a piece, which cannot but be acceptable to all true lovers of sacred poetry. It was written, as I have been lately informed, by the learned and ingenious Dr. OGILVIE, at sixteen years of age. PSALM CXLVIII. BEGIN, my soul, th' exalted lay, Lo! heaven and earth, and seas and skies, To swell th' inspiring theme. Your Maker's wondrous power proclaim, Ye angels, catch the thrilling sound; And touch the sweetest string. Join, ye loud spheres, the vocal choir; Soon as grey evening gilds the plain, Thou heaven of heavens, his vast abode; Whate'er a blooming world contains, Ye dragons, sound his awful name Let every element rejoice: Ye thunders, burst with awful voice His praise in softer notes declare, To him, ye graceful cedars, bow; Tell, when affrighted nature shook, Ye flocks that haunt the humble vale, Crop the gay rose's vermeil bloom, Wake, all ye mountain tribes, and sing; 'To him who shap'd your finer mould, Let man, by nobler passions sway'd, Spread his tremendous name around, Till heav'n's broad arch rings back the sound, Ye whom the charms of grandeur please, Fall prostrate at his throne; Ye princes, rulers, all adore; Praise him, ye kings, who makes your pow'r An image of his own. Ye fair, by nature form'd to move, PSALM CXLIX. ARGUMENT. [The children of Zion are excited, 1-3. to rejoice, and sing the praises of their King, on account, 4. of the salvation which he has already wrought for them, and which will hereafter be completed in them, when, 5. they shall enter into his rest, and, 6-9. triumph with him over the persecuting powers of the world, and all the opposers of Christ, on whom will then be executed the judgment written. The Jews, mistaking, as usual, the time, place, and nature of Messiah's glorious kingdom, imagine this Psalm will receive its accomplishment, by their being made rulers of the nations, and lords of all things here below.] 1, Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.' 2. 'Let Israel rejoice in him that made him; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.' 3. Let them praise his name in the dance; let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.' Christians are now the people, to whom belong the names and characters of saints, Israel, and children of Zion.' They sing this holy song,' as the Psalmist hath enjoined them to do. They sing it 'new' in its evangelical sense, as new men, celebrating new victories, new and greater mercies, a spiritual salvation, an eternal redemption. They rejoice,' with hearts, voices, instruments, and every other token of joy, in him who hath made' or created them again, in righteousness and true holiness; they are joyful in their King,' who hath himself overcome, and is now leading them on to final conquest and triumph, to honor and immortality. 4. For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.' 5. The saints' shall be joyful with glory; they shall sing aloud upon their beds,' or places of rest. In this verse, the Hebrew verbs are in the f time. In the verse following, the original hath no verb at all. The liberty is therefore taken to render them accordingly. Such pleasure' the King of Zion taketh in his people, that he hath not disdained to become like one of them; to partake of their flesh and blood, and to give them his Spirit; he was made man, to purchase them by his death; and as a man, he is gone into heaven, to prepare a place for them. From thence he will return, to beautify the meek with salvation,' and place on the heads of his true disciples, the lowly, patient, and peaceable ones, a bright and incorruptible crown. Therefore are the saints joyful in glory; they sing aloud,' in a state of perfect ease and security, resting from their labors, but not from their hallelujahs. 6. 'The high praises of God in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand;' 7. 'To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people: 8. To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;' 9. To execute upon them the judgment written this honor have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.' To those who are SAINTS indeed, and who are acquainted with the genuine spirit of the Gospel, how obvious is it, that the scene, of which we have here a prophetical exhibition, is one that cannot take place till after the resurrection, because the followers of the Lamb have certainly nothing to do with vengeance in this world, though they are to judge, not only men, but angels, in the next, 1 Cor. vi. 2. 3.; when they shall be called up to sit on thrones, as assessors, at the condemnation of their once-insulting persecutors, who will be cut asunder with the two-edged sword,' and bound with indissoluble 'chains.' Thus will be executed upon them the eternal 'judgment written' and announced against the enemies of Messiah, in the Scriptures of truth. This honor will all his saints THEN have.' PSALM CL. ARGUMENT. [The Psalmist exhorteth men to praise Jehovah, 1. for his holiness, ahe firmament of his power, 2. for the wonders of his might, and for his excellent greatness, No. XXV. Div. 2 G 3-5. with all kinds of music. 6. He concludeth his divine book of praises, by calling on every thing that hath breath, to employ that breath in declaring the glory of him who gave it.] 1. Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary,' or for his holiness; 'praise him in,' or for, the firmament,' or expansion, of his power.' If our translation be retained, the meaning is, that God should be praised in the sanctuary,' or temple below, and likewise in heaven' above; the former being planned and constructed as a resemblance of the latter. But the context rather, perhaps, requires us to suppose the Psalmist giving the reasons why God should be praised; namely, on account of his holiness,' and of his power;' which power is more especially displayed in the formation of the firmament,' or 'expansion,' of the material heavens, and their incessant operations, by means of the light and the air of which they are composed, upon the earth and all things therein. These are the appointed instruments of life and motion in the natural world, and they afford us some idea of that power of God unto salvation which is manifested in the church, by the effects produced on the souls of men, through the gracious influences of the LIGHT divine and the SPIRIT of holiness, constituting the 'firmament of God's power' in the new creation. 2. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.' Mighty' were the acts' which God wrought for Israel, and great' was the Holy One in the midst of his ancient people; but far mightier acts did he perform in Christ Jesus, for the redemption of the world; and more 'excellent, greatness' hath he manifested in the conversion of the nations, the overthrow of paganism, and the erection and preservation of the Christian church. O that her gratitude bore some proportion to his goodness! 3. 'Praise him with the sound of the trumpet; praise him with the psaltery and harp.' 4. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. 5. Praise him upon the loud cymbals; praise him upon the high-sounding cymbals.' |