38. God brought me out of the pit and miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, &c. (Psal. xl. 2.) 39. The wicked are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff, that the storm carrieth away. (Job xxi. 17, 18.) 40. As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. (Prov. xxv. 25.) SHORTNESS OF LIFE. "We all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." (ISAIAH Îxiv. 6.) "Youths, on length of days presuming, "What though yet no losses grieve you, "Yearly in our course returning, On the tree of life eternal, Oh, let all our hopes be laid! Bears a leaf that may not fade. "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand for ever. (ISAIAH Xi, 8.) The Child's Christian Year, THE CHAPTER CXVIII. POETICAL BOOK S. THERE are five books of the Old Testament, which are books of devotion, and they were used by the Jews at their religious worship. All these books are written in poetry, like hymns. They are the books of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Songs of Solomon. 1. The first of these, being written in the time of Job's great illness and affliction, is used by the Jews on their days of mourning and hu-mi-li-a-tion, or penitence. So on the day of the greatest Jewish fast (the ninth of the month Ab, about the middle of July), which is the day when God gave the order that all those who came out of Egypt should die in the wilderness, the Jews meet in the synagogues, sit all night in the dark, weeping and wailing their country's calamities till daybreak, when they pass the morning in reading the Book of Job, and in chanting solemn elegies of grief. 2. The Book of Psalms contains about fifty hymns. which were composed by David at different times in his life. The rest were written by other prophets on some great occasions. Solomon is supposed to have written some (Ps. lxxii. and cxxvii.), Ezra is said to have composed the one hundred and nineteenth, Moses the ninetieth and the following ten; while Jeremiah is given as the author of the one hundred and thirty-seventh, and Haggai and Zechariah of the one hundred and fortysixth and one hundred and forty-seventh. The first forty, and those from fifty-one to sixty-five, are said to be David's. It is probable that he collected them into one book, and placed with his own some others that were used in his day. Hezekiah made a larger collection, and Ezra probably put them together in the order in which we have them now. The word "psalm" means a "poem set to music," and you will find, that about fifty of them have a heading "to the chief musician" (i.e., of the choir at Jerusalem). They are all hymns intended to be sung, and they have been sung ever since David sang them to his own harp, and are still sung by Jews and Christians. They are divided into FIVE BOOKS. The following psalms refer to events in David's life :1. Confession of sin after the death of Uriah, Ps. li. ; again, after Nathan's parable, Ps. xxxii.; and during the war with Absalom, Ps. cxliii. 2. During his flight from Absalom, Ps. iii., iv., v., xlii., xliii., lv., lxii.; so that we see how deeply he felt his son's rebellion. 3. On his victory over Goliath of Gath, Ps. ix. 4. On Saul's murder of the priests at Nob (1 Sam. xxiii. 19), Ps. xvii. 5. On building the altar on Araunah's threshing-floor, Ps. xxx. 6. On the conclusion of his wars, Ps. xviii. But there are others of great interest, because of the time when they were composed, such as Ps. lxxiii., when the army of Sen-nach-er-ib was destroyed in one night; Ps. xc., when Moses went up the mountain to die, after seeing the promised land, and which has ever since been the Burial Psalm of all nations; Ps. lxxix., written on the destruction of the city and temple of Jerusalem by the King of Babylon; and Ps. lxxxiv. on the foundation of the second temple. Ps. xcvi., cv., and cvi., are supposed to have been sung in procession, when David removed the ark from the house of Obed-edom. There are several curious words placed at the head of some Psalms, and we do not know their meaning; but it is well to know what is thought about them. SONGS OF DEGREES are supposed to be those sung by the captives, as they marched joyfully home again from Babylon, and especially when they came within sight of home. GITTITH Was either a musical instrument or a tune brought back by David from Gath, where he lived in exile when pursued by Saul. MUTH-LABBEN is thought to be for male-treble, and ALAMOTH for female-treble voices. MAHALATH, NEGINOTH, SHEMINITH were probably string instruments, and NECHILOTH and SHOSHANIM wind instruments to accompany the Psalms, and so they regulate the sort of music (lively or solemn) to which they were to be sung. SELAH probably marks a pause, or a swelling of the voice, forte, as it is called in modern music. 3. The Songs of Solomon are said to have been composed by that king on his marriage to the daughter of the King of Egypt; but some think that they were written in the time of Jeroboam, and that they are a lamentation of the faithful people in the kingdom of Israel, who mourned over the loss of the two tribes, and especially the temple (which was their "Love"), from which they were cut off by the separation. QUESTIONS. What are the "Poetical Books?" When do the Jews read the Book of Job? On what occasion was it written? How many Psalms did David write? Which? Who else wrote any? Who put them together into one book? What does "Psalm mean? How many "Books" are there? Which Psalms belong to each? Tell me some of the occasions on which David wrote Psalms. Which are they? Tell me some occasions on which other people wrote some? What are "Songs of Degrees?" What was "Gittith" and "Alamoth?" What names of musical instruments are at the head of some Psalms? What is "Selah?" THE STARS. No cloud obscures the summer sky, Child of the earth! Oh, lift thy glance Doth it not speak to every sense See'st thou not there the Almighty's name Count o'er those lamps of quenchless light, Mark well each little star, whose rays What then art thou, O child of clay, Yet fear thou not; the Sovereign hand Mrs. Hemans. |