have been composed by David on occasion of the victory over the Philistines and Moabites, recorded in 2 Sam. viii. 1, 2. Calmet, however, assigns it to the Captivity. But Hengstenberg with greater probability assigns it to the period of the destruction of the Assyrian host before the walls of Jerusalem, as described in Isa. xxxvii. Subsequent to the exode from Egypt there is no event in the Jewish history to which the words of the psalm correspond so well. Venema and Hitzig regard Isaiah as the author, which seems probable enough.

Verse 9. He breaketh the bow...cutteth the spear... burneth the chariot.'-This probably alludes to a custom

of collecting the arms and armour of the victors into a heap, and setting it on fire. This was particularly done when the victors were unable to remove them or so to dispose of them as to preclude the danger of their being again used against themselves. This was also a Roman custom, and is alluded to by Virgil. (Æn. viii. 560.) A medal struck under Vespasian to commemorate the termination of his wars, represents Peace holding an olive-branch with one hand, and in the other a lighted torch, with which she sets fire to a heap of armour. As a symbolical action, representing the conclusion of wars, this is very expressive.

PSALM XLVII.

The nations are exhorted cheerfully to entertain the kingdom of Christ.

To the chief Musician, A Psalm 'for the sons of Korah.

O CLAP your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.

2 For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.

3 He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet.

4 He shall choose our inheritance for us,

the excellency of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.

5 God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.

6 Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises.

7 For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding,

8 God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.

9 The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.

PSALM XLVII.-Most of the older commentators suppose this psalm to have been composed by David, and sung on the occasion of the removal of the ark from the house of Obed-edom to Mount Zion; but v. 3 would rather suggest that the occasion of the psalm was the overthrow of many heathen nations, leagued against Israel, by

the manifest interposition of God. It would seem therefore to apply either to the overthrow of Sennacherib's host, or, more probably, to the victory of Jehoshaphat over the confederated host of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, and Arabians, as described in 2 Chron. xx.

PSALM XLVIII.

The ornaments and privileges of the church. A Song and Psalm 'for the sons of Korah. GREAT is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.

2 Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.

3 God is known in her palaces for a refuge. 4 For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together.

5 They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away.

6 Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail.

7 Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.

1 Or, of.

8 As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah.

9 We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple.

10 According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness.

11 Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments.

12 Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof.

13 Mark ye well her bulwarks, "consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following.

14 For this God is our God for ever and ever he will be our guide even unto death.

PSALM XLVIII. This psalm also appears to commemorate some deliverance which the Lord granted to Jerusalem after it had been assaulted or threatened by some powerful confederacy. Some think that it refers to the ineffectual attempt of Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, king of Israel (Isa. vii.); but its occasion is more generally supposed to have been the victory which the Lord gave Jehoshaphat over the Moabites and Ammonites when the victors returned to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets' (2 Chron. xx). Calmet, Ewald, and others think this and the preceding psalm were composed for the dedication of the second temple.

Verse 2.Mount Zion.'-For a general statement concerning Mount Zion, see the note to 2 Sam. v.

We have already mentioned that Mount Zion is nearly excluded from the walls of the present city. That part which is within it is occupied by an Armenian convent, with its church and gardens. Chateaubriand describes the hill as of a yellowish colour and barren appearance, opening in the form of a crescent towards the city. From the top of the hill you see, to the south, the valley of BenHinnom; beyond this, the Field of Blood, purchased with the thirty pieces of silver given to Judas, the hill of Evil Counsel, the tombs of the judges, and the whole desert towards Hebron and Bethlehem: to the north, the wall of Jerusalem, which passes over the top of Zion, intercepts the view of the city, the site of which gradually slopes from this place towards the valley of Jehoshaphat.'

On passing from the city by the Zion gate, the first object that meets the eye is a large dingy-looking Turkish mosque, situated in the middle of Mount Zion, and called the Mosque of David, and believed to have been built over his tomb, which is still exhibited in the interior, and is held in the highest possible veneration by the Moslems as well

as by the Jews. The Santons belonging to this mosque are the most powerful in Jerusalem. Part of this building was anciently the church of the Conaculum, where it is said that our Saviour ate the Last Supper with his disciples. A large upper room in the front of the building is pointed out as the identical apartment in which that memorable event took place. A niche in the wall is indicated as marking the place where our Lord sat. This is now used as an altar by the native Christians in the celebration of some of their religious services. The Moslems also sometimes occupy this large room for their devotions, and they then turn towards another niche in the opposite wall which marks the Kebla or true direction of Mecca. To the right of this mosque, and between it and the city gate, there is a small Armenian chapel, said to be built on the spot where once stood the palace of Caiaphas. It is remarkable for nothing but an unpolished block of compact limestone, the same with the rock on which the city stands, and which is built in an altar at the upper end of it. This stone is alleged to be that with which the sepulchre of Christ was closed; and is kissed and caressed, like other precious relics, by the pilgrims.

The part of Mount Zion lying west of these religious edifices is occupied by several burying grounds, one of which contains some tombstones with inscriptions in the English language. A little to the south of this is shewn the spot where the Virgin Mary is said to have expired; and on the north side of the gate the place where the cock crew to Peter is pointed out.

These are the points of interest to which the local guides exclusively direct the attention of the pilgrim to Mount Zion. Dr. Richardson thus concludes his account of this interesting spot. At the time when I visited this sacred ground, one part of it supported a crop of barley; another

was undergoing the labour of the plough, and the soil turned up consisted of stone and lime mixed with earth, such as is usually met with in the foundations of ruined cities. It is nearly a mile in circumference, is highest on the west side, and towards the east falls down in broad terraces on the upper part of the mountain, and narrow ones on the side, as it slopes down towards the brook Kidron. Each terrace is divided from the one above it by a low wall, built of the ruins of this celebrated spot. The ter

races near the bottom of the hill are still used as gardens, and are watered from the pool of Siloam. They belong chiefly to the inhabitants of the small village of Siloa, immediately opposite. We have here another remarkable instance of the special fulfilment of prophecy::-"Therefore shall Zion, for your sake, be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps" (Micah iii. 12). See also the descriptions of Mount Zion furnished by Dr. Robinson in his Researches, and by Dr. Olin in his Travels.

PSALM XLIX.

1 An earnest persuasion to build the faith of the resurrection, not on worldly power, but on God. 16 Worldly prosperity is not to be admired.

To the chief Musician, A Psalm 'for the sons of Korah.

HEAR this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world:

2 Both low and high, rich and poor, together.

3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.

4 I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.

5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil: when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?

6 They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; 7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: 8 (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)

9 That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.

10 For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.

11 Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.

12 Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not he is like the beasts that perish. 13 This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.

14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their "beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.

15 But God will redeem my soul 'from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.

16 Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; 17 'For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away his glory shall not descend after him.

10.

18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.

19 "He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.

20 Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.

5 Or, strength. 9 Job 27. 19.

PSALM XLIX. Nothing is known, or conjectured with tolerable probability, concerning the author, time, or occasion of this excellent psalm. Calmet supposes of this, as well as of others with a similar superscription, that it was composed by (not for) one of the sons of Korah, during the Captivity, for the use and comfort of his captive brethren. Others ascribe it to David. Ten psalms bear the superscription For the sons of Korah:-but from the uncertainty of the prefixed preposition () it has always been doubted whether these psalms were written by or for them. It seems most probable that these psalms were composed by them, from certain peculiarities of style in which they agree with each other, and differ from the psalms which

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bear the name of David. Who the sons of Korah were is not very clear: but it is generally supposed that they were the descendants of that Korah, the distinguished Levite, who perished, in the rebellion in the wilderness, with Dathan and Abiram (Num. xvi.). It is certain from the record of that transaction, that all Korah's children did not perish with him; and we learn from 1 Chron. vi. 22, 37, that some of their descendants were among those who presided over the temple music. These circumstances strengthen the probability that to the descendants of those whom the Lord's mercy spared from the ruin of their father's house, we owe some of the most beautiful of all the divine songs which the book of Psalms contains.

PSALM L.

1 The majesty of God in the church. 5 His order to gather saints. 7 The pleasure of God is not in ceremonies, 14 but in sincerity of obedience. A Psalm 'of Asaph.

THE mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.

2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.

3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.

4 He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.

5 Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.

6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah. 7 Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God.

8 I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me.

9 I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds.

10 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.

11 I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are 'mine.

12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: 'for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. 13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?

14 Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most high:

15 And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

16 But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?

17 Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.

18 When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and 'hast been partaker with adulterers.

19 "Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.

20 Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's

son.

21 These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.

22 Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.

23 Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.

TITLE. The prepositional prefix rendered 'of' in the present superscription is the same (?) that is given as 'for' in that of the preceding psalm. The same considerations are therefore here applicable, and incline us to conclude that the psalms which bear the name of Asaph were written by him. Asaph is frequently mentioned in the historical books as the chief, or one of the chiefs, of the choirs of Israel in the time of David. The psalms ascribed to him are twelve (1. lxxiii.-lxxxiii.). Two of these however (lxxiv. lxxix.) could not have been written by him

7 Heb. that disposeth his way.

or in his time; as their contents evidently assign them to the period of the Captivity. The subject of Asaph's psalms are doctrinal or perceptive: their style, though less sweet than that of David, is much more vehement, and little inferior to the grandest parts of the prophecies of Isaiah and Habakkuk. The present psalm in particular is characterized by a very deep strain of thought, and lofty tone of sentiment. Bishop Lowth has some interesting observations on the poetical character of this psalm in his 27th Lecture.

PSALM LI.

1 David prayeth for remission of sins, whereof he maketh a deep confession. 6 He prayeth for sanctification. 16 God delighteth not in sacrifice, but in sincerity. 18 David prayeth for the church.

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, 'when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

HAVE mercy upon me, O God, according to

1 2 Sam. 12. 1, and 11. 2.

thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: 'that thou

2 Rom. 3. 4.

13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways;, and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

15 O LORD, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

TITLE. It is the general opinion that this pathetic psalm was composed on the occasion which the title indicates. It is so well suited to the circumstances, that the only doubt which has been raised on the subject proceeds from verses 18 and 19, which certainly seem, at the first view, more applicable to the time of the Captivity than to that of David. If no other reference could be found, we should rather incline to Venema's opinion that these two verses were added after the Jews had returned to captivity, than to that of De Wette and Hitzig, who assign the whole psalm to that period. These verses appear to have such a

want of connection with what precedes as strongly to sanction the former opinion. However, both these verses may have been written by David under some such interpretation as that which supposes him to refer to the completion of the walls which he had commenced, with perhaps a prospective reference in the last verse to that future temple in which he was so deeply interested.

Verse 7. Purge me with hyssop.'-The Psalmist here refers to the ceremonies used in the purification from leprosy, as described in Lev. xiv.

4 Thou lovest all devouring words, "O thou deceitful tongue.

5 God shall likewise 'destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.

6 The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:

7 Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his 'wickedness.

8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.

9 I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.