srac an Our prey, and I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd, and I 500 the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them: "I the Lord have spoken it." Ez. xxxiv. 20, 22, 23, 24.; and again Ez. xxxvii. 21, 24, 25. Thus " saith the De Lord God, behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the "heathen whither they be gone, and My will gather them on every side, and m; bring them into their own land; and she David my servant shall be king over -ar 5. 7 **them, and they all shall have one shep"herd: they shall also walk in my judg*ments, &c. &c. and my servant David " shall be their prince for ever." The antient Jewish writers understood all these passages as looking forward to the Messiah. (2) "His dominion," &c. So in Ps. lxxii. 8. where the future success of the Messiah's kingdom is probably contemplated. " His dominion shall be also " from the one sea to the other, and from "the flood unto the world's end:" and Zech. ix. 10. "His dominion shall be " from sea even to sea, and from the " river even to the ends of the earth." (q) " Right hand," i. e. his power, his controul. (r) " My father," &c. So I Chron. xvii. 13, 14. where God promises to raise up David's seed after him, (perhaps alluding ultimately to the Messiah), he says, 66 "I will be his father, and he shall "be my son, and I will settle him in my "house and in my kingdom for ever: "and his throne shall be established for ever more;" and see 2 Sam. vii. 14. 1 Chron. xxii. 10. and Hebr. i. 5. (5) others, as the first-born is above his brethren. In Col. i. 15. our Saviour is called "the first-born of every crea"ture." "First-born," i. e. above all v. 28. (t) "His seed," and "his children," 0.30. 31. i.e. perhaps the professors of Christianity. See Is. liii. 10. (4) " His throne," &c. So in the 1.30. prophecy, Dan. vii. 13. (which refers to the Messiah) "Behold one like the Son "of Man came with the clouds of hea ven, and came to the antient of days,' (i.e. God) "and they brought him near "before him: and there was given him " dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, " that all people, nations, and languages "should serve him: his dominion is an " everlasting dominion, which shall not 6" pass away; and his kingdom that " which shall not be destroyed." And when the angel saluted the Virgin Mary, and foretold our Saviour's birth, he said of him, Luke i. 32, 33. "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of "the Highest, and the Lord God shall " give unto him the throne of his father " David; and he shall reign over the "house of Jacob for ever, and of his " kingdom there shall be no end." 2. 34, " fences with the rod, and their "sin with scourges. 33 "Nevertheless, my loving" kindness will I not utterly take " from him : nor suffer my truth " to fail. 34 43 Thou hast put out his glory : and cast his throne down to the ground. 44 The days of his youth hast thou shortened: and covered him with dishonour. 45 Lord, how long wilt thou hide thyself, for ever: and shall thy wrath burn like fire? "My covenant will I not " break (x), nor alter the thing "that is gone out of my lips : I " have sworn once by my holiness, that I will not fail David. | time is: wherefore hast thou made 66 35 " His seed shall endure for "ever: and his seat is like as "the sun before me. 36 "He shall stand fast for evermore as the moon; and as "the faithful witness in heaven." 37 37 But thou hast abhorred and forsaken thine anointed; and art displeased at him, 38 Thou hast broken the covenant (y) of thy servant : and cast his crown to the ground. 39 Thou hast overthrown all his hedges: and broken down his strong holds. 40 All they that go by spoil him: and he is become a reproach to his neighbours. 41 Thou hast set up the right hand of his enemies; and made all his adversaries to rejoice. 42 Thou hast taken away the edge of his sword: and givest him not victory in the battle. 46 O remember how short my all men for nought? 47 What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death : and shall he deliver (z) his soul from the hand of hell? 48 Lord, where are thy old loving-kindnesses: which thou swarest unto David in thy truth? 49 Remember, Lord, the rebuke (a) that thy servants have; and how I do bear in my bosom the rebukes of many people; 50 Wherewith thine enemies have blasphemed thee, and slandered the footsteps of thine Anointed: praised (b) be the Lord for evermore. Amen, and " will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me." Jer. xxxiii. 21, 22. (y) "The covenant," &c. i. e. thy assurance unto him. (z) Read "that shall deliver." (a) "The rebuke," &c. by speaking disrespectfully of God, and calling in question his power, from the sufferings of his people. See Ps. lxxix. 13. (b) "Praised," &c. is probably an adv. dition. This is the conclusion of the Third Book. (c) A humble acknowledgment that fuge: from one generation to another. 2 Before (d) the mountains were brought forth, or ever the earth and the world were made : thou art God from everlasting, Hand world without end. 3 Thou turnest man to destruction: again thou sayest, Come again, ye children of men. 4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday: seeing (e) that is past as a watch (f) in the night. 5 As soon as thou scatterest them(g) they are even as a sleep : and fade away suddenly like the grass. 6 In the morning it is green, - and groweth up: but in the evening it is cut down, dried up, and DE withered. 7 For we consume away in thy displeasure: and are afraid at thy wrathful indignation. 8 Thou hast set our misdeeds before thee : and our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. our lives depend on God, a thankful remembrance of his former protection, an exhortation to consider his power and conform to his will, and an earnest prayer for a return of his favour. It is supposed to have been written by Moses about 1450 years before the birth of Christ, when the Israelites were detained by God in the wilderness 40 years, till the persons who had seen his glory and miracles in Egypt and in the wilderness were dead. See note on Ps. xcv. 8. It is the first Psalm of the Fourth Book. (d) "Before," &c. See Prov. viii. 23.25. (e) For "seeing," the reading should probably be, "It is even as a watch in "the night." It is not because they are part that they are but as yesterday, for God knows what is to come as distinctly and completely as what is past. ("A watch," i. e. four hours. The night was divided into three watches. 9 For when thou art angry, all our days are gone: we bring our years to an end, as it were a tale that is told. 10 The days of our age are threescore years and ten; and though men be so strong, that they come to fourscore years: yet is their strength then but labour and sorrow; so soon passeth it away, and we are gone. 11 But who regardeth the power of thy wrath: for even thereafter as (b) a man feareth, so is thy displeasure. 12 So teach us to number our days: that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. 13 Turn thee again, O Lord, at the last: and be gracious unto thy servants. 14 O satisfy us with thy mercy, and that soon: so shall we rejoice and be glad all the days of our life. 15 Comfort us again, now after (i) the time that thou hast plagued us: and for the 2.15. in recompence for past sufferings you shall have a double portion of good. (k) "Years," &c. i. e. probably during the bondage in Egypt, and the wandering in the wilderness; near 400 years! (1) Upon the extent, &c. of God's protection. Bp. Patrick thinks this Psalm was written upon the dreadful pestilence in David's time, 2 Sam. xxiv. about 1017 years before the birth of Christ, to impress upon the minds of the people, from that awful calamity, the advantages of a reliance upon God. Bp. Smalridge says of it, that "it elegantly " sets forth the reliance upon God for "security in all dangers and distresses; "verse 1. stating the safety of those who "dwell under the defence of the Most ness and truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for any terror by night: nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6 For the pestilence that walketh in darkness : nor for the sickness that destroyeth in the noon-day. 7 A thousand shall fall beside thee, and ten thousand at thy right hand: but it shall not come nigh thee. 8 Yea, with thine eyes (n) shalt thou behold: and see the reward of the ungodly. 9 For thou, Lord, art my hope: thou hast set thine house of defence very high (0). 10 There shall no evil happen unto thee: neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 11 For (p) he shall give his angels charge over thee : to keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee in their "Thine house of defence very high," i. e. figuratively, thou puttest them whom thou protectest in a place above the reach of danger. (p) This is the passage Satan mentioned to our Saviour during his temptation in the wilderness, to induce him to throw himself from the pinnacle of the temple, that, by being miraculously preserved, he might satisfy himself he was |