Old Testament; therefore, as the passage could not have had a present explication, it must have had one, which was prophetic; and that prophetic one must be the interpretation given in the Gospels 1.

The chief part of the Psalm is a faithful representation of Christ's sufferings, and is as minute as any part of Isaiah 2. From verses 20 to 30 the blessings procured by these sufferings, and the universality of them (27,) are powerfully described 3.

1

Ego dabo ei talentum, primus qui in crucem excurrerit,
Sed eâ lege, ut offigantur bis pedes, bis brachia.

-For offigantur some read obfringantur.

2 Vide ch. xlii. xlix. liii. of Isaiah. Obad. 21. Zech. xiv. 9.

3 Dathe, Jahn, and Hengstenberg conceive the meaning of the latter portion of the 30th verse to be, Dei erunt ut nova generatio ascripti,-i. e. in catalogum membrorum novæ Ecclesiæ referentur, which is the manifest sense, and establishes the preceding remarks.

The fortieth Psalm likewise pointed to the Messiah, and has considerable analogies to Psalms xvi. xxii. and Isaiah xlix. The verses 1-11. appear to allude to his glorification after the completion of his sufferings; and we are authorised in our interpretation of the Psalm by Heb. x. 5. et sqq., where the Apostle claims it, as a direct prediction of our Saviour. The Volume of the Book, at verse 7, about which some have idly disputed, was the roll of the Law or Pentateuch; and in corroboration of it the 5th chapter at the 39th verse, has been appropriately cited. The authority of the Epistle to the Hebrews shows, that this Psalm cannot in any way be explained by the history of David; and the 6th verse completely restricts it to Christ.

F

PSALM xli. 9.

JOHN xiii. 18.

The Son of Man was betrayed by Judas, one of his chosen disciples, and thus was the prediction of the forty-first chapter at the ninth verse fulfilled, though in the first instance it might have alluded to Ahithophel, in whom David trusted; for this counsellor was a type of Judas, as was David a type of Christ. The lifting up of the heel is a figure borrowed from wrestlers, who endeavour to throw each other down by drawing the heel forward, and thus, by a quick movement of the leg, tripping up their opponent.

PSALM XlV.

MATT. xxviii. 37, &c.

The whole of the forty-fifth Psalm refers to the Messiah. Nearly all the ancient Jewish writers agree on this point. St. Paul applies the sixth and seventh verses of this Psalm expressly to our Saviour; and in Heb. i. 8, 9. it is cited in proof of Christ's exaltation above the angels. Verses 2, 3, 4. prove it not to have been written of an earthly king; for when glory and majesty are thus united, they allude to the Divine Glory and Majesty'. To whom else but the Messiah could these words apply? "Thou art fairer than the children of men; grace is poured

1 See Psalms vi. xcvi. civ. 1. sqq.

into thy lips; therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most Mighty, with thy Glory and thy Majesty." The language is too exalted and majestic to have possibly had any fulfilment in an earthly king. It could only have alluded to "the King of kings, and Lord of lords." The war was a spiritual war, for which the sword was to be girt on the thigh; and the victory was to be gained, not by fleshly, but spiritual weapons. The fifth verse of the eleventh chapter of Isaiah is a good commentary upon it. "And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins." The sixth verse of this Psalm too can only apply to the Messiah '; but the strongest proof is in the seventh verse, where this King is actually addressed as God.

1

That the Psalm has not reference to an earthly bridal, as some have imagined, is evident from the eleventh verse, "The king shall greatly desire thy beauty, for he is thy Lord,"-an evident allusion to the marriage of Christ with his spouse, the Church. Countries, people, and cities were often called by the Hebrews "Daughter," thus Daughter of Sion, Daughter of Tyre. Thus the people in covenant with the Messiah are described as a bride, on the same figurative principles; and the 1 See Is. liii. 12. Ps. cx. 5. et sqq.

connection of Christ with his people is so described In the New Testament Christ calls

elsewhere1.

Himself the Bridegroom 2.

At verse 14" the virgins her companions," who are also to partake of the king's love, are the Gentiles, who are to enter into covenant with Christ. Tyre in this Psalm is placed for all the Gentiles, as being the richest of their cities, than which nothing is more usual *.

PSALM lxviii. 18.

ACTS ii. 1-4.

The sixty-eighth Psalm at the eighteenth verse, was literally fulfilled, when the Saviour, after having conquered the grave, sin, and misery, ascended to his Father. It was then, that He led captivity captive, by conquering those things that kept men prisoners. He received gifts for men, and gave these gifts, viz. those of the Holy Comforter, who should abide with us for ever, and He offered eternal salvation to "the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them."

1 See Is. li-liv. 5. Jer. iii. 1. Hos. i. iii. 3. Ezek. xvi. 23.

2 See Matt. ix. 15.

1 Cor. xi.

3 See Psalm ii. 8.

John iii. 39. Rom. vii. 4. Eph. v. 27.

Psalm 1xxii. 8.

See Psalm 1xxii. 10.

Is. lx. 6.

PSALM 1xix. 21.

MATT. xxvii. 34.

The vinegar, that the soldiers gave Christ to drink at his crucifixion, was, perhaps, only the usual beverage given to slaves, and when diluted with water to the common soldiers: but here in order to render the draft the more poisonous, they mixed it with gall; and thus was the prophecy of the sixtyninth Psalm at the twenty-first verse accomplished'.

The seventy-second agrees with the forty-fifth Psalm, which the ancient Jews interpret concerning the Messiah. This conclusion is strengthened by parallel passages. For, it directly alludes to the more ancient prophecy concerning the Messiah; and powerfully describes the Messiah's kingdom. In the seventeenth verse may be recognized Gen. xii. ii. iii.--xxii. 18. through which is interfused the promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The prophecy described in the eighth verse of this Psalm is allied to Zech. ix. 10. There is also a prophetic analogy between it and Psalm li. and Psalm cx. and Isaiah lx. 11. (See also Jer. xxxiii. 7. Ezek. xxxvii. 27.) The king's son is an application of the Messiah answering to the branch of David; the peace in the third verse answers to Is. lx. 9. (See Is. xi. 9.-lxv. 25.) The fifth verse too can only be interpreted of the Messiah, and of his eternal nature; the twelfth verse is also applicable to him. (See Ps. lxxxix. 37, 38.) As these things cannot be imputed to an earthly king, it follows, that they were spoken of the Messiah, and being spoken of him, that He is God. So in Is. lx. 5, 6. and the sixth verse of this Psalm, his doctrine is depicted under the figure of a fructifying rain; with which compare 2 Sam. xxiii. 5. Deut. xxxii. 2, 3. The eighth verse may also be compared with the promise in Exod. xxiii. 31. Deut. xi. 24. from which the universal dominion of the Messiah is set forth; that is, the Messiah's kingdom. (See Micah v. 4.) The reference to the Messiah is proved in the