upon the earth, where he is to be worshipped by the pure and righteous. This glorious Heavenly King of the Jewish nation is represented as entering the sanctuary, which is personified and exhorted to receive him worthily. The method of question and answer, pursued in this psalm, indicates that it is one of those which were sung responsively by several choirs of singers.

It is cited by Herder as a specimen of the most perfect kind of ode, that in which, by change of person, question and answer, and sudden appeals to inanimate and absent objects, a sort of lyrical representation and action are introduced. The topic is the same as that of Psalm lxviii. (p. 37), but it is differently treated. By comparing it with that psalm, we may understand the difference between two songs, the one of which is a picture full of living action, and the other, history, lyrically narrated.

1 THE earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein.

2 For he hath founded it upon the seas,

3

And established it upon the floods.

Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord ?
And who shall stand in his holy place?

4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; Who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, Nor sworn deceitfully.

5 He shall receive a blessing from the Lord,

And favor from the God of his salvation.

6 This is the generation of them that seek him; That seek thy face, O God of Jacob!

7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates!
And be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors;
And the King of glory shall come in.

9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates!
Even lift them up, ye everlasting doors;
And the King of glory shall come in.

10

Who is this King of glory?

The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.

Ver. 7. "Lift up," &c. These words evidently apply to an edifice of a different kind from the tabernacle above described. We should suppose the temple gates to be meant, but the temple was not erected till after David's time. Some have hence inferred that the psalm was not written by David, but at a later date. Others think that the gates of the citadel or walled town of Zion are those addressed. A third solution appears to us more probable; viz. that the words are an expression of an ardent wish for the building of the temple, represented by its gates, by a figure familiar to Hebrew poetry.

PSALM XCVI.

THE INTRODUCTION OF THE ARK TO MOUNT ZION.

BISHOP LOWTH says of this psalm: "Nothing can excel in sublimity that noble exultation of universal nature, where the whole animated and inanimate creation unite in the praises of their Maker. Poetry here seems to assume the highest tone of triumph and exultation, and to revel, if I may so express myself, in all the extravagance of joy.”

This psalm is certified by comparison with 1 Chron. xvi. 23 et seq.

1

PSALM XCVI.

O, SING unto the Lord a new song! Sing unto the Lord, all the earth!

2 Sing unto the Lord; bless his name; Show forth his salvation from day to day! 3 Declare his glory among the heathen,

His wonders among all people!

4 For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.

5 For all the gods of the nations are idols;

But the Lord made the heavens.

6 Honor and majesty are before him,

Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, Ascribe unto the Lord glory and strength.

8 Ascribe unto the Lord the glory due unto his name ; Bring an offering, and come into his courts.

9 O, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Fear before him, all the earth!

10 Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth;

The world shall stand firm; it shall not be moved; He shall judge the people righteously.

11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.

12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein;

Let all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord; 13 For he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth ; He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the people with his truth.

PSALM LX.

BEFORE AND DURING THE WAR WITH THE EDOMITES.

THIS psalm was probably composed after some temporary reverse in the fortunes of the war, for the beginning is in a despondent tone, and sets forth in bold figures the alarm that prevailed. Then comes a prayer for aid; and then, by a beautiful transition, as if the psalmist already felt sure that his prayer was heard, he breaks forth into joyful exultation: "God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice," &c. In ver. 6 Shechem and Succoth are used to denote the two great divis ions of the country east and west of the Jordan, and in ver. 7 Gilead and Manasseh designate the eastern, and Judah and Ephraim the western territories. Having

named the regions of his own country, and expressed his confidence of peacefully possessing them, he next turns to the enemies' country. Moab is to be reduced to the lowest subjection. The "wash-pot" is an emblem of extreme abasement; only less so than that which denotes the lot of Edom, "the place whereon to cast the shoe." It must be remembered that the Eastern people do not wear their shoes in the house, but put them off at the entrance, when about to come into the presence of those they respect. Consequently the shoe is considered as an unclean thing, and the unbinding of the ties and removal of the shoe is the business of slaves. Thus John, speaking of Jesus (Matt. iii. 11), says, "whose shoes I am not worthy to bear." In ver. 9, "the strong city" is supposed to allude to the ancient city of Bozrah, the capital of Edom, or Idumæa, called in later times Petra, one of the most remarkable remains of antiquity. About forty years ago, the attention of the civilized world was roused by the announcement by the traveller Burckhardt, that he had discovered in the Arabian desert the remains of an ancient city, evidently at one time of great magnificence and power. It was soon recognized to be Petra, a city which was once the seat of a rich commerce, and the emporium of the trade of India; for it lay on a chief caravan road, which united the merchants and customers of the East and of the West. In the reign of Trajan it came under the sway of the Romans. In the sixth century it was the see of a bishop. From that time Petra suddenly vanished from the pages of history, and was no more mentioned or thought of, till rediscovered by Burckhardt in 1811.