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5. Of the glorious honour of Thy majesty

And of Thy wondrous works, will I speak.2

6. And men shall speak of the might of Thy terrible acts;

And Thy greatness-will I declare.

7. The memorial of Thy great goodness they shall utter abundantly3

And shall sing of Thy righteousness.

8. Gracious and full of compassion is the LORD, Slow to anger and great in mercy.

9. The LORD is good to all,

And His tender mercies are over all His works. 10. All Thy works shall praise Thee, O LORD, And Thy saints shall bless Thee.

11. They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom, And talk of Thy power;

12. To make known to the sons of men His acts of might;

And the glorious majesty of His kingdom. 13. Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages,

And Thy dominion throughout all generations.

14. The LORD upholdeth all that fall,

And raiseth up all that be bowed down. 15. The eyes of all look unto Thee,

And Thou givest them their meat in due season..

16. Thou openest Thine hand,

And satisfiest the desire of every living thing. 17. The LORD is righteous in all His ways,

And loving in all His works.

18. The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon.

Him,

To all that call upon Him in truth.

19. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear Him, He also will hear their cry and will save them. 20. The LORD preserveth all them that love Him, But all the wicked will He destroy.

21. My mouth shall speaks the praise of the LORD, And let all flesh bless His holy name for ever and ever.

Critical References.-1, the king, Kay; 2, meditate, Perowne, Delitzsch; muse over, Kay. 3, lit., pour forth, 4, the glory of the grandeur, Kay. 5, Let my mouth speak, Kay, Perowne, Delitzsch.

New Testament References.-This Psalm is not quoted in the New Testament.

Explanatory Notes.--Ver. 1, I will extol, &c., as God can never cease to be, so neither will His praise come to an eud. The assurance that God was his God, was a pledge to the Psalmist of his own immortality, the desire, and the power to praise could never be quenched. Death would not put an end to his praises but would only transfer them from time to eternity. "Day by day we magnify Thee, And we worship Thy Name, ever, world without end;" O King, the relationship of being his ruler and judge. 3, unsearchable, hence arises the endlessness of the praise. 5, will I speak, the meaning may possibly be, I will rehearse. 7, the memorial, &c., not only the greatness of God, but also His favour and goodness towards us will furnish themes for praise; Thy righteousness, since all the acts of God are in accordance with perfect justice. 8, Gracious and full of compassion, &c., the Divine description of the Divine character (Ex. xxxiv. 6). 9, to all, and if so,

how much more to His own people. 10, All Thy works, &c., even the inanimate ones, by their silent fulfilment of the purposes of their creation; And Thy saints, these shall offer articulate praise, they shall give thanks for His great glory to the" heavenly King, God the Father Almighty." 11, and talk, &c. (Acts iii. 12). 13, Thy kingdom, &c., earthly kingdom pass away, the kingdom of God is everlasting. 14, raiseth up, &c., the Septuagint renders the Hebrew by the word which S. Luke afterwards employed in his account of the cure of the woman who was "bowed together" (S. Luke xiii. 13). The glory of the kingdom is manifested in the condescension of the king. 15, The eyes of all, &c., this verse was used by the Jews at the Passover- meal, and formed with the next verse a “grace before meat" for many centuries in the Western Church. Even the irrational creatures look up to God for their sustenance (S. Luke xii. 24). 16, Thou openest Thine hand, as if the thought was borrowed from the act of scattering food. 17, in all His ways, the ways both of His providence and of His grace. 18, is nigh (Deut. iv. 7), not like an earthly monarch, to whom access is often difficult, or is denied; in truth, not in doubt or hypocrisy (S. Jas. i. 6-7). 19, He will fulfil, &c., He will convert His servants' desires into realities" as may be most expedient for them;" them that fear Him, these are also "them that love Him;" both the fear and love are childlike. 20, The LORD preserveth, &c. (S. Jno. x. 27-28, S. Matt. xxv. 34-41). 21, His Holy name, the Holy name into which men were to be baptized (S. Matt. xxviii. 19, Rom. i. 5, Philipp. ii. 10-11, Rev. vii. 9-12, xv. 3-4).

APPENDIX A.

AN OUTLINE OF THE HISTORICAL EVENTS, FROM B.C. 1063 TO B.C. 445, USUALLY CONNECTED WITH THE PROPER PSALMS.

Although Job has been supposed by some to have been possibly the writer of Psalm lxxxviii., it is allowable to pass over such a conjectural authorship and to commence with David (whose name is so preeminently associated with the Psalter), a sketch of a history which is connected with many prophets and kings.

B.C. Whether any of the Psalms were actually 1063. composed during the period of David's shepherd life is extremely doubtful, though his observations of nature as he watched over his flock by day and night, and his encounters with wild animals such as "the lion and the bear," stored his mind with the imagery, which he afterwards employed in such compositions as Psalms viii., xix., and xxii. (in its 13th and 21st verses).

Some would assign Psalm civ., which describes the work of God in Creation, to David, but the authorship of the Psalm (which is probably of a late date) is in fact unknown.

The position which David occupied in the Court of Saul was a difficult one, and notwithstanding his habitual prudence he was at last compelled to escape from the danger which threatened him by a flight from his own house, in which he was aided by his wife Michel (1 Sam. xix. 11-18). This occurrence has been thought to have been the occasion of Psalm vi., with its allusions to the hatred and baffled malice of his enemies.

After vainly endeavouring to find a secure retreat either in Israel or Philistia, David took up his abode. in the Cave of Adullam (1 Sam. xxii. 1), and with this period Psalm lvii. is probably connected. After some further adventures and escapes, and when Saul had taken the field in person in pursuit of him, David concealed himself in the Wilderness of Ziph (1 Sam. xxiii. 14), and the treacherous betrayal of his hiding-place by the Ziphites caused him to pour out his prayers and thanksgivings in Psalm liv. Another refuge was sought at Engedi (1 Sam. xxiv. 1), to which Psalm lvii. may also possibly owe its origin." On entering for the second time the territory of Achish, King of Gath (but now at the head of a band of followers), Ziklag was assigned to him as a place of residence (1 Sam. xxvii. 2-6). To the circumstance of its subsequent destruction by the Amalekites (1 Sam. xxx. 1) some would attribute the composition of Psalm xxxviii. A recollection of the whole of his eventful wanderings was probably present to David's mind when he wrote Psalm xl., and possibly Psalm xxii. may refer to the same period.

1048.

B.C. The removal of the Ark, after its long sojourn at Kirjath-jearim, forms one of the most prominent incidents in the earlier portion of

M

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