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10 But be thou merciful unto me, O Lord: raife thou me up again, and I fhall reward them.

11 By this I know thou favoureft me: that mine enemy doth not triumph against me.

12 And when I am in my health, thou upholdest me: and shalt fet me before thy face for ever.

13 Bleffed be the Lord God of Ifrael: world without end. Amen.

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Pfalm 42. Quemadmodum.

IKE as the hart defireth the water-brooks: to longeth my foul after thee, O God.

2 My foul is athirst for God, yea, even for the living God: When shall I come to appear before the presence of God?

3 My tears have been my meat day and night: while they daily fay unto me, Where is now thy God?

4 Now when I think thereupon, I pour out my heart by myself: for I went with the multitude, and brought them forth into the houfe of God;

5 In the voice of praise and thanksgiving: among such as keep holy-day.

6 Why art thou fo full of heaviness, Ọ my foul: and why art thou fo difquieted within me?

7 Put thy trust in God: for I will yet give him thanks for the help of his countenance.

8 My God, my foul is vexed within me: therefore will I re

This Pfalm affords a moft elegant fpecimen of the Hebrew Elegy. The royal Prophet banished far from the Temple, and publick worship of God to the utmost confines of Judea, oppreffed by his Enemies and vexed by their taunts pours out his complaint and his prayers to God. Here is wonderfully expreffed the molt fervent defires of a pious Soul, forrow frequently breaking forth upon the remembrance of abfent good things; an extreme dejection of mind, yielding to its grief, yet bearing it impatiently; overcome with diftreffes, yet in fome degree rugling against them, and even in the

thickeft darkness of adverfity admitting, at intervals, fome rays of hope; he loves and mourns; complains and expoftulates; defpairs and hopes; faints and takes comfort; and by turns almost expreffes all the various pallions together.

When all I come to appear before the prefence, &c. The complaints of the Prophet Lecause he could not attend the Houfe of God fould engage thofe who have the liberty to ferve God in the religious affemblies, gratefully to improve fo inestimable a bleffing.

member thee concerning the land of Jordan, and the little hill of

Hermon.

9 One deep calleth another, because of the noife of the waterpipes: all thy waves and ftorms are gone over me.

10 The Lord hath granted his loving kindness on the daytime: and in the night-feafon did I fing of him, and made my prayer unto the God of my life.

II I will fay unto the God of my ftrength, Why haft thou forgotten me: why go I thus heavily, while the enemy oppreffeth

me?

12 My bones are fmitten afunder as with a fword: while mine. enemies that trouble me caft me in the teeth;

13 Namely, while they fay daily unto me: Where is now thy

God?

14 Why art thou fo vexed, O my foul: and why art thou so disquieted within me?

15 O put thy truft in God: for I will yet thank him, which is the help of my countenance, and my God.

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|| Pfalm 43. Judica me, Deus.

IVE fentence with me, O God, and defend my cause against the ungodly people: O deliver me from the deceitful and wicked man.

2 For thou art the God of my ftrength, why haft thou put me from thee: and why go I fo heavily while the enemy oppreffeth

me?

340 fend out thy light and thy truth, that they may lead me: and bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy dwelling.

4 And that I may go unto the altar of God, even unto the God of my joy and gladness: and upon the harp will I give thanks unto thee, O God, my God.

In this Pfalm, as well as the foregoing, David perfecuted and driven from the Tabernacle, intreats God to deliver him from his Enemies, and restore him the valuable bletting of ferving, and praifing him in

publick, and comforts himfelf with the profpect of his aftance.

Ofend out thy light and thy truth, &c. Let it be obferved here that if the Prophet intreated. God to

5 Why art thou fo heavy, O my foul: and why art thou fo difquieted within me?

60 put thy trust in God: for I will yet give him thanks, which is the help of my countenance, and my God.

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MORNING

PRAYER.

§ Pfalm 44. Deus, auribus.

E have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have

"WE told us: what thou haft done in their time of old.

2 How thou haft driven out the heathen with thy hand, and planted them in: how thou haft destroyed the nations, and caft them out.

3 For they gat not the land in poffeffion through their own fword: neither was it their own arm that helped them;

4 But thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance: becaufe thou hadft a favour unto them.

5 Thou art my King, O God: fend help unto Jacob.

6 Through thee will we overthrow our enemies: and in thy Name will we tread them under that rise up against us.

7 For I will not truft in my bow: it is not my fword that fhall help me.

8 But it is thou that faveft us from our enemies: and putteft them to confufion that hate us.

9 We make our boast of God all day long: and will praise thy Name for ever.

10 But now thou art far off, and putteft us to confufion: and goeft not forth with our armies.

deliver him from the malice of his Enemies, it was chiefly with a view to return to the Tabernacle, that he might praife God, and exprefs his joy, love and gratitude. Upon a like principle ought we always to pray for deliverance from afflictions in general-not that we may be more at liberty to gratify our worldly Lufts and Affections; but that we may be better enabled to ferve God, and do good in our generation.

This Pfalm feems to have been compofed at a time when the Ifraelites were under Affliction and a sfecution. The Prophet here recounts the fignal

Bleffings which God had formerly conferred upon that Nation; from whence he hopes that God would again difplay his power in their behalf, and deliver them. He defcribes in a very effecting manner their prefent diftreffed fituation; earnestly imploring relief..

We have heard with our Ears, O God, &c. As the Ifraelites, amidst their Afflictions, thus called to remembrance the patt Mercies of the Almighty towards them, as a comfortable ground of hope for future favours; fo fhould we under our greatest diftrel fes gratefully reflect. upon the many and undefervêI.

I Thou makeft us to turn our backs upon our enemies: fo that they, which hate us, fpoil our goods.

12 Thou letteft us be eaten up like sheep: and hast scattered us among the heathen.

13 Thou felleft thy people for nought: and takeft no money for them.

14 Thou makeft us to be rebuked of our neighbours: to be laughed to fcorn, and had in derifion of them that are round about

us.

15 Thou makeft us to be a by-word among the heathen: and that the people shall shake their heads at us.

16 My confusion is daily before me: and the fhame of hath covered me;

my

face

17 For the voice of the flanderer, and blasphemer: for the enemy, and avenger.

18 And though all this become upon us, yet do we not forget thee: nor behave ourselves frowardly in thy covenant.

19 Our heart is not turned back: neither our fteps gone out of thy way;

20 No, not when thou haft fmitten us into the place of dragons: and covered us with the fhadow of death.

21 If we have forgotten the Name of our God, and holden up our hands to any ftrange God: fhall not God fearch it out? for he knoweth the very fecrets of the heart.

22 For thy fake alfo are we killed all the day long: and are counted as fheep appointed to be flain.

23 Up, Lord, why fleepeft thou: awake, and be not absent from us for ever.

24 Wherefore hideft thou thy face: and forgetteft our misery and trouble?

benefits we have received from our Maker, as a feafon for patience and refignation to his will; as well as

to create in us a humble trust that he will deliver us, when he in his infinite wifdom f.es it beft for us.

25 For our foul is brought low, even unto the duft: our belly

cleaveth unto the ground.

26 Arife, and help us: and deliver us for thy mercies fake. Pfalm 45. Eructavit cor meum.

M

Y heart is inditing of a good matter: I fpeak of the things which I have made unto the King.

2 My tongue is the pen: of a ready writer.

3 Thou art fairer than the children of men: full of grace are thy lips, becaufe God hath bleffed thee for ever.

4 Gird thee with thy fword upon thy thigh, O thou most mighty: according to thy worship and renown.

5 Good luck have thou with thine honour: ride on because of the word of truth, of meeknefs and righteousnefs; and thy right hand fhall teach thee terrible things.

6 Thy arrows are very fharp, and the people fhall be fubdued unto thee: even in the midst among the Kings enemies.

*

7 Thy feat, O God, endureth for ever: the fcepter of thy kingdom is a right fcepter.

8 Thou haft loved righteousness and hated iniquity: wherefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladnefs above thy fellows.

9 All thy garments fmell of myrrh, aloes, and caffia: out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.

10 Kings daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did ftand the Queen in a vesture of gold, wrought about with divers colours.

11 Hearken, O daughter, and confider, incline thine ear: forget alfo thine own people, and thy fathers house.

12 So fhall the King have pleafure in thy beauty: for he is thy Lord God, and worship thou him.

This is a nuptial Song upon Salomon's marriage with Pharoah's Daughter:; and feems to have prefigured the fpiritual unity and marriage betwixt Christ and his Church, as appears from St. Paul's quotation in,

the 1ft chapter of his Epistle to the Hebrews, v. 8. 9.

* Thy feat, O God, endureth for ever, &c. This paffage is quoted by St. Paul in order to fhew the fuperior excellency of the Gospel above that of the

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