Perhaps all these irregularities are to be ascribed to the negligence and unskilfulness of the poets, as we impute to the same causes the many harsh and inelegant rhymes of our older ecclesiastical poets. The hypothesis of Bengel, that of many alphabetical psalms we have only the first imperfect sketch, amounts to nearly the same thing. The occurrence of the same irregularities in Psalms xxv. and xxxiv. proves their relation to each other; and the circumstance, that 7, to redeem, forms the conclusion of both, may be regarded as a characteristic trait in these popular elegiac psalms (for such I esteem them), as the later Jews in their oppression were always hoping for redemption.

2. We find in the Hebrew poetry the first beginnings of a complex rhythmical structure, similar to our strophes. In Ps. xlii., xliii., an odd verse (refrain) forms the conclusion of a greater rhythmical period. Something of the same kind, though not complete, occurs in Ps. cvii., where verses 1-9, 10-16, 17–32, are separated by a nearly similar conclusion. The prophecies Is. ix. 7-x. 4, and Am. i. 2-ii. 16, are upon the same plan. Gesenius (on Isaiah) supposes that the same kind of refrain is to be found in a part of Solomon's Song. There is a singular specimen of art in Ps. xlix., where the thirteenth and twenty-first verses are word for word alike, except that by the change of a single letter, in the one becomes ¡' in the other, so that a different sense is produced where the sound is entirely similar.

3. The rhythm by gradation in the psalms of degrees is a remarkable form. It consists in this, that the thought or expression of a preceding verse is resumed and carried forward in the next; for example, Ps. cxxi. :

"I lift up mine eyes to the hills; Whence cometh my help?

My help cometh from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.

He will not suffer thy foot to stumble;
Thy guardian doth not slumber.

Behold! the guardian of Israel
Doth neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is thy guardian;

The Lord is thy shade at thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day,

Nor the moon by night.

The Lord will preserve thee from all evil;

He will preserve thy life.

The Lord will preserve thee, when thou goest out, and when thou comest in,

From this time forth for evermore."

Gesenius has pointed out the same arrangement in the song of Deborah, and in Is. xxvi., where verses 5, 6 read thus:

"The lofty city he hath laid low,
He hath laid her low to the ground;
He hath levelled her with the dust.
The foot shall trample upon her,

The feet of the poor, the steps of the needy."

A form somewhat similar to this in modern poetry is the triolet; but it differs in making the whole composition turn upon one principal thought.

The question whether the Psalms were sung by choirs may be distinctly answered in the affirmative, so far as it regards the Temple Psalms, and all which were destined for the public service. It is still the custom in the synagogue for the assembly to respond as a choir to the chant of the chorister; and Miriam with her women formed an alternate chorus, Ex. xv. By supposing many of the Psalms to have been sung in this way, we shall perceive in them a greater degree of propriety, spirit, and grandeur. Thus in that, of which every other line is, For his mercy endureth for ever, the repetition of these words might have had an excellent effect, when sung by way of response to a choir which sung the other line, though to a mere reader such repetition may appear tedious. Ps. xxiv., cxxxv., cl., and others, are evidently adapted to the same mode of performance. But it by no means follows that we must divide the Psalms themselves into choruses, as Nachtigall, Kuinoel, and others have done in their translations; it is probable that the chorus simply re

peated.* But even were this not the case, yet this division is a matter of too much uncertainty to be safely attempted. It is very doubtful whether the singing was alternate or responsive in all cases where there is a change of the person speaking; for the Orientals are extremely fond of such a change of the person speaking, even in poems which are not sung. †

In what way song was connected with the dance it is impossible to determine. Few of the Psalms which we now possess probably ever had any connection with the dance. Songs like that of the women upon David's victory were performed dancing; it could hardly be the case, however, that the two performances were so connected as to resemble the music and dance of modern times. The dance, perhaps, consisted for the most part of certain figures, which were executed by the files of dancers, chiefly in circles, as the Hebrew name seems to indicate; and the step, if not perfectly artless, was free and without rule. In this case, the dance of the Hebrews was the same in relation to other modes of dancing, as was their rhythm compared with the rhythm of other nations.

מָחוֹל

The last direction in regard to the mode of using the Psalms may be given in the language of Dr. Hammond, citing the opinion of the ancient fathers.

"Form thy spirit by the affection of the psalm, saith St. Augustine. If it be the affection of love, enkindle that within thy breast, that thou mayest not speak against thy sense, and knowledge, and conscience, when thou sayest, I will love thee, O Lord, my strength! If it be an affection of fear, impress that on thy soul, and be not thyself an insensible anvil to such strokes of

Such is the present custom in the East. The chorus repeats the melody in a lower key. See Niebuhr's Travels, I., 176. † Comp. Jahn, Einleit. ins A. T., II., 723.

Such is still the manner of the female dancers of the East. One of them takes the lead, extemporizing the steps and movement, which the others imitate, following in a circle. See Niebuhr's Travels, I., 184; Lady Montague's Letters, Let. 30. For other authorities, see Jahn's Bibl. Archæol., I., 1, 405.

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divine poetry, which thou chantest out to others, O, consider this, ye that forget God, lest he pluck you away, and there be none to deliver you. If it be an affection of desire, which the Psalmist in a holy transportation expresseth, let the same breathe in thee; accounting, as St. Chrysostom minds thee on Psalm xlii., that, when thou recitest these words, Like as the hart desireth the waterbrooks, so longeth my soul after thee, O God! thou hast sealed a covenant, betrothed and engaged thy soul to God, and must never have a coldness or indifferency to him hereafter. If it be the affection of gratitude, let thy soul be lifted up in praises, come with affections this way inflamed, sensible of the weight of mercies of all kinds, spiritual and temporal, with all the enhancements that the seasonable application thereof to the extremities of thy wants can add to thy preservations, and pardons, and joys; or else the reciting the hallelujahs will be a most ridiculous piece of pageantry. And so likewise for the petitory part of the Psalms, let us be always in a posture ready for them, with our spirits minutely prepared to dart them up to heaven. And whatever the affection be, let the heart do what the words signify."

The translator leaves the principles and views, which governed him in his labors, to be inferred from the work itself. In one particular, however, some may be at a loss to know the reason for the translation which I adopt. I refer to the name of the Supreme Being, Jehovah. As it is a proper name, and not a mere appellative, like the terms God and Lord, perhaps the strict rules of interpretation require that it should be always translated by the same term. But as the same great Being is denoted, whether his name be translated the Lord, or Jehovah, I have thought it best, in many cases, not to alter the name to which the feelings of the devout have been so long accustomed. The word Jehovah is now very seldom used in prayers, and of course cannot have those devout feelings connected with it which belong to appellations of the Supreme Being which are habitually used. It may be well to mention, that, in all the other books of the Scriptures

which I have translated, I have in every instance used the word Jehovah where the corresponding term occurs in the original.

In this edition I have carefully revised the translation by a new comparison of it with the original, and by the aid of some English and German versions, which I had not seen when the first edition was printed. I have also added a number of pages to the Introduction, and some explanatory notes, which, without materially increasing the size of the volume, will I hope add to its value.

CAMBRIDGE, August 15, 1846.