Imagini ale paginilor
PDF
ePub

Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth: O sing praises unto the LORD.

To Him that rideth upon the heaven of heavens, which were of old, lo, He doth send out His voice, and that a mighty voice.

Ascribe ye strength unto GOD: His excellency is over Israel, and His strength is in the clouds.

O GOD, Thou art terrible out of Thy holy places, the GOD of Israel is He that giveth strength and power unto His people; blessed be GOD:

It is supposed that the following Psalm was set to music on this occasion, and sung by way of dialogue by king and people; we may conjecture, that it began when they reached the foot of mount Sion*.

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

For He hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.

When they arrived at the gates of Jerusalem, which may be considered as a type of Heaven, it is likely that ..the king and his choir sung as follows::

Lift up your heads, Oye gates, and be ye lift up ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. And those within answered. Who is the king of glory?

To which the first replied:

The LORD strong and mighty; the LORD mighty in battle.

And now let us suppose, that the procession proceeded to the gates of the court of the tabernacle, the in-struments playing the same airs; and the king, princes, and damsels, moving to the measure (as was the custom

[ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small]

in those times); when they arrived at the gates of the tabernacle, they sung, and were answered as follows:

Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is the King of Glory?

The LORD of HOSTS, He is the King of Glory*. When they had deposited the ark in the tabernacle, it is likely the following was sung al s.

† Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the people.

Sing unto him, sing psalms unto Him, talk ye of all His wondrous works.

that ye

[ocr errors]

Glory ye in His holy name: let the heart of them re joice that seek the LORD.

Seek the LORD and His strength, seek His face cóntinually.

[ocr errors]

Remember His marvellous works that he hath done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth; O ye seed of Israel His servant, ye children of Jacob His chosen ones, He is the LORD our GOD; His judgments are in all

the earth.

Be ye mindful always of His covenant; the word which He commanded to a thousand generations ; even of the covenant which He made with Abraham, and of His oath unto Isaac;

A

And hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant. »

Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance.

*The two learned authors, from whose works I have chiefly composed my comments on the Life of King David, differ in their application of psalms to this solemnity: that selected by each, appears to me well adapted to the occasion, therefore have introduced them both; from the fear of omitting the psa.m, which would excite the properest ideas in the minds of my readers.

[ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small]

When ye were but few, even a few, and strangers in it: And when they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people;

1

He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, He reproved kings for their sakes,

Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets `no harm.

Sing unto the LORD, all the earth; shew forth from day to day His salvation.

Declare his glory among the heathen; His marvellous works among all nations.

For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: He also is to be feared above all gods.

For all the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

Glory and honour are in his presence, strength and gladness are in his place.

Give unto the LORD, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength.

Give unto the LORD the glory due unto His name : bring an offering and come before Him; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

[ocr errors]

*>Fear before Him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved.

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The. LORD reigneth. Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein.

Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the LORD, because He cometh to judge the earth. O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever.

2

[ocr errors]

And say ye, Save us, O GOD of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to Thy holy name, and glory in Thy praise.

Blessed

Blessed be the LORD GOD of Israel for ever and ever; and all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD.

"It is supposed that the ark was carried to Jerusalem at the feast of tabernacles, at which time the Jews were obliged to live in booths and tents; and as their houses had flat roofs, there is reason to imagine they*. built their bowers on the tops of them with ever-greens of various kinds; and that they also erected booths in ranges throughout the largest streets of the city.

What

a beautiful appearance must this have made, especially at night, when a number of lights glimmered through the branches; and how must the humane heart of David be delighted, when he considered all these bowers filled with people, happy in the consciousness of having discharged their duty towards GOD, and rejoicing in his returning favour; but above all, what satisfaction must arise in his mind from the reflection, that he was, under GOD, the cause of all this felicity! Itt is likely that he made use of the following words in blessing his people ‡."

[ocr errors]

GOD be merciful unto us, and bless us and cause His face to shine upon us.

That thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations.

Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee.

Olet the nations be glad and sing for joy for Thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth.

Let the people praise Thee, O GOD; let all the people praise Thee.

*Nehemiah, viii. 15, 16. + See Delany's Life of David. 2017-Psalm Ixvii.

Then

Then shall the earth yield her increase; and Gop, even our own GOD, shall bless us.

GOD shall blessus, and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him,

[1

When David had blessed the people, and they were gone to join their families in their respective tents, he repaired to his house to rejoice with his houshold; but Michal who was offended with David for his great humility in laying aside his robes of royalty, and playing on his harp before the ark, reproached him, for thus levelling himself with his subjects, thinking that he had exposed himself to their scorn and contempt: her reproaches affected him not; for he was conscious that he had acted properly, and was certain, that his behaviour was not only approved of God, but would procure him esteem and honour rather than derision among men; for dancing was in these days frequently practised as a reFigious ceremony, on public solemnities.

Miriam the prophetess took a timbrel, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances, when the Israelites were delivered from Egyptian bondage;' so also did Jephthah's daughter: and other instances might be produced from sacred history. From whence we may conclude, that David did not act with impropriety in this particular; and surely we cannot join with Michal, in condemning him for playing on his harp on so joyful an occasion; therefore, we must own that she exposed herself most to contempt and derision, by laying aside the noblest ornaments of a royal matron, piety and humility towards GoD.

Though David, when seated on the throne of Israel, was at the height of worldly power and grandeur, he could not rest till he had established the public worship of Gon in his kingdom, and for this purpose he was at incredible pains and expence. David had well considered the subject, and was convinced, that the practice

of

« ÎnapoiContinuă »