goodness, the holiness, the power of God, he bursts forth into a strain of praise and exultation: Thy ways, O God, are holy !' &c. We are at a loss which to admire most; the ease and grace with which the digression is made, the choice of the incidents, the magnificence of the imagery, or the force and elegance of the diction." Lowth, abridged.

1

I CRY unto God with my voice;

Even unto God with my voice, that he would give

ear unto me.

2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;

I stretch out my hands to him all the night long;
My soul refuseth to be comforted.

3 I remember God, and am troubled;

I think of him, and my spirit is overwhelmed.

4 Thou holdest mine eyes waking;

I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

5 I think of the days of old,

The years of ancient times.

6 I call to remembrance my song in the night;
I commune with mine own heart,
And my spirit maketh diligent search.
7 Will the Lord cast off for ever?
And will he be favorable no more?
8 Is his mercy clean gone for ever?
Doth his promise fail for evermore ?
9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious?
Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies ?
10 Then I say, This is my affliction,

A change in the right hand of the Most High.

11 I will remember the works of the Lord;

Surely I will call to mind thy wonders of old. 12 I will meditate of all thy work,

And talk of thy doings.

13 Thy ways, O God, are holy!

Who is so great a god as our God? 14 Thou art the God that doest wonders;

Thou hast manifested thy power among the nations. 15 Thou didst with thine arm redeem thy people. The sons of Jacob and Joseph.

16 The waters saw thee, O God!

The waters saw thee; they were afraid;
The depths also were troubled.

17 The clouds poured out water,

The skies sent out a sound;

Thine arrows went abroad.

18 The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven; Thy lightnings lightened the world;

The earth trembled and shook,

19 Thy way was in the sea,

And thy path in the great waters, And thy footsteps could not be found. 20 Thou leddest thy people like a flock, By the hand of Moses and Aaron.

PSALM LXXX.

THE structure of this psalm is very regular, and the recurrence of the refrain, in the third, seventh, and

Ver. 16-19. In these verses the passage through the Red Sea is poetically described. N.

The address to the

last verses, has a pleasing effect. Deity, in the first verse, "Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel!" is a fitting sequel to the closing verse of Psalm lxxvii., “Thou leddest thy people like a flock," &c. The allegory of the vine is extremely beautiful, and embellished with an interesting variety of particulars.

1 GIVE ear, O Shepherd of Israel,

Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock,

Thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth! 2 Before Ephraim, and Benjamin, and Manasseh, stir up thy strength,

And come and save us.

3 Restore us, O God!

Show us the light of thy countenance, and we shall be saved.

4 O Lord God of hosts,

How long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?

5 Thou feedest them with the bread of tears,

And givest them plenteousness of tears to drink.

6 Thou hast made us the object of strife unto our neigh

bors;

And our enemies laugh us to scorn.

Ver. 2. "Before Ephraim, and Benjamin, and Manasseh," &c. This alludes to the march through the wilderness, in which these three tribes always went together, as the descendants of one mother. Num. ii. 18-24. A. These three tribes represent the whole; Benjamin being incorporated with Judah, Manasseh comprehending the country beyond Jordan, and Ephraim all the rest. A. C.

7 Restore us, O God of hosts!

8

Show us the light of thy countenance, and we shall

be saved.

Thou didst bring a vine out of Egypt; Thou didst cast out the heathen, and plant it. 9 Thou preparedst a place for it;

It took deep root, and filled the land.

10 The hills were covered with the shadow of it, And the tall cedars with its branches.

11 She sent out her boughs unto the sea,

And her branches unto the river.

12 Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, So that all they which pass by do pluck off her grapes?

13 The boar out of the wood doth waste it,

And the wild beast of the field doth devour it.

14 Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts! Look down from heaven,

And behold, and visit this vine,

15 And the vineyard which thy right hand planted, And the branch that thou madest strong for thyself. 16 It is burnt with fire, it is cut down;

They perish at the rebuke of thy countenance. 17 Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand; Upon the man whom thou madest strong for thyself. 18 So will we not go back from thee;

Revive us, and we will call upon thy name.

Ver. 17.

"The man of thy right hand," i. e. the people of Israel collectively, or perhaps the prince of David's race, who was living with his countrymen in captivity.

19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts!

Show us the light of thy countenance, and we shall be saved.

PSALMS CXXIII. AND CXXX.

SEEKING REFUGE IN PRAYER.

Of the general treatment of the Hebrew captives we know little. There is bitterness enough in exile and captivity alone to account for all the sadness of their compositions of this era, without supposing any unnecessary aggravations of their lot. Some facts seem to show that they were not oppressively treated. "In general they were allowed to dwell together in considerable bodies, not sold as household or personal slaves; at least, not those of the higher order, of whom the captivity chiefly consisted. They were colonists, rather than captives, and became by degrees possessed of considerable property. There was one large settle. ment of them on the river Chebar, considerably to the north of Babylon, among whom dwelt the prophet Ezekiel, and uttered his splendid visions. Daniel, another distinguished exile, attained great distinction at the courts of successive monarchs who ruled in Babylon. It was probably through his influence that Cyrus at length issued the welcome decree commanding the restoration of the exiles to their native land.” Milman, abridged.