knoweft, when I fit down, and when I rife up j
Thou underfunded my Thoughts long before they are conceived.
2 Thou furroundeft my Path, and my Bed;
And art acquainted with all my Ways.
3 Before my Speech is upon my Tongue,
Behold, O JEHOVAH, thou knoweft the whole of it.
4 Thy Knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot comprehend it.
5 Thou hemmeft me in, behind and before >
And layeft thine Hand upon me.
COMMENTARY.
In this Pfalm David celebrates JEHOVAH on account of his Orrmifcience;
Omniprefence and Omnipotence j adores him for the wonderful Formation of his
Body ; and implores his Guidance and Direction.
He addrefTes JEHOVAH (Per. i,2,&3.) as omnifcient, as the Searcher of
his Heart and Obferver of his Thoughts ; as perfectly acquainted with all his
Actions, Projects and Defigns ; as knowing what his Thoughts would be, even
before they were conceived in his Mind ; and what his Speech, before it was ut
tered by his Tongue : And then confefTeth (Per. 4) that fuch Knowledge is too
fublime for him, rather to be adored than comprehended by him.
He acknowledged! (Per. 6.) God's Omniprefence and Omnipotence, declaring it
impoffible to retire from his. Prefence, or retreat from his Powec : for that let, him
t* go

26 A NEW' VERSION OF
6 Whither can I go from thy Spirit ?
Or whither can I fly from thy Prefence ?
7 If I fhould afcend up into Heaven, Thou art there ;
Or if I fhould go down to Hell, behold, Thou art there.
8 If I mould take my Flight to the Eaft ;
Or fettle in the remoteft part of the Weft :
9 Even there would thy Hand lead me,
And thy right Hand keep faft hold of me.
io Or fhould I fay, Doubtlefs the Darknefs will hide me,
And the Night fpread its Blacknefs around me :
1 1 Even Darknefs would not hide me from thee,
And the Night would fhine bright as the Day :
Darknefs and Light are both alike to thee.
12 For thou haft fafhioned my Reins,
Thou haft covered me in my Mother's Womb.
13 I will praife thee, O God j for I am awfully
Made :Kwonderful are thy Works,
And this my Soul knoweth right well.
14 My Subftance was not concealed frpm three,'
While I was formed in the fecret Place,
And curioufly wrought in the lower Parts of the Earth-
1 5 Thine Eyes did fee my fhapelefs Mafs,
And in thy Book were all my Members
Regiftered, on the Day they were formed,
And not one of them was omitted.
COMMENTARY.
go forWard or backward (Per. 5.) upward or downward ( Per. 7.) to the right
Hand or left (Per. 8.) he was ftill unable (Per. 9.) to get from under his Hand
and Controul. Or in cafe he fled to Darknefs for Refuge, even Darknefs could
not fcreen him from JEHOVAH ; becaufe he that made the Heart and Reins*
would in every Place be able to fearch them. (Per. 10, 11, and 12.)
From the Mention of God's creating his Reins, David takes Occafion to praife
him for the wonderful Formation of his Body ; for the exquifite Skill with which
he had fafhioned, and the exact Care with which he had fuperintended it, during
the Formation. (Per. 13, 14, and 15.)
16 How

I

I

PSAL. CXXXIX 27
16 How precious unto me, O God, are -the Thoughts of thee!
How numerous are the Occafions of them !
17 Should I count them, they would tie more than the Sand :
Whenever I awake, I am conftantfy thinking" of theer
8 Doubtlefs^Q God, thou wilt flay the wicked.
Let thofe impious Men. depart from me,
9 Who mention thee only for Mifchief,
And think of thee only for Deceit.
20 Should not I. hate them, X) JdBHOVAH, that hate thee ?
And fhould I not abhor them, that rife up againft thee?
21 I do indeed hate them with a perfect Hatred,
And look upon ^hem.as mine enemies. ""
22 Search me, O God, and difcover my Heart ;
Sift me, and difcover my Thoughts.
23 Lpok well, if therebe anyWay of Wickednef* in me;
And lead me in the Way everlafting.
COMMENTARY.
Having finifhed his Meditation on the Perfections pf God, the Pfalmift firft
declares (Per. 1$.) in regard to himfelf, how much he delighted in fuch Thoughts-,
and (Per. 17.) how carefully he improved the nurperous Occafions,. which fug-
gefted them. Afterwards he exprefleth (Per. 18.) his "Abhorrence of thofe Men,
who never ferioufly confidered thefe7Perfectiohs, and only mentioned his Name
(Per. 19.) to carry on their wicked Defigns more fuccefsfully : Ajjd then appeals
(Per. %o.) ,with great Zeal and Affeftion to God, whether he did not do right in
reputing fuch Men for his own Enemies, whilft they continued to be his. Laftly,
he concludes the Hymn, with begging of God to examine his Heart, (Per. 22.)
and try his Sincerity ; and, if he found him (Per. laft) walking in a wicked Way,
to take him out of it, and lead him into the Way of his Commandments,

D2 NOTES

28 NOTES ON THE
CXXXIX PSALM.

4

i Pfalm of David.) In the Hebrew and all the ancient Verfians, this Pfalm bears the
Name of David, as the Author of it ; and indeed the Compofition is fo excellent,
as to be every Way worthy of the fweet Pfalmift of Ifrael. However, fome learned- Men
difpute his Title to it; and, becaufe two or three Chaldee Words are. found in it, deter
mine it to have been wrote after the Babylonifh Captivity. But before this Argument can
be allowed to be conclufive, thefe two Points ought to be decided, Firft, that no Chaldee
Words are to be met with in thofe Scriptures, which were confeffedly wrote before the
Captivity. And fecondly, that the few Words in Queftion are not Hebrew as well as
Chaldee. The firft, I think, they will never go about to decide. And the fcanty Remains
of the Hebrew Language will perhaps put it out of their Power to decide the fecond. As
to the additional Title, OfZechariah in the Captivity, which is found in fome Copies of
the Seventy, it feems to have been fubjoined to the Hebrew Title by a private Hand,
from a Tradition probably, that this Pfalm was on fome Occafion ufed by Zechariah du
ring the Captivity. But which ever Way the learned determine this, whether it was wrote
by David, or by fome later infpired Penman, the Senfe of the Pfalm is not, in my Opi
nion, affe&ed by it : Since it only contains a devout Meditation on the Perfections of
God, and a zealous Declaration of Diflike to thofe, who thought difhonourably of Him,
and ufed his Name and Religion with no other Defign, than to carry on their Wicked-
nefs more fuccefsfully.
Per. i. Lin. 3. Long before) The Word in the Original is ufed of Diftance of Place,
as well as of Time. If Diftance of Place be meant here, then it muft be rendered from
afar, to this Senfe; Though thau, O Lord, be in Heaven moft high, yet from that
immenfe Diftance thou obferveft my inmoft Thoughts and Defigns. In this Senfe the
Worff is ufed Pfal. cxxxvm. 6.
Though JEHOVAH be high, yet he looketh down upon the lowly j
Though he be exalted, yet he regardeth him from afar.
But if the Pfalmift means to exprefs the fame Thing with regard to oar Thoughts, aa
he does Per. 3d, with regard to our Words, then Diftance of Time muft be underftood
here, as I have tranflated it.
Per. 3. Lin; r. Before my Speech is upon my Tongue) Or, When the Speech is not yet upon
my" Tongue.
Per. 4. and 5.) Lhave changed the Order of thefe two Periods. And if the Reader will
©bferve, how naturally the 4th Period clofes what the Pfajmift had been fpeaking of, the
Omnifcience of God; and how properly the 5th Period begins what he is going to fay
of his Omnipotence and Omniprefence ; and at the fame time will take Notice ©f the
ftridl Connexion there is between the 5th and four following Periods, he may poffibly
think that in our prefent Hebrew Copy thefe two Periods are tranfpofed.. — It is no un
common Thing for Tranfcribers to tranfpofe a Period or a Line ; and the~Want ©f Con
nection, which is frequently obfervable in the poetical Scriptures, is undoubtedly owing
fbmetimes to this. I will lay before the Learned an Inftance of each, to which, I am per-
fuaded, they cannot deny their AfTent. In Pfalm x xxi v. the Connection of four Periods
is broken by a Tranfpofition of the i6<* Period. After reftoring this toits proper Place,
let the Reader perufe the Paflage, and judge for himfelf.
Depart from EVIL, and do Good ;
Seek Peace, and purfue it :
For the Face of JEHOVAH is againft them that do EVIL,
To cut off the Remembrance of them from the Earth. But

N O T E-S ON P S A L. CXXXIX. 29
But the Eyes of JEHOVAH are upon the Righteous,
And his Ears are open to their CRY :
They CRY, and JEHOVAH heareth them-;
And delivereth them out of all their Diftreffes.
If it be faid, that this is an alphabetical Pfalm ; and therefore the Period cannot be
tranfpofed, becaufe it comes in the natural Order of the Alphabet, which Order is in
variable. 1 anfwer, that with regard to the Letters in Queftion, Gnain and Pe, this Order
is not invariable ; and refer the Reader for Satisfaction to the Lamentations of Jeremiah ;
where, in three alphabetical Chapters out of four, he will find Pe preceed Gnain. And
therefore the Hebrew Poets had a Licence of placing either of the two Letters firft, as
they pleafed. If fo, the Connection indifputably fhews, that Pe was placed by David
before Gnain ; which is the Order in which I have replaced it. —And as the Tranfpo
fition of a Period fometimes breaks the Connection, 'at others the mifplacing a Line does
the fame. In Chap. VII. of the Song of Solomon, a Line which belongs to the beginning
of the 4th Period, is tranfpofed to the end of the 5th ; where all the Commentators are
puzzled (as well theyjnay be) what to make of it. If we reftore the Line to its proper
Place, all the Perplexity will vanifh, and the Senfe be explained by comparing it with
Chap. IV. 4. Thy Neck is like1 the Ivory Tower
Of the King furrounded with Galleries.
If any one will be at the Trouble to reduce the 4th and 5th Periods to Metre, he will
need no Arguments to perfuade him that the laft Verfe is mifplaced ; nor any after this, I
fhould think, to convince him, that Bp. Hare's Metre, which points out the Tranfpo
fition intuitively, is the true Metre. At leaft, Difcoveries of this kind, which are folely
owing to the Metre, will counterbalance all Prejudice raifed againft ft, and difpofe Men
to give the Arguments in favour of it a fair Hearing. And if thefe be fairly attended to,
they muft in the:End prevail. For my part, I can as eafily conceive that a Key fhould
open a thoufand Locks which it was never made for, as that any Metre fhould clear .the
numberlefs Paflages which Bp. Hare's does, and yet not be the true Metre..
Per. 6. Whither can I go — Or whither can Ifly—) This Period confifting of two Que
ries, I fhali'make upon them the two following Remarks — That the firft Query, Whi
ther can I GO, is carried on in the 8th Period, If I fhould GO up to Heaven, or GO ddwn~
io \ Hell. — — And that the fecond Query, Whither can I FLY, is carried on in the 9th,
If I fliould FLY to the Eaft, or SETTLE in the Weft. From the firft of thefe Remarks I
Jnfer, that the true Reading of the fecond. Verb in the 7th Period is'not ("K^tt Should I
make my Bed; but, as F. Houbigant has acutely obferved, HPlftt* Should I go down, which,
is agreeable to all the ancient Verfions. From the fecond, 1 infer, that nafa canpim in the
8th Period, is to take Wing or Flight.
Per.7. Lin.2. Or if 1. fhould go. down to Hell) The Oppofition between the two Parts-
of this Period neceffarily require, that Jiol fhould be rendered Hell. And it would be as
improper to tranflate it Grave in this Place, as to render «$«- by Grave in Matth.x1.23.
Per. 2.) If we compare the Structure of this Period With that of the foregoing, and
with the Verfion of the Seventy, we may obferve that itn has been dropped before the
firft Verfe, and a vau before the fecond. In the next place, if we compare the firft Verfe.
with the Greek Verfion, and a fimilar Place in Job xxxix. 26.
Is it by thy Wifdom that the Hawk flieth ?
Or that She directeth her Flight to the South ?
it will appear, that the Prepofition 7: has been dropped before fatar, and that the Word
before this has been pointed wrong by the Maforets, With thefe Emendations the.Period
will- run thus : im effa canpailefatar,
v'efcenah beatarit janr. Ibid

$Q NOTES ON P SAL. CXXXIX.
Ibid. Lin. i. To the Eafl) fatar fignifies the Morning, but is here by a f\daonymy put
for the Eafl; in the fame Manner as jam, which fignifies theSea3 is in the other Part of
the Period put for the Weft. The former is put for the Eafl, -becaufe the Morning firft ap
pears in the Eaft. The latter is put for the Weft, becaufe the Mediterranean Sea, which
was eminently called by the Jews?belSea, lay-on the Weft of Judea.
Per.io. Lip.i. jefupeni) This Verb occursbut in three .Places more; in the two-firft
of which, it is rendered to bruife, and in the laft to break; and indeed fee Seventy trari-
flate it to the fame Senfe in this. The Learned obfesving, that neither of thefe Senfes
fuited this Place, nor indeed any other Senfebut that of i?/JJK^, have borrowed this Senfe
fpr it from another Word. But how much better would it be,, to receive the right Read
ings, wfeich has no other Senfe,; than to retain the .wrong, and, borro.w feh Senfe, for it ?
This I make no Doubt will be granted me: And perfuade , myfelf it yr\ll be as readily
granted, thatjatficeni is the right Reading, after it has been obferyed, that jhe Pfalmift
ufes'this very Verb in the next Period to retract the Affertion, whicli he ;had advanced
in this. Forwhat is more common, than to ufe the fame Verb in advancing an Affertion,
which is ufed in retracting it ?
Ibid. Lin. i. or) If this Reading be true, the Pfalmift retracts in the fecond Part of
this Period the Affertion which he advanced in the;firft. But this cannot be: becaufe
gam, even, which begins the next Period, plainly fhews that he did not intend to retract
what he had advanced in this Period,, until the next: juft as this fame Particle which
begins the 10th Period, fhews, thatjhe did.not intend to anfwer either of the Queries pro
posed in the o^, until the 10th Period ; or therefore cannot be the true Reading. The
Chaldee Paraphraft had a different Word in his Copy, which he renders by dark ot4>lac&.
And that.this is the Senfe, which the Place requires, may be feen, 'by fetting each of
the Affertions retracted in Oppofition to thofe which are advanced.
/¦advanced, Doubtlefs the Darknefs .will hide me:
.„ . yretrflffed, , Even, Darknefs will not hide me.from thee.
' I advanced, Doubtlefs the Night lhalLbe black around me :
*-retrafted, Even the Night would fliine bright as the Day.
The next Enquiry is, what the Hebrew Word was, which the Chaldee' Parxphxafc had
in his Copy. F. Houbigant thinks it was y\y : but it was more probably flB^N, Black-
nefs; firft, becaufe this Word isto be, found with lailah in Prov. VII. 9. and XX. 20 j
and fecondly, becaufe the Remains of it are to be found in the Word 'yfiH, and in the
Word following. The Aleph is the fame in both, the Jod has been lengthened into a,Vau,
the Shin has been changed into Rejh, the fecond Vau has been dropped, and the Nun has
got into the next Word, which fhould be read, not hayadeni but bavadi, as it is elfewhere.
Per. 12. Lin. 2. Thou haft covered me in my Mother's Womb) The Infant in the Wemb
is wrapped in two Membranes. Thefe (asBp. Patrick and Le Clerc obferve) are probably
the Covering of which the Pfalmift, fpeaks.
Per. 13. Lin. 1. val ci) The two following Emendations of F. Houbigant will, I con
ceive, approve themfelves to the Learned as foon as mentioned. Vql ci no where occur
together as a Hebrew Particle,; »«/ therefore can have no Place here. Inftead of val, the
ingenious Father reads el, 0 Gad, which. is as neceffary here, where the Pfalmift offers up
his Praifes to God, as in the i6th,Period, .where he appeals to God for the Delight he took
in meditating on his Perfections. See likewife Per. 22.  In the next Place, for niphti,
which has not the Senfe of farming required in this Place, the learned Father, agreeably
to the Arab, and Syr. Verfions, reads niptalfi which has this Senfe. ~ — The two Words
were originally wrote thus Tity^ "?tf : but the former Word having been wrote in the
Line above exactly over the latter, the Aleph by fome Accident got into the Word below,
and the Gnain into the Word above ; and the two Words became *fW?i)3 "?J?, as they
are now wrote in two MSS. mentioned by F. Houbigant. After this, the Aleph was changed
into a Jod, and hence the prefent corrupt Readings. Per.

NOTES ON PSAL. CXXXIX. 31
Per. 14-iLin.i. My fnbftance) The Word rendered my fubjlance, may more pro
perly be rendered my Bone, or in the plural, as Aquila renders it, my Bones. Hence I fuf-
pect that it has changed Place with the firft Word of the next Period, namely, with
golmi, my fhapelefs Mafs. The Reafons which induce me to think that golmi, my fhapelefs
Mafs, originally belonged to this Period, are, firft, becaufe it was naturalfor the Pfalmift
to fpeak of the Embrio before he fpake of the Bones; and fecondly, becaufe, the Word
in its primary Senfe fignifying a Clew, of Silk or Worlted for inftance, the Metaphor is
juftly carried on in the Verb curioufly wrought, or embroidered, which follows in this Pe
riod'. In the next place, yazjnai, my Bones, muff, I think, have originally belonged to the
next Period ; firft, becaufe there are four Plurals, which require a plural Noun to agree
with them; and fecondly, becaufe there is no making, Senfe of the Period without fup-
plying my Members, -which would be unneceflary if yai^nai belonged to it.
Ibid. Lin. 2. & 3. While I was formed in the fecret Place- -* in the lower Parts of the
Earth) The lower Parts of the Earth, which fignify the Sepulchre, are here made equiva
lent to the fecrei Place, or the Womb ; becaufe the Womb is confidered as a kind of
living Sepulchre fo the Infant before it comes into the World. Hence, when Chrift is
faid, Eph. IV. 9. to defcehd into 'the lower Parts of the Earth, this may mean the firft
Step of bis Humiliation, namely, his Incarnation in the Womb, as well as the laft, name
ly, nis Defcent into the Sepulchre ; or rather it may include both, and fo be intended to
exprefs the whole of his Humiliation ; the two principal Parts of1 a Thing being fre
quently put for the whole. On the other hand, the Sepulchre from which Chrift was
raifed, is confidered as a kind of Womb from which he was born, when he is called The
FIRSTBORN from the Dead. And ' hence arifes the Propriety of the prophetick Lan
guage, Thou art my SON, this Day have I BEGOTTEN thee; which is faid, Ads XIII.
33. to be fulfilled in Chrift, when he was raifed from the Sepulchre.
Per. 15. Lin. 4. And not one of them was omitted) that is, to be regifired. The Verb in
the Original has been dropped: What it was, I can no ways conjecture; but have fup
plied emitted, which the Senfe feems to require, and which, I find, was fupplied by Dr.
Hammond before me.
Per. 16.) This Period in the Original begins with uli, and unto me. But who does not
(ee, that it is as improper for the Hebrew, as for the Englifli Period, to begin in this
Manner. In other places the Particle mah, how, begins the Interrogatory Sentence; and
fo it fhould here. Li alfo ought to follow jakeru, as it does elfewhere ; and both fenfe
and Metre fhew the Vau prefixed to it to be redundant. — Li, very probably, was omit
ted in tranfcribing, and placed in the Margin with the fame Letter prefixed to it,
through miftake, which ends jakeru : hence came uli. And the^next Tranfcriber, not
obferving where it had been omitted, might place it at the beginning of the Period ; and
hence the faulty Pofition of this Word.
Ibid. How precious unto me, O God, are the Thoughts of thee!) That is, how delight
ful and improving are fuch Meditations as the foregoing,, concerning thy Perfections, O
God, and concerning thy wonderful Formation of me! If the Reader will compare this
Period with the next, and likewife obferve how plainly the latter paft of the ig'h Pe
riod is oppofed to this, he may poffibly think that I have given the right Senfe of it. It
is true, David, Pf.XL.5. fpeaks of God's Thoughts, confeffing that they are innumera
ble. But this is no Reafon why he fhould not be fpeaking here of his own. Befides, the
Word rendered Thoughts in that place is different, and it is exprefsly added there, to
wards us.
Ibid.Lin.2. How numerous are the Occdfions of them!) The Pfalmift's Meditations
upon God were as numerous, as the Mercies and Providences which gave Occafion to
them ; or rather, like thefe, they were innumerable. — ; — Le Clerc confeffes, that he does
not know a fingle Text where rof in the plural fignifies a Sum ; which is a ftrong Pre-
fumption, that this is not the Meaning of it here. It feems to me in this place to fignify,
either'in one Senfe of the Word, the Heads or Subjeils which exercifed the Pfalmift's
Thoughts j or in another, the Beginning, Origin, or vjhat gave Rife and Occafion to his
Thoughts,

32 NOTES ON PSAL. CXXXIX.
Thoughts. It is in one of thefe Senfes that the Pfalmift ufes it, P£CXIX.l6o; but in
wh.ich, let the Reader judge.
The Origin, or Subject of thy Word is Truth ;
And all thy Judgments are Righteoufnefs for ever.
The laft of thefe Lines I render thus ; becaufe from comparing this Period with the
I42d, the true Reading of it feems to be, uleirolam col mifpaUca sjdek.
Per. 17. Lin. 2. Whenever I awake, I am conflantly thinking of thee) Hebr. / awake, and
flill am with thee, that is, in Thought and Meditation. The meaning is, I meditate on
thy Mercies and Providences as conftantly and regularly, as the Morning returns. — —
When a literal Tranflation will not convey the Meaning of the Hebrew, il is allowable
to place it in the Margin, and to fubftitute Words that will ; which is fometimes done
by our own Tranflators.
Per 18. Lin. 2. Let thofe impious Men depart from me) Hebr. And ye Men of Blood de
part from me. Since the Senfe of the Pfalmift is not compleated in this Period, but car
ried on through the next in the third Perfon, I have in this changed the fecond Perfon
into the third, as the Chaldee Paraphraft and Syriac Tranflator have done before me:
Though I am inclined to think, the Verfe originally flood thus, anfi damim jafuru menni.
Ibid. Impious Men) Hebr. Men of Blood, that is, Men, whofe Blood is due to Juftice
for their Crinies: for fothis phrafe is fometimes underftood. The Character given of
them in the next Period, denominates them impious Men rather than Murtherers. Ac
cordingly the excellent Muis tells us, that the Pfalmift mean3 fuch as deferved Death for
their Impiety. And the Chaldee Paraphraft has it, Let the Men devoted to the Judgment
if Death depart from me. In other Places of the Pfalms thefe Men are defcribed, as think
ing that God is altogether fuch a one as themfelves, and as impioufly crying out, How
fhould God know ? Is there knowledge in the moft High ? Here they are reprefented, as
availing themfelves of his Name and Religion, to carry on their mifchievous Defigns
more fuccefsfully.
Per. 19.) No one has yet been able to make a clear and confiftent Senfe of this Period.
The Reafon is, a Letter in the laft Word of it has been tranfpofed, which has embar-
raffed all the Commentators. If for *}HJ? we read *pjn» (which Word has been ufed in
this Pfalm twice before (Per.i.& 17.) the two parts of the Period will exactly corref-
pond; afer,, which begins it, will be the Nominative Cafe to both the Verbs, as it was
natural to expect it fhould be ; and we fhall have no Occafion to fupply after the fecond
Verb an Accufative, as all Interpreters have been obliged to do. —As nafa canpim in the 8th
Period fignifies, to take Wing, or to fly, fo in this, nafa reyim fignifies, to take Thought, or
to think ; and with the Addition of the Pronoun, to think of thee, as I have rendered it.
The Tranfpofition and Change of a Letter in one Word will fet right a Paflage in
Prov. XX. 16. & XX VII. 13. If for -JJ?1 we read TfOm the Participle Benoni, the
Senfe will be eafy, and the Period with this Alteratio»ntnus,
lekat bigdo ci yarab %ar:
veyoreb nocriah tabbelehu.
Take his Garment to pledge, who is furety for a Stranger:
But take the Man himfelf, who is furety for a ftrange Woman.
" Haft thou any Concerns with a Man, who is fo utterly void of Difcretion, as to be
Surety for a Woman, who leayes her Country to abandon herfelf to Lewdnefs ; if thou
wouldft be fecure, truft not to any Pledge, nor be content with any Thing lefs than
the Man's Perfon in thy Cuftody," The Prepofition beyad cannot be the true Reading
in this Place ; firft, becaufe it is no where conftrued with sarab ; and fecondly, if it was,
it fhould have come before the firft fubftantive, zar, and not before the Second, nocriah.
On the other hand, if vober be the true Reading, there is no Occafion for a Prepofition
before the fecond fubftantive, as there is none before the firft. A T> r» n XT

( ii )

APPENDIX.
AFTER the foregoing Sheets were fent to the Prefs, I met with
Dr. Sykes' Paraphrafe on the Epiftle to the Hebrews; in the In
troduction to which he has given an Explanation of the cxth Pfalm. His
Remarks upon it are very ingenious; but did not, I muft own, afford
me the Satisfaction I expedted. This Pfalm is indeed, as theDoftor ob-
ferves, one of the moft difficult in the whole Collection. But have not
its Difficulties been increafed by the injudicious method, which Com
mentators have taken to get clear of them ; that is, by blending the li
teral Senfe with the Jfyiritual, which ought to have been kept diftinc\ ?
For my part, I have often thought fo; and am perfuaded, that the
Dodtor would have fucceeded better in his Explication, if he had not fal
len into the fame Miftake. This it was, that induced me to draw up
(as well as the little Time I had, would permit) the following Verfon
and Commentary upon it, in the literal Senfe j and to fubjoin it, as no
unfuitable Appendix, to the other Pieces in this fmall Collection.
The Pfalm contains a Prophecy concerning the MESSIAH. And
the literal Senfe is conveyed under one continued and confiftent Image,
of a mighty Warrior, taking Poffeffion of a Kingdom, and going forth
with his loyal Subje&s to fubdue all thofe who oppofe his Government:
Which Image if the Reader will keep in View, he<annpt, I think,
eafily miftake the literal Meaning of this Pfalm. And when this is once
difcovered, it may not be difficult to afcertain the fpiritual Meaning.

E A NEW

( 34)

A
NEW VERSION
OF THE
CX PSALM.
A PSALM OF DAVID.
j TE H 0 VAH faid unto my Lord,
^J Sit thou on my right Hand, till I make
Thine Enemies thy Fbotftooi.
' 2 JEHOVAH fhall deliver unto thee
The Scepter of thy Power out of Sion :
Rule thou in the midft of thine Enemies.
3 Thy People fhall freely offer themfelves
On the Day when thou fhalt aflemble thy Forces-
Upon the holy Hills. The Youth of thine Army
Shall be like the Dew from the Womb of the Morning-..
4 JEHOVAH hath fworn, and will not repent,.
Thou art a Prieft for ever,
After the Order of Melcbizedek. COMMENTARY.
A Prophecy -of David concerning the MESSIAH.
JEHOVAH, the Father, admits the MESSIAH, his Son, (Per.i.) to be
Partner of hisThrone : prefents him (Per. 2 J with theEnfign of Royal Com-
- mand, and gives him Authority to rule over his Subjects. When the MESSIAH
affembles his Forces (Per. 3.) to reduce thofe to his Obedience who will not receive
him for their King, his loyal Subjects fhall readily Join him, and compofe an Army,
as numerous as theDrops of MorningDew. JEHOVAH inverts the MESSIAH,
not only with fupreme Command, but (Per. 4.) with an everlafting Priefthood; who-

A NEW VERSION OF PSAL. CX. 35
5 The Lord on thy right Hand, O JEHOVAH,
Shall fmite Kings in the, Day of his Wrath.
6 He fhall execute Judgment amongft the Heathen ¦;
He fhall fill the Field of Battle with dead Bodies ;
He fhall fmite the HEAD of many Countries.
7 He fhall drink of the Brook in the Way;
Therefore fhall he lift up his Head.
COMMENTARY.
who (Per. 5, and 6.) fhall march forth to execute Vengeance on thofe Countries
and Potentates, who will* not have Him to reign over them, carrying Death and
DeftrudYion wherefbever he marches : and who fhall afterwards, in recompence
for his wearifome Expedition, (Per. laft) reafcend his Throne in Triumph, and
reign fupreme over all.
The fpiritual Senfe of the CX PSALM.
THIS Prophecy of David was fulfilled in JESUS, when he rofe from the
Dead, afcended into Heaven, and fat down on the right Hand of his Fa
ther ; from thenceforth expecting till all his Enemies be made his Footftool,
that is, till Satan, the Prince of this World, be confined for ever to the bottom-
lefs Pit, till all the perfecuting Powers ©fit be deftroyed, and till Death and the
Grave fhall be no more. Per. 1.
.The Kingdom, to which he was advanced, was a Spiritual Kingdom.
The Scepter, with which he was prefented in the Heavenly Sion, was, All
Power in Heaven and on Earth, to be employed for the Protection of his Sub
jects, and the Deftruction of his Enemies. Per. 2.
The Laws of his Kingdom were the Laws of the Gofpel, which were to be
publifhed from Jerufalem. They who freely offered themfelves to publifh his
Laws, and gather Subjects into his Kingdom, were the Apoftles and firft Preach
ers of his Gofpel; who waited at Jerufalem, till they were invefled with Power
from on high to execute their Commiflion. The Touth of his fpiritual Army, were
the firft Converts to Chriftianjty -, three thoufand of whom were made by St.
Peter's firft Sermon, delivered from one of the -holy Hills. And when his Apof
tles and Converts went forth among the Heathen to fubdue and reduce them to
the Obedience of Faith, they fpread his Gofpel over the World -in a few Years,
and gathered into his Kingdom Multitudes of Subjects out of every Nation un
der Heaven. Per. 3.
Ar the fame time that JESUS was feated on his Throne as King, he was
made High Prieft in the heavenly Sanctuary, to interceed for his People and be
*heir Advocate with the Father. Per. 4.
The Scepter was given. him, as Well for the Deftruction of his Enemies, as
the Protection of his Subjects. When therefore the Potentates of the Earth
n op-

36 NOTES ON PSAL. CX.
©ppofed his Gofpel, and perfecuted its Publifhers, he deftroyed them with the
Breath of his Mouth; firft, by pouring out his Wrath on Judea, in the Excifion
of its Inhabitants and the Subverfion of its State : and afterwards, by executing
his Vengeance on the perfecuting Powers of the Heathen World, as they rofe
up to oppofe the Advancement of his Kingdom. Per. 5. and 6.
When JESUS fet out upon his Warfare againft the Enemies of our Sal
vation, he drank deep of the Cup of Sorrow and Sufferings: But in reward for his
Humiliation, he is highly exalted at the right Hand of God; that all fhould ho
nour the Son, even as they honour the Father. And from hence he calls out to his
Followers ; To him that over cometh, will I grant to fit with me on my THRONE ;
even as I overcame, and am fet down with my Father on HIS THRONE. Per. laft.

NOTES ON THE
CX PSALM.
PER . 1 . Lin . 2. Sit thou on my right Hand) To fit on the Throne, and to reign, are in the
Hebrew Scriptures equivalent Expreffions. Hence it is, that fit in this Place means
reign, becaufe it is an elliptical Expreffion for fit an the Throne; And fo it is interpret
ed by St. Paul, 1 Cor. xv. 25. The Author of the Epiftle to the Hebrews too (if he was
not St. Paul) underftood it thus, Ch. 1,13. as appears from his contrafting this Paflage
to another cited from Pfalm xlv. 6. Unto the SON he faith,
Thy THRONE,. O Godr is for ever and ever;
A SCEPTER of Righteoufnefs is the SCEPTER of thy KINGDOM.
But unto which of the ANGELS faid he at any time,
SIT thou on my right Hand, i. e. REIGN along- with me;.
Till I make thine Enemies thy Footftool ?
Thus alfo in Pf. xxix* 10. and xlvii. 8. (if we may explain one part of the Period by
the other,) to^r on the Throne fignifies- to reign..
JEHOVAH SITTETH upon the WATERS above the Firmament j
And JEHOVAH fhall SIT KING for- ever.
God REIGNETH over the Heathen;
God SITTETH on his holy THRONE.
And thus Zechar. vi. it,, fitting on the Throner and ruling-, feem to be equivalent. He (the
MESSIAH) yflafl 'SIT and RULE upon his THRONE ; and he Jhallbe a Prieft upon his
THRONE. Which Words of Zechariah explain well thefe of the Pfalmift.
TT" S16 KingS °f the Eaft fometimes made their Sons Partners of their Throne ; and
thefe Words may allude to that Cuftom. If fo-, Sit on my right Hand, muft for this Rea-
f on alio mean, Sit on my Throne, and reign along with me.
Ibid. Liu. 3. Till I make thine Enemies thy Footftool) To make his Enemies his Footftool, is
in other Words, to give him the Necks of his Enemies to trample upon. Which was
another Cuftom of the Eaft (See Jofh. x . 24. j and fignifies, that all his Enemies fhould be
made fubject unto him. Per. 2;

NOTES ON PSAL. CX. 37
Per. 2. Lin. I. Shall deliver) This Verb in Pf.xvnr.l6.. fignifies to reach forth the
Hand, unlefs jado, Ms Hand, which is expreffed in the parallel Place, Pf. cxliv. 7. be
dropped. He reached forth his Hand from above, and laid hold of me;
He drew me out of many Waters.
Here alfo it fignifies to reach forth, or deliver.
Ibid. Lin. 2. The Scepter of thy Power out of Sion) JEHOVAH, who reigned between
the Cherubims in the Temple at Jerufalem or Sion, is reprefented as delivering to the
MESSIAH from thence the Enfign of royal Command. In the fame-Manner he is re
prefented, Pf. cxxvm. 5. as bleffing his People out of Sion.  The Patriarch Jacob,
prophecy ing that the Scepter, or fupreme Power, fhould not depart from Judah till the
MESSIAH came, conveys his Prediction under the Image of a Lyon, the King of
Beafts, couching upon a Scepter; whom none dare roufe up, to take it from him. Gen,
xlix. 9, andro. <
Judah is a Lyon's Whelp:
Thou art gone up, O my Son, from devouring the Prey.
He coucheth as a Lyon, and lieth down
As a Lyonefs; who fhall roufe him up?
The Scepter fhall not depart from Judah,
Nor the Ruler's Staff from between his Feet,
Until Shiloh, or He whofe Right it is^ fhall come ;
And him fhall Nations obey.
It is with Propriety therefore that the Pfalmift reprefents the Scepter as delivered out
of Sion (which was fituated in theTribe of Judah) to the MESSIAH; who, Revel, v. 5.
is, in Allufion to Jacob's Prophecy, called "the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah.  This
Prophecy of Jacob feems to have been fulfilled, when the Scepter was delivered to
the MESSIAH; which was at his Refurredrion. , If fo, the Interval between that and
the Deftruction of the Jewifh State, which was more than thirty Years, was rather
Time gracioufly allowed the Jews, to acknowledge him Who was poffefTed of the Scep
ter, than a Continuance of the fupreme Power in their Hands.
Per. 3. Lin. 1. Thy People fhall freely offer themfelves) Jos. Mede has ohferved in his-
XXVIIth Difcourfe, that yammeca nedabot is an elliptical Expreffion for yammeca yam neda-
boi. The Metre requires a Word of one Syllable to compleat the Verfe ; and there
fore very probably the Word which this great Man fupplies, did originally belong to the
Text. However, whether it originally belonged to the Text, or is, by the Rules of the
Hebrew Language, to be -fupplied, the literal Senfe of the Words is. Thy People fhall'
be a People of Voluntarineffes, or, Thy People fhall freely offer themfelves, that is, as Volun-
tiers in thy Service. So thefe Words fignify Judg. v. 2, and 9 ; and the Context fhews, that
they ought to be fo tranflated here.
Ibid. Lin. 2. On the Day when thou fhall affimble thy Forces) Hebr. In the Day of thine
Army. The Chaldee Paraphraft has it, On the Day when thou Jhalt engage in Battle.
Ibid. Lin. 3. Upon the holy Hills) fhat is, upon the Hills of Sion and Moriah, on which.
Jerufalem, the holy City, was built ; according to the Pfalmift,
Her Foundation is upon the HOLY HILLS:
JEHOVAH loveth the Gates of Sion,.
More than all the Dwellings of Jacob.
David having fpoken of the Army, in the ift Line of this Period; and of the Day
when it fhould aflernble, in the 2d ; fpeaks in this, of the Place of Rendezvous, namely,
the holy Hills. The Maforetical 'Copy indeed reads £Hp HT!"0 '» the Beauties ofHoli-
nefs, which has given Birth to many idle Interpretations, and has led the Commentators to

38

NOTES ON PSAL. CX.

to mix the literal Senfe of this Period with the fpiritual. How much better is it to read
t!Hp *Tin3> on the Hills of Holinefs, as thefe two HebrewWords occur together in Pf.87.
I. and as Symmachus and St. Jerom read them here ; the former rendering them a oeeo-iv *yi-
015, the latter in montibus fantlis? All the Difference between thefe two Readings lies in
two fimilar Letters, which in Print are fcarce diftinguifhable from each other; much
lefs, in Manufcript.
Ibid. The Youth of thine Army) Hebr. Thy Youth. The Hebrews frequently ufe the
Abftractforthe Concrete. Thusjudg. v. 12. Leadthy CAPTIVITY captive, is ufed for
Lead thy CAPTIVE S captive. So here, Thy YOUTH, is put for Thy YO UNG
MEN.
Ibid. Lin.4. The Youth ef thine Army fhall be like the Dew, kc.) David having fpoken of
the Army, and of the Day and Place of Rendezvous in the former Part of the Period, de-
fcribes in the latter, the State and Condition of it, namely, that it fhould confift of youth
ful and brave Soldiers, and that the Forces of it fhould be as numerous -as the Drops of
Morning Dew.
Hufhai in his Advice to Abfalom ufes the fame Comparifon, 2Sam. xvn. 11, 12. Let
all Ifrael be gathered together unto thee, from Dan. even to Beer-Jheba — and we will encamp
againfl David with Forces as numerous as the Dezv which falleth upon the Ground. — This
Comparifon of the Pfalmift, which is loft in the Maforetical Text, Bp. Hare has nobly
retrieved, only by reftoring the Word, tal, Dew, to its proper Place.
Ver. ^.JEHOVAH hath fworn,Thou art a Priejl,$cc.) AnAppointment to the Priefthood
does not break -in upon the Image, which I have mentioned as running through this Pfalm :
for of old the Priefthood was confiftent with regal Dignity. The two Characters were
united in Melchizedek for inftance, after whofe Order the ME S S IAH is here appointed
Prieft.  This Period, it muft be confefled, comes in very abruptly, where it ftands at
prefent. I am apt to think, it originally followed the 2d Period, where it would come
more properly. At leaft this is certain, that the MEUS J AH, in whom this Prophecy
was fulfilled, was made Prieft after the Order of Melchizedek at the fame time that the
Scepter was delivered to him. In the next place, the 3d Period would very naturally
introduce and connect with the 5th ; whereas it has no Connection with the 4th.But let the
Reader determine.
Ibid. Lin. 2. Thou art a Prieft for ever) As the MESSIAH had no PredecefTor io
his Priefthood, fo he was to have no Succeffbr; but was to be a PrieJl forever. Which
was, and could only be fulfilled in JESUS when he rofe from the Dead, that is, when he
was poflefled of Life for ever. As therefore his Priefthood commenced at his RefurreSlion,
it is with the utmoft Propriety, that the Author of the Epiftle to the Hebrews, . Ch. v. 5.
cites from the 2d Pfalm this Prophecy, Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee; which
was fulfilled in JESUS' RefurreSlion, to convince them that he was called of God to be a
JPrieft. Dr. Sykes, in his Note on Hebr. V. 5. tells us, that thefe Words, Thou art my Son,
.to-day have I begotten thee, convey to us no Idea of a RefurreSlion, nor of any Priefthood.
To an Englifh Reader perhaps they may not: but the Queftion is, Whether they did not
convey fuch Ideas to the Jews, when quoted from one of their Prophets to convince
them, that their MESSIAH was to rife from the Dead, and that JESUS was called of
God to be a Prieft. That thefe Words conveyed to the Jews of Antioch, the Idea of -a
RefurreSlion, when quoted to this Purpofe by St. Paul, Actsxni. 33. cannot be doubted
if it be only fuppofed, that they underftood the Propriety of their own Scriptures. See
Note on the 14th per. 0f tne cxxxixth Pfalm. And if thefe Words conveyed to the
Jews of Antioch the Idea of a RefurreSlion, they would likewife convey to the Hebrews
the Idea bf a Brief hood, when quoted to prove that JESUS was called of God to be a
PrieJl: Be,caufe they knew from the 4th Per. of the cxth Pfalm, that their MESSIAH
was to be a Prieft for. ever : And if a Prieft for ever, that then his Priefthood, his Call
and Confecratibn to it, muft commence at his RefurreSlion, when he was to live for
ever. Per.

NOTES ON PSAL. CX. 39
Per. 5. Lin. I. The Lord on thy right Hand,) that is, the MESSIAH, whom JEHO
VAH is faid, Per. I. to have placed at his right Hand. Since David ufeth the fame
Words in both thefe Periods, he muft mean the fame Perfon: In this Period therefore
by afudden Apoftrophe he addrefles himfelf to JEHOVAH. The Apoftrophe'is very
common amongft Eqftern Writers: but as it is not fo amongft us, I have added in Italicks*
O JE HO VAH, to fuggeft it.
Ibid. Lin. 2. Shall fmite Kings in the Day of his Wrath.) Kings in the prophetick
Language fignify any Perfons in Power, whatever their Titles be. Thus in Pf. 11- 2.
Kings are made equivalent to Rulers,
Why do the KINGS- of the Earth aflemble,
And the RULERS combine againft JEHOVAH andagainft his Anointed?
and Thefe are interpreted by the Apoftles,< Acts iv. 27. of Herod the Tetrarch, Pontius
Pilate,, and the Rulers of the Jews. From hence then, and from comparing thefe Words
with David's Advice to the fame Perfons in that Pfalm,. which is looked upon to have fome
Affinity with this, Be wife now therefore, O ye KINGS,
Kifs, or pay Homage to, the SON, left he be ANGRY:
I am inclined to think, that the Kings, whom the MESSIAH is here faid to fmite in the
Day of his Wrath, were the firft Perfecutors of JESUS and his Apoftles ; and more par
ticularly, the Rulers of the Jewifh State, who perifhed in the Subverfion of it. Thefe
laft, it is certain, fell Victims to the MESSIAH'S Juftice; and it was eminently the Day
of his Wrath when he fmote them, when he fent forth his Armies, deftroyed thofe Mur-
therers, and burnt up their City.
Per. 6. Lin. 1 and 2. He fhall execute Judgment amongft the Heathen; he fhall fill the
Field of Battle with dead Bodies) i.e. The MESSIAH fhall revenge the Blood of his Ser
vants upon the Heathen. For their Cruelty in perfecuting and deftroying his People, he
fhall raife. up others who fhall deftroy them in Battle. What is here briefly exprefled, is-
fully defcribed in Revelat. xix. from the 11th to the End. Out of his'ifee MESSIAH'S)
Mouth goeth a fharp Sword, that with it he fhould fmite the NATIONS, and he fhall
break them in pieces with a Rod of Iron  And an Angel cried with a hud Voice, faying
to All the Fowls that fly in the midft of Heaven, Come and gather yourfelves together to the
Supper of the great God: That ye may. eat the Flefh of Kings, and the Flefh of Captains,
and the Flejh of mighty Men, and the Flefh of Horfes and their Riders, and the Flejh of
all Men, both bond and free, both fmall and great— And thefe were flain by the Sword which
proceeded out of his Mouth : and all the Fowls were filled with their Flejh.
Our Tranflators feem to have been confcious, that a Word in the Original has been
dropped in this Period; for they have fupplied in Ttalicks the Places. The Chaldee Para
phraft fupplied or found in his Copy erez, the Land. L.Capel and Bp. Hare think, that
the Word geot, Vallies, has been dropped, becaufe of its Similarity to the Word follow-
ing. I have fupplied with Le Clerc, what feems moft fuitable to the Context, the Field
of Battle.
Ibid. Lin. 3. He fhall fmite the Head of many Countries) Hebr. He fhall fmite the Head
that reigneth {formalac is underftood) over a large Trail of Country. Thefe Words feem
more particularly to point at theRoman Emperors, who ruled over many Countries. And
they have "been fulfilled in the Deftruction of thofe amongft them, who perfecuted. the Dif-
ciples of JESUS : but will perhaps be more eminently fulfilled in the Man.of Sin, whom,
the Lord fhall confume with the Breath of his Mouth, and deftroy with the Brightnefs of his
Coming. 2 Thefl. 1. 8.
Per. 7. Lin. 1. He fhall drink of the Brook in the Way) The MESSIAH fhall be fo in
tent on purfuing his Enemies, that like a Conqueror on ahaftyMarch, he fhall not flop to
refrefh himfelf, but take up with a Draught of Water from the firft Brook he meets with.
on the Way. _, . ,
Ibid.

40 NOTES ON PSaL CX.
Ibid. Lin. I.He fhall lift up hit Head) This is fometimes expreffed more fully thus, He
fhall lift up his Head above all his Enemies round about him, that is, be fhall triumph over
•.them. N.B. In my Note on Per. 2d, I have rendered metokek (Gen. XLix. io.) by the Ru
ler's Staff, becaufe it is equivalent to jfibef Scepter, and therefore (as Bp. Hare obferves
in his Note on Pf. LX. 7.) muft fignify an Enfign of Dignity and Command. So it
fignifies, Numb. xxi. 18. which Period, together with the foregoing, may be cleared
perhaps by the following Verfion.
Then Ifrael fang this Song concerning the Well,
They fang in Turns concerning it ;
The Princes dug the Well with the Lawgiver's Rod,
The Nobles of the People dug it with their Staves.
The Ifraelites feem to have obtained this Well of Water in the Wildernefs through
the Prayers of Mofes and- their Rulers. To do them Honour therefore, they poetically re-
prefent them in this Song, (or rather Fragment of a Song) as having dug it with the Rod
and Staves, which they carried in their Hands as Enfigns of Command. Hence too in
After-times this Well was called Beer-Elim, or the Well of the Mighty.
In the fame Note alfo, I have rendered yammim by Nations, including Gentiles as well as
Jews.

THE END,

A New Tranflation of the Song of Deborah,^ and of the Lamentation
of David over Saul and Jonathan, with a Commentary. To
which are added Notes critical and explanatory. By W. Green^ M. A„
Price One*fJhilling.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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