ON THE SEVERAL

PORTIONS OF THE PSALMS,

AS THEY ARE APPOINTED TO BE READ IN

THE MORNING AND EVENING SERVICES

OF

The Church of England.

BY

THE REV. RICHARD BRUDENELL EXTON,

DOMESTIC CHAPLAIN TO THE Earl of CLARENDON,

AND INCUMBENT OF ATHELINGTON AND CRETINGHAM, IN THE COUNTY
OF SUFFOLK.

THOSE STRAINS THAT ONCE DID SWEET IN ZION GLIDE. -Burns.

LONDON:

LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS.

IPSWICH: FREDERIC

1847.

PAWSEY.

PREFACE.

These Lectures were commenced and continued under the hope, that with the Divine Blessing they might prove in their delivery both acceptable and profitable to the Church committed to the author's ministry: and having been spared to conclude them, he has reason for indulging a humble confidence that his labour has not been in vain in the Lord.

"An author may write a book, ostensibly to give religious instruction. But it must not be forgotten, that the very same success which accomplishes good for the cause, brings honour to the labourer: and many an enterprizing and zealous workman will find, if he looks honestly at his heart, that the worldly feeling has far more than its fair share in the work."*

By this feeling the Author of these Lectures might have been somewhat prompted to their publication, though certainly not to their composition. But hear another cautionary monitor, neither less candid nor less modest than the one already quoted: "Omne enim artis et mentis humanæ opus habet тo ov, ad quod, non modo licet, sed etiam aliquo modo necesse est contendere: dum in ejus studio nimius non sis, et laudem consecutionis illius nimis affectasse non videaris." +

In venturing upon the doubtful issue of offering his work to the notice of the Christian community at large, the Author may

Abbott's Corner Stone.

↑ Amyraldus-Paraphrasis in Psalmos Davidis. 1662.

have been influenced by that natural feeling common to
humanity, which partially blinds us to those unavoidable imper-
fections that belong to all the labours of man; but which are
more obvious to other eyes than to our own. Upon his own
motives to the task he has undertaken, he reposes his trust of
pardon with his God, for any venial errors that may have blotted
his labour of love. He has designed a work equally useful to
his younger ministering brethren in the pulpit, for the devo-
tional exercises of the family circle, and for the closet of the
meditative Christian. Much, however, of the good which these
Lectures are designed to impart, must owe its birth to the
temper and frame of mind in which they are listened to or
perused. And that course which the Preacher recommended to
his hearers, the Author would now suggest to his readers-the
perusal, (in the Prayer Book) of the verses of each Psalm, as
they are noted down, before entering on the Commentary.

The Theologian may possibly marvel at the presumed temerity
of a new Commentary on the Psalms, after the labours of more
learned writers, devoted exclusively to the subject: but should
he extend his acquaintance with this unpretending volume, he
will discover no presumptuous competition with their respective
works, no rash invasion of the learned Authors' sacred territory,
no secret appropriation of their patented rights. These Lectures
aspire only to the merit of usefulness, as a practical guide to
the better understanding and more perfect enjoyment of the
spiritual character of the Psalms, than can be attained (without
aid) by the generality of readers; whether in their religious
services or by their own fire-side. For, as the good Bishop

Horne himself exclaims, "Is it not to be feared, that for want of such instruction, the repetition of the Psalms, as performed by multitudes, is but one degree above mechanism? And is it not a melancholy reflection, to be made at the close of a long life, that after reciting them at proper seasons, through the greatest part of it, no more should be known of their true meaning and application, than when the Psalter was first taken in hand at school?"

Wherever a borrowed passage appears, it is duly acknowledged: but it has not been thought necessary to encumber the pages with the marks of quotation [""] to the language of Holy Writ, as often as it is interwoven with that of the Author: nor will the use of it, unacknowledged, be deemed a literary piracy. Where so much of that language is used, the marks would tend only to confuse the eye of the reader, and impart no equivalent advantage.