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Old Hilary has a Note, that the Book of PSALMS is a Bundle of Keys, which will open the Locks of all the other Scriptures. The Word, Mictam, is found in the Titles of several PSALMS; and Monsieur Gousset's Discourse upon it, has very much to demand a Reception for it. The Word signifies, A Thing that is covered with Gold. But another Word of the same Letters, does also signify, A Sanctified Thing. Our Great SAVIOUR, and His Works, are variously Exhibited, in the Types, and so in the Songs, of the Old Tes tament. The sense which concerns the Types is a piece of Canvas, on which the Holy Spirit has inlaid the Mystical sense, which concerns our SAVIOUR, as a Golden Embroidery. If David be the Canvas, in any of the Miciams, the Holy Spirit has inwrought a Golden Idea of our SAVIOUR into it, and curiously Embroidered it, with some of His Incomparable Glories. Verily, There are more Mictams in our Psalter, than those which have this Term in the Titles of them. They are not the only ones, that have His Unutterable Glories Exquisitely Embroidered in them. The German Divine, who wrote a 'reatise, to prove, That there is not a Chapter in the Bible, wherein there is not a mention or a notice of our SAVIOUR, might find the Psalter to be the easiest part of the Bible for him to work upon. And now, when we discover our SAVIOUR in the PSALMS, we then have indeed the Quickening Spirit of them. In that Light of GOD, we see the Light wherein the true sense of the PSALMS is made manifest unto us. We see every thing in a new Light. And how sweet the Light! What a pleasant thing, to behold the Sun of Righteousness darting His Benign Beams upon us, thro' the clear and pure Glasses, wherewith His Holy SPIRIT here has furnished us!

BUT, O Eagle-Eye'd Believer, when thou art Singing the Graces, the Actions, the Sufferings, and the Grandeurs of thy REDEEMER, and perhaps coming into Thoughts and Frames, that have some little Resemblance to those, which the Prophetic Spirit here assigns to thy REDEEMER, in the Time of His Working out thy Salvation for thee, what an Angelical Dignity art thou advanc'd unto! What a Token for Good hast thou, that thy REDEEMER will one day bring thee to a Consort with Him, in the Songs and Joys of the Heavenly World!"

Of the annotations which accompany each psalm.

To assist the Reader in coming at the vast Profit and Pleasure, which is to be found in this rare part of the Christian Asceticks, every PSALM is here Satellited with Illustrations which are not fetched from the Vulgar Annotations, (whereof still, Reader, continue thy esteem and thy improvement:) But are the more Fine, Deep, and Uncommon Thoughts, which in a course of long Reading and Thinking, have been brought in the way of the Collector. They are Golden Keys, to the Immense Treasures of Truth, which have not been commonly used: But which will enable the conside

mate Reader, not only to see set in a Bright Light, the Passages to which they are annexed; but having them in his mind, he will be able to Read very many other Passages, of the Holy Book, with a greater satisfaction of mind, than ever he had before.

THERE had been a vast Addition to this Collection of Illustrations, if the dread of imposing a Great Book upon the Reader, had not so stinted and stopped the Growth of the Volumn.'

Of the prophetical character, &c. of the psalms.

§. 9. THERE is a wonderful Thing to be observed concerning our PSALMS, which has hitherto been too much overlooked by all the Uninspired Interpreters; But it is a Thing which our SAVIOUR, and His Apostles who have quoted the PSALMS near Fifty Times, have led us into the Apprehension of. This is, That they are full of Prophecies; and our Psalter is indeed the most Prophetical Book in the World.

It is more particularly, but not without holy Astonishments !—to be observed, That the Design of the PROPHETIC SPIRIT, in the PSALMS, all along has been to describe the Sufferings of the Jewish Nation, as well as of the Christian Surrogate, under the Tyranny of Antichrist; and foretel the Characters and Confusions of that Wicked One, and of his Followers; and predict the Recovery of the Jewish Nation from their long Dispersion, and a long Felicity for them, and the Converted Gentiles associated with them, under the succeeding Reign of the MESSIAH; and that Happy state of the New Earth, in which, under the Influences of the New Heavens, there shall dwell Righteousness, and the Tabernacle of GOD shall be with Men, and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His People, and God Himself shall be with them and be their GOD

It may be, The Word which we render, To the Chief Musician, but which may be rendred, (and was of Old so,) For the End, may be to intimate that the PSALMS are calculated eminently with an Eye to the Things which are to be done, at that which the Bible calls, The Time of the End. Indeed Jerom long ago found Antichrist in the PSALMS; And Austin affirm'd, That the PSALMS ought all to be understood of CHRIST and His Church, and many of them refer to After Ages. But we may now improve in our Discoveries.

ACCORDINGLY, Upon the PSALMS, as we go along, the Devout Reader will find this Key of David here communicated unto him. And when he becomes a Devout Singer too, then like the Beloved Disciple, he shall be carried away in the Spirit into the wilderness, and be shown the Judgment of the Great Whore that sitteth upon many Waters. He shall also in these Visions of GOD, see the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down from GOD out of Heaven prepared as a Bride adorned for her Husband. Very depraved must be that Soul, that has not a relish for such Contemplations, more than for any Earthly Entertainments; and that will not most heartiNew Series-vol. IV.

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ly say, They're more desirable than Gold, yea, than much solid Gold ; than Honey also sweeter much, or dropping Honey-Comb.

YEA, and who can tell, but the PSALMS put into the hands of the Jews, with so entertaining a Commentary thereupon, may be a powerful and perswasive Engine in the Arm of the LORD, for the Enlightening and Overcoming of them, to Look on Him whom they have Pierced! Were One to single out a present for a JEW, it should be a Psalter with such a Commentary! Which no doubt, he will consider the more Attentively because he will find his own Rabbi's continually brought in as Vouchers for it. However, It is an agreeable circumstance, to encourage our Hopes that the Redemption of Israel, and the Time to favour Zion, the set time, is coming on, in that the condition of the Jewish Nation as represented in the PSALMS, is now like to be more considered by the Holy Singers of them, than in the former Ages. When the Holy Singers then begin to Sing and to Praise, who knows, what Ambushments our GOD may set against the Powers of ANTICHRIST, and of MAHOMET; causing them to destroy one another, and making way for, The Glorious Things which are spoken of thee, O Thou City of GOD!

After the Introduction comes an admonition concerning the tunes' which still further explains the execution of the work.

'An Admonition Concerning the TUNES. OUR VERSION is fitted unto all the Common TUNES, the Notes whereof are Eight and Six.

BUT some of them are accommodated for a well-known Longer Metre, by putting in Two Syllables of the Black Letta which are, without any Damage to the Truth of the Translation, found enclosed between Two such Crotchets as these, [ ] And which being left out, the Metre, with the Sense yet remaining entire is again restored unto the usual Eight and Six.

AND some of them are so contrived that by leaving out what is in the Black Letter between the Two Crotchets, [ ] which may be done without any manner of Damage, they are accommo- dated unto a well-known Shorter Metre.

THE Director of the Psalmody, need only to say Sing with the Black Letter or Sing without the Flack Letter, and the Tune will be sufficiently directed.

In the Addition to the CANTIONAL, the Singer will find, That besides what is done for the Tune which uses to go by the Name of, The CXLVIII Psalm-Tune, or, the Hallelujatic Tune; by Taking or Dropping the wo Syllables of Black Letter, between the Crotchets [ ] a Variety of Other Tunes is provided for.'

As a specimen of the work we give the 23d Psalm, both because it is short and familiar to every one.

1. MY Shepherd is th' ETERNAL God; I shall not be in [ay] want:

2 In pastures of a tender grass || He [er] makes me to lie down : || To waters of tranquilities || He gently carries me, [along.]

3 My feeble and my wandering Soul He [kindly] does fetch back again; In the plain paths of righteousness || He does lead [and guide] me along, because of the regard He has [ever] unto His Glorious Name.

4 Yea, when I shall walk in the Vale || of the dark [Dismal] shade of Death, I'll of no evil be afraid, || because thou [er] art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, these are what yield [constant] comfort unto me. ||

5 A Table thou dost furnish out || richly [for me] before my face. *Tis in view of mine Enemies; || [And then] my head thou dost annoint with fattening and perfuming Oil: my cup it [tber] overflows.

6 Most certainly the thing that is || Good with [most kind] Benignity, This all the days that I do live || shall [still and] ever follow me; Yea, I shall dwell, and Sabbatize, || even to [unknotom] length of days, Lodg'd in the House which does belong to [him who's] the ETERNAL God. I'

The Appendix contains other passages of scripture versified in the same manner. Amongst these is a part of the fifth chapter of Romans. The lines may consist of either eight or ten syllables.

6 WHEN we were [toholly] destitute of strength, † This [proper] time, CHRIST dy'd for the profane. †

7 'Tis [very] true, One for a Just Man would † [Scarce and] with no small difficulty dye. † Yet peradventure some would [even] dare † for a [Belov'd] Good Man to suffer Death. J

8 But God, commends [in this] His Love to us that CHRIST for us [altho'] yet Sinners dy'd. †

9 Much more then we [may tell] infer from hence, † since by His Blood we're [freely] justify'd, † we shall through Him be [surtly] saved from † the wrath to which we [fustly] are expos'd. †

10 For if by His Son's Death [for it] we were † while yet Foes [fully] reconcil'd to God, † much more be sure now [so well] reconcil'd, † we shall be saved by His [Glorious] Life.t

11 And yet this not all [of it] but we † do here-withal rejoyce in God [our God]† Thro' our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom [it is] † [a full] Atonement we have now receiv’d. †'

The Doxology.

'NOW to that Glorious One who has wondrously loved [sinful] us, and who has made us to be Kings † as well as Priests to God [on high;]† Even unto the God, who isit His Father; [let there] unto Himt be Glory and Dominion † forevermore. Amen: [Amen.]† The Name of God.

'JEHOVAH's [Great and] Glorious Name, † it is a Tower of

Strength

The Righteous runs [with speed] into't; † and there on high Sits safe. t

Exod. XXXIV. 6, 7.

So He proclaimed it [of Dla] † JEHOVAH is His Name ; † JEOVAH who is [the Strong] Godt forever mercifult and [very] Gracions too is He; to anger very Slow; yea, He does [ry] much abound in Grace and Truth to us. He does [how Great] reserves of Grace for many Thousands keep! Iniquity He [freely ]'does † dispence a pardon to. Yea, to Transgression too [tis done] and to all sorts of Sin; † and if He do [in part] cut off He will not quite cut off.†'

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WAS JESUS CHRIST A LITERAL SACRIFICE?

In reading the New Testament, especially the epistles, we meet with language like the following, in relation to "the author and finisher of our faith."—" This is my blood of the New Tes tament which is shed for many, for the remission of sins.”(a)— "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world."(6) For even Christ, our passover, is sacrificed for us."(c) Who, his own self, bare our sins in his own body on the tree."(d) "Christ also hath loved us, and given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God."(e) "We are sanctified through the offering up of the body of Jesus Christ." "This man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins."-"How much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the Eternal spirit offered himself, without spot, to God, purge your consciences:" --" He appeared to put away sin, by the sacrifice of himself." "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many :"(ƒ) with many other passages, not, perhaps, more strong and prominent, but of the same general character.(g)

The question very naturally arises in the mind of a serious reader of the scriptures, whether this language is to receive a literal, or a figurative construction. This is an important inquiry. If we say it is to be construed strictly or literally, the consequence seems irresistibly to follow, that Jesus Christ was offered, or that he offered himself, as an expiatory sacrifice for the sins of either a part or the whole of the human race: that by his blood the Creator was rendered propitious to his creatures; or that Jesus was, in the words of the Westminster divines(h) literally

(a) Matt. xvi. 28. Luke. xxii. 20.
(d) 1 Pet. ii. 24. (e) Eph. v. 2.
(g) Vide Mark xiv. 24. 1 Cor. xi. 24. 2
(h) Westminster Catechism, Qu, 25,

(b) John i. 29. (c) 1 Cor. v. 7. (f) Heb. x. 10. 12. ix. 14. 26. 28. Cor. v. 21. 1 John. ii. 2. iv. 10.

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