PSALMS VIII. AND XIX. CONTEMPLATIONS OF DAVID'S SHEPHERD LIFE. AN interval of five hundred years occurs between Psalm xc. and the following psalms. After the death of Moses, the Israelites entered the Promised Land, under the guidance of Joshua, and partially conquered it. They did not, however, so completely subdue the ancient inhabitants as to hold undisturbed possession. On the contrary, they were at times themselves under subjection to one or other of the nations among whom they had planted themselves. From time to time valiant leaders were raised up for them, who repulsed their enemies, and gradually gained them a predominance over the neighboring nations; but those nations were still formidable, and unsubdued at the time of David's appearance on the scene. He is first introduced to us as a youth, "ruddy and of a fair countenance," the youngest son of Jesse, and keeping his father's sheep. The occupation of a shepherd is that which the ancestors of the Israelites had followed from the earliest times. It is a pursuit favorable to contemplation and reflection. The science of astronomy is thought to have had its birth in those countries where shepherds, keeping their flocks by night, had abundant opportunity to watch the motions of the heavenly bodies, in the clear and dry atmosphere of the East. The cultivation of the musical art is also favored by the abundant leisure of the shepherd's life, and has always been considered characteristic of his calling. We may conceive, then, David, the young shepherd, as expressing the meditations of his nightly watches in the two following psalms. PSALM VIII. 1 O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is thy name in all the earth! 2 Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained praise, To put thine adversaries to shame, And to still the enemy and the revengeful. 3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, The moon and the stars which thou hast ordained; 4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him, And the son of man, that thou visitest him! 5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, And hast crowned him with glory and honor. 6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet; 7 All sheep and oxen, Yea, and the beasts of the field; Ver. 2. The meaning of this verse seems to be this: "Thou hast made thy glory so conspicuously evident in the heavenly bodies, that the feeblest minds are capable of appreciating it, and the most depraved minds cannot be insensible to it, nor argue it away." 8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, And whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. 9 O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is thy name in all the earth! PSALM XIX. 1 THE heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament showeth his handiwork. 2 Day unto day uttereth speech, And night unto night showeth knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. 4 Their sound is gone out through all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, 5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoiceth, as a strong man, to run his course. 6 His going forth is from the uttermost part of the heaven, And his circuit unto the ends of it; And there is nothing hid from his heat. 77 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple ; 8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; Ver. 4. "In them," i. e. the ends of the world, or the remotest part of the visible heavens. —“tabernacle,” i. e. a tent or dwelling. 9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever; The judgments of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold; yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey, and the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned; 12 Who can understand his errors ? Cleanse thou me from secret faults. 13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me: Then shall I be upright, And I shall be innocent from great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. PSALM XVI. DAVID'S EARLY LIFE AND GOOD RESOLUTIONS. THIS psalm exhibits to us David before he had left the tranquil occupation of his early days, but probably after prospects of a more public career had opened to him, by his being summoned by Saul to reside with. him, and employ his musical powers for his relief. He expresses a resolution to seek the society of the virtuous, and to abstain from intercourse with idolaters. He expresses satisfaction with his lot, and gives thanks to God, who gave it. He avows his confidence in God, in life and in death. Whether the last verses imply a belief in a future state is doubtful; but they are among the strongest passages to that effect to be found in the Old Testament. 1 PSALM XVI. PRESERVE me, O God! for in thee do I put my trust. 2 O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord; I have no happiness beyond thee! 3 The saints that are in the earth, and the excellent, In them is all my delight. 4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after other gods; Their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer, Nor take their names upon my lips. 5 The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup; Thou maintainest my lot. 6 The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; Yea, I have a goodly heritage. Ver. 6. "The lines are fallen," &c. David's native place was Bethlehem, about six miles south of Jerusalem. It lay in a very fertile district, on the declivity of a considerable ridge of hills. To its fertility it was indebted for its name, "bread city." Even now, though uncultivated for fear of the Bedouins, its environs |