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EMMANUEL

\ STUDIA IN /

THE LIBRARY

of
VICTORIA UNIVERSITY

Toronto

This "0-P Book" Is an Authorized Reprint of the
Original Edition, Produced by Microfilm-Xerography by
University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1966

THE

SPIRIT

HEBREW POETRY,

BY J. G. HERDER.

TRAN0LATED FROM THE GERMAN

BY JAMES MARSH.

IN TWO VOLUMES,
VOL. II.

BURLINGTON:
EDWARD SMITH,

(S*£icttor to Chaunrey Uovdrith.)

H 4-5
V-

EMMANUEL

SEALANTIC

Entered according to Act of Congreee in the jear 1£33. bf

CHAUKCCT GOODRICH,
in the office of the Clerk of the District of Vermont.

TO THE READER.

In entering upon this second portion of the work, I
would repeat the wishes which I expressed in the
preface to the former, and shall only add here such
remarks as apply peculiarly to the present volume.

The form of dialogue employed in the introduction
is dropped here, hecause, in treating matters of the
kind here presented, it would only have hcen burthen-
some, and have weakened the impression intended to
be produced. The reader is supposed rather to be
seated in familar discussion with the author or with
himself, and in adopting this supposition he will find
the progress and development of the ideas the more
natural and agreeable. Where the divisions prove too
long, he will find convenient resting places at shorter
intervals, in which he may stop and reflect upon what
he has already passed over.

I cannot, from the nature of the case, anticipate a
universal agreement in opinion upon all the matters
here treated of, and the results of some of the enqui
ries instituted, are perhaps too strange and foreign
from received opinions, to gain the assent of the pub-
lick at once. .But what is not done to-day may be
done to-morrow, and those, who do not here find satis
faction on topics treated of in this part of the work, I
beg will withhold their conclusions, and wait for the
third and last parts of it.

In pursuing the discussions I have not, knowingly,
wounded the feelings of any one, nor even by a word
passed judgment against any. Others, I trust, will
award to me the same equitable treatment, and not
hastily, in judging, give sentence against me. I leave
to every one the reward of his labour, aiming myself
only to gather fruits that may be useful, and now and
then a flower fqr enjoyment. What pleasure would it
give me to have made more accessible, more natural,
and more delightful the view of the Sacred Scriptures,
which they exhibit from the side from which I have
laboured to present them. The influence of the im-
pressicTn thus produced would be of wide extent, much
wider than I can explain by a few brief remarks.

The observations, which, to many readers might
appear too learned, I could wish to have passed over
by all such. They aro inserted for the sake of others,
to whom the reasons of my translation must be given.
No word is employed without necessity, or for a dis
play of learning ; for my vocation is, not to be a verbal
critick of the Hebrew language, but to make the
Hebrew books intelligible by placing them in their
proper light, and to show their proper application and
use.

Weimar, April 24, 1783. HERDER.

OF THE ORIGIN AND ESSENTIAL CHARACTER OF
HEBREW POETRY.

Hebrew Poetry had its origin in

1. The union of outward form with inward feeling. How far therefore
it is Divine, and how far human. First essays in poetry among the
Hebrews. The most ancient tablet of images. Language and poetry,
an imitation of that creative agency, which determines the intelligi
ble essence and outward form of its creations. Whether the poetical
images and feelings of one nation, especially an ancient one, are to
be judged by those of other nations. Character of the most ancient
poet.y. Whether individual images can be taken out of their connex.
ions and compared to any purpose with each other. Example in Job's
description of the horse.

2. Personification, Origin of this in the human mind. Its effects on
morals and poetry. Examples of it from nature, history, and the idei
of the Divinity.

3. Fuble. Origin of this, and its use in the earliest development of
reason, the formation of manners, and maxims of prudence. Respect
in which it was held in the East, and its influence on poetry.

4. Tradition. Difference between this and history. Essays in poetical
family traditions.

5. Poetical invention. Its design. Examples of it in the Cherub and
other inventions, in the kingdom of the dead, &.c. Collection of those
species under the general conception of the b^D in its different
forms.

Second species of poetry, the Song. Distinguished from mere figura
tive discourse. It is expressive of higher emotion, brings movement
and purpose into the whole of a production, aims at the expression of
harmony, and in the most ancient times was adapted to a chorus.

Combination of figurative discourse and the song. Genius of Hebrew
poetry, as learned from its origin.

Appendix. Some of the grounds of the subjective origin of Hebrew
poetry.

Hitherto, in contemplating the most ancient and sublime
phenomena exhibited by the poetry of the Hebrews, we have
only stood at the foot of the mountain, and observed objects
as they were presented to our view. We will now sit down,
and arrange in order the results of .our observation. The
best conception of a thing is obtained from a knowledge of its
origin. We proceed now, therefore, to treat of the origin of
Hebrew poetry.

1. This, as 1 showed in treating of the radical words of
the language and the fullness of their meaning, is form and*
feeling. From without, the forms of sense flow into the soul,
which puts upon them the impress of its own feeling, and
seeks to express them outwardly by gestures, tones, and other
significant indications. The whole universe with its move
ments and forms is for the outward intuition of man, a vast
tablet, on whirl) are pictured all forms of living beings. He
stands in a sea of living billows, and the fountain of life,
which is within his own being, flows forth and re-acts against
them. Thus, what flows in upon him from without, accord
ing as he feels it aiid impresses his own feeling upon it, forms
the genius of his poetry in its original elements.

It may therefore be denominated alike human and Divine,
for it is in fact both. It was God, who created the fountain
of feeling in man, who placed the universe with all its num
berless currents setting in upon him, and mingled them with
the feelings of his own breast. He gave him also language
and the powers of poetical invention, and thus far is the ori
gin of poetry Divine. It is human in respect to the measure
and peculiarity of this feeling, and of the expression, which
is given to it ; for only human organs feel and utter the
emotions and conceptions of the poet. Poetry is a Divine
language, yet not in the sense that we understand by it what
the Divine Being in himself feels and utters ; whatever was
given to the most godlike men, even through a higher influ
ence, to feel and experience in themselves, was still human.

If we knew more of the psychological and historical circum
stances, connected with these higher influences, and with the
intercourse of the Elohim with the first children of creation,
we might perhaps give also a more definite conclusion re
specting the origin of their language and mode of representa
tion. But, since the most ancient history of the human mind
has denied us this, wo must argue from the effect to the
cause, from the outward working to the inward form of feel
ing, and thus we treat of the origin of poetry only as human.
The spirit of poetry, therefore, was first exhibited in a dic
tionary of significant names, and expres.-ions full of imagery
and of fueling, arid I know of no poetry in the world, in
which this origin is exhibited in greater purity than in this.
The first specimen, which presents itself in it,* is a series of
pictures exhibiting a. view of the universe, and arranged in
accordance with the dictates of human feeling. Light is the
first uttered word of the creator, and the instrument of Divine
efficiency in the sensitive human soul. By means of this the
creation is unfolded and expanded. The heavens and the
earth, night and day, the diurnal and nocturnal luminaries,
creatures in the sea and on the land, are measured and esti- r
mated with reference to the human eye, to the wants, and
the powers of feeling and of arrangement peculiar to man.
The wheel of creation revolves with a circumference em
bracing all that his eye can reach, and stands still in himself aa
the centre of the circle, the visible God of this lower world.
In giving names to all¥and ordering all from the impulse of
his own inward feeling, and with reference to himself, he be
comes an imitator of the Divinity, a second Crertor, a true
Tioiiyrr/f , a creative poet. Following this origin of the poetick
art, instead of placing its essence in an imitation of nature, as
has generally been done, we might still more boldly place it in
an imitation of that Divine agency, which creates, and give§

* Gen, 1

form and determinateness to the objects of its creation. Only
the creative thoughts of God, however, are truly objective
have actuality in their outward expression, and stand forth
existent and living in the products of creative power. Man
can only give names to these creations, arrange and link them
together; beyond this, his thoughts remain hut lifeless forms,
his words and the impulses of his feelings are not in them
selves living products. Yet, the clearer the intuition, with
which we contemplate and systematize the objects of creation,
the more unsophisticated and full the impulse of feeling,
which impels us to impress every thing with the purest char
acter and fullest measure of humanity — that which maiks the
analogy of our being to that of God — the more beautiful, the
more perfect, and, let us not doubt, the more powerful will
be our poetick art. In this feeling of natural beauty and
sublimity the child often has the advantage of the man of
gray hairs, and nations of the greatest simplicity have in their
natural imagery and expressions of natural feeling, the most
elevated and touching poetry. I doubt whether this origin
of poetry can be better and more beautifully expressed than
it is by the Hebrew *> (U D • The word means to imprint to
impress, to impress a form, a likeness ; and so to speak in
proverbs, as the 0^2170 °f l'ie Hebrew poetry are pro
verbs, wise sentences of the highest import ; and again to
decide, to put in order, to speak as a king or judge, filially,
to reign, to hare dominion, to be powerful by the word of one?*
mouth. Here we have the history <^ the origin of poetry
and of the part of it, which is most powerful in its influence.
It would scarcely have been deserving of remark, were it
not necessary to prevent frequent misconception and abuse,
that the poetical images and feelings of one people, and of
one age can never be judged, censured, and rejected accord
ing to the standard of another people, and another age. Had
the Creator so ordered it, that we had all been born upon
the same spot of earth, at the same time, with the same feel-

ings and organs, and under the same outward circumstances,
there would have been nothing to object against the uniform
standard of taste, of which so much has been said. But
since nothing is more susceptible and multifarious than the
human heart, since nothing is more subtle and evanescent,
than the connecting ties, on which its feelings and passions
depend, since it even belongs to the perfection of human na
ture, that it organize and form itself anew under every cli-
mate, in every age, and every peculiar mode of existence,
since finally that modicum of articulated air, which we call
language, and which yet bears upon its light and butterfly
whins all the treasures of poetical imagery and sentiment —
since this breath of the mouth, in its manifold variations ex
hibiting the diversities of every people and every age, is a
real Proteus, it seems to indicate either a stupid or a proud
presumption to require, that every nation, even of the most
ancient times, should think, discourse, feel, and fashion its
poetical conceptions in a manner to suit our habits and
wants. It has been long remarked, that the human race in
its successive ages and revolutions seems to follow the vicisi-
tudes of our individual human life, (at least men imagine it
to be so), and as the child does not feel, speak, and contem
plate the world around him in the same manner as a man of
mature age, who would require of nations in the infancy of
the world, the facility and rapidity in poetical representation,
which with us is the result of experience, the squeamishness
and over refinement of our exhausted and worn out hearts.
We must learn to dwelt^ong upon plain and simple imagery,
to revolve them over in our contemplations, to excite the
sense of wonder, and picture them in gigantick forms. Such
are the views, the language, and the feelings of children.
They look with child-like wonder and astonishment, before
they learn to perceive with discrimination. Every thing ap
pears to them in the dazzling splendour of novelty. Objects
that are unknown, or of larger magnitude, produce an effect

upon their unpractised and yet sensitive organs. They know
not as yet how to compare, and by comparison to belittle the
objects of their admiration. The tongue strives to cxprcsa
itserf, and falls upon strong expressions, because its language
is not become weak and facile from a multiplicity of empty
sounds and stale metaphorical expressions. They often speak
too, as the Orientals, and as uncultivated savages speak, till
at length with the progress of nature and art they learn to
express themselves like polished or like fashionable men.
Let them enjoy their years of childhood, and let those Orien
tals also in the infancy of the world form tlicii poetical con
ceptions, speak, and rejoice with a child-like spirit.

Still more incongruous would it be to take a single image
or representation out of the connexion, in which it belongs,
and compare its style and colouring with th'>sc of another,
taken from a poet of a different age, of a different nation and
language, and of diverse poetical powers. No two things
in the world arc wholly alike. No one thing is made for
the purpose of being compared with another, and the mqst
fresh and delicate growth, when torn from its place, is the
first to wither. A poetical imaire exisJs only in its con
nexion with the emotion that prompted it. In losing that it loses
every thing, and is only a senseless medley of colours, which
only a child values according to the brightness of their tints.
Perhaps too no poets lose so much by a comparison of extract
ed passages and imaL'cs as the poets of the [Cast. For they aro
the farthest removed from us, they sung in another world, in
part three, four thousand years, before we discoursed about
them. Should one compare for example, the picture of a horse
in Job with Virgil's desciip'.ion of it, and neglect to icmark,
who it is that speiks in Job, and for what end,, what was the
character and estimation of the horse in Virgil's time at Rome,
tnd in the days of Job in Jdumo?a, and for wlnf purpose it was
introduced in these different authors, (to HIV nothing of lan
guage, metre, the genius of the people, and the form of their po»

etry) would he form a good comparative estimate of them !
would they be fairly balanced and compared?* But we proceed.

£. The form or image of sense accompanied with emotion
readily buctxnas in the view of the mind excited by its influ
ence a thinj- of lift1, and thus personification is the second
higher step in the origin of the poetick art.

It is the naluro of the hum in s-jiil to refer every thing to
itself, to think it like itself, and thus to find itself reflected io
every tiling. That which is agreeable to us we regard as
loving us ; what is adverse to us, bates us, as we hate it ; that,
with which we would delight to hold converse, speaks to us
also, and its slightest sound, its most trifling utterance, is
converted by the power of the imagination into language and
intelligent expression. In this respect all ancient nations arc
alike. Their dictionaries could be formed and collected, and
their grammatical forms established only on the principle,
that mines should be constructed with distinction of gender,
and events which took place regarded as workings and agen
cies of living beings, according to the analogies of our human
being. The Hebrew language is full of personifications, and

* Aikin, in his Essay on the application of natural history to poetry,
hus instituted such a comparison, and has passed judgment somewhat
strangely respecting Job's belie :.oth and leviathan. No poet will or
hhould, by his descriptions, furnish details for a work on Zoology, since
poetry aims not to give particular traits with distinctiveness, but to give
power and effect to the combined whole. This must be looked for as
the aim of the writer in Job, as in the same passages, the gigantick, the
mysterious, and the marvellous, in these pictures, belong to the general
purpose of the composition. The distance of Idurnaja from Egypt, and
the fact that in the former the horse was yet probably a foreign and rare
animal, and an object of wonder, rendered this description of it suitable
to the aim of the book, and indeed made it necessary. But so soon ai
we suj^% the author to have been an Egyptian, all these relations
fail, ami-Hire out of place, because in that country every one must have
been familiar with the horse, the crocodile, the ostrich, and the hippo
potamus.

it is undeniable, that this sympathy, this transfer of one's self
into the objects around us, ond ascription, as it were, of our
own feelings to those objects with whk'h we hold converse,
has formed not only the inspiring principle of language, of
speech, but to a certain extent also the first development
and existence of moral principle. Relations of feeling and
moral duties cease, where I conceive nothing in a living being
analogous to my own being. The more deeply rnd inwardly
I feel this resemblance, and implicitly believe in it, so much
the more delightful will be my sympathy, and the exorcise of
it, in accordance with my own sensibilities. The most an
cient poetry, which exerted such a forming influence upon
men in their savage state, made use of this fountain of over
flowing sensibility to form and cherish in them the feelings
of compassion and brnevolcnce. In the blood of Abel his
soul cries from the ground. So to Adam, surrounded by the
brute creation, all seemed to be animated by his own feelings,
and he sought among them all for a help-meat ond compan
ion. The sun and moon were kings of heaven, servants of
God, rulers of the world. The waving atmosphere was a
brooding dove, and God himself, the creator of all, a work-
master, after the manner of men, who looked upon his work,
rejoiced in arid blessed it. Nay, what is still more bold than
this, he was the father of man, and man was appointed to be
his vicar and substitute on earth. — Extravagant as this rep
resentation may seern to a heartless deist, it was yet natural
and necessary for the unbiassed feelings of the human heart.
Without God the creation is for us a chaos, and without a
God, whose being is analogous to that of man, who thinks
and feels as we do, no friendship or filial affection towards
him is possible, nor can we feel a child-like tconfuiQnce in
communing with a being, so beyond our knowlcdgc^nd yet
ao intimately near to us. The infinite God, therefore, vouch-
lafed to render the primary ideas of himself as accessible,
to man, as was possible, and as well in the first pictures of

creation, as in the history of the patriarchs ; this friendly
confidence and trust is the ground of all the relations of man
to God, and of God to man. In the shepheid's tent God also
is a shepherd, in the family circle he is the father of all. He
visits them as a friend, and permits himself to be invited to
the domestick festival. He was more pleased with his son
Abel, than with Cain, and in vouchsafing his presence to
Noah after the flood he smelled a sweet savour from the re
newed eartlu On the contrary, he was angry with tyrannical
oppressors, and took the field, as it were, against Nimrod, the
oppressor of the earth, as if he were also about to scale the
heavens. Of Abraham, as if jealous of his paternal love, he
required that he should oiler up to him his son, the dearest
object of his heart, and wrestled with Jacob to secure for
him the name of a hero.

In the book of Job we have unfolded and explained some
personifications, on which depends the power of the most
affecting discourses, and so it is with the excitement of sym
pathy in all kinds of emotion. If the poetry of the most
ancient times has produced any effect upon the human heart,
(and it has undoubtedly produced much), it has the power
of doing so by this means alone. Hence, where this flexibility
of the heart is wanting, even in our o\vn times, and the man
contemplates such personifications and measures them by
pure reason, and according to geometrical rules, he will find
in the Hebrew and Greek poets only irrational extravagances.
In Hebrew the whole language is formed upon the principle
of personification ; nouns, verbs, and even connecting words
are constructed and arranged under its influence. Every
thing with them has voice, mouth, hand, countenance, and
those relations, which render their representation as son and
daughter, one, become necessary for them as for other Orien
tals a significant and beautiful idiom,* An idiom, however,

* Examples are found in Jones' commentar, poes. Asiatics in suffi.
2

which for the most part has given occasion to the worst mis
apprehensions, for we may almost affirm it as a general rule
'• the bolder and more original a poetical conception and
figure is, the more it is misunderstood and abused. "

3. A personified object, so soon as it is represented in
action, in away that gives to a general sentiment a sensuous
representation becomes a fable. The transition from the
one to the other is by a single step, and the East abounds
not more in personifications, than in fables.

When God brought the various brutes to Adam to see
what he would call them, lie placed man in a school of fable.
In order to be able to designate an animal by a name he
must know its character and instinct?, and both were to bo
learned from the animal's actions and mode of life. The
least reflection applied to these, since the man thereby brought
them into connexion, and referred them to his own being,
led to the perception of a general character in the conduct
of the animal, and so, even when unexpressed a fable was
already constructed in the mind of the observer. The first
dialogue with the serpent, and the circumstance mentioned,
that Adam found none like himself among all the objects
of creation, pre-suppose this tendency of his mind. It is the
punctum saliens of fable. It might be. said, indeed, that
from it proceeded for the yet infant race of man, the first
principles of morals and of prudence, and that the poetical
conception, that brutes act from similar feelings with men,
has had a forming influence in the cultivation of his reason.
It is not only that in older to attain it, man must observe the
animate creation in its various characters, he was necessita
ted also to notice the relations to himself of the actions and
characters of the brutes, and what was deserving of imitation
or otherwise. What we denominate the history of the fall

cient numbers. For the Hebrew of the words man, ton, daughter,
countenance, $c. the lexicons may be referred to.

was the first aberration of his reasoning faculty, the imitation
according to an erroneous conception, of a brute, which the
teaching of his paternal creator afterwards showed him in its
true form, and thereby corrected his false conclusions. As
we are now rendered skillful by experience, so then the un
derstanding of man in his state of nature formed and guided
itself by observing the contrivances of brutes. Their adap
tive powers and propensities are fully developed, their char
acter clearly determined, forcibly and distinctively expressed,
and definitely fixed. Here then, man was placed in a school
rich in instruction, and as tradition says that he learned most
of the arts from the brutes, so it is certain also, that his first
observations respecting differences of sense and understand
ing, and different modes of action, were taken from the brutes.
The earliest names, by which distinctive characters among
men were designated, are all derived from animals, as the
first general maxims relating to manners and prudence for
the most part show their origin in fable. This last remark
we shall pursue more at large.

A general maxim or sentiment is an abstraction from par
ticular occurrences, and many of these among the Orientals
still include the particular case in the general expression, and
with the sensuous image and compressed allegory form as it
were, an abbreviated fable. So it is with many of the pro
verbs of Solomon, as in the lesson, which the ant gives to
the sluggard, &c. and indeed with all the finest proverbs of
ancient nations. The fable was constructed in view of an
actual occurrence ; the moral lesson was deduced from it,
and to aid the recollection of it, and give point to the senti
ment, was compressed into a metaphor, a proverb, or even an
enigma. All these modes of representation are essentially
'•one, and are all natives of the East, where they are peculiar
favourites. There the fable was invented, and there proverbs,
maxims, enigmas, even the radical forms of language are full
of fable. The whole art of poetry has there a sententious

character, and a dress of fable, which separates it widely
from our methodical style in prolonged and rounded periods.
There too, those kinds of poetry, which are characterized by
allegory and fable, are the most abundant and the most beau
tiful. In modern languages, on the other hand, for one
simple Oriental fable drawn from the kingdom of beasts and
of trees, we may furnish ten artificial narrations, which often
contain neither fable nor history, and usually fall short of the
former in richness of poetical invention. The strings of
pearl, as the Orientals cull certain collections of choice and
well arranged sentences, are well known, and the beautiful
tapestry of their instructive and more elevated poetry, which
expands its richly ornamented flowers with so much mag
nificence, appears to them noble and godlike. But of these
forms of poetry we shall speak more at large in their proper
place ; at present we proceed to remark,

4. That even history in the East, especially when it relates
to the ancient patriarchal traditions, readily assumes the
dress of fable, and becomes as it were, a poetical and tradi
tionary representation of family history. Whoever reads tho
historical writings of the Old Testament, from tho most an
cient period, will scarcely deny this, and one, that is acquaint
ed with the historical style of the Orientals, in other histories,
will be still less disposed to do so. It is not merely, that
here and there, in the simplest narrative, poetical forms of
expression are inserted, because the voice of tradition perhaps
transferred them from existing songs, or gave them for the
sake of adding force to the expression ; not merely, that the
narrative itself affects the entire simplicity of tho poetical
style, in regard to the use of connectives and the repetitions
of words ; but for the most part also the form and outline of
the whole narrative is poetical. Nor is this at all prejudicial]'
to truth, but rather contributes to its clearness and force, by;?
retaining and exhibiting in the tone and outward form of the
narrative, as it were, the original impression:) and images of

sense from which it was taken ; only the interpreter must
find and retain this point of view, or he will misapprehend
the tone of the sentiment, the aim and general scope of the
narrative. The history of Paradise, of our first parents, and
of the subsequent patriarchs, of the flood, of the tower of
Babel, &c. appear obviously in the character of family and
national traditions, and so it continues downward to the history
of the Jewish patriarchs. Tradition has formed into a
sacred narrative, a sort of fabula morata, where in every line
the favour of Jehovah to their fathers beams forth as the ori
gin, from which they derive the glory of their race, their
right to Canaan, and the prerogative which they claim before
the nations, which inhabited it. What among other races
bears the marvellous character of hcroick and extravagant
traditions, is here of divine and patriarchal authority, con
firmed by genealogical registers and monuments, and exhibit
ing such simplicity of ornament, that the artificial forms of
poetry arc unsuitable to it. Among all nations history has
grown out of tradition, and among the Hebrews it has remain
ed even down to the period of the kings, in regard to the style,
almost always traditionary in its character. To this the lan
guage, the modes of thought, which distinguished the people
and the sacred writers, but especially the high antiquity of
the age, has contributed.

5. I come now tojictlon, or poetical invention properly so
called, which consists in combining known, distinctly marked
images, to form a new creation before unknown, and having its
own distinctive character. Of this poetical creation the Cheruty
may serve as an example. The lion, the ox, the man, and tho
eagle are beings well known ; the combination of them into a
creature of symbolical import was the work of poetical in
vention. It will be observe;!, that I use poetry and poetical
invention, not in the sense of groundless fiction or falsehood ;
for in the sphere of the understanding, the import of a sym
bol poetically constructed is truth. The parts themselves of
2*

the composition are taken from nature, and I know no fiction,
which has not received its elements from that source. Hence,
the invention of fictions entirely new is so difficult, that the
greatest poets copy each other, and nations farthest removed
from each other coincide in the essential characters, and
leading forms of those beings, with which they have peopled
the world of their imaginations. One of these leading forms,
the features of which are recognized among all nations, which
have poetry, is the Cherub, perhaps the oldest of all poetical
creations. It stands on the ruins of Persepolis, which, in
the form of their inscriptions, and the style of their architect
ure, go back beyond the periods of recorded history, and, in
the form of the Sphinx, lies before the ruins of numerous
Egyptian temples. It is referred to in the marvellous talcs
of India, of Thibet, of China, of Persia and of Arabia, and
occurs in the ancient traditions of the Greeks, as well as in
the Northern Sagas, though in every nation under its own
peculiar modifications of form. Even the poetry of the Mid
dle Age has made use of it, and scarcely any poetry is un
furnished with winged beings of the same general character.
The Hebrews, in my apprehension, have the oldest and purest
traditions respecting it, and retain the natural and probable
account of the origin of a composition in itself so strange
and marvellous. According to their account it was a guar
dian of Paradise, and thus by consequence a symbol of things
secret and mysterious, that is, of places sacred and unap
proachable. From this, by an easy transition, it become
itself, in its component parts, a mystery, a synthesis of the
most noble and exalted of living creatures. It came to be
attached to the ark of the covenant, as a guardian of the
mysteries of the law,'and thereby a sustainer of the Majesty
of Jehovah, who watched over them. It was transferred also
to the clouds, and became first a* poetical, then a prophetical
vision. These last applications of it, however, belong to
the poetry of the Hebrews alone. The Cherub, in the char-

actor which it bore before the time of Moses, the creature of
marvel, that guarded the secrets or treasures of the primeval
world, was universally known ; in the character given it among
the Hebrews after the age of Moses, as the sustainer of the
glory of God, it was known only in Judaea, and passed into
it by the transitions, which I have explained.*

From this Cherub, thus placed in their way, the fancy of
the Orientals with its boundless stores of imagery took oc
casion to produce other like inventions, and upon its wings
soared into the regions of wild and extravagant fiction. In
relation to this subject the reader should peruse in Bochart's
Ilierozocion, the sixth book relating to fabulous animals, and
call to mind the numerous fabled creations in the Oriental
tales. The ground of every fiction is for the most part a truth
in natural history, so that we have not so properly pure fic
tion, as truth under the garb of fiction, and the unusual, the
singular, and the strange, elevated to the inconceivable and
the extravagant. An example of this is found in the history
of the tree of life, and the tree of knowledge, in Paradise.
This simple, and as given by Moses, intelligible and natural
tradition, was gradually, in its subsequent transmission, sha
ped into a strange and wonderful mystery. Now the tree of
life was represented as a peculiarly healthful tree, that stood
near to that which bore the forbidden and deadly fruit ; then
it become a growth productive of physical immortality ; arid
the tree, by which God proved the obedience of man, was,
even in the representation given of the serpent as the tempter,
already become a tree of super-human knowledge. The same
process of the fancy will be found in regard to other inven
tions of Oriental fable. Job's behemoth and leviathan, which
were real animals, because they were of foreign growth,
large in size, and objects of fear and wonder, were pictured
in characters, which with small addition and exaggeration

* See Vol 1. Dialogue VI.

would have transformed them entirely into creatures of fable-
and mere objects of wonder.

In the prophets certain fictitious animals occur, the exist
ence of which was at that time credited in the popular
traditions. But aside from these, the Hebrew poetry has
kept itself pure from whatever is monstrous and inconceivable
in the creations of imagination. As it fills every thing with
Jehovah, so its boldest combinations of imagery proceed
from this source. The thunder was the voice of God, a
voice which the sacred poets understood ; light was his
garment which he cast about him as a mantle, and in the
morning dawn outspread upon the darkness of the night.
The heavens were his tent, his palace, his temple. Univer
sal nature composed a host of living creatures, which he
employed as his ministering servants. The universe was
filled with his angels, employed as his messengers, but in a
form at once beautiful and worthy of the divine being ; for
the living powers and objects of nature were themselves the
messengers intended, and the angel of his countenance, the
often personified Word of God, was the forth-going utterance
of his will, the outward expression of the mind of God. If,
in the earlier books,* the gods of the heathen appear as
demons, this was in accordance with the delusion of the
nations who worshipped them, for most of the Gentiles be
lieved the image, to which they prayed, to be animated by a
spirit. The prophets of Israel seized upon this faith, and de
graded these demons, as vile, imbecile, and impure beings,
subordinate to the true God, till the great Isaiah rejected
this also, and exhibited the vanity and nothingness of an idol
as it was. Satan himself in earlier times was only an angel
of God, whom God sent as his messenger. Opposed to him
on the side of Job stood another angel, t who was an advo- .
cate in the presence of God for the innocent object of his

•Deut, xixii, 16. 17. t Job, aaxiii, 33.

complaint. Thus the- picture presented in this book is whol
ly of a poetical character, and under the form of a judicial
process.

The kingdom of the dead resulted from a combination of
conceptions so natural in itself, that I do not wonder at its
occurrence among the Hebrews, as among many other na
tions. No metaphorical separation of the body and the soul
was yet known, and the dead with their visibly prostrated
powers, were conceived as still living in the grave, but in a
shadowy, obscure, and powerless condition. The voice of
the murdered victim cried out in his blood, and the feeble,
stifled voice of the dead was still represented to the imagina
tion beneath the earth, which covered them. The whispering
voices of those, who dwell in the tombs, is a general article
of popular faith with the Hebrews, the Arabians,* and
other ancient nations. Now as the tombs of the East were
spacious caves, in which multitudes were deposited side by
side in their last sleep, the conception of a subterraneous
kingdom ainon<r the nether shades, was obvious and easily
formed. Thither whole families descended to join the ghosts of
their fathers. Heroes, kingdoms, and all the trappings of vic
tory, with which they were buried, went clown there together.
The heroes, who were already there received them ; and as
powerless shades they pursued the same unsubstantial phan
tom of glory, which they had pursued in life. To all these
hosts of the dead, too, was given a king, with his royal tower
or strong hold, whose bars and gates no one could break
through ; for no power can restore the dead to light and life.
There murmured the dark rivers of the dead, because in the
deep caverns of the earth we so often meet with streams of
water, and hear their obscure, subterraneous, and melan
choly sounds. The dying man hears these streams, because
according to oft recorded experience, the senses of thosa

* See Schulten'i Notes on the Hamasa, p. 558.

sinking through weakness, as they gradually fail, hare a con
sciousness of sounds as of distant waves. In the same fig
urative representations, death, who is always lying in wait
for his prey, became a hunter with nets and cords, while at
the same time, because the body is fearfully wasted and con
sumed in the earth, he is described as a monster, who feeds
upon and devours the dead. — So neutral were all their transi
tions of thought, which, with the usual modifications, occa
sioned by varying circumstances of country and climate, are
common to almost all nations.

But enough of examples. We have now treated in regu
lar gradation the several successive kinds of poetical repre
sentation, which all proceed from the same source, the utter
ance of the soul in the language of imagery and emotion.
For j every one will see, that poetical personifications, the
representations of fable, enigmas, sententious proverbs, and
finally, the proper creations of poetry, not only themselves
belong to the mashal, but can derive their distinctive charac
ters, only from the modifications of this same inspiring prin
ciple of poetry in the soul. In the most ancient times the
language of sentiment was concise, lofty, and full of energy,
as we perceive from the blessings pronounced by the patri
archs, the discourses of Job, and the oracles of Balaam.
From these the sayings and poetical expressions of the
prophets differ strictly speaking, as to their general charactei
and style, only as the weaker from the stronger, the later
and often imitative from the ancient and original power. For
even among the prophets, and in the same prophet, there are
very different degrees of energy and conciseness in their
figurative language. The language in their time had already
become more practised, images and sentiments had becomo
more common-place, the spirit of poetry did not reach nor re
tain the vigour and originality of the primitive ages. If
these views be correct, there is no sufficient reason for con
sidering the writings of the prophets as constituting a

liar species of poetry. Their atyle was often, indeed, that
of poetical prose, which still retained the air and movement
of the earlier parabalick poetry. When the style is aphoristick,
and marked by the mere orderly arrangement of sentences
without logical connexion, it necessarily gains in conciseness
and dignity, and we have a collection of such sentences in
the Proverbs of Solomon. As nearly related to these, we had
also enigmas, like that which we have respecting Sampson,
in which the tone and parallelism of the perfect mashal is
observable. All this, therefore, belongs to one and the same
class, and the Hebrew n~I*n» an intricate and dark dis
course, includes more than the mere riddle. Every pithy and
sententious expression, that is, at the same time difficult of
apprehension, belongs to it, and a greater portion of the
Oriental figurative style of discourse aims at this as its princi
pal beauty.

To what subject matter this is applied, and whether this
sublime or enigmatical style of figurative discourse be ex
pressive of praise or blame, of love or hatred, of joy or
sorrow, whether in prolonged or brief effusions, are not
considerations of a nature to constitute co-ordinate kinds of
poetry. They are all varieties of the same kind, imaginative
metaphorical discourse with the uniform and lofty parallelism.

But we here enter upon a second species of the poetick art,
I mean the song. So soon as musick was invented, poetry
acquired a new power, a more graceful movement, and great
er harmony of sound. The simple utterance of motion in
images of sense had only the most natural and simple form
and dimension, the systole and diastole of the heart and
breath — the parallelism. With the accession of musick it
acquired a higher tone, a more measured cadence, and even

rhyme, as we see in the song of Lamech. What was before
a simple play of the breath, became now a measured sound,
a dance, a choral song, a musical utterance of emotion.
When musick was invented, lyrick poetry also, and the dance
in measured movements without doubt were brought into
use. Let us see then what the art of poetry gained or lost
by the change.

1. All musical poetry requires a more elevated emotion.
If it utters its musical tones in figurative expressions, these
must be animated by excited feeling, imparting continuity and
unity of character to the lofty movement of the imagery, and
giving it a form of more exalted harmony. Whatever may
be the character of the emotion, which prevails in a lyrical
effusion, its movement and harmony will be regulated accord
ingly. A hymn of adoartion, a fiery ode, a tranquil song of
joy, and an elegy expressive of grief and aflliction, are not
modulated in the same tone and manner. There are, there
fore subdivisions of the song, but the general conception is
the same in all. The elegy nj> P> the song of joy or love
*!>£#, the song of praise n^HHt a°d the different
modifications of the mode of singing arising from the difier-
ence of instruments, all conic under the common name, song
*I^D1O» which derives its distinctive import from the
cadences and cacsural pauses, which the musick has intro
duced. To divide lyrical clfusions from a regard to outward
circumstances, and to call, for example, a particular species
the idyll, is adverse to the spirit of Hebrew poetry, and in
deed unpoetical. Among the Greeks every idyll and all its
parts were not necessarily song, and on the other hand in the
beautiful song of songs all does not partake of the char
acter of the idyll, although the whole corresponds to
the general conception of the tranquil song. Even the
more general form of figurative utterance, and in its
most artificial kind, the dark and involved enigma, is not
absolutely opposed to the song, as we perceive in many

of the Psalm8,*~and in short, the contents, the subject matter
do not determine the kind, but the mode of treatment, and
the form in which it is expressed.

2. From this view it appears, that the application of musick,
of singing, brings with it a sort of melody, and therefore con
tinuity, plan, purpose, into the whole and all the parts of a ly
rical production, such as were not found in the simply figura
tive style, except so far as it derived them from the subject.
Not that I would take from Horace or Pindar a metrical ar
rangement, by which the Psalms of David should be measu
red. Every emotion contains its own law, consequently, also,
its charactcristick aim in itself, and hence those Psalms, which
are properly expressive of emotion, cannot \>e without these.
The didactick pieces, though accompanied with musick, have
less of these, and so arrange their aphoristick sentences often
by tin; letters of the alphabet. Yet oven this shows that the
lyrick poem as such must have a sort of measure, and a deter
minate extent, though it should be taken from the alphabet
itself.

IJ. Mustek requires harmony of sound, and since Hebrew
musick was probably free from the restraints of artificial rules,
it could on that account approximate more nearly to the move
ments of the heart. Nothing is more difficult to translate,
than a Hebrew Psalm, especially one adapted to the dance
and the choral song of earlier times. Its evanescent tones are
breathed in a rhythmical movement of tho most free and un
restrained character, while the difficult measures of our lan
guage, its protracted and harsh syllables, drag themselves
tediously along. In the Hebrew a single word, easily uttered
find agreeable in sound, expresses the whole sentiment. In
ours ten are often necessary ; and though they express it with
more logical distinctness, it is with less ease and eloquence.

4. Most of the poetry, that was accompanied with instru-

* PB. xlix. 78., &c.

menta among the Orientals, was composed of the choral songs,
often sung by several choruses, and sometimes accompanied
with the dance. What inspiring fulness of effect this must
have given to song in those early times, in which the emotions
of the heart, were as yet little controled, when in praise of
God or in commemoration of some national blessing it was
sung by an assembled people, in the fulness of national pride
and of popular exultation, I leave every one to judge accord
ing to his own feelings. In our own times, when nations arc
mingled in confusion, so that we scarcely have the same God,
but few interests in common, and no common country, we
sec nothing of the kind. With them, inusick and language
hud nothing artificial, but were the native, the inspired and
inspiring utterance of the heart. No cold and formal statcli-
ness, no chills of a. Northern sky, oppressed the soul, and re
strained its emotions. Tin* song of Moses and Miriam, the
voice of a host of many myriads singing in chorus the song of
their deliverance, with sounding instruments of inusick, be
neath an Arabian sky, and celebrating the glory of Jehovah
their deliverer — where is there a SOIIJT so exciting and .so ele-
> itiiiir as this. ? And this, too, was the pattern of the songs of
Israel in better times.

Figurative discourse then, the language of metaphor, and
allegorv, and song, are the two leading forms, under which
the spirit of poetry among the Hebrews manifested itself; and
should or could there be more ? -They are poetry for the eye
and the ear, through both which they soften and agitate the
heart. In the figurative style of discourse an individual
speaks, lie instructs, reproves, consoles, directs, commends,
contemplates the past, and discloses the future. The song
is sung either by one or many ; they sing from the heart and
melt the heart, or they infuse instruction in sweet and liquid
tones. Both these kinds of poetry were held sacred among
the Hebrews. The most eloquent writers in the first kind
were the Prophets, and the most sublime lyrical effusions were

the songs of the temple. Whether these two kinds were ex
panded into ampler forms, as the drama and heroick poetry,
will be shown hereafter.

In conclusion, I observe once more, that the same lofty,
sententious style, the language of metaphor and allegory, some
times leads to a hidden and mystical sense. Neither is this
peculiar to the Hebrews. It belongs also to the Arabians and
the Persians, and the most favourite ode of Hafiz, as a com
mon chance, gives a very subtle and mystical sense, in which
he that will look for it may find all the treasures of knowledge.
The ground of this lies in the genius, the origin, and the ra
dical principles of Oriental Poetry. A sublime but obscure
image, a comparison followed out with acuteness, a divine
aphorism, which an enigmatical parallelism utters as it were
only from a distance, these forms of expression require to be
illustrated and explained. And when a man divinely inspired
speaks, when in the name of God he discourses of the desti
nies of the future, who would not readily anticipate more than
perhaps he means to utter. And who would not, moreover,
gladly find it afterwards in his divine oracles, even if he be
not an Oriental, prone to admiration, and striving after high
and mysterious meanings. Thus it has, indeed, fared for
centuries with the poetry of the Hebrews, and, if our age and
nation deserve any praise, it is for their cool and persevering
endeavour to approximate at least, the simple, original sense
of those ancient poets, and to listen to their oracles in the true
spirit of antiquity, undazxled and unprejudiced by glosses and
the notion of a mysterious meaning.*

* I have ventured to omit here a short extract from Opitz, a German
writer of the seventeenth century, and a poetical effusion of the author
on the origin and office of poetry. They seem intended merely for gar
nishing, and are not necessary to the connexion of the author's views.

28
APPENDIX.

Some of the subjective grounds of the origin of Hebrew poetry.

The foregoing remarks treat of the origin and essential
characters of Hebrew poetry objectively ; they were designed
to exhibit the twigs and brandies of the tree, as they spring
from the trunk and root. But some, perhaps, may wish to see
the ground and soil, by which the tree was sustained ; in oth
er words to find some of the circumstances designated, in
which the language became adapted to such images and emo
tions, and could extend its powers of expression by personifi
cations, fictions, songs and proverbs. Here too, as in the pre
ceding observations, I shall rather exhibit facts than specula
tions.

1. Such images and ideas, as even the first chapters of Gen
esis have preserved to us, are impossible for a savage and un
cultivated people. So long as man remained a mere clod,'inca-
pable of thought, and urged to action only by the most pressing
physical necessities, lie could not attain to such abstractions
and applications of names, as the first picture of the creation
has given in an order and symmetry suited to the understand
ing of a people still under the dominion of the senses. Who
ever may have been the author of this fragment, it gives proof,
in its images, and the scope of its representations, of being the
work of a skilful master. No Orpheus here tames the tiger,
and the lion ; no Silenus sings in grandiloquent jxjetry a cos
mogony wrapped in fable. All this was the birth, or al>ortion,
of a later artificial mode of thought, and of a mystifying style
of representation. Here all is simple and divine, as if one of
the Elohim had himself instructed the genius of humanity.
The most slight and facile determinations and classifications
of objects are connected together, and poetically expressed to
the understanding of man, and he is elevated by an imitation
of the invisible Father and Creator, in the alternation of tran-
quility and active toil, to be the visible lord of creation.

2. But again, these refined ideas, even in the relation, in
which they are here placed, are found already fixed in the ra
dical terms of the language, as if they had been planted in,
and grown up with it. This language, therefore, however nu
merous may be the traces, which it bears, in its ideas and the
simplicity of its constructions, of the infancy of the race, had
already become formed throughout when this first fragment
was, I will not say composed, but even conceived. No Ca
ribbean savage speaks in such language, either as to the sound
or the formation of the words. Here are no prolonged sounds
to signify the most trifling things, no wild wilderness of names
clustered together, but all hangs rather on a single thread,
and so the whole language branches regularly from the sim
plest root*. In regard to its etymology and grammar, (I do
not say its syntax and Ftvle of composition) the ancient He
brew language is a masterpiece of conciseness and orderly
arrangement, corresponding to the impressions of sense. One
might well suppose a Divine Being had devised it for the in
fancy of the human race, in order to communicate, as it were,
in short, the earliest conceptions of logical order.

3. A language! formed at so early a period was, moreover,
a real treasure for the rice, which possessed it. They had in
it numerous images and emotions already embodied, which
became their inheritance, and which they had only to apply.
We know nothing of the magnificence and the wisdom, which
were embodied in the ancient language of Egypt, but we
know thus much, that a Phoenician brought the alphabet to
Greece, that the Pelasrjians and lonians were originally Asi-
atick tribes, having probably an affinity with those, to whom
this language belonged. According to the Mosaick records it
was transmitted from upper Asia to the banks of the Euphrates,
and its whole character gives proof, that the climate of Asia
was its birth place. Its ideas are full of striking contrasts, of
light and shade, of rest and activity. This is the character
of the Oriental heavens, and of the genius of Oriental nations,
3*

In Greenland it would not so early hare unfolded itself.
Where nature is rude and barren, and man labours under the
heavy burthens, which it imposes, he becomes skilled perhaps
in the laborious arts, in the severe and dexterous applications
both of mind and body, but is not fitted for the development
of liberal ideas, of enlarged views, and comprehensive and sus
ceptible emotions.

4. This language, ancient as it was, and formed under a
mild and o|>cn sky, was transmitted to a race of herdsmen.
Men devoted to such a mode of life were well adapted to pre
serve and more fully to carry out the primitive ideas and his
torical traditions which it contained. The occupation of
herdsmen was one of the earliest in the history of human im
provement. Still it presupj>oses an incipient cultivation, and
cannot subsist without divers arts and regulations. These, how
ever, are all of the simplest and most innocent kind. It served
to unfold the domestick relations, and to establish paternal and
patriarchal authority. It domesticated animals for the use of
man, and called forth feelings of gentleness towards the brutes
in general. It gave a sense of the freedom of nature, that is
still inextinguishable in the minds of the Bedouins, since they
avoid cities as the confinement of a prison. If too, in this
race of herdsmen ancient impressions of the God of nature,
of the patriarchs who were the objects of his love, of moral
rectitude and innocence prevailed, they found in this free and
roving mode of lite a favourable soil, in which to take deeper
root, and .secure a permanent growth. Hence, the traditions,
which we have received of Paradise, of the patriarchs, and of
the most ancient fortunes of our race, come in the form of the
simple tales of herdsmen. They retained that, which a
herdsman might naturally apprehend and preserve in his
sphere of life and his associations, as much as was adapted to
his forms of thought and mode of living. This same peculiar
mode of life gave scope also to those gentler affections, by
which we find these traditions so characterized, and to this

we are to ascribe the pictures of friendship with God, and the
intimacy of angels with the patriarchal heroes. Let the offer
ing up of Isaac be converted into an allegory representing his
mortal sickness and recovery, (not that it was so, but to bring
the matter nearer to our modes of conceptions), what admira
ble firmness in the uncomplaining hero, whose son for three
days was in his conceptions already lost to him, and who gave
him lip without a murmuring word. Let us represent the
tower of Babel, as the allegorical description of a conquering
and oppressive empire, that ruled despotically upon the earth,
and aspired even to the dominion of God in the heavens, and
how striking does the fable become ! So too, the story of Ja
cob, who, during his first nightly repose out of his father's
house, contemplated the opening heavens, and when beset
with dangers wrestled with his protecting angel and prevail
ed — how beautiful, considered even as fictions, are these tra
ditionary tales of a race of herdsmen ! To the successive
generations, bv whom they are rehearsed, these traditions
bring God apparently near, and with him bring trust in his
goodness, innocence and the cultivation of human affections
in all the relations of domestick life. No warrior of the Iro-
quois, or hunter of the Huron race, could have invented fic
tions such as these.

5. But again the mode of life had a still more decided in
fluence upon a race secluded from others, and that accounted
itself too privileged to admit the intercourse of strangers.
And what gave it its peculiar distinction ? The same, of which
we have already treated, its language, and its original descent,
its traditions, and its ancient privileges, the oracles and pro-
phetick blessings of its patriarchs. Why did the Shemites des
pise Ham and Canaan? Because their ancestor degraded
them, and the shame of a deed of villany was fixed upon their
family. Why was it, that Ammon and Moab were placed so
low by Moses, although at the same time, on account of their
affinity to the Israelites, he forbid their being injured ! It was

because they were dwellers in caves, and the offspring of an in
cestuous intercourse, the reproach of which, according to their
prevailing notions could never be removed from the family.
How came it, that Israel in Egypt remains a distinct people,
than an Egyptian ruler, Joseph, with all his pre-eminence of
rank among that people, numbered his sons, horn of* an Egyp
tian woman of high rank, with these poor herdsmen, and not
witli the Egyptians? If here be not pride of birth distinctly
marked, it can be found nowhere. These poor herdsman had
fathers, to whom they gave the highest honour, genealogical
records extruding even to Adam, which even under the se
verest oppression, they never failed to have their (scribes)
to preserve and transmit. Why did Moses choose rather
to sutler affliction and shame with his own people, than to
enjoy honour in the land of Egypt, when he had respect to
the origin from which lie sprung f He saw the ancient pre
rogatives and claims of his nice, and preferred to be its deli
verer, though with the greatest hazard, than, iu the enjoyment
of quiet and di<juity, to become their oppressor. These gen
ealogies also, this ancestral pride, of an unmixed race of
herdsmen, has, together with their primitive language', pre
served to us, free from foreign mythologies, which they regard
ed as idolatry and superstition, free from the mixtures of
learned lore, which they despised, the ancient traditions of the
race, and impressed upon their poetry the tendencies, which
originally proceeded from the formal and oracular benedictions
of their prophetick fathers. In the jumble of nations, which
existed in Europe, no such ancient monuments and* pure an
cestral poetry was jxjssible. In Idumea, where patriarchal prin
ces reigned, and where they followed a severe and lalx>rious mode
of life, poetry, also, as the book of Job shows, maintained, in
a language originally the same, a severer and more sustained
character.

(i. In order to preserve and continue genealogical records,
writing was obviously necessary, and I have found propable ev-

idences, that alphabetical writing was invented in connexion
with this and for this purpose, at a very early period. It waa
necessary to designate names, on which the whole was built,
and, since the sensuous image of the most remarkable cir
cumstances in a man's life was not sufficient for this purpose,
there was an effort to combine such an image and a sound to
gether. Thus originated the characters of the most ancient
alphabets, and at the same time the names of those charac
ters. Both, the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, means
a house. In form-it waa made to resemble a house, and at
the same time, by chance perhaps, the opening of the mouth
in articulating it, and so of other letteis. The alphabet must
be very ancient, for it seems to have been formed at tlie same
time with the language itself. In these remarks I do not
mean to give the Hebrew praise which is not due to it. It is
undoubtedly a. sort of infantile language, that has not received
a progressive development like the Greek and Latin, but its
plan was la me, well defined, and wisely arranged. Its let
ters, though imperfect marks, fitted rather to recal the known,
than to teach the unknown, were sufficient to determine the
radical forms of the language, their inflections, and relations,
and, since all ancient nations uttered their words with strong
accents, the completion of the most ancient prosody was ef
fected by placing, where it was necessary, a few marks to de
signate these over the letters. It is sufficiently proved, indeed,
that the accents of the most ancient languages were not like
our accents, but distinctions of sound of a higher order and re
sembling musical notes; yet by means of these, within the brief
space of the parallelism, the simplest kind of artificial rhythm
was produced.

7. All these peculiarities and early advantages induce the
belief, that the commencement of human cultivation arose,
not from chance, or the mere throw of contingencies among a
brute herd, but from paternal care and a Divine Providence.
And as little as I am able or would venture to designate the

mode, in which this Divine aid was vouchsafed, still less
wouJd I venture to doubt or deny its reality. If we had more
numerous written monuments of ancient nations, or if we
found them among uncultivated tribes of the present day, this
origin would undoubtedly be confirmed by greater variety of ev
idence. As here narratives are given in simple childlike tones,
so it would be found among other nations modified by their pe
culiar modes of thought. Thus hero every thing proceeds from
the; first original impulse, and the Hebrew race claim no merit,
but for transmitting, by their language, climate, and mode of
life, these original impressions unmixed and unsophisticated to
later times. These appear to me the subjective grounds,
which have produced and moulded the original memorials of
this people, and the eye of providence cannot here be mista
ken or denied.

II.

CALLING AND OFFICE OF THE PROPHETS.

Of the calling of Moses.

1. THE appearance of God to men. Fire was the constant symbol of
the manifestation of the Divine presence. What was meant by the an
gel of God, the angel of his presence. Of God's appearing to Moses, to
the Elders of Israel, to Elijah, to Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. Com
parison of these with his appearing in the most ancient times. Grada
tions of poetry in the development of images. What influence was ex-
erted on Hebrew poetry by the circumstance that it was permitted to
exhibit nopicturnble form of the Divine Being.

2. The word of God to Moses ; to the later Prophets. Words and deeds
according to the circumstances of the times, included in the duties of
the Prophet?. Power of the prophetick word. Whether the Prophets
spoke from the impulse of their own arbitrary will. Form given to
the Hebrew poetry by this earnest and determinative influence of in-
spiration. Diversity of form at different periods,

3. Sitm and wonders exhibited by Moses. For what purpose, and
with what eflect. Those exhibited by later Prophets, in things exter
nal, and in themselves. Examples from Isaiah.

What the name Prophet originally signified. How transferred to ora
cular language expressed in poetry and musick. Whether the Pro
phets in uttering their prophecies were in the exercise of reason.
Passages from Isaiah.

Appendix. Why Prophets were peculiar to the Hebrews.

Most of the Hebrew poets were sacred personages, wise men
of the nation, Prophets. Let us point out and unfold some of
the peculiarities of this vocation and character. As Moses
in his banishment was feeding his herds in the deserts of Ar
abia, he came to Iloreb, the mount of God.* And the an
gel of the Lord appeared to him in a fiery flame from out of a

•Ex. T.

bush. And God called him from out the flame and revealed
himself to him, as the God of his fathers. He gave him words
of commission for the deliverance of his people, and when
Moses suggested doubts he gave him signs. Thus visiont
words and sign*, as with the first and greatest of the Prophets ;
•o afterwards, either separately or together, were the creden
tials of his followers, and consequently also the soul of their
poetry. It is important therefore to speak of these more at
large.

1. The appearance, which drew the attention of Moses, was
a flame of fire in a bush. Let the import of this symbol in
the nearer consideration of it be what it might, it was here a
symbol of the present manifestation of the Divinity, which,
under the circumstances of time and place, couM not be man
ifested in a more simple form. What prominent and visible
object was there in the Arabian desert, but here and there
perhaps a tree, a dry and arid shrub ? Moreover, from the most
ancient times, fire was in the Kast, and among almost all na
tions, a symbol of the Divinity, QH from its brightness and other
properties, it is well fitted to be. It was, also, generally in the
poetry and the institutions of Moses, though without image
worship and idolatry, a standing symbol of Jehovah. Thus God
is often called by him a consuming fire, whose wrath burns
even to the lowest deep. Under the same form, also, he appear
ed on Mount Sinai ; he went before the host of Israel in a
cloud of fire, sacred fire fell from heaven and consumed the
offering, and a cloud like fire rested over the sanctuary. In
the Prophets and Psalms, these images also are customary.

The God, who here reveals himself, assumes the name
Jehovah, and is also called the angel of Jehovah.* Thus
Jehovah moved in the cloud before the camp of Israel, and
yet it was also the angel of God, who went before Israel, and
in other passages, the presence of God himself. Only an

* Ex. iii. 2. 4. 6.— xiv. 19. 24.— xxxiii. 34.

ignorance of the spirit of Moses in these peculiarities of
language, could have created a doubt here, or have formed
different kinds of " angels of his presence." The Jehovah
of Moses cannot himself be seen, when he appears in the
Kymbol of any natural object ; and this is, therefore, his angel,
that is, his visible messenger, or according to the beautiful
expression of Moses, the name of God is in it. As in the
books of Moses it is so often and expressly said, that no man
can see or represent to himself the face of God : so on the other
hand, the names of God are carefully distinguished from this.
Then, too, even in the natural import of the term, the face of
God signifies " the special providence and oversight," which
accompanied Israel, and so far as an outward sign of this
presence was apparent, this sign was denominated the mes
senger, the angel of his presence.

To Moses, therefore, this divine manifestation was only a
5yml>ol. From his later history, we know how God refused
to admit him to a vision of himself, though he spake with him
as frit-lid with friend, lie only passed before him, probably
in the violence of a tempest, and flashes of lightning, and
called forth a voice of praise* in view of his deeds, and the
Divine attributes of his spiritual being. Among all the con
ceptions of human genius, there are, I suspect, few situation*
so sublime, as that so simply exhibited in this Divine narrative.

When Moses cunie within the sacred tent,

The lofty cloud descended low,

.And stood before the door and spake with him.

And all the people saw the cloudy column

Stand before the door, and all rose up,

And bowed themselves each one before his tent.

Jehovah spake with Moses mouth to mouth,

As one holds converse with his friend.

And Moses said to Uod, "behold, thou tM'lst to me,

Lead forth this people," but hast not showed me

» Ex. xxxiii. 9—23. xxxiv.l— 8.

Whom thou wouldst lend to be my present help,
Thou saidst to me " I know thee by thy name,
And thou hast found favour in my sight,"

Jehovah said, " my presence shall go with thee,
And I myself will give thee rest."

He said, " if they presence go not with us,
Then lead us up no further hence,
For whereby now shall it be known
That I, and this thy people are received by thee ?
li'not by this, that thou dost go with us,
And I and this thy people ure distinguished
From all the nations of the earth ?"

Jehovah answered, "even this I do for thee,
For thou hast found acceptance in my sight,
And by thy nnnie I know thee."

"Then" I beseech thee "show me thy glory."

My goodness will I make to pass before thee,
And will proclaim Jehovah's majesty.
For 1 am rich in grace, where I give grace.
And filled wi'h love towards those I love.
Hut yet thou canst not see my face,
For none can si e my face and live.

He said again, here is a place by me,
Whore thou shall stand upon a rock.
There shall my glory pnss before thee,
And thou shall stand within the rlelt,
My hand enclosing thee as I pass by. .
Then I will take away my hand,
And my back parts shnlt thou behold,
IJut my face shall not bo seen. —

And Moses rose up early in the morning,
And went to Sinai as the Lord commanded him,
And took the two stone tables in his hand.

Then came down Jehovah in the clouds,
And stood before him there,
And proclaimed Jehovah's name.
He passed by, Jehovah passed before him,
And proclaimed •• The Lord, the Lord God,
Merciful and gracious, long suffering,
Abundant in goodness and in truth,
That keepeth mercy for thousands,

Forgiveth iniquity, transgression, and sin.
But in whose sight the purest are unclean.
He visiteth the wickedness of the fathers
Upon their children, and their children's children,
Unto the third and fourth generation."
And Moses hastened, and bowed himself,
And fell upon his face, and worshipped.

In like m:inner he manifested himself to the elders of Israel
under outward forms, while in his essential being he could not
In- the object of sight,

They saw the God of Israel,

At his fuet it was like glowing sapphire,

To look upon like pure transparent sky.

Although, however, nn appearance of the invisible God hud
no place in the primitive Jewish theology, and, when he ap
peared under a symbolical form, that which was so manifested
is called the anirel of Jehovah, yet the Divine Being farther
adapted himself to the apprehension of the later Prophets.
They saw and described the manifestation which God gave
of himself. But in this, too, we discover traits derived from
Moses, who still remained the basis of the whole economy, va-
ried only in accordance with the times, and the apprehensions
of the different Prophets. In the beautiful manifestation made
to Elijah, the second Moses, upon the same Iloreb, the mount
• >f God, perhaps even in the same cleft of the rock, we cannot
1'ail to recognize a resemblance to the description just now
ifiven. Forty days and nights he travelled to Iloreb the mount
of God, and came to a cave and lodged there. And behold
the word of the Lord came to him, and said, "What doest
thou here Elijah ?" And when he had answered, the voice
said, " Go forth and place thyself upon the mountain before
the face of Jehovah."*

And lo ! Jehovah passed before him !
A great and violent tempest,

* 1 Kings xix. 8—13.

That rent the mountains, and brake the rocks,

Went forth before Jehovah,

But Jehovah was not in the tempest.

And after the tempest came an earthquake.
But Jehovah was not in the earthquake.

And after the earthquake a fire.
BufJehovah was not in the fire.

And after the fire came a still, small voice,
And when Elijah heard the voice,
He wrapped his face in his mantleK
And went and stood in the door of the cave.
And lo ! there came a voice unto him,
And said, " What doesl thou here Elijah ?"

The vision would seem designed to teach the Prophet,
who, in his fiery zeal for reformation, would change every
thing by stormy violence, the gentle movements of God's provi
dence, and to exhibit the mildness and longsuffering, of which,
in the passage above given, the voice spoke to Moses. Hence
the beautiful change in the phenomena of the vision. — To the
distinguished Prophet Isaiah, God appeared as a king enthron
ed and in his kingly temple : the prime ministers of his court
Mand around : the Cherubim, over which, according to the
ancient simple representation, he was wont to dwell, are con
verted into Seraphim, which derive their characteristicks part
ly from the servants of the throne and partly from the priests
of the temple. The whole picture exhibits the regal magnifi
cence and dignitv, which mark the style of Isaiah.*

The year in which the king U/zinh died.
I au w Jehovah sitting on a high uplifted throne.
Ilia train of glory filled the temple,
And round the throne his servants stood,
Six wings had each of these, t

•Isa. vi. 1—1.

t The wings of the Seraphim are derived from the Cherubim, and only
their number increased, though the form of the animal, as well as the
name, is otherwise changed. Seraphim, according to the import of the

••

With twain they covered their face,

With twain they covered their feet,

With twain did they fly.

\nd one cried to another and said,

"Holy, holy, holy,

Jehovah, God of hosts,

The earth is full of thy majesty."

The foundations of the pillars moved

At the voice of him that cried,

And the temple was filled with smoke.

The smoke here mentioned was the smoke of the burnt of
fering to which arc related also the glowing coals, and the
foregoing ascription, for the magnificence of the king and of
the temple are here associated together. To Ezechiel God
appeared upon a moving throne in the clouds. The sapphire
basement under his feet is taken from the vision of the elders
as described by Moses ; the fiery form in which he manifested
himself is also" from Mo:*-*; except that this ancient seer did
not behold God in humnm form. The still later Daniel i«
the first of the Prophets, who ventured to represent God fully
in the form of man. But c-v«:«i wilh him the appearance is in
a night vision, and not a distinct beholding. It is a figurative
representation among other symbolical visions.*

This I saw, until the thrones were raised,
And the ancient of cluys enthroned,
Mis garment was white as snow,
The hair of his head like pure wool,
Hie throne wiu 'ike the fiery flame,

Arabick term, means lofty forms, nobles, princes, and they exhibit
onlv t!i* human form veiled with winga in token of reverence for their
king Four of their wings are thus employed, while the remaining two
for flight designate their office as swift messengers. The composition
•f the picture is in accordance with the spirit of Isaiah, the elementi
all from Moees nnd the Psalms.

»Dan. vii. 9. 10,

It* wheels like burning fire.

A fiery stream issued forth,

And went before his face,

A thousand thousand ministered to him.

Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.

The judgment was set.

And the Books were opened.

This picture, too, derives its several features from mount Si
nai, as they were exhibited in the benedictions of Moses, in
numerous Psalms, and even in the vision of Isaiah, and in
regard to the human form, as they were hazarded though in
distinctly by Ezechiel in the form of the enthroned Jehovah.
Thus the appearance of the Divine Being was, with the pro
gress of time more and more developed in sensuous images,
of which the earliest periods of antiquity exhibit no traces.
In Job, God is the high, the incomprehensible and inconceiv
able being; who speaks in the tempest and walks upon the
revolving circle of the heavens. In the books of Moses he
can be looked upon only in his back p'irts, or in the out
ward manifestations of his being, lie shows himself in his
attributes alone, and in striking symbols. In the time of the
patriarchs he was conceived by them as a herdsman ; to the
sleeping Jacob he appcard as the father of the family, while
the heavens, in which he dwelt, were the chambers of his
house, from which Ins servants descended upon a ladder, as
seen in the vision of the patriarch. To Abraham he was a
friend, making a visit of friendship, but denominated an angel,
when he appeared in a visible form. The farther we trace
the subject the more do symbols disappear, and as it seemea
to me, the silent reverence of the infinite and ineffable ONE
increase. Even among the Prophets the appearance of God
in vision was no necessary part of their calling to the pro
phetic office. Sr.muel, next in order to Moses, God call
ed oidy by a voice from his seat above the Cherubim, \vhcrc
no form appeared, and most of the others received the word

of God unaccompanied by a visible manifestation. What this
gave to the poetry of the Hebrews to distinguish it from the
art among all mythological nations, is obvious of itself. It
was the poetry of sages, hot of mythological ghostseers and
visionary idolaters. Hyms and epick poems, filled with vision
ary forms of Gods engaged in conflict, were not their work.
The odes and songs of praise, which sing of God, praise him
in his deeds, in the perfections of his works ; with symbolical
forms of manifestation they were very sparingly adorned, and
traces of those become more abundant in proportion as the prim
itive sublimity of poetry diminished.

2. But still more important, than the appearance, was the
word of ( i of I to Moses, the revelation of his name, and the
commission given for the deliverance of his people. Of the
name of Jehovah we shall speak in connexion with the giving of
the law. That of which we now .speak, the word of God, was
the soul, as it were, both of the oflico and of the productions of
the sacred poet. As given to Moses it was an obvious com
mission, and we find it the same also with the earlier Prophets.
A command was given them containing not general precepts
merely, but requiring immediate action. So spake Samuel ;
so also the Seers of the time of D;:vid ; so Elijah and Eli-
sha. They required the fulfilment of a definite command, and
hence I might call them Prophets of action, of deeds, to dis
tinguish them from the later Prophets, whose prophecies con
sisted more of general instruction and consolation, of reproof
and encouragement. This difference too was founded in the
difference of the times. The most a'icient and most eminent
Prophet, Moses, could speak and do. His whole life was the
living word of God, was action. Of Samuel, as the Judge of
the nation, the same may be said. In later times the power
was in the hands of the kings, and to the Prophets nothing was
left but the word ; a word however, which they represent as ef
ficient deed, as a most living and energising rgency. Hence
we find so many images to represent the power of the prophet-

ick word, which by a distant analogy also were applied to the
spiritual efficacy of the word of God in general. It is called a
fire, a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces and again a
quickening and refreshing dew and rain, as in the delightful
image of Isaiah.*

My thoughts arc not as your thought?,

Xor my ways as your ways.

As heaven is high above the earth.

My ways arc higher than your ways,

And my thoughts than your thoughts. . .

Fur us the rain and snow come down from heaven,

And return not thither, hut watrr t'i<> earth,

And make- it bring forth leaf and herb,

That it may give seed and bread to the sower,

So is my word, that goeth out of my mouth.

It shall not return to me void.

Hut shall accomplish that which I plense,

And prosper iu that whereto I sent it.

So shall ye also go out from me with joy.

The term " word of God," itself often means among the He
brews, guidance, instruction, counsel, and action.

As to Moses ;it tins early period, unhappily a twofold word
was given, to deliver his own people, and previously by nu
merous plagues to humble the proud and hard-hearted Egyp
tian, so it was also with tiie oracles of the Prophets. The im-
|>ort of them is twofold, made up of affliction and consolation,
and of deliverance from evil and of punishment, and in l>oth
the acts of Moses often literally lie at the foundation. They
indict upon the rebellious and hostile nations all the plagues
of Egypt, while they deliver, comfort, and avenge their own
people with all the pictures of Divine guidance in the wilder
ness, of a delightful Canaan, and of a golden age. This I
am aware has with many given to the poets of Israel the names
of misanthropes, imprecating curses upon the world, nor will

»Isa. lv. 8—12,

I deny, that from the national pride of the Hebrews, the harsh
expressions of many of their Prophets are liable to be misun
derstood and abused. It is not, however, true, that every Pro
phet and poet, according to his peculiar feeling and tempera
ment, from motives of private revenge and malicious humour,
could scatter his blessings and curses. As Moses undertook
his office unwillingly, so the same was true of most of the
later sages, who must be almost constrained by necessity to
the discharge of their duty, as Jeremiah, Ezechitl and others.
As no one is willingly a herald of sorrow, where he would
choose to communicate joy, so we see that the message, which
most of tho* Prophets have to utter, which they treat as already
in its accomplishment, as matter of fact, gives to themselves
the greatest pain. No one in this respect is more an object
of sympathy and compassion than Jeremiah. A soul of the
tenderest sensibilities was destined to live in the worst of times,
and to anticipate for his people still greater sorrows.*

My bowels, my bowels ! I'm filled with pain,

My very heart is full of anguish,

And yet 1 cannot hold my peace.

My soul huth heard the sound of trumpets,

The t-hout and alarm of war.

Destruction, desolation, is cried,

For all the land is desolate,

My tents are suddenly spoiled.

How long shall I yet see the standard,
And hear the sound of trumpets ?
, My foolish nation understand me not,

Unwise children nnd void of sense,
Wise to do evil, but never tq do good.

I look abroad upon the earth,
And lo ! it is desolate and waste,
Upon the heavens, and they have no light*
I see the mountains, and they tremble,
And all the lulls are in commotion. *

» Jer, iv. 19—27.

I behold and lo ! there is no man,
And all the birds of heaven are fled.
I look and lo ! Carmel is a desert,
And all its cities are laid wasto
Before the presence of Jehovah,
Before the blast of his fierce anger.

A Prophet, who prefaces his sorrowful message with such an
introduction, certainly does not herald it with a malicious joy,
and of such cordial and sympathetick feelings all the Prophets
are full. Their souls expand again with the freshness of tin-
rose, when the storm has passed, and their agonized sensibili
ty, relieved from a weight of oppression, exhibits then a seven
fold kindness and benevolence.

That this " energizing word," this outspeaking of God by
the mouth of a Prophet, gave to the poetry of the Hebrews a
peculiar form, is manifest of itself. To them their oracles had
the utmost certainty, and the most vivid impress of truth.
They saw the tilings, which they proclaimed, already unfold
ing, and thus, they were regarded as seers, nay, even crea
tors of good and evil. They smote the land with the rod of
their mouth, and their powerful word again gave it deliver
ance. God placed his message upon their lips, and breathed
on them with the fire of Divine inspiration. Inwardly prompt
ed by an irresistible impulse, they spoke? also often against
their natural inclinations, and with consequences painful to
themselves, overmastered and urged forward by a higher pow
er. Oracles of this kind have little or nothing to correspond
to them in the poetry of other nations. Here nothing was in
vented for pastime. The j>oet did not picture forth the destruc
tion of Jerusalem, or of Babylon, as a tragick representation.
Had the poetical productions of the early sages and poets of
Greece been preserved in greater purity, had we more unques
tioned remains of their ancient theologians and Prophets, we
might find traces of that resemblance, which still undeniably
remains in the language of Calchas, Cassandra in /Kschylus,

and of those, who prophesied either in visions or at the moment
of death. The later Prophets, who received their oracles only
in figurative images, in enigmatical representations, and these
usually in dreams, speak on that account with less power.
God himself distinguishes the clear and unambiguous voice,
with which he spake to Moses, from the revelations by vi
sions, figurative descriptions, enigmatical images, and dreams,
and the distinction is sufiicieutly established and clear in the
series of Prophets which are still extant. Whnt the oracles of
the Hebrew poets moreover, as compared with the poetry of
oilier tuitions, lose in variety, in outward form and colouring,
and in tlio play of fancy, they gain in the inward conscious
ness of truth, in godlike dignity, in sacred earnestness, and in
these respects will always remain the admiration of the world.
ij. To the hesitating and fearful Moses were given si gnu, or
miraculous manifestations, which were adapted to the super
stitious and conceited Egyptians, and designed to put to shame
their wonder-working magicians. These wonders had no
more determinate aim than this, and do not belong insepara
bly to the prophetick office. The greatest of such miracle-
workers were subject, to be tried by the law of Moses, and
v-ould be condemned to death, if they taught any thing con
trary to Jehovah. The earlier successors of Moses, Klijah
and ICli>ha, performed miracles in the period of Israel's weak
ness and idolatry, and these powers of the ancient world seem
ed to furnish clear proof, as it were, of the victory and triumph
of God over the worshippers of Ilaal, as in the time of Moses
over the wise men of I\gypt. Among the later Prophets, and
those more properly poetical in their character, the sign?
which they gave were of another kind. Instead of miracles,
which supersede the laws of nature, the Prophet often employ?
singular and remarkable events to serve as suitable signs, that
is, testimonies, accompanying his word, with which he com
mands attention or gives assurance of the truth of his declara
tions. Of this sort, is the birth of a child, of which Isaiah

speaks as a pledge of the deliverance of the kingdom of Judah,
which is determined with reference to the age of the child.
Here it was only the connexion between the two events that
was remarkable, because it was beyond the powers of merely
human foresight. Whatever may be understood by the shad
ow on the sundial of Ahaz, its regress in the language of the
Prophet, was a present sign of returning years in the life of
Ilezekiah, and therefore in that connexion a pledge of a fu
ture event, " a sign." This word has no higher sense and no
other dignity among Hebrew writers. Portents and omens
were ascribed to foreign idolaters and false prophets, and a
resort to thorn was forbidden. God reserved to himself his
signs as pledges and assurances, or as means of rousing atten
tion to the word of Jehovah, and this only on account of un
belief.

• In many cases the Prophet himself was the sign, either by
means of tilings, which he was required to set forth as symbols,
or by fortunes which he experienced. Of the first, examples
occur in Isaiah, Jeremiah and Hosea; of the second, R/ochiel,
who lost his wile, the delight of his eyes, and especially Isaiah
are witnesses. As in the latter, through the last half of his
book, the Israelitish nation is personified, as the servant and
child of God iu joy and in sorrow ; so the Prophet himself as a
servant of God, as a symbolical person chosen lor this purpose,
seems to sutler the whole burden and destiny of his people.
In him, as an individual representation, God shows what in
the whole nation, by all the evils which they were doomed to
suffer in the captivity, he exhibited to all other nations. A?
the Prophet often feels himself in this to be placed as "a sign,"
we have hence occasions for those developments of the future,
which are so affecting and so nearly connected with his per
sonal feelings, and which have led me to consider these chap
ters of Isaiah, as the evangelical part of the Old Testament.
The connexion between some of them, has indeed, been found
•o difficult to discover, that in some cases it is hardly known

of whom the Apostle is speaking. - By the aid of the connect-
ing link, which has now been given, the personification of
Israel in the person of the sympathizing Prophet, we shall find
when treating of Isaiah a beautiful connexion in the train of
thought, and a clear insight into the future. In short, vision,
immediate inspiration, and symbolical action, characterize
these sacred poets, and will carry us hereafter to a better con
ception of the spirit of their poetry.

But what is the import of the word Prophet ? Is it equivalent
to vates, poet ? or was the Prophet in his original character, a
bard, a wandering improvistore ? or finally, were the Prophets
men out of their wits, naked dervishes? Let us inquire into
the conception attached to the word not by tracing etymolo
gies, which are always unsafe guides, but by observingthe
obvious use of the term at different periods of time.

The word Prophet, first occurs in the passage* where God
said to Abimelcch, " restore the man his wife, for he is a Pro
phet." The word thus appears to have been known to Abim-
elech, and since the people over whom he ruled, were of Ufifyp*
tiiin origin, the ground of doubt is removed. Among the
Egyptians the term was applied to. the superior priests ; those
who held intercourse with the Divinity, and were admitted to
a knowledge of Divine mysteries, the interpreters of nature, in
a word, those who were the mouth of the Gods. This is plain
ly the sense, in which the word Prophet occurs in the most
ancient writings of the Hebrews. Abraham was represented
to the king as a wise and holy man, entrusted with the coun
sels of the Deity ; and who must be preserved harmless, even
in a strange laud. Again, God says to Moses,t " thou shalt
be a God, and Aaron shall be thy Prophet ;" showing indU-

•Gen. zz. 7. t Compare Ez. vii. 1. with iii. 16,

putably, that a Prophet imports the mouth of God, the speaker
of his word, the revealer of his mysteries. In this, its primi
tive and most proper sense, it often occurs in Moses and the
Prophets, and indeed the whole prophetick character and
claim, as exemplified in Moses, was founded on this*. " A
Prophet shall God raise up like Moses, who shall speak to you
in the name of God. Surely, the Lord will do nothing, but
he revealeth his secret unto his servants the Prophets."!

The conception now given, obviously did not include that
of a musician and poet. Neither Abraham nor Aaron were
poets. Samuel, Gad, Nathan, Ahijah, Elijah and Elisha had
nothing to do with poetry, though some of them were very
distinguished Prophets. The oracles, which they gave, were
in very plain and intelligible prose. On the other hand, Da
vid and Solomon were poets, but not Prophets. The example
of one, J who called for a minstrel, in order as it is said, to
awaken in himself the gift of prophecy, lias been greatly mis
applied, lie called him in order to calm and subdue his auger,
under the influence of which he was not master of the dictates
of reason, much less capable of uttering a Divine Oracle. Hy
ti i term seers, also, applied to the Prophets in the times of
S *uuel and D:ivid, they were clearly distinguished from inin-
f.rols. They saw hidden things, looked into the future, and
were what we call wise men, " sages."

But, secondly, because these wise men, whether they spake
of the past, the present, or the future, were the mouth of the
Divinity ; ihey spoke also the language of the Divine tteiug,
that is, divinely oracular language, in a lofty figurative style,
and so that came to be in name prophetick language, which
was the most elevated poetry. Who, in speaking iu the name
of God, would speak in a manner unworthy of his majesty and
dignity ? Who ih:it is inspired speaks coldly and without ele-

* Num. xii. 6. Dcut. xviii. 15 — 20. xxxiv. 10.
t Amos iii. 7. 1 Kings xxii. 22. 23. Jer. v. 13. I 2 Kings iii. 15.

vation ? Did not the Pythia think it necessary to utter her
oracles in verse, though it were of the worst style of verse ?—
The origin of this notion shows itself from what was said above,
but only as an incidental and derivative sense. In all lan
guages poets are called vates ; but only because they were ori
ginally considered as divinely inspired seers, and revealers of
the future, and because some noble and good men among them,
wore in reality, the instruments of Divine providence.

Nothing, therefore, is more natural, than that the uttering
of Divine Oracles should, in process of time, be denominated
prophesying, as \ve now daily use the word " preaching,"
when we speak of u discourse uttered with the preacher's tone
and manner. The evil spirit came upon Saul, and he pro
phesied, that is, he uttered, amidst his mad ravings, lofty in
deed, but irrational expressions. We know from various evi
dences of it, that poetry and musick hud great power over him,
and this power manifested itself, in his present weakness.
Tin* schools of the prophets, those ancients of Israel, also par
took of the inspiration, and prophesied, i. e. spoke; in lofty
style, us Prophets wen- accustomed to speak, Miriam, Debo
rah, ami others were Prophetesses, because they had a poetic
al inspiration, and inspired, especially sacred poetry, was al
ways deemed of supernatural and Divine origin.

And because, in the third place, at that period of the world
musick and poetry were associated, and even the poet and musi
cian often united in the same person, it was quite natural also,
that the notion of oracular discourse should be extended even
to this art. Asaph and lleman prophesied upon stringed in
struments, that is, they uttered in their songs sacred and lofty
Fentiments, they resolved, as they themselves say, the dark pro
blems of wisdom by the sound of the harp. Poetry never
produces so powerful an effect, as when it is supported by mu
sick, and the sacred feeling, which is diffused by both arts
combined, is enthusiasm. But it does not follow, therefore,
that every Prophet had his instrument by his side, or that his

name and office distinguished him as a minstrel. The pro
phet Balaam, with his sublime and oracular declarations, spoke
without an instrument, and the far feebler language of many of
the later Prophets, which almost sinks to the level of prose,
wa» scarcely fitted for musick. They carefully distinguished
lyrick song from their prophetick style.

Finally the Prophet, and the man of disordered intellect are
not th" same. We must greatly mistake the lofty and {>olitical
ch.'iracter and sentiments of Isaiah, if we consider him abandon
ed by reason. That many of their symbolical acts must appear
very strange, they themselves confess, and this was the very aim
of their actions. Under the guise of folly was concealed a deep
ami iiii)M>rtaiit meaning, and if the expression, insanire cum
sapientia, could ever be applied with propriety, it was bore.
They were, at all events, often the object of sarcasm to the
vulgar, and of supercilious contempt to godless kings. While
Jehovah was an object of reproach, oracles uttered in bis name
and containing severe admonitions woilld be counted folly and
madness. But alas! the event gave sufficient evidence of
their truth.

Jehovnh gave to mo the tongue of the learned,*

That I might know to speak in season

A word to them that are weary.

He waked me morning by morning,

He made mine ear to hearken,

As scholars heurken to the wise.

Jehovah spake to me in mine ear,
And I rebelled not, neither resisted him.
I gave my back to thote that smote me,
And my cheeks to them that insulted me,
Nor hid my face from shame and spitting.
My God Jehovah stood by me,
And therefore was I not confounded,
But hardened my face like Hint,
And knew I should not be ashamed.

* laa. 1. 3,

Since he it near that justifieth me,

Who is he that will coutend with me ?

Let us stand together in judgment !

Let him, who is against me, come near !

Behold, Jehovah is my helper,

Who is he that condemneth me ?

They all shall wax old as a garment,

The moth shall consume them !

Who is among you, that feareth Jehorah,

And obeyeth the voice of his servant,

But walketh in thick darkness,

And seeth no light ?

Let him trust in Jehovah,

And cast himself upon his God.

Behold all ye that kindle a fire,

That compass yourselves with sparks,

Go walk in the light of your fire,

And by the sparks which yo have kindled.

Quo movement of my hand upon you*

And yo shall lie down in sorrow.

• How simple und unambitious, yet how sublime an expression ! The
Prophet but lifts his hand and their lights are quenched. They lie down
sadly dejected upon the earth and in darkness.

THE PROPHETS.

My inmost soul your sainted spirits greets ;
Ye true and faithful messengers of God !
Take now, amidst your palmy groves, that rest.
Which Horeb, Zion, Carmel never gave.

How manifold the gifts ye gave of old
To your primeval ages ! Laws and rites
Divine, and faith, and solemn services
Your mouths imparted free as living streams.

To etutes prosperity and steadfast rule,
And customs wise and good by you were giTen.
For great in soul, exalted far above
The present times, and freed from vulgar fears,

Ye stood superior to the idle cares,
And senseless turmoil of the busy throng,
And backward far and forward cast your view,
And saw the heavenly light of ages shine.

The light of ages, streaming through'all time.
Enkindled in your souls a heavenly fire.
That, glowing long obscure, sent forth at length
A glorious light for nations yet unborn.

For ye applied, within your holy caves,
Your ear confidingly to catch the sound
Of that small voice, to which at dead of night
And early dawn, your wakeful hearts were tuned.

Like gentle showers from heaven, thus gently cam*
Those tones, which yet with all the tempest's force,
Awoke the slumbering world, as if the past
And future times had scut their murmurs there.

Again I greet you, with exulting voice,
Ye guileless souls, that in the hands of God
Like harps responded, and expressed his will,
Revealed the future and his laws enforced.

Oh thou, who on the holy mount thyself •
Didst lift above thy people and thine age,
And see, amid the thickest smoke, that light,
That wisdom now and glory gives to all.

And thou, whose kindling spirit summoned fires
From heaven, and from the dead the widow's son.t
Thou too, who didst behold Jehovah clothed
With heavenly brightness and with glory crowned ;t

Ye mourners, who with deepest sadest tones
And tears of anguish uttered forth your griefs; 0
And yo, who at the Prophets' setting sun
In shadowy twilight saw the promised times ;§

Ye Prophets all, who now in purer light,
Escaped from inward and from outward thrall,
Breathe tranquilly in palmy groves that peace,
Which Horcb, Zion, Carmel never gave ;

What now do I behold ? In friendly guise
Commingled with you are the wise and good
Of other nations, friends of God on earth,
The Druids, Orpheus and Pythagoras,

And Plato, and whoe'er by wholesome law§
Has proved his people's father and their guide,
Has listened to tbc voice of God in truth,
And yeildcd up to God a guileless heart.

•Moi.es. t Elijah, t laaiah. BJercmgih and others. § Daniel and
others. The evening or setting sun of the Prophets means the doting
period of the Prophets.

APPENDIX. -
Reasons why Prophets were peculiar to the Israelites.

The existence of Prophets among the Hebrews, as their
peculiar privilege, it has seemed to me, may also be shown to
be connected with the peculiarities of their history. As it was
a matter of ancestral pride, that they had their Origines, which,
distinguished with marks of peculiar favour by the creator,
went back even to the beginning of the world, so this sacred
treasure of the family, by which they were so distinctly char
acterised, was manifest in the mode of thinking and the histo
ry of their most honoured patriarchs. Seth, Noah, Sliem may
be referred to as examples, and Abraham was remarkably dis
tinguished by this charactcristick. He left his country in or
der to serve the God of their fathers in a region where a Mel-
chisedeck yet lived.

But to be more particular, the following circumstances
should be noticed as connected with the history of this subject.
I. The huidof the family, was, in the early periods of Hebrew
history, the _/>/•/• •*( of his household, and at the same time the guar
dian of the religious ceremonies and sanctuary of the family.
In relation too to such men as Abraham, the denomination o*
a Prophtt, that is, of OIK; entrusted with the Divine counsels,
and, what is of still higher import even that of a friend of
God, was by no m-.-ans hyperbolical. Even in the book of
Job a Prophet occurs, and throughout that work a religious
tone prevails, which was the sacred impress of the primeval
world. All wisdom in the East proceeded from God, all piety
and devotion turned tl.c mind to him.

•2. Israel went down to Egypt, and here we know all re
ligion had become already 'a matter of political management
arid state-craft. TliL'ir Prophets were an organised society of
priests. As Moses was instructed in the wisdom, which they
taught, and now 1-jariied, that the true sources of that, which led

to communion with God, were to be found among his own an
cestors, so when God appeared to himself, and employed him
as his instrument, no better word was in use, by which to de
signate his office than the word Prophet.. Prediction, or the
foretelling of future events, was as little thought of with him
as with Abraham. The word signified a man, through whom
God spake, and by whose instrumentality he accomplished
his purposes. Could the worthiest object be designated by a
more appropriate name? Has the Divine Being a nobler
work among men than their cultivation? And was not he
who undertook to advance this in those early times, amid ob
stacles apparently boundless, and with no human support,
whether he did it as a teacher, or as an actor on the stage of
lile, was he not truly a man of God, a genius of humanity ?
Let one but look at those nations, which have remained be
hind or sunk into a savage state ; observe to what a condition
of horrible depravity human nature sinks, when it is not forced
upward by a living power and aroused from its gloomy lethar
gy, and he will then be able to appreciate the services of those
early guardians of our race, who diffused the enlightening in
fluence 6f their spirits over succeeding ages, embraced nations
within the compass of their affections, and, even against their
will, raised them from degradation with a giant power. Such men
the Divine Being has scattered sparingly in the world. They
form not mere human and worldly institutions, but they sup
ply what the necessities of our being require, and heaven
permits them, like the stars of night, to shine in a sphere far
exalted above their fellow men. They offer up their lives in
order to carry into effect, to execute that word and deed,
with which as a divine commission they have been intrusted —
aniiiiu; magiiic prodigi. That Moses represented in this
0ense the genius of humanity there can be no doubt.

3. They also, who were his helpers for the accomplishment
of his work were, filled with a portion of that spirit, which
rested on him. "God took of the spirit of Moses and laid it

on them" according to the simple expression of the original.
Nor was this great man envious of the favours imparted to
them, but wished rather, that all the people were partakers of
the same spirit. Thus were those men of prudence and un
derstanding, who were to judge Israel, filled with the Spirit of
God. So also the work-masters of the tabernacle, because
by their art they contributed to the completion of his work.
He expressed moreover the hope, that since the purpose of
his law continued unaccomplished, a Prophet would be raised
up like unto himself, who should carry his work forward to its
ultimate perfection. All that contributed to the well being,
to the illumination, the freedom and security of the people of
Jehovah, was excited and organized for its end by the Spirit of
Jehovah, as the examples of the Judges clearly prove. This
may be regarded as a beautiful and striking peculiarity of the
nation.

4. But as the noblest and best things of this world are lia
ble to abuse, so also was the name of Prophet. Oratores le-
gis, advocati patriot it was their duty to be, and they became
in process of time priests of Baal, false Prophets, so that Mi-
cali and Elijah found themselves in their times alone as wit
nesses of the Gad of truth, and Amos desires not to be denom
inated a Prophet. It was with his office, as it is with all offi
ces so soon as they become a mere mechanical employment.

.>. Again let no one create difficulties for himself neither in
regard to prophetick visions, nor with respect to wonders and
signs, as connected with prophetick history. Both were inciden
tal and not indispensably necessary to the calling of a Pro
phet. The foregoing treatise has shown, that the Divine Be
ing is represented with more and more traces of outward and
sensuous magnificence the more debased the times became,
and the more the human spirit needed the exciting influence
of striking representations. As the word of God became less
effectual by the simplicity of its inherent power and energy,
it drew to itself more of the incidental and the external. And

finally we must interpret prophetick signs and wonders accord
ing to the usus loquendi of the East. Whatever is extraordi
nary and strikingly significant is denominated a sign, even a
book, a writing, a poem, an artificial expression, how much
more a remarkable event or exciting phenomenon of the
times. To such the attention of these sages was directed, and
when they addressed the people they placed them in the most
striking light. They were the mouth of Providence, and saw
und interpreted that which Providence exhibited to their view,
(i. It is, moreover, a vain attempt to aim at penetrating and
working ourselves into the subjective condition of the Prophets,
when the spirit of the times has been so entirely changed.
Among the Prophets themselves, the modes of inspiration were
diverse, according to the particular age, in which they lived,
and the peculiarities of the individual mind. How then shall
we, or how can we, by all our distinctions, determine how the
soul of Moses, of Klijah, of Isaiah was affected and condi
tioned by the prophetick spirit, which was imparted to it ?
Wo, who know indeed, scarcely more how it was with the
subjective being of Pythagoras, of Calchas, or of Homer. If
we knew this, why mi<;ht xve not form our own souls after the
same model, and produce works, which, so far as their rela
tion to the Divinity is concerned, might shame a Homer, an
/Kschylus, or a Pindar. What reverence for the Gods do
we find in them, and here and there what sublimity and dig
nity, approaching almost to that of the Prophets ! — It not only
explains nothing to refer this to superstition, and that to a
heated fancy, &LC., but it prevents our contemplating and
using their works in the right spirit ; for in all that is referred
to the HO called power of imagination in them, there is much
of wisdom. Let us leave to each Prophet and sage, the free
enjoyment of his own individual style of representation, and of
writing, as we must leave to him his age and its characteris-
tick aims, while we employ the fruits of his spirit only, for the
benefit of our own times.

lit.

DIVINE GUIDANCE IN THE DESERT.

The History of Moses considered as a subject for epick poetry. Its influ
ence on the poetry of the Hebrews. Idomatick representations of de
liverance out of great waters, of blooming deserts, and of the Shechi-
nah. The 114th Psalm. Moses' triumphal song at the Red Sea. Ap»
pearance of God on Mount Sinai. Personification of the flames of
fire upon the mountain, as a retinue of angels, as a warlike host, and an
chariots of war. God of Sabnoth. Origin of this name. Its signifi
cation as extended in later times. The triumplnl march of (lod as in
the 68th Psalm. What we aro to understand by the pillar of fire and
tho pillar of cloud, and by the smoke and fiery splendours of Sinai.
Whether the passage of the Israelites through the sea is a mythical
representation. How it was applied by the Hebrews. Habakkuk's
*ong of lamentation, accompanied with remarks.

It has been matter of wonder to me, that among so many
heroick poems in our language on subjects of Hebrew histo
ry, we have yet none in which Moses is the hero. The de
liverance of his people from bondage, and the forming of them
to the purest system of religious worship, and the freest po
litical organization of those early times, would be, as it seems
to me, a nobler theme than the horrors and extravagances of
war and knight errantry. The most ancient lawgiver, of
which we have any knowledge, combined, in the organization
of his work, ideas, which even at the present day, are in many
respects still uncomprehended, and above our reach. The
history of his life is full of the most remarkable vicissitudes.
Born and brought up in Egypt, he went into voluntary exile
from patriotick motives. His calling in the wilderness, the con
troversy of the God of his fathers with Pharaoh and the wise
men of Egypt, the Exodus of the people, and their passage

through the sea, the pillars of fire and of a cloud, the giving
of the law, the wonders wrought in Arabia, together with the
distant view of the promised land; all this would furnish a sub
ject, which, by the richness and variety of its materials derived
from nature, art, religion, customs, and nations, and an accom
paniment of the marvellous, that is at the same time full of
nature, would almost of itself, assume the form of an epic, that
is, of an ancient moral and heroic narrative. Yet, I would
wish, by this brief exposition to excite to such an undertaking,
not a German, but a German Hebrew. To him the subject
is a national one. His more unbiassed and more early ac
quaintance with the poets of his nation, must give to the work
more simplicity in his mind, than could be expected of a Ger
man scholar. We have the books of Moses, and if we leave
out the genealogical registers and the incidental matters, and
arrange in proper order those which are most original, in a
style of poetical freedom, and simplicity, we need nothing far
ther to make a heroic poem of the deeds and laws of Moses,
of the most ancient and authentic form.

Since we have already spoken of the calling of Moses, we
will now proceed to treat briefly of bis doings, of his conduct
ing his people out of Egypt, his passage through the sea, and
his journey through the Arabian desert. Obviously, this is
the heroic age of Hebrew poetry. When the Psalms cele
brate in formal order the whole series of the works of God,
they commence, after the general work of creation, with vhe
national benefits bestowed upon Israel, among which the de
liverance out of Egypt, the journey through Arabia, and the
conquest of Canaan bold the most distinguished place. The
I04tli — 107th Psalms are all one, and upon this subject.
Their division into distinct Psalms is only for the convenience
of shorter divisions, and on account of the musick. In the
135th and 130th, which I consider more ancient than those
before mentioned, this preference for the history of Moses is
still more noticeable. They are undoubtedly, of the age of
0

Asaph and David, as is shown by the C8th and 78th, which
very nearly resemble them. In the Prophets, the most favour
ite and almost all the figurative language throughout, is drawn
from the times of this strange and remarkable history.

When Israel was a child,*

Then I loved him and called him,

As my son out of Egypt.

Ephruim also I taught to go,

And took them by their arms,

In leading strings conducting them,

And led them as a child with cure,

And took the yoke of bondage off.

I was thy God from Egypt forth,

Thou knewestno other God,

And no deliver but me.

In the wilderness I fed thee,

There in their pastures were they full.

They were full, their heart was proud,

And they forgot their God.

The images here are all from the song of Moses, as also the
affectionate designation of first born son is derived from his
history. That Israel is the child of God, and chosen of him
among all nations, is the favourite designation employed by
Isaiah, from the 4'2d chapter to the end of the l>ook. The
highest interest of these passages escapes, when we neglect to
bear in mind that primeval and wonderful history of the na
tion. I have often wondered why it was, that in the Psalms
and Prophets we meet with so many images of the depths of
the sea, from which God wrought deliverance, of streams,
through which he is said to wade, while Canaan had so little
immediate connexion with the sea. It is obvious, that these
images are all derived from the Red Sea and the river Jordan,
through which God in a miraculous manner conducted his
people ; and hence, the general image conveyed by this histor-

* llosca, xi.

ical fact became a customary and idiomatical expression.
" He delivered me, he brought me up out of great waters," is
in the writings of David the symbol used in relation to all
dangers. Thus, among those, to which he applies it, he pic
tures the tempest and the helping hand of God, extended from
the clouds. Commentators seem to me injudicious, when
they seek always to refer these images to particular events in
the history of his life. It was a received national symbol of
deliverance, referred to, and deriving its import from the his
tory of their marvellous triumphs. To the same origin are
to be referred all those forms of expression, in which God is
said to give this and that people for Israel, and to offer up na
tions for their sake. When the Prophet explains himself, it
is always Egypt, that is given up for Israel, and the sacrifice
of tills he applies with effect to other cases. Similar remarks
may be made in regard to the deserts, which God makes plains
and fruitful fields ; images in which were clothed even the re
turn from captivity, and the delights of a coining golden age.
I must go through a great, though perhaps, the most delight
ful part of Isaiah, and of other Prophets, if I would furnish all
the rich examples that occur, to illustrate these views. We
find extended, indeed, even to the future world the images de
rived from the deliverance out of Egypt, the passage through
the Red Sea, the Feast of Tabernacles, the Sechinah, which
dwelt above them, and Canaan the object of their hopes, and
in the Revelation of John, an exquisite abridgment of all the
Prophets, they are exalted to the highest point of dignity. To
a young man, who would understand the Psalms and Prophets
in their true spirit, I might give it, inded, as a general rule,
superseding all others ; " read Moses ! read the Mosaic histo
ry !" A single word occuring in this poetry, often gives oc
casion for the finest poetical development through entire
chapters. What Homer is to the Greeks, that Moses is in his
relation to the Hebrews.

Of the plagues of Egypt we shall speak hereafter. At pre-

sent we shall only notice some of the triumphal songs, design
ed to celebrate the deliverance from Egyptian bondage, and
the wonders connected with it.

A HEBREW ODE FROM THE HISTORY OF THE HEROIC

AGE.

THE 114th PSALM.

When Israel went from Egypt forth.
The house of Jacob from a strange people,
Then Juduh was his sanctuary,
And Israel his dominion.
The sea beheld and fled,
Jordan was driven back,
The mountains leaped like rams,
The hills, they skipped like lambs.
What ailed thee, O sea, that thou fleddest,
Thou Jordan that thou drewest back,
Yo mountains, that ye leaped like rams,
Ye hills, that ye skipped like lambs ?
Before the I^ord the earth did quake,
Before the presence of the God of Jacob,
Who turned the rock to living water,
The flinty stone to a flowing fountain.

This psalm is one of the finest odes in any language. The
abrupt brevity, with which each particular is expressed, the
astonished admiration ascribed to the sea, to Jordan, to the
mountains, and hills, and repeated in the interrogatory form,
the sublime explanation, that it all proceeded from a single
glance of Jehovah, who looked upon them from the clouds, a
look, which converted rocks and stones to streams and living
fountains, all these give us, in the compass of this little ouX
the substance of a long description..

The passage of the Red Sea produced the most ancient and
sonorous song of triumph, which we have in this language.
It is a choral ode, one voice describing perhaps the acts
themselves, those of the chorus striking in and as it were re
echoing the sentiment. Its structure is simple, full of allitera
tion and rhyme, which I could not give in our language without
doing violence to it, for the Hebrew, from the simplicity of its
forms, is full of such harmonious correspondencies of sound.
Flowing and prolonged words but few in number float upon
the air, and terminate for the most part in an obscure mono
syllabic sound, that formed perhaps the burden of the chorus.
Here is a feeble imitation of the untranslatable but most an*
cient triumphal ode in any language.

SONG OF MOSES AT THE RED SEA.

Then sang Moses and the children of Israel

Thia song unto the Lord, .

And they spake saying,

I will sing unto the Lord,

For he hath triumphed gloriously,

The horse and his rider hath he thrown

Into the depths of the sea.

The Lord is my strength and my song,

He is become my salvation.

He is rny Uod and I will praise him,

My father's CJod, and I will exalt him.

Jehovah is a man of war,

Jehovah is his name.

Pharaoh's chariots and his host

Hath he cast into the sea,

The choicest of his captains

Are sunk into the reedy sea.

The floods have covered them,
They sank into the depths,
Like a stone.

Thy right hand, O Jehovah, '

Hath shown itself glorious in majesty*
Thy right hand, O Jehovah,

Hath dashed in pieces the enemy.

By thine exalted power

Thou daehest those that rise against thee.

Thou sentost forth thy wrath,

It consumed them like stubble.

At the blast of thy nostrils,
The waters were gathered together.
The swelling flood stood up like heaps,
The waves were congealed
In the depths of the sea.

The enemy said I will pursue,
Will seize,~will divide the spoil;
My soul shall glut itself with them,
My sword will I draw out,
And utterly destroy them.

Then breathed thy wind,
The sea covered them,
They sank as lead
In the mighty waters.

Who is like to thce O Lord !
Who, among the Gods ?
Who is like ihee glorious in holiness,
Fearful in praises, doing wonders.

Thou frtretchedst out thy hand,
The earth swallowed them up. *
With gertle hand thou leddest forth
The peo/le which thou hadst redeemed.
Thou gu-.dest them with strength
Unto thy holy habitation.

The nations hear thereof and tremble,
Grief seizes on the dwellers in Philistia,
The princes of Edom are amazed,
The heroes of Moab are seized with dread,
The dwellers in Canaan are melting away.

Let fear and dread fall upon them,
The terrors of death from thy mighty arm.
Let them be motionless as a stone,
Till thy people, O Lord, pass over,
Till thy people pass, whom thou hast redeemed.

Bring them in O Lord,
Plant thy people

Upon the mount of thine inheritance,
The place of thy habitation,
Which thou hast made ready for thyself,
The sanctuary, which thy hands have made.
Jehovah reigns forever and ever.

The song perhaps terminated here, and the following was
only a brief recapitulation of the contents.

Forth marched the horse of Pharaoh and his chariots,
He went with his horsemen down into the sea.
Then brought Jehovah upon them
The returning waves of the sea.
The tribes of Israel passed dry
Through the midst of the sea.

So that these lines were a sort of brief memorial, such a?
every one might retain in memory concerning the whole
event. If passages occur in this song such as we should
suppose could not yet have been sung there, let it be borne in
mind, that the temple, the sanctuary, and the land, to which
they were journeying, were in the mind of God and of Moses
already present, and that Moses by these anticipated as it
were in triumph the institutions and regulations, which were
to be formed.

This song, of which I have given but a feeble echo, gave
their tone to the triumphal songs of the Hebrews, as the song
of Deborah and the o'Stli Psalm evince. The rythmical move
ment is animated by the same caesuras and cadences and by
the s.ame lively correspondencies of sound. The frequent
exclamations, the oft recurring

Praise to Jehovah !
Sing praises to Jehovah !

the excitations addressed to the hearers, or the singers them
selves, which at intervals interrupt, or rather animate the cur*
rent of thoughts anew, form as it were the stave, on which

the historical song is arranged. In the Psalms the hallelujah
grew out of this, as an animating and joyous shout of the
chorus, known to many nations in nearly the same form, and
by the Hebrews consecrated to their Jah or Jehovah.

The appearance of God upon Sinai is in the simple descrip
tion of Moses itself fearfully sublime,* and it was therefore
very naturally, that it became the subject of the most mag
nificent poetry. Moses had it distinctly in his thoughts, when
he wrote his benedict ion s,t and here too he speaks ;is one
holding close communion with God, who derived pleasure and
instruction from things the most fearful. The most High in
his majesty, and his hand armed with lightnings is in his con
ceptions a father, and the teacher of his assembled children.
The sequel will develope this more fully. At present we re
mark only, that the appearance of God upon Mount Sinai
gave occasion for personifications, which adorn the whole
body of Hebrew poetry. The splendour and the burning ra
diance, in which God was manifested, became, in the lan
guage of poetry, angels, orders and retinues, in the midst of
which the Law was given. Even DavidJ formed thorn into u
warlike encampment, and Daniel^ then made these ten thousan
thousand around the most High servants obedient to bis com
mand. A series of Rabinicul subtilties, representing the Law
as given and uttered forth by angels, is founded upon the same.
As Jehovah moved from Sinai in the character of a God of
war, to fight for Israel, it was in accordance with it, that this
host accompanied him. Tims, he appears in the song of Deb
orah, where the stars in battle array fought for Israel,^ and 1
doubt not that hence tho exalted name of God, Jehovah S;»ba-
otb, bacame u distinct and peculiar designation with the Ile^

» Ex. xix. 20. t Dout. xxxiii. 2. t Ps. xlvii 18.
HDan.vii. 10. $ Jml. v. 4. 90.

brews. David used it first against the Philistines,* and ex
plained it as the name of the God of the armies of Israel, that
is, of one who fought for Israel. It must then be from the
ancient history of the nation, and from its songs of victory, and
here Moses, Deborah, and numerous Psalms give the full ex
planation. It is, in fact, the name of Israel's God, as the God
of war, only from the circumstance, that at that ancient peri
od it proceeded from the glorious manifestations' opon Mount
Sinai ; from the lightnings and thundering*, and from the
starry hosts mingling in the conflict, and thus suggesting its
primitive import, Jehovah of hosts. From this, its moaning
became greatly extended, until at length, like all such poetic
al designations of the divinity when much used, it expressed
all the amplitude of the Divine magnificence and excellency.
In the later writings of the Prophets, therefore, it can no long
er be translated with propriety, the God of war ; though this
was its primitive import. It is in their use a conception of uni
versal elevation and dignity of character ; and to the God of
Saiiaotli, tht1 Loi-u of hosts, a!i in heaven and earth pay hom
age. This is the proper and domestick origin of the name, and
with the gods of the Sahucans it had nothing to do. When,
moreover, the Prophets describe the stars as the host of God,
they do so because the universe is full of his majesty. Moses,
Deborah, David, and the Psalms, are the successive steps, by
which they were elevated to their sublime conception. As an
example and proof of this, let us observe how David applies
God's leading of the Israelites in the wilderness to an object,
in which one would not expect to find it ; the bringing of the
ark to Mount Zion. lie goes through the whole progress of
God from mountain to mountain, from victory to victory, and
the triumphal song of Deborah was plainly his model. The
Psalm might be denominated the march of Jehovah, an ex*
pression used by Habakkuk, and derived from this Psalm,

* I Sam. xvii. 45,

THE VICTORIOUS MARCH OF GOD.
THE 68rn PSALM.

Our God exalts himself,

And his enemies are scattered,

They that hate him flee before him.

[The triumphal language of Moses, with which he addressee!
the cloudy pillar, when the march of the peoplefproceeded.]

As smoke disperses, so they disperse,

As wax is melted before the fire,

So shall the wicked perish at the presence of God.

[Smoke and fire were the symbols of the Divine presence du
ring the march of the Israelites.]

Hut the righteous are glad,
They rejoice before God,
They exult with joy.

[Because lie accompanies them in their march. Here the in
troduction of the ode terminates, and a second chorus perhaps
commences.]

Sing praise to God ! extol his name !
Prepare his way, who marcheth in the desert,
Extol him by his name JAM,
' And exult before him.
The orphan's father, the widow's judge.
Is God exalted in holiness.
Our God ! to the desolate
He gave a habitation,

He brought to happiness those who were bound,
And the rebellious dwelt in a dry land.

[We may suppose the rebellious here to be Amalekitesor Egyp
tians, who opposed themselves to the march of God. The
desolate and those who were bound are the Israelites, whom
he is leading out of bondage, and for whom he designs the
rich 'land of Canaan. The other chorus now begins, and the
march itself is described wholly in the language of Deborah.]

O God, when thou didst go forth,
And wentest before thy people,
When thou didst tread the desert,

Then the earth did quake ;
The heavens distilled in drops,
When God looked forth upon them,
This Sinai there before the face of God,
The God of Israel.

Thou, O God, didst send a gentle rain,
Thou didst revive thy parched inheritance,
Thy congregation can inhabit there.
For thou by thy goodness, O God !
Hast provided for the poor.

[To the last trait in tho picture, the poet comes also through
the description of Del>orah. She painted the heavens as drop
ping, Sinai melting, in order to make a transition to the drop
ping' of the clouds, which swelled the river Kishon and the
Kadumim, and contributed to the victory. The gentle herds
man has here applied the heroic figure to a peaceful object,
to make the wilderness a garden for the delightful habitation
of the tribes of Israel. These, too, inarch onward, and war
:and victory follow.]

The Lord gave the signal for war,
A host were messengers* of victory.

" The Kings of the hosts flee, they flee,
She that tarried at home divideth the epoiL

Why wait ye there among the water pota T
The wings of the dove are covered with silter,

• The noun in the original here it feminin*.

Her feathers sparkle with yellow gold.
As the Almighty scattered the kings,
The snow descended upon Salmon.**

These words were, perhaps, taken from an ancient triumph
al song, which as usual, was also satirical. It related, obvi
ously, to the victory of Deborah. In the Northern and woo'dy
part of Judaea their freedom was at that time recovered by Is
rael,* the rainy season contributed to the victory, and mention
was made also of the snow.t The news of the victory was
intrusted to female messengers, because Deborah and Jael
decided the battle, and it was not to be suffered, that the race
in aftertimes should lose the memorial of Deborah, their hero-
ick mother. The raillery respecting those who remained be
hind is plainly from her triumphal soii£, only here introduced
with a little subtilty and refinement. She upbraided the cow
ardly tribes with prcfcring to hear the bleating of their flocks,
rather than the cry of battle; here it is imputed to them, that

* Isa. ix. 1 — 3. is perhaps a play upon this passage.

t The words "snow full on Salmon," pertain to the taunting expression
of the triumphal song, and need no critical alteration. The tribcs,which re-
raained inactive, were afraid of the severe winter weather, which Deborah
found so conducive to her success. When even the less elevated Mount
Salmon, lying in the Southern part of Jadxn, wits covered with snow,
how much more must it have been the case with the higher mountains
of the 'North, whither the warlike expedition led them. This conclu
sion was sagaciously made by the Southern tribes, and they remained
quietly with their doves. The spirit of the passage may be expressed as
follows :

O ye who rest amid your folds,

What stays you loitering there,
To gaze upon your glossy doves

And mark their golden wings,
When (.iod the. Lord the nations smote ?

And Canaan's heroes slew,
Then truly was a wintry day,

And snow on Salmon fell.

from timidity and an effeminate horror of war, they chose rath
er, in those raw and wintry days, to gaze with wonder upon
the silvery wings and golden feathers of their doves, gleaming
as they rise in flight, while Deborah, a woman, a dweller in
the house, (a bee as the name signifies) is dividing the spoil.
" The Lord gave the word," means he gave command for the
war, he roused up heroos and so the messengers of victory.

Next follows the inarch of Jehovah upon the mountains.
He descended upon the diminutive Zion, and how many more
beautiful and more fruitful mountains were there, that were de
sirous of this honour. The fertile Bashan he had passed by,
and hero that mountain, which was one of the greatest in the
land of Israel, draws the attention of the poet, and becomes
the object of his song.

Thou mount of God, mount Bashan,

The mountain range, mount Bashan,
"Why look with priile,* ye pinnacled heights,

On these, which God hath chosen to dwell in?
Jehovah shall inhabit them

Forever and ever.

[The account is equally balanced with praise and sarcasm.
Bashan is named, because it was situated beyond Jordan, and
God could not dwell there, because it was without the limits
of the promised land. — Zion was recently gained by conquest,
and the remnant of the Jebusites was perhaps still in Jerusa
lem. Then too God dwelt in the vicinity of his conquered
foes — a circumstance, which gave occasion to the sublime pic
ture of his victorious progress, after he moved forward from
Sinai.]

* More correctly " with envy." The Hebrew, term, that occurs in the
same form only in this passage, means to regard with envy. Lu tin*
sense the passage may be translated thus:

Why look so enviously down ye mountain ranges,
Upon this mount, which God has chose to dwell in,
This expresses the fQt^eie of Aquila and Theodotian. J.

The chariota of God, a thousand thousand,
And ten times ten thousand more.
The Lord comes forth in their midst,
From the glory crowned summit of Sinai.

Thou didst raise the chariots aloft,
Thou leddest forth thy captives with thee,
Thou gavest men for thy triumphal gifts,
And madest rebels now to dwell with thee.
Jehovah, God.

Let God be praised, from day to night be praised,
He layeth on our burdens, and giveth us help,
He is our God, the God of our salvation,
Jehovah the Lord hath the issues to death.

Surely God will wound the head of his enemies,
The hairy scalp of him, who is against him.
I will bring him, eaith the Lord, from Bashan,
I will bring him from the depths of the sea.
Thy foot shall yet wade in their blood,
Thy dogs lick the blood of thine enemies!—

But I have already given more perhaps, than was necessa
ry for our present purpose. We see clearly what this difficult
Psalm, abounding in proud and warlike sentiment, means by
the triumphal gifts of God among men, and what the national
God of the Israelites will do farther on the mountains, which
he lias newly conquered, that he will free them from th<*e en-
emies, who now remain only as a kind of sinoffering. But
we return to our subject and ask,

What meant that smoking Sinai ?

What were those pillars of cloud and fire ?

which gave occasion to such splendid imagery.

Respecting the fiery and cloudy pillars we need not be greatly
at a loss. It was the sacred fire, which, as was customary in
similar cases in those regions, was carried before the host, and
served both as a signal for breaking up the encampments and
renewing the march, and as a guide in their journeying.
When the Israelites went out of Egypt it followed and stood

between them and the Egyptians. I remember to have read
even in some Pagan writer, what originated probably in a mis
conception of this circumstance, that the flying people placed
between them and their pursuers objects of religious veneration,
I think sacred animals, which the Egyptians dared not ap
proach. It is in the Exodous of the children of Israel, that
those cloudy and fiery pillars first occur, and they are at once
accompanied with miraculous effects, which still followed
them throughout the journey.* When the host were encamp
ed, it stood before the door of the sanctuary, before the tent
of the leader, and responses were given by it. When the
host moved their camp, it went before as their guide. They
continue to appear, so long as the Israelites were in the des
ert, but when they arrived in Canaan the Ark of the Cove
nant preceded, and showed the way, and these pillars are no
longer mentioned. In short the phenomenon was a symbol of
the Divinity, though with the Israelites riot a mere symbol, but
a presence, which produced marvellous and sometimes fear
ful effects. The two phenomena admit of being so naturally
identified, that I see not why they should be considered as
different. In the one symbol God would accompany Israel,
and be their guide. This was the angel of his presence that is
the herald and index of his peculiar presence andsupcrintend-
ance, and all this was included under the pillar of fire. By
day it appeared as smoke, in the night as flame. Before it
was the. most revered seat of judgment, the highest tribunal.
If Moses and Aaron were safe no where else, they were yet
safe here, and the fire of God avenged them in a way that
was manifest to the sense. When the journey was ended,
the memorial of it was perhaps placed in the holy of holies,
and for some time preserved; and hence the Jewish fable re
specting the perpetual cloud of smoke between the cherubim.
Nothing is more natural and accordant with history, than this

*Ex. xiv. 19.20. xxxiii. 9— 11. Num. ix. IS— 23.

explanation. It denies no miracle and only shows the medi
um, by which God wrought miracles, since this must be the
angel of his presence, or, as Habakkuk calls it, the veil of
his presence.

The splendid appearances on mount Sinai had very possibly
similar natural causes, pertaining to the time and place, in
which they were exhibited, for God works no miracles except
through the instrumentality of natural powers. The extraor
dinary splendour, in which the sandy deserts of Arabia some
times appear, the smoke, in which the mountains are veiled, the
thunders, which are multiplied and fearfully reverberated
among their towering cliffs, those and perhaps other terrific
and magnificant phenomena of nature God on this occasion
combined together, as the symbols and manifestations of his
presence. Whoever would deny the miraculous character of
the phenomena, must make the description of Moses a fable.
Nor are they less so from the fact, that this region of fearful
desolation is always fruitful in strange and startling phenom
ena.

Finally the passage through the Red Sea with the circum-

J I

stances described as attending it was certainly a marvellous
but not an impossible rescue. Probably Moses, when he re-
received his commission, intended to direct his course over the
isthmus. The Israelites could not moreover have been much
below it, and they probably passed by Sue/ fcomewhat farther
South, than the route which the caravans now take. Now
though the gulf then extended according to remaining traces
of it higher up than now, yet it was so wide as readily to ac
count for the result. Losing the route in the darkness of the
night, confounded by a tempest of rain and a storm of wind,
and panick struck, the whole host of Egyptians might well
fall into disorder, and lose themselves beyond the possibility of
escape, whether falling into the deeper bays of the sea, or
from the higher incursion of the driving and overwhelming
flood. Nor is the passage here so broad, that it would be iin«

possible for the Israelites to accomplish it in a single night.
All the doubts, which have recently been accumulated re
specting the matter, are overstrained. The ancient monu
ments of the Israelites, the feast which was established as a
memorial of this passage over the sea, the triumphal song of
Moses, and the numerous exhortations, which he enforced up
on the assembled Israelites by a reference to it, show clearly
enough, that their deliverance was at all events attended with
very remarkable and terrifick circumstances, which Moses has
described too in a manner perfectly natural, and accordant
with the local character and relations of the place.

Would that our devotional songs, in which reference is
made to this cvqnt had more resemblance to the Hebrew!
These do not repeat it, though it was to them a national bless
ing, and the very ground of their national existence, in endless
litanies, as we often do, but adapt the ancient event to new
occurrences, combine it intimately with their subject, and
sing it, if I may be allowed the expression, in a business like
manner. Thus Deborah, and thus also several fine Psalms
and passages in the Prophets. Let us now read for an exam
ple one of the most touching poems of the Hebrews, in which
the boldest triumphal picture of the old world terminates in
the most affecting eleuv.

THE PRAYER OF IIABAKKUK THE PROPHET.

O Jehovah, I have heard the rumour of thee ;

And tremble with ft;ar ;*

* The rumour, which the Prophet heard, was the tradition c-f the mar-
yelloiiB events of ancient times, and the predictions of what was then to
take place. Once God strove for his people, now he would forsake them,
and give them over to their enemies. Both of these are enlarged upon
in the piece, and the Prophet longs to see the purpose of God in this sad
catastrophe. This is what is expressed in the petition, " show thy work,
make known with the progress of years what thou hast purposed, and in
thy present severe counsels call to ruind thine ancient miracles of good-
ness to this people.
7*

With coming year*, Jehovah, show thy work,*
An years revolve make known,
In wrath remember merry.

When God came on from Teman,
The high and holy one from Mount Paran,
His glory covered the heavens,
The earth was full of his praise.

His brightness was like the sun,
Out from his hand the rays shot forth,
And this was but the veil of his might.

Before him went the pestilence,
Birds of prey flew forth at his feet.
He stood, the earth was moved, t
He looked; and nations were scattered abroad.
The everlasting mountains were trod to du»t,
'The perpetual hills did bow themselves,
When he marched forth of old. t

The huts of Cushan I saw in affliction, |}
The tents of Midiun vanished away.

Was Jehovah angry with the rivers?
Was the blast of thy breath at the waves I

•The parallelism seems to require, this of the common reading,
" revive thy work." Perhaps the poet had in his thoughts, Ps. xc. 13—
17. and then the haste, and the calling for his work to be manifested !•
not unsuited to the context. The poet was desirous of seeing the ap
proaching development*, and was admonished, chapter ii. 3. 4. to wait
with patience. Here, then, he prays, as Moses did, that God would re-
vivo and carry forward his work.

t Several translations give this sense, and the parallelism obviously re.
quires it. The nations flee away at the violent shaking of the earth.

tThe " goings forth of old are" from the 68th Psalm, which gives to
this often misapprehended expression the most intelligible sense. It
i» the march of God in ancient times, ins stepping f.om mountain to moun.
tain, (Sinai, Seir, Paran, Bashan) which so many ancient triumphal songs,
and this elegy also describe.

II They labour as it were under affliction. They strip off the cover.
in?s of their tents, so that a whole encampment of Nomades disappear*
it« a few moments.

Was thy wrath against the sea ?*
For thou didst mount upon thy war-chariot,
And ride with horses, thou God of salvation,
Thou drewest forth thy bow,
Multiplying sevenfold thine arrows.t
And the streams cleft asunder the land.
The mountains saw thee and trembled,

* The peculiar turn of this question shows the alarm of the speaker.
and gives a sublime movement to the ode. Several Psalms interrupt the
narrative by such unexpected questions, as Ps. cxiv. 5. 6. and others, a
striking peculiarity in the style of Oriental poetry.

t This line, which is a crux criticorum, only becomes intelligible in the
sense, which I have given. But if we adopt this, what is the meaning of
" word"? If we translate the passage —

Thou drewest forth thy bow,

The arrows of the commander were satiate with blood,

still to every reader of nice discernment, the connexion will appear harsh.
The fact here assumed, that God is so suddenly called the " word," while
through the whole ode he does not speak as an inactive commander, but
is himself active as a warrior, that his arrows are already satiate with
blood, while in the progress of the description this is first mentioned af
terwards in verse 13th, all ,this renders this construction unnatural. I
have, therefore, by a very simple construction rend this word as a parti,
ciple. That it often means "to make manifold" is well known, and
thus, this difficult passage, seems tome, to be explained in the simplest
way, and very finely in accordance with the scope of the imagery. The
multiplying of the lightnings as glittering arrows is an image sufficiently-
known from the 18th Psalm, and this is followed by the Prophet in this
passage.

But how comes it, that now, when God draws out his arrows with his
bow, the rivers also rush through the land ? If the reader proceeds far-
theron, he will see that! a universal shuddering and alarm of nature is
described, such as we remark before a tempest. It is as if all things felt
the presence and immediate vicinity of the Creator. The river rolls on
more rapidly, and as here the floods sound louder, the heights lift up their
hands in expectation. There is no doubt, that all these figures refer to
the Red Sea, to Jordan, to Sinai, and to the times of Joshua and Debo*

The overflowing waters fled away,
The deep uttered its voice.
The heights lift up their hands.

The sun and moon stood still in their coorte,*
At the dazzling light of thine arrows flying,
At the lightning glance of thy spear.

Thou marchedst on in anger through the land,*
And trampledst upon the nations in thy wrath.

nth, when the rivers either shrunk back or overflowed ; but all are com
bined into one picture, and hence, to follow out chronologically and his.
torically, every minute feature is incorrect. It is plainly a continuous
representation of a coming warrior, and of his deeds in battle. The im
age of the alarmed and troubled waters, which are sensible of the near,
ness of God, is derived from the majcstick 77th Psalm v. 17 — 21. whose
images IIakikk.uk has in several passages adopted and enlarged.

• The image of the sun and moon are taken from both the history of
Joshua and the song of Deborah combined together. In the former they
stand still with astonishment, whilo God is engaged in battle ; in the latter
courses are ascribed to them. Should not the same Hebrew word,
which Deborah uses, have stuoil here also, putting it in the singular on
ly as the common reading is? The Scptuagint seems to have read thus;
since it translates tv itj ru'£e* av*rif$ just as in Judges v. 20. and
the picture thereby becomes beautiful, complete, and full of action.
They stand still with astonishment in the midst of their course, and up
on the smooth path, which they ure ever travelling* They see the
glance of his lightnings, and ure, us it u ere, ashamed, and thrown in the
shade,

t The picture is progressive. G6d does not here first go forth upon the
land. The first step of his progress was already described in the Cih
verse. Here he is proceeding onward and trampling upon nations ut ev
ery step. The poet advances also with the progress of the national his.
tory, and comes down to the kings, especially the age of David, as the
13th verse clearly shows. Hence, too, the images in the succeeding
verses are from the triumphal songs of David. The 13th and Mth are
obviously from Ps. Ixviii. 22. and Ps. ex. 0. and other passages, since
David often uses the peculiar expression, "to wound or divide asunder-
the head."

81 .

For thou wentest forth to aid thy people,
To bring salvation to thine anointed.

Thou didst smite the top from the house of the wicked*
And lay bare the foundation even to the rork,
Thou piercedst the head of the leader of their ranks,!
They were rushing as a storm to disperse me,
Exulting us if to devour the oppressed,
Like the wild beast in his covert.
Thou did thine horses tread upon the sea,
They came upon the swelling floods. t

* The figure is taken from a house or temple, whose summit being
dashed in pieces, it will be made bare and fall to ruins even to the foun.
dation stone, which is laid upon a rock. That the word " head" is often
thus used, especially in the Psalms, I need not show. The dilapidation
of the house means, according to Oriental custom, the ruin of the whol*
family. It need not bo asked to what enemies of David the poet ha>
reference in this passage. The ima<:os are here introduced into the pit*
ture in their general application. The particular circumstances of tho
more ancient times, did not belong to the purpose of the writer.

t Various conjectures have been made respecting the original word
here. Its first meaning, as it seems to me, is ranks, families, or mem.
bers of families divided off, as its radical form signifies. In the song
of Deborah (Jud. v. 7.), it is either villages, or assemblages from villa,
ges out of their districts, in short, orders. Here there were regular ranks
of enemies, who according to the following verse, came on like a tempest,
to scatter a defenceless people and divide the spoil. The Greek transla
tion gives the collective form, leaders of such ranks or divisions (xf <r<x-
).u$ dvvaannv), as names of dignity are used in all languages. I have
used some circumlocution in translating the word, because by this means,
the succeeding image becomes more clear, and when compared with
chap. i. 9. will need, I think, no father elucidation.

tTo bring them aid, that is, as the 8th and 12th verses show. The
picture ends as itbagan, which is a striking beauty, since it gives unity
to the whole view. As well in this part as in the whole economy of the
ode, this poem is beautifully filled up.

When I heard this my heart trembled, •
My lips quivered at the voice.
A shuddering ran through my bones,
And my feet were tottering.
Yet must I rest until the day of calamity,*
When the destroying nation cometh upon us.
Then shall the fig-tree not bloom,
And the vines shall give no fruit.
The hope of the olive tree shall fail,
The fields shall yield no bread,
The flock shull be cut oft from the fold,
And no herd .-hull be in the stall. i

Yet will I be confident in Jehovah,?

* Now another division of the ode commences, which again refers back
to the beginning, verse 1st. The poet has heard from the ancient time*
all the wonders, which God wrought for Israel, and now sees other
times no less fearful approaching. This makes the plan of the ode ap
parently incomprehensible and contradictory, as well as the feelings ex.
pressed in it. The preceding chapters are the best commentary upon it,
especially chap. i. 1.2. 12—14. chap. ii. 1 — i.

tThe leading word here is explained by the history of the Prophet.chap.
ii. 1 — I. He was directed by God to remain tranquil ; he niual wait for
the time. This he now calls " resting and waiting for the day of calam.
ity," when the nation invaded them, which he described in chap. 1st. f.fe
doea not here speak of a going up to Chaldira, but of a corning of the
Chaldeans; as the following verse clearly shows. .,- The following lines
Describe the entire desolation of the country, by the Chaldees.

I Here the ode draws to a conclusion. Dark and discouraging as it is
aruund him, the Prophet yet remains true to the word of his God, (Chap.
ii. 1 — 4.) he gives himself up to him, and leaps with joy in the name of
bis whole nation. It must, and will have a good result for them, though
the Prophet does not yet see, and though he so strongly desires to pee it,
as the leading subject of his prophecy. (See Chap. i.2. 3. 12 — 17. Chap,
ii. 1 — 4. Chap. iii. 2.), The plan of the whole book is no less a beautiful
whole, than this ode by itself, which I might justly call the crown of the
Hebrew lyrick Poetry. That in the last verse there is a reference to Ps.
xviii. 34. and Deut. xxxiii. 29. I need not show David applied the last
mentioned passage to himself, and the Prophet refers it to the whole na
tion. It will yet, once more ascend upon its ancient heights, the scenes

And exult in the God of my salvation,
Jehovah God is my strength,
He will make me to leap as the hart,
And to tread again upon my high places.

APPENDIX.*

Of the miracles in the Journeying of the Israelites, and the giving of the
Mosaick law.

" Must not the whole description of this march through the
Arabian deserts be a sort of epick poem of later date, and pro
duced at a period, when the truth of history was already cloth
ed in the marvels of fiction ?" So far as my purpose is con
cerned it would make no difference though it were even so :
for still this history remains the basis of Hebrew legislation
and poetry. But what ground Im.ve we to believe this? Let
one read the description impartially, and observe its entire
simplicity, its local references, its precise correspondence and
propriety in the circumstances of time and place. Every new
book of travels has confirmed or illustrated its local truth, and
even to the present day the traditions of the neighbouring na
tions and races are full of this ancient history. I arn aware,
that the Mohammedan religion has in a peculiar manner re
vived these traditions ; it however, only revived and built upon
them, for they were before already there. The lonely desert

of victory nnd Imp upon them like a hart. Judaea was a mountainous
country, and hence, of the Chuld&ans also,(ver. 1C.) the word 'hi^'h places,
is used. The conclusion of the ode ispatriotick, beautiful, and dignified.
All the feelines and fortunes of his people, prosperity and adversity, tha
poet experiences inkhis own breast.

•This short treatise and a metrical paraphrase of the prayer of Habak.
kuk, are found among Herder's manuscripts, and were inserted here by
the first editor, J . G. Mueller. J.

teems Co be designed for the purpose, that in it this history
might survive, as well in the memorials of nature, as in the
traditions of the people.

If a poetical aim were discoverable in the narrative of Mo
ses as in that of Homer, and if we saw in it events combined
and adorned for the accomplishment of this aim, while at the
same time, it was incompatible with the truth of nature ; then
it might be seen distinctly in the Arabian desert, as well as
on the plains of Troy, where fiction begins and history ends.
The fiction would show itself by a reference to the purpose, to
which it was directed.

Now, iii Moses, nothing of this sort is perceivable. The
description of the passage of the Red Sea, does not grow out
of the ode, that was sung lor its celebration, but obviously pre
cedes it, as a perfectly artless geographical description. The
giving of the law on Mount Sinai is told in a style of simple
narrative. Whatever is sublime and terrifick in it belongs to
the subject, not to the language. So it is with the most fear
ful as well as the agreeable incidents of the journey. They
fall as artlessly into the general train of events, and the course
of the narrative, as docs the long description of the arrange
ments of the tnhernacle, of the laws, the sacred rites and vest
ments, all of which are certainly historical monuments of that
age.

Why then should we give credence to the one and not to
the other ? Why must we insist that all things shall proceed
in every ajjo, as thev do in our own ? There a system of doc
trine and legislation was to be established, which has extended
its power over nations and centuries. Could Moses, unaided
with all his Egyptian wisdom, or even with the added wisdom
of his Levites, accomplish this ? Could he do it against the
opposition of some hundred thousand stiff-necked and rebell^
ious men ? And how could he sustain them so long in the de.
f«ert ? Let him who has any doubts here give a plan to show
how it might be done ; but let the whole be placed between

Sinai and Paran, and suited to that age and to the same people.
Yet nobody requires us on the authority of Moses : 1. to
believe fables, of which the history knows nothing, and which
the later Rabbins have invented, respecting the manna, the
cloudy pillars, the angels by whose ministration the law was
given, &c. either from childish interpretations or for moral
purposes. Rather,

2. Since there is one God, the Lord of nature, and of these
miraculous phenomena, all these must have taken place and
are to be explained through the instrumentality of natural
causes. Theophrastus, Pliny and others have also spoken of
the manna, as this far more ancient description docs, and thi
account is perfectly in accordance with the knowledge and
views of nature, which pertained to that age. The atmospher-
ick phenomena of the country among the mountains of Ara
bia are alike known. Of the stifling wind Simoom, the aveng
ing messenger of the Lord, the phenomena of the East wind
in which all objects appear magnified, and the sandy desert
looks like a sea of fire, the same may be said. It is a fearful
solitude of nature, formed as it were, for producing the sub-
liiac impressions of fear and implicit obedience.

3. I5ut so far as discoveries have yet been made, and have
come within my own knowledge, no miracle of Israelitish his
tory can be fully explained on these principles. There are no
oak forests in those regions, from the inaiuia of which so great
a multitude could have subsisted in its wanderings, and the
Israelites had as much sense as we have to consider, that they
bad not known in Egypt what was a natural thunder storm.

4. Finally, it is remarkable that the place of all these mi
raculous events layout of the limits of Canaan; and had,
therefore, no influence on the observance of the law. Sinai
was not in Canaan, and in danger from some supposed sacred-
ness of the place of being reverenced, as the dwelling place of
(iod. They saw the tempests sweep over, and on them the
Lord of the tempest ; but in Canaan he rested in his career

upon no mountain summit. The history remained what it
was, ancient history, and if an Elijah sometimes fled thither
to console and strengthen himself by the fortunes of Moses,
yet the place, as an object of popular superstition, was not laid
down in the map of Moses. It was never sent to for the pur
pose of obtaining oracular responses, and on the same ground
the places consecrated in the history of the Patriarchs, Mainre,
Luz, Bethel, could never become places of idolatrous worship.
When Bethel from political causes was becoming such, the
Prophet changed its name Bethel, (house of God) into Beth-
aven (house of idolatry). It must, however, be admitted in re
gard to the marvellous and supernatural in the Hebrew legis-*
lation, that it was perverted to superstitious uses, which for
centuries held the minds of the people in ft- 1 tors, though it did
not differ in this respect from other religions.

NOTE. I have ventured to omit here the metrical paraplmiM; of the
Prayer of Habakkuk mentioned in u previous note. TK.

IV.

INSTIUTIONS OF MOSES.

Of the name Jehovah ; what it involved ; and how far its import was un
folded. The 90th and 102d Psalms. Pure and uncorrupted ideas of
God, of moral truths, and of practical wisdom in the poetry of the He.
brews. Legislation of Moses.

1. The national freedom and equality established by it. National as
semblies at their festivals. Songs which they sung with national
pride and exultation.

2. Jehovah was enthroned upon the laws alone. National songs respect,
ing this with an application even to oppressors and unjust judges.
The laws were compared with the ordinances of God in nature. An
ode to this effect.

3. Office and dignity of the tribes set apart to his service. Of the light
and law of rectitude upon the breast of the high priest. Images
drawn from the attire of the priests in Hebrew poetry. They are
symbols of a flourishing state. Application of them to kings and to
heavenly minister*.

4. Origin and purpose of sacrifices. Moral use of them in poetry.
Examples in several Psalms.

General remarks on the language derived from the laws of Moses re.
specting diseases and vices, and on particular parts of the religious
service and symbolical observances. The institution of the sabbath
has preserved for us all that remains of their ancient history and poet
ry. Images drawn from it of a perpetual sabbath and the year of
jubilee. The Tabernacle of Moses a symbolical representation.

Jehovah was the name which Moses impressed upon his
people as the name of the God of their fathers. It expressed
a pure and sublime conception,* which imported the immove-
ableness and truth of God, his eternity, his unchangeableness
and his eternal worth and glory. This fundamental concep-

It confessedly involved the three relations of time, "I was, I am, I
•hall be," or as God himself says, "I am in that I am,"

tion in the law of Moses is denominated the holiness of the
Lord,* an expression, for which I know no synonym in the
German language. Not only were all images and representa
tions of God drawn from the works of creation prohibited, but
this sacred name was the occasion for unfolding the highest
attributes and perfections of the Godhead, which were to serve
as an eternal and immutable basis for the reason and religion
of man. It is not intended by this to say, that Moses himself
unfolded all these perfections. To him, the lawgiver of the
Israelites, God must appear and be represented more especial
ly as the guardian God of Israel, and on this conception are
grounded many forcible and striking passages of his admoni
tions and of his songs. But what he as a lawgiver could not
do, was done afterwards by the wise men and poets of Israel.
Was Jehovah the one only God, the creator of the world, so
was he also the God of all nations, and of all generations of
men, and for the unfolding of this rich and fruitful gem these
needed but time, unbiassed thought, and the culm Spirit of
God. It is not here the question, whether other nations have
also unfolded the same ideas. For why need we be envious,
and refuse to give the Persians, Hindoos, Celts or whomsoever
it may be, credit each in their proper measure for the degree,
in which they have preserved and advanced the most ancient
religion of the earth. It is enough, that in that age, and in
that part of the world, among Egyptians, Canaanites, and the
uncultivated tribes of Arabia, Moses was alone in his advance
ment, lie sought out the religion of the Patriarchs, the an
cestors of his race, and what he derived from Egypt in the
outward form and costume of his institutions and laws was
not permitted to obscure the pure light of that revelation,
which was given him in the burning bush of the Arabian des
ert. Thus with the progress of time were formed those sub
lime ideas, which we find in the Psalms and Prophets.

•The holiness of the Lord is his highest peculiarity, in which he hap
rone like him.

To illustrate this we may begin with the ode, which is as
cribed to Moses himself as its author. It unfolds the name
Jehovah, that is, the immutable truth, the eternal and absolute
immobility and constancy of the creator of the world.

A SONG OF MOSES, THE MAN OF GOD.

THE 90th PSALM.

O Lord ! Thou alone art our steadfastness
From generation to generation !*
Before the mountains were generated,
Or the earth and the world upheaved them,
From eternity to eternity thou art God. t

Thou lettest nmn return to the dust,
And sayest, return, ye generations of men.
For a thousand years are in thy sight
But as yesterday when it is past,
As a watch of the night.

Thou lettest them pass away.
There are they in a dead sleep,
In the morning they were as the green grass,
In the morning it was green and flourishing,
In the evening it was parched and dried up.

So thou didst consume us by thy breath,
The blast of thine anger drives us away.
Thou placedst our iniqui:5es before thee,
Our secret sins came to light
Before thy view.

Therefore have our days passed away,
By thy sentence upon us; t
We waste our years away,
Like an idle tale.

The days of our life are seventy years,
And if in its strength they be four score years,

•How sublime an idea ! We are but in appearance, mere fleeting
shadows upon the earth. Only in God is our steadfastness. He i»
our true being, whom Moses i-o often calls a rock.

tin all past ages, Thou, Lord, has; been.

t Gen. vi. 5 or the decree of God, that all the Israelites should ptrish
in the desert.

Yet its whole extent is toil and pain,
It if quickly past, and we are gone.

If the name Jehovah had occasioned the productions onty
of the sublime exposition in Isaiah from the 40th chapter on
ward, we should have abundant cause to bless the memory
and the religion of Moses.

There is no attribute, no perfection of God, which did not
find its most simple and powerful expression in the Psalms and
Prophets, and for the most part these sublime developments of
thought are drawn from the name Jehovah, which is in fact
the ground of all natural theology. Never can I read with
out emotion the Psalm* of that suppliant, who on occount of
his great age, could not hope to witness the fulfilment of
his wishes respecting Jerusalem and his people. He fails and
sinks in the midst of his way, with his eye directed to the prom
ise, but God the promiser fails not, and another generation will
live to witness its accomplishment, for God is Jehovah.

My days decline as a shadow,

And I am withered like grass,

But thou, O Jehovah, reignest forever,

Thy name endureth from ago to age.

Therefore for generations to come it is written,

A nation yet unborn shall praise the Lord.

lie will look d»wn from his holy heights,

From heaven will Jehovah look upon the earth,

And hear the groaning of tho prisoners,

And deliver those that are condemned to death.

Then shall they praise in 7,'ion the might of Jehovah*

Then shall his praise be sounded in Jerusalem ;

When the people shall be gathered together,

And kingdoms for the service of Jehovah.

My strength indeed fails, ere I attain it,

And my days are shortend.

I said also ; my God, take me not away

In the midst of my life. —

Pa. 102.

Vet thy yeare go on from age to age,

Thou it is, who of old hast founded the world.

The heavens also are the work of thy hands.

They too perish, but thouabidest,

They become old like a garment.

As a garment thou layest th.m aside,

And new heavens are brought forth.

But thou art the same,

And thy years have no end.

The children of thy servants also shall continue,

And their generations shall flourish before thee.

Thus arc always tho most sublime attributes of God intK
mately associated with tho most tender sensibilities of human
nature, The omniscience, the omnipresence, the infinite wis*
dom, the particular care and providence of God are represent
ed in the Psalms and Prophets with such a sense of reality and
inwardness, that one cannot escape the consciousness of being
under the immediate eye of God. If the doctrines of the pur
est Theism were to be expressed in the strongest terms, the
language should be taken from the Old Testament.

Ho that hath made the eye, shall he not see ?
He that hath planted the ear, shall ho not hear ?
Consider yet, ye brutish among the people,
Ye senseless fools, when will ye be wise ?

Can any tiling moro to the purpose, even in our own day,
be said against that class of philosophers, who deny the evi
dences of design in nature? All, which they ascribe to an ab
stract and lifeless nature, the heathen idolaters referred to
their false Gods, and what the Prophets urge against the one
holds equally against the other. The purer philosophy and
theology any poetry contains, the more nearly, not oidy in its
general sentiments, but even in its expressions, will it approach
to the poetry of the Old Testament.

Nearly the same thing is true also in regard the doctrines of
morality, only we must not treat of these in the sense, in

which they were practised py the people, but as they ought to
be practised. Neither must we look for these in the passages,
in which they are limited by the particular aims of the politi
cal lawgiver, or the teacher of worldly prudence, but where
they are uttered by the sage and the poet. In his j>ositive insti
tutions Moses could only speak in terms suited to his age, to his
people, and to their apprehension, and it would be folly to de
mand of him more than this. Yet the law, which he gave
thorn, was too spiritual and too good for the Israelites, sinco
they had neither power nor inclination to observe it. But
where Moses speaks as a monitor and teacher of the people,
especially in his last appeal to them, what sublime senti
ments does he introduce!

Understand, O Israel,

Jehovah, thy God, is one Jehovah,

And thou shah love Jehovah thy God»

With all thy heart,

With all thy soul,

And with all thy strength!

—The word, that I command thee this day,

la not a dark saying, and far from thce,

It is not in heaven, that thou shouldst say,

Who shall ascend and bring it down for us;

Nor beyond the sea, that thou shouldst say-,

Who shall go over the sea for us,

And bring it to us, and cause us to hear.

That we may understand and do it.

For t'le word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and heart,

That thou niaycst do it 1*

David in his personal conduct may be as he will ; he may
even in many of his Psalms appear selfish and ambitious of
fame, cruel and misanthropick, yet in the presence of Jehovah
he dares not boast himself of any other than praiseworthy qual
ities, of strict integrity, and openness of heart. All those

* Deut. vi. 4. MX. IK

Psalms of his, which contain general instruction, and still
nore those of Asaph and of an anonymous author are full of
he purest doctrines of morality. The Proverbs of Solomon
xmtain much of the court-morality of the Orientals, for they
each strictly speaking the maxims of prudence rather than
he abstract principles of morality. Yet, even in them, there
s much of pure gold, and they lay the foundation of all the
naxims of life in the fear of Jehovah. The Prophets in the
illness and clearness of their teachings go far before most of
he Gnomick poets of the Greeks, and the book of Sirach is a
dooming garden, full of instruction and precept, of imagery
ilso and of parables and descriptive representations. In short,
t may be said, of the law of Moses, in the language of this
>ook, " Wisdom has flown from it as Pishon, as Tigris, as the
Euphrates and the Nile, when it overflows and waters the
/and."

The Legislation of Moses had for its purpose the formation
of a free people, subject to none but the law ; and that no one
might deprive them of their liberty God was himself the giver
of the law, its guardian, and the king of his people. He dwelt
in the midst of them and the much abused word, " temple,"
properly designated a house for the book of the law, over
which God was himself the guardian. The whole people con
stituted a priestly kingdom ; and every one was a servant of
'he same king and of his law. " Thou shalt be to me a priest-
y kingdom," was the first principle, in which Moses compre-
lendcd the character of his legislation. If we would not call
his a theocracy, we may denominate it a nomocracy. But in
reference to the poetry, that grew out of it, and in accordance
with the truth of those ancient times and their history, the
term theocracy, is far more expressive and beautiful. All po
etry, which related to the political organization, and the ser
vice of God, was theocratic. Let us consider what constU
tutcd its specific character,

First ; The honours of the tribes, equality of national
rights, and liberty. No provision was made for a king in the
legislation of Moses ; God and his law were alone king. All
the tribes were one people, descendants of the patriarchs, from
whom they had received as an inheritance their knowledge of
God, and with it the rights of fraternal relationship and even
of the priesthood, which, according to Egyptian notions, were
the highest in rank. To this purpose was introduced the rite
of circumcision, a distinction, which in Egypt was confined to
the priesthood, and was here (though through the Romans
and Gentile nations it has become a reproach) to bo a nation
al honour. All the tribes were ranged under their princes,
and every family under its head, so that all the fraternal
members were connected together, subject to the tribunal,
which exercised jurisdiction over all. Three times in the
year, at the great national festivals, there was a general assem
bling of the people. They came together not to hear sermons
or mass for seven days, but to rejoice together in their com
munity of privileges, and to feel that, as the people of God,
they were one people All their three great festivals were na
tional, and associated with liberty. The passover was a me
morial of the day which made them a free people; the feast of
pentfjcostofthe law, by which that freedom was confirmed ; and
the feast of tabernacles, of its enjoyment in their first simple
dwellings and unrestrained family intercourse. All the festi
vals abounded in sacrificial leasts, in musick, songs and dan
ces. The people of God in the presence of their invisible
Lord, and before the tabernacle, in which his law was deposit
ed, could not but be a rejoicing people. By these assembla
ges their national pride, that is, their delight in Jehovah, the
fraternal relationship of the several tribes, who all had but one
Jehovah, one invisible king, one law, one temple, were awa
kened and cherished, and by their social participation of the
feast and song, the origin of the nation, the history and me
morials of their patriarchs, were preserved, and remained a|>

ways fresh in their minds. When we use the words, sacred
feast, temple, festivals, Psalms, we either form no clear con
ception, or at least, a cold, cheerless and lifeless one, because
we have ourselves no national festivals, and songs of puhlick
rejoicing, no temple associated with the glory of our fathers,
no law for the universal security of our national freedom,
Hence, the Psalms, which are filled with this spirit, are so of
ten contemplated by us without emotion or sympathy. No
people can have a national poetry, that has not objects of gen-
oral pride and gratulation, in which all have a community of
interest ; much less, when nourished up in opposing senti
ments and ideas, they combine contradictory conceptions with
tho words pertaining to Divine worship and things sacred, can
they be expected to sympathize with the national feelings of
others in a remote age ? Hence the sad and mystical tone
of commentators on the Psalms, a tone, which, if we forget
the word Psalms and substitute national songs in its stead, is
at once changed. If we consider the spirit of social union and
friendship, that animates the national poetry and songs, when
all ranks of free people come together mutually to excite and
congratulate each other, in prosperity, in joy and in success
ful well-doing, or to condole with each other respecting na
tional misfortunes, we shall find in most of the Psalms more
beauty and interest.

Some, for example, are obviously songs of gratulation and
joy, that they could now go up to Jerusalem to rejoice as a
nation.

O come, let us sing unto Jehovah,*
Make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving,
And make a joyful noise with Psalms.

For great is Jehovah our God,
A great king above all gods.
la his hand are the deep places of the earth,

*PS. ICT»

The height* of the mountains are his also.
His is the sea, which he created,
The firm land his hands hare formed.

Come let us worship and bow down,
Let us kneel before Jehovah our maker,
For he is our God, and we the people of his land,
The flock, which he feedeth like a shepherd.
To-day, if ye will hear his (the shepherd's) voice,
Harden not your hearts, as at Meribah,
At Massa in the desert. —

The application of an historical fact in the last lines, as
well as t\\p expression •* to-day," which is often sadly misinter
preted and misapplied, derive their animation from the living
voice, by which a nation is summoned together, and the festi
val proclaimed, from which none had a right to be absent.
Considered in reference to this, every word is full of opposite
meaning. The same, also, may be said of the 100th and oth
er Psalms. In others we find expressed the joy of those, who
at such national assemblies went up in procession to the tem
ple, and here and there a reference to their journey thither.*

How beautiful are thy tents, Jehovah Sabaoth,

My soul longeth and fuintt-th for the courts of Jehovah.

My heart und my llesh cry out for the living (iod.

As the bird, that hath found her house, •

The swallow her nest, where she left her young,

So look I upon thy altar, Jehovah Sabaoth,

My king and my God.

Blessed are they, that abide in thy house,
They sing continually thy praise,
Blessed is he that O.utli his heart upon thee,
And goeth joyfully i» thee in thy ways.t v
They go through the thirsty valley of Baca.

* Ps. Ixxxiv.

t Obviously the public!; roads to Jerusalem, which at that time woulil
be full of travellers. "The trodden ways are in their hearts, meanst
according to a well known idiom, they delight in them, go in them gladly.

And find it abounding in water.*

Blessed also is he, that guideth them.t
They go with ever increasing strength,?
Till they behold in Zion the God of Gods.

Jehovah, God of Sabaoth!
Hear my prayer !
Give ear, OGod of Jacob !
Behold, O God our shield,
And look upou the face of thine anointed.

A d> y in thy courts
Is better than a thousand.

I would Battier stand at the threshold of my God,
Than dwe II in the tents of the prodigal. ||

Fur Jtho;ah God is our sun and shield,
Jeh'ivali assures to us grace and glory,
No good will IP; witr.hold from the upright.
Blevscd, O Jehovah Sabaoth I
Is the man, (hat trusteth in thee.§

The first sadly misinterpreted part of this Psalm cannot be
better illustrated (absit invidia dicto !) than by the example of
those, who nrike pilgrimages to Mecca. As with them the
inward emotion and interest increase, the nearer, in passing
through the desert, they approach to the sacred spot, as they
fall into an ecst icy, when they behold the glittering towers of

* I adopt the reading, here which means to drink, and thus from the
antithesis between this and Bacu the sense becomes more beautiful
and natural. They forget their thirst, and are animated by their approach
to Jerusalem, for they see the sanctuary, the end of their journey. That
they are mill journeying, appears from the 8ih verse which follows.

tThis is plainly the C.iruvanbaschi orGhaHr, as the Pilgrims to Mec.
•a denominate him.

t Though \ve iry and fainting in the dry valleys about Jerusalem.

I) The word here has an extensive sense including that of enemy
villain, oppressor, robber, and prodigal.

t) That is, who is faithful and true, as our law books say. This word
embraces in the Psalms the duties of a subject towards God, as the pr».
vious verses celebrate the benefits conferred by God an a protector.

the Caaba, so here the march] to Jerusalem thfough tha
parched valleys is pursued with longing desire, and still in
creasing vigour and delight. These hurning vales become to
them, as it were, living fountains of water, for in Baca they
already see the countenance of Jehovah. — The second part of
the Psalm, also, is word for word, from the actual circumstan
ces of the national worship at Jerusalem. There are here no
far-fetched and mystical images. As here, in the time of Da
vid, prayer is offered for the kinif, so in other Psalms prosperi
ty for the whole land is intreatcd, especially in the language
adapted to the national assemblies.

I am «.rlail, when they say to me,*
Let us go into the house of Jehovah.
My feet st;md within thy gates,

0 Jerusalem !

Jerusalem ia built a compact city,
Honse joins to house within it.t

Thither the tribes go up, the tribes of Jehovah,
To the memorial feast for Israel,
To praise the majesty oi Jehovah.

There stand ihc thrones of judgment,
The thrones, which the king hath established.
Pray lor tl.e peace of Jerusalem,
They sh ill prosper that love thec.
Peace he within thy Wiills,
And tranquilly within thy piilaces.
For my brethren arid companions' sukes
J will say, peace be within thee,
HecauHC of t!ie temple of our Clod,

1 will !*eek thy good.

The young inhabitant of the country, who had once wen
Jerusalem and would gladly see it again, could not speak of

• Ps. cxxii.

f At a countryman in going to the city among us would say,
Urbem, quam dicurit Romam, Meliboe*, putavi
Stuhus ego huic noslree similem, dtc.

it with more simplicity of feeling, than this song exhibits. Oth
er Psalms express the wish for prosperity in general, others
celebrate the intercourse of families and tribes, and still others
praise the dignity of the priests, and the pomp of the reli
gious ceremoniel. In calamitous times their song!* have n
tone of mourning and lamentation, in prosperous times of
joyousness ; and these national festivals in a word hove pro
duced a portion of the Psalms, in which a true pnhlick spirit
proTuils. All which commence with " the Ixml is kin^r," are
of this kind ; most, also, of the thanksgiving and halt'lujah
Psalms, some of the family of Korah, some of As.-iph, and the
most touching Psalm of David, "As the hart panteth !" ex
presses a longing after the temple of God, and w-is obviously
adapted for such a national festival. Jt is the main j>oint of
the Psulin, that he cannot even now participate

In the voice of song and gratulation,

In the crowd of those, who dance at the temple of God.

Moses organized these national assemblies, and is therefore,
also, the father of these lyrick effusions.

Second. The God of Israel was without a sensuous repre
sentation. In the most sacred place of his tabernacle was
laid the book of the law, in an ark, nnd the Cherubim, as the
syml>ols of the marvellous and the sacred, stood upon it. The
Apace between them was regarded as the dwelling place of Je-
hovah, arid thus he is often culled, " Jehovah who dwelleth
between the Cherubim." God, moreover, had no throne in
the temple. The book of the law was his throne. lie was
its guardian and executor, and shielded it with the force of
his authority. — The purpose aimed at, was of the noblest kind,
and was nothing less, than to make the national system of
worship one with the political constitution, and consecrate the
law itself, as a league, a compact, a treaty of God with the na
tion. According to the spirit of the system, again, idolatrous
jujages and sensuous representations of God could no more ex-

100

int among the creations of their poets, than they could be suf
fered in the temple and sanctioned by the law. But poetry
was on this account the more free to celebrate the praises of
God, as the God of the nation ; and the giver of its laws ; and
this it has in fact done. Miny of the national songs cele-
• brate the king, who dwcllcth in darkness (so it was in the most
holy place) but who hath established his throne in righteous
ness and judgment. They exhort all the magistrates ofth«
land to administer justice in the name of God ; for only through
the medium of his laws is God present, and efficiently work
ing among his people.*

Jehovah reigns! the nations tremble before him !
He is throned upon the Cherubim, the world is movud !
The great Jehovah is in Zion,
The lofty one above all the nations.

The king hath strength, who loveth judgment,
Thou hast established ordinances,
And maintained law and equity in Jacob.
Exalt Jehovah -JUT God,
And bow down at his footstool,
Hi- fort1 his sanctuary.

.Must's and Aaron among his priests.
And Sainuc! amoiii,' tlit'tn, that invoke hienanje.t
They called upon Jehovah,
And he answered them ;
He spake to them from the clouds,
And they observed his words,
The laws and ordinances, which he gave.t
Jehovah our God, thou heardest them,

• Pa. xcix.

* Who was not a priest. The distinction is here made, obviously, a*
it was presented to ihe senses in the service of the temple {priests and
laymen, servants and worshippers.

t This language relates to the pure national laws, and the instutiona of
the land ; to utter fcel'ngs of triumph respecting these i* the spirit anxj
•cope of the ode,

101

Thou didst favour them, and vindicate their work.*

Exalt ye Jehovah, our God,
Cast yourselves down before the holy mount,
Where our God, the lofty one, is enthroned.

How spiritless is all this, when severed from its original con
nexions and relations ! But how apposite, when these praises
are considered as the jubilant expressions of a free people, to
be ruled only by the fixed and determinate laws of God,

God stands in the congregation of his people.t

He judgeth among the gods of the earth.

How long will ye judge unjustly ?

And respect the person of the oppressor ?

Do justice to the poor and the orphan,

Give their right to the oppressed and needy,

Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked .

They know not, neither do they understand,
They go on in their blindness.
Therefore the foundations of our land tremble,

I have said, ye are Gods,
All of you sonsoftlu highest,
But like feeble men must ye die,
And together as one go down to the ground. t
Lift up thyself, O God, an J judge the land,
For all tho tribes are thine inheritance.

Thus did poetry with patriotic spirit dare to reprove tyrants,

•Thou didst stand by them, guard their institutions, aid them against
their enemies, <fcc.

t P*. Ixx.xii. God sat in judgment in the middle of the land, in the most
holy place, where in doubtful cases the highest judge consulted him. He
•at also in all tho tribunals of the country, which were held only in his
name. God alone w;is king ami judge; and, even when there were kings
in Israel, they could and must bo regarded only as vicegerents of God,
subject to the constitution of the country as their law.

t The 7th verse if placed in antithesis with the 6th in both its tnem-
kers. If they are so placed in contrast, Gods and men, all and one, th»
•bscurity disappears,
*9

102

and present in the midst of them that king, in whose name
alone they were the judges and princes of his people. The
poet had only to recal to their minds the positive constitution
of their country, and the 94th Psalm exhibits the same subject
with still greater ardour. All those pieces, which celebrate
(jod as king, (political songs celebrating the fundamental prin
ciples of the government), are so confident in regard to this,
that they call on sea and land, nations and people, to confess,
that the God of whom they sing, is alone an upright and just
king ; that Judah alone has a form of government eternal like
God, strong and impregnable like nature, for both are the work
of one and the same God. It is the method of many Psalms
lo place side by side, the wonders of God in nature, and his
ordinances among them, which they regard as alike marvel
lous. Very probably, the choirs alternated with each other in
these enumerations, arid, by combining together as one, the
great and the small, they give to the movement of the whold
dignity and stateliness.

1.2. Praise ye Jehovah, •

1. For it is jiood to sing praises to our God,

2. For pleasant und comely is the song of praiM.

1. Jehovah builticih up Jerusalem, t
And nssemblcth the outcasts of Israel.
fie lieuleth the broken in heart,

And bindeth up their wounds.

2. He reckoned) the number of the Slurs,
And cullt-th them by their names.
Great is our Lord, and of great power,
His understanding is infinite.

1. Jehovah raise'h up the oppressed,

2. And boxveth t ie oppressor to the duet.
1. Sing to Jehovah in alternate choirs,

*Ps. cxlvii.

1 1 do not mean to decide by the division of this psalm, that the two
numbers of the parallelism were sung by two different choirs. By th*
numbers I have only indicated the general economy of the piece.

103

9. Play to him upon the harp.

1. He covereth the heaven with clouds,
He prepareth rain for the earth,

He maketh grass to grow upon the mountain*,
He giveth to the beasts their food,
To the young ravens, when they cry.

2. His delight is not in the strength of the hor««,
Nor his glory in him that runneth swiftly.
Jehovah lovcth them that fear him*

And thnt trust in his goodness.
1.2. Vruise Juhovuh, O Jerusalem !
Praise thy God, O Zion !
For he utrengtheneth the bars of thy gates,
He blesseth thy children within thee.
lie giveih thee peace in thy borders,
And filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.

1. He giveih his commandment to the earth,
His word runneth very swiftly.

He giveth snow like wool,
He scattereth hoar-frost like ashes,
He cufteth down ice in masses,
Who can stand before his cold ?

2. Ho uttereth his word, and they are melted,

He causeth the wind to blow, and the water* flow.
'1.2. He showcth his word unto Jacob,

His statutes and judgments unto Israel.
Ho hath done so to no other nation,
And they know not his ordinances.
Praise ye Jehovah.

Far as lam from introducing the artifices of dramatic repre
sentation into the psalms, it yet appears tome, that the alterna
tion of parts is here pretty evident, though they may be other
wise divided. The bold combination of the wonders of na
ture with those of the state institutions is the soul of the whole.

Third. Jehovah, who reigned only by means of laws, had
servants, who in every good regulation were to be the soul of
his kingdom; interpreters and guardians of the constitution,
and even its supreme executive ; for they were the highest tri-

104

bunal in the land. They were moreover the regulators of th*
calendar, had charge of weights and measures in trade, were
Judges respecting contagious diseases, and physicians. They
executed contracts of property, arranged the festivals, accord-
ing to which every thing else was regulated, summoned the
people to the national assemblies, and marched with the
sanctuary of the nation in war, to inspire the army with cour
age by their songs, trumpets and the presence of their God.
The first servant of God, the high priest, was the first servant
of righteousness.

His breast plate was called the breast plate of judgment,
as among the Egyptians the presiding priest and judge carried
before him the symbol of justice. The high priest however
bore no symbol ; but the names of the twelve tribes of his
brethren, engraven upon precious stones, must rest upon his
heart, and with them light and right,* that is, the most perfect

•That Urim and Thummim signifies the fullest, truest light, docs not
admit of a doubt, and as little can it be doubted, that the expression
"Thou shall make (set, give) the breastplate of judgment for u Urim
and Thummiw" moans in the Hebrew, "Thou shall make it the mark
and insignia of the highest and truest judicial decision, in which no eva
sion, no doubt, can any longer avail." 1 do not attempt to decide how
Ihe oracle of God in the sanctuary answered the high priest, whether
as it did Moses, by an audible voice, or by an inward guiding of his
thoughts, such that when ho entered with his question into this sacred
place, he felt himself seized by a Divine influence, and inspired with Di-
rine truth. It is enough that the high priest answered in the name of
God; and to enquire of God by Urim and Thummim, means simply to
enquire of the person, who bore the Urim and Thummim, and who,
as the bearer of this, was qualified to answer, that is, legitimo modo,
through the presiding judge. See Num. xxvii. 21. Ilia answer too
was confided in as an oracular decision, and we find at a later period the
•xpression, even respecting human counsels, "when one enquired of him,
it was as if he enquired of God." In short the Urim and Thummim was
wisdom and truth, as of a Divine oracle, the clearest and most infallible
decision. This Moses was to make the breast plate of judgment, that
is, ordain this splendid attire, consecrate it, and adapt its form to tint
purpose. The case was the same with thia, as with the attire of tha

105

light, and the most unreserved expression of it, abide in hii
breast.

In the poetry of the Hebrews, the figurative images used to
express the highest dignity were drawn from the attire of the
priest, and especially of the high priest, because he was the
first of the nation in rank, and of princely dignity by his con
secration to God. Hence the costly magnificence of the age
and country stood connected witli him. The priests were
clothed with righteousness and salvation,* that is, as they
were judges ami sacred persons, guardians and administrators
of the institutions of the country, on which the happiness of
the nation depended, so their official attire was a symbol of
both justice, the general order of society, and of the well be
ing of the nation and Jehovah's delight in it. From this idea
originated the figurative expressions in Moses, the Prophets,
and Psalms, which to us appear so strange, and to scoffert
were ridiculous, because we neither possess nor feel any sym
pathy with such sacred symbols, as were then* an object of the
highest reverence to a whole people. Our priests are clothed
rather with contempt, and tlu'ir attire is the sackcloth of j*ov-
erty. The term " established religion" is in muny countries
so much a term of reproach and contempt, that when, in con-
head of the high priest, and the inscription upon his fern-head "holmes*
10 the Lord." Thi«i indicated his regal dignity, as stumling in the pluc»
of God, that his oilice and duty, as the presiding ju'.L'e, to bear th«
whole peoplo upon his heurt, to bring them in re mcm'trnncc hefore God,
And to be, as it wore, a mediator between God and his people This h»
was by virtue of his oilice, by enquiring of God in doubtful cases, and by
deciding according to the voice of God in his name. So long as Most-*
lived, he enquired of Jehovah. When lie WHS no more, who should enquir*
uf him but the highest judge. lie did so by right of office, and there,
foro dared never appear hefore Jehovah without his breast plate of judg.
uient. Mure than this the Urim and Thummim certainly was not ; nor
could it be two dice, since answers were given more difficult and cir.
lumsuntiul, than it was possible for dice to give.

•Pa. cjcxxii. 9. 1C.

106

•exion with entirely different establishments and time?, w«
read the word "priests," even the noblest imagery becomei
debased and belittled. There the ruin of the country could
not be more affcctingly and vividly represented to the people,
than by saying, "The sanctuary is profaned, the crown of
the Divine majesty is fallen from the head of the high priest,
the priests go in sackcloth and mourn." Their defilement
was the defilement of the nation ; their adorning the emblem
of general order and happiness.

I exceedingly rejoice in Jehovah,

My heart is joyful in my God,

He clothes me in garments of salvation,

He covereth me with a princely robe.

As u bridegroom I stand in priestly attire,

As a bride in her bridal adorning;

Kor as the earth bringet'i forth her bud,

And as tho garden causoth its seed to grow,

So Jehovuh causcih righteousness to spring up.

And glory before all the nations.*

Such among this people were the images of the sanctuary.
Unity among brethren and in families could not be more beau
tifully set forth, than by the odour of the precious ointment,
that was poured upon the head of the high priest. t As the
modt precious odour offered to Jehovah diffused around an

•Simon, the son of Onias, the high priest,
How was he honoured before the whole people J
When he came forth out of the Sanctuary,
As the Morning star coming out of a cloud,
As the full moon, as the clear sun
fcihineih upon t'ie temple of the Most High.
As the rainbow painted the bright cloud,
As the rose in the spring of the year,
As lilies by the rivers of water.
/§•• th» whole passage Ecclesiasticus. cbap, 50,
tPi. cxxxiii.

agreeable sensation, which nothing else gave, so unity among
brethren spread a delight and flagrancy, in the highest sens*
pleasing both to God and man. Princes and priests were
from the earliest times associated under the conceptions that
both stood in the place of God, and in this language, accord
ing to the origin of the word, they were, as servants who
might approach the Divinity, synonymous. In the family go
vernment of the primitive world the father was the prince and
priest of his family; Melchisedcck, king of righteousrfess,
and priest of the most high God. The Psalm, which depicts
the regal dignity in the highest colours, which places the king
by the side of Jehovah, and enthrones him at his right hand,
exalts him to this dignity only by associating him with tho
conception of the priesthood.*

Jehovah huth sworn nntl will not repcnf,

Tliuu art a priest forever,

I make thce in rank a Molchisedock.

Ill the later periods of Hebrew poetry priests arid angels
were associated.! Since the priests were messengers of Je
hovah, that is, administrators of his laws, since they had th»
privilege of approaching to the throne of God, and serving him
in his temple, as soon as tho heavens came to be represented
as the tent and temple of God, the representation of priests
serving him there also was a natural consequence. Kven in
Isaiah the Seraphim are princes and priest:1., that is servant!
of a king enthroned in his temple. J In the vision of Eze-
chiel the angel, who marks the innocent that they may b«
spared, is a priest; || as also the sublime form in Daniel, who
interprets the vision.$ At this period all the images of puri
ty, of dignity, and magnificence from those ancient times
were spiritualized, and referred to these heavenly powers; and
in this form also appear the angels of the New Testament.

•Ps. ex. t Mai. ii 7. iii. 1, t IBB. vi. 2. || Ezech. ii. 3. $ Dan. a.5.

108

In the Revelation of John angels and heavenly priests, ar«
one and the same. In this and in the Epistle to the Hebrews
Christ, when his highest regal dignity is to be exhibited, is
represented as a high priest.

Fourth. Before the princes of the East no one could ven
ture to appear without presents; this custom Moses availed
himself of to introduce into his system the use of the ancient
patriarchal offerings, and to allure the senses and affections of
the people more entirely from Egyptian customs, and to attain
also other ends, that will be mentioned hereafter. Among
the Egyptians living beasts were offered only to the infernal
God, Typhon, and lor this purpose those were selected, which
were noxious, hitcful, and of evil omen ; while to the good
spirits were offered inanimate, and for the most p irt odorifer
ous gifts. As ,M.)ses, the most zealous enemy of slavery,
made inalien iblc* freedom the fundamental law of his nation,
so he consecrated the whole nation, especially the firstborn,
who had been spared in the last Egyptian plague, as the pro
perty of Jehovah. Here (iod remitted his right; he gave to
the father his son, and received instead of him a beast for an
oflferiuir; but of necessity a clean beast, because nothing un
clean could approach a holy Cod, much less be presented to
him as an offering. So also with the fruits of the land, which
belonged to Cod, and of which he reserved to himself the
first fruits, as a tltankoffering, and an acknowledgment of the
tenure, by which the land was held. The first fruits and the
whole offerings were the first proper sacrifices of duty and of
righteousness, as expressed in the language of the Psalm.

Do good according to thy good pleasure unto Zion,
Builil liiou the walls of Jerusalem.
Then shall sacrifices of duty plcape thee,
The oflTortngt, which ^o up with incense,
The young bullocks upon thine altar.

The sin and trespass offerings had a purpose equally good ;

109

they brought out. secret sins, which the law could not punish,
and even sins of omission, before Jehovah, that is, before his
judges, and were thus better than auricular confessions, police
officers, and cruel secret tribunals. Here they came with
frankness before God, with the sin offering in their hands,
took upon themselves the punishment, which fche law pre
scribed, and dared hot wait for it from the arbitrement of the
priest. Even the inconvenience of this offering, which could
be made only before the sanctuary, made some degree of fore
sight necessary. But the best application, which poetry made
of these offerings, was of a spiritual kind.

Have compassion on me according to thy mercy,*

In thy great mercy blot out my transgressions.

For lo ! I am u sinful man,

And sinful the mother, which bore me.

But thou lovest inward truth alone ;t

And shewcst me the hidden sense of thy law.

As u priest must thou cleanse me, t

And then shall I be clean.

If thou wash mo, I shall be white like snow.

Look not upon my misdoings,

Dlot out all my transgressions,

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

Renew a right spirit within me.

So will I teach transgressors thy way,

And sinners shall turn unto thee.

Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God;

So will I sing aloud of thy righteousness.

Thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it ;

Thou delightest not in burnt-oflerings. ||

The sacrifices of God are a contrite spirit,

»Ps. li.

t "The outward offering is not thy aim. It has a spiritual meaning,
which the people know not, and which thou has taught me."

! This is the hidden import of sacrifices according to David's under.
•tanding. God must purify men, and the purification of the priest could
b« only an emblem of this.

fl For murder and adultery no expiatory offering could be made.
10

110

An humble and broken heart,
Thou dost not despise.

And in another prayer, where he renders thanks for bene
fits.

Many things, O Jehovah, hast thou done for us,*
And thy wonderful thoughts are without number.
Yet will I declare, nnd speak of them",
Though they cannot be numbered.

Sacrifice, and offering thou didst not desire,
Thou saidst to me secretly in mine ear,f
Burnt-ofieririi,' and sin-ottering thou wouldst not.

Then Said I, lo ! I come freely,t
Yea it is written for me in the law,
I delight to do thy will, O my liod !
What thou requires! is within my heart.

1 will proclaim what is thy will,
Before all the people,
I will not refrain my lips,
O Jehoviih, thou knowcst.

A ptihlick confession, publick songs of contrition nnd thank.v
giving, David here puts in the place of sacrifices, and main-
riins, that in so dointr, lie fulfils the inward ami true sense of
tiivilaw. The I'rophets are filled with corresponding expres
sions. We have no sacrificial sonijs in the Scriptures, such
as the pagans used : those which treat of sacrifices are all mo
ral and spiritual. So, also, was it with the most ancient, and

* Ps. xl. 5—10.

t Tho expression, " thou opencat mine ear," means obviously only
what is clearly expressed afterwards. Thou lettest me silently appre
hend thy will, thy proper aim, in all sacrifices. Thou sayest in mine ear,
what the cor imon. people do not know, the sense of thy written law, and
of the duties there prescribed.

t That is, " as a servant I am gladly obedient to the secret voice. " If
thitf be the inward and proper sense of the law, it abides also in my own
breast. It ia that, which my own heart longs after, and gladly perform*
ac duty. Compare Deut. xxx. 11. 12.

Ill

most pleasing, unbloody thanko-fferings, and offerings of in-
cense. We have one song respecting them, of which the mo§t
enlightened age need not be ashamed. It is

THE FIFTIETH PSALM. — ASAPH'S.
The God of Gods, Jehovah, spake,
And called upon the earth,
From the rising of the sun to its going down.

From Zion, the glory of the land, God shone forth*
Our God cometh, and shall not be silent,
Devouring tire goeth forth before him,
And a mighty tempest 'is round about him.
lie ralleththe heavens above, and the earth,*
To give judgment upon his people.
«• Gather my saints together unto me,
Who have covenanted with me by sacrifice."
And all till', heavens proclaimed him judge,
Jehovah, iisu righteous judge.

Hear, Omy people, and I will speak,
I will testify against thee, even I, thy God.
I reprove thec not far thy burnt offerings,!
For the incense, that ever ascends to me.
I desire no bullocks from thy house,
Nor he goats out of thy folds,
For every boast of the forest is mine,
The beasts upon a thousand hills.
I know all the fowls of the mountains,
And the wild beast of the field is mine.
If I were hungry, I need not tell thee,
For mine is the world and its fulness.

» As always from mountains ; now however, no longer from Sinai and
Seir, but from /ion, the glorious crown, the chief ornament of the whole
land, because God dwelt upon it.

t Before heaven and earth Israel had bound themselves to his covenant,
Deut ixxi. 23. and these must now, therefore, be witnesses, how Israel
had understood and kept it. The Allwise, however, v. 7. speaks in their
name, and the judge becomes himself the witness.

tThat is, I do not put you upon trial with ix-ard to external offerings .
of these you bring me enough,

112

Thinkeat thou I eat the fleih of bullocks T
Or drink the blood of goati?
Offer unto God thanksgiving,
Pay thy TOWS to the Most High,
Call upon me in the dny of trouble,
And when I deliver thec, honour thou me.

Whoso oHereih praise glorifieth me,
And to him, that tuketh heed to his way,
Will I show the salvation of God.

It would carry me too far, to go through more particulars
of the Mosaick code, and show, how, even in regard to indi
vidual expressions, they have modified the language of poetry
in the Prophets and Psalms. Let it suffice, to gather, yet, a
few of the choicest specimens, since there is not room for a
harvest of particular remarks.

!. In the political organization of Israel, every tiling was
originally connected with the sanctuary, and even bodily dis
eases, like moral del inquences, were regarded as rendering the

subject of them impure. Hence, not only those were very
naturally used as emblems of these, but also, the Prophet* and
poets spake of tin-in in the language of the Sanctuary, that is,
freely, openly, and without circumlocution. They regulated
themselves, in this particular, not according to the laws of
good society among us, of which they knew nothing. They
apuke as the law of Moses spake, as the father of his people
thought. To the physician, expressions are allowed, which
the refined villain, from no regard to morality, avoids ; and a
physician, who passes judgment as a priest, must not direct
himself by the modes of a later and different age. It is mere
folly, also, to judge of this whole class of words and images
among the Hebrews by the caprices of our customs, and to af
fect to shudder at a Psalm, which paints base crimes in the
form of loathsome eruptions, or at a chapter of the Prophets,

113

which describes with truth and energy, the corrupt manners
of the age. In this, too, however, poetry is modified in accord
ance with the particular age and character of the poet. At
the court of Solomon was not heard the language, which Eze-
chiel, the son of a priest, who had earnestly devoted himself
to study the law of Moses, the temple, and the ancient customs,
ventured to employ in his minute expositions. Such things
were called by their true names in the East, too, for the very
purpose of awakening detestation and loathing, by the shame
of the exposure ; for it is known, that those nations, in all these
points, feel disgust more readily than we. By the Jewish law
impurities were severely prohibited, which, among us are free
from restraint, and an Arab would often blush at the questions
of a European.

2. In the Sanctuary every small vessel, and every distinct
part of the wall or tent had its name, and since all these things,
as a Divine plan devised on Mount Sinai, and minutely de
scribed in the law, came down to a later age, it was a matter
of cour.so, that they should become the subjects of reflection,
and poetical embellishment. Yet, it i» not the less true, that
the best periods of Hebrew poetry knew nothing of the fables,
which were invented by the allegorizing spirit of a later age.
What David sings of the bidden import of the law, is all of it
really contained in Moses, and the developments of the Pro
phets, remain always true to the general character and frame
of the institution. After the captivity, when the second tem
ple was to be built, hidden meanings began to be devised, yet
with some degree of wisdom, as is seen in llaggai and Zech-
uri.is. The spirit of mystical interpretation first spread itself
from Egypt, at a still later period.

I do not mean by this to say, that the tabernacle of Moses,
and his form of Divine worship, were not significant, even in
their minute particulars. They were so, but only in regard to
the general spirit of his law, and in the relation of individual
parts to tho whole, Moses was from Egypt and we know the

114

Egyptians were fond of hieroglyphics in their religious service,
and even in their sacred edifices. Of some, he himself ex
plains the import,* and thereby puts us upon the track ; in fol
lowing which, however, we must keep to the age of Moses,
and the point of view, in which he stood ; otherwise, we are
in danger of seeing every thing in a wrong and inverted posi
tion. The Prophets will furnish occasions for saying some
thing on this point, and something will be indicated in the
following ]K>ctic;il sketch, but this is not the place to go into
the general character of the whole.

3. The peculiar purpose of Moses, in giving the law, was
not sacrifices, nor the forgivness of sins, but the prosperity of
the State, the poJitical welfare of the people of Jehovah. The
most enlightened of the Prophets, especially Samuel and Isaiah,
proceeded on tlie same plan, and there is no one of them, who
did not make this a leading object in his discourses and plans.
If, therefore, in far later times, particular sayings and customs
were separated from their true relations, ;uid more importance
attached to them, than Moses and his followers gave them,
in the relations which they held with others, if in regard to
the so called penitential Psalms, and tho </<>:it, that was sent
into the wilderness, systems were invented, of which David
and Moses never thought, this is yet but the common and ne
cessary result, to which the revolutions of time subject them.
It is to be considered, that those later ages had a number of
different books, whose different sentiments they confounded
together, and whose language, moreover, they employed for
clothing their own thoughts. Here, too, it was a matter of
importance what kind of men made use of them, what ideas
they had in their own minds, and what would particularly find
favour with them; finally, in what regard they were themselves,

« Thus Mosea speaks of the circumcision of the heart, that (lie priest,
when he goes into the sanctuary, bears the siiiB of the people, &c. Tho
latter gave occasion, perhaps, to the beautiful 53d chapter of Isaiah, us
the llth verse shows.

115 •

held by the succeeding age, and what kind of style its taste
approved. This was sometimes the poetical, then the philo
sophical ; and the best course, therefore, is to leave every thing
to its own age, and its own author, and go to the original form
of Moses, the ancient Israelitish Egyptian.

4. If any one institution has more especially tended to pre
serve the poetry and the laws of Moses, it is the Sabbath. To
this are we indebted for the preservation, in the freshness of
living beauty, of all these treasures of the poetic art. Not on
ly was it owing to this, that the remembrance of the Creator
of the world, (itself an idea in the highest degree productive
to the human race), retained and associated with their nation
al blessings, was celebrated in prayers and son us, not only that
in somewhat more enlightened and quiet times, passages of
the law, with or without reflection, were read and expounded ;
chronology, reading, writing, history, political order, ancient
ideas, and new hopes, in short, the intelligence and cultivation
of the people, were held at least, in reserve by this simple in
stitution, and by means of it were, after they had fallen into
neglect, revived in better times. With the sabbaths and
festivals were associated the order of the state, and the regula
tion of the calender, and with these their freedom, and the
year of jubilee. Can we, then, find fault with the Prophets,
that they clothe in images derived from these so many golden
dreams of future happiness, and express, in joyful songs, ideas
of endless freedom and perpetual jubilee, with obvious reference
to sabbatical institutions and forms ? What man becomes thus
animated without hope, and is it not the greatest, the noblest,
and the most steadfast soul, that amidst the corruptions of the
times, and from the ruins of former prosperity, foresees and
celebrates in song the greater prosperity and happiness, that
is still to be attained.

OTHER REGULATIONS OF MOSES.

1. Of the mode, in which Moses preserved and honoured the paternal
authority. Effects of it observed in idiomatical expression*, in the
tone of history, in the maxims of morality, und the moral poetry of
the Hebrews.

2. Relation of the wife to her husband und to the 'family. Proofs of it
in passages of poetry, and of tho Mosait laws. Figurative represen
tations respecting family discipline, marriage, fruitfulness, love, and
wisdom. Moral precepts of the mother of Lemuel to her son. —
Praise of u country housewife among the Hebrews.

3. Union of families in n tribe. Independent freedom of the individual
tribes. Whether Moses took into view the existence of distinctions of
rank in the capital city, tho luxury und warlike glory of his nation.
Form of Hebrew poetry, as derived from tho rural simplicity of the
people.

4. Why the Prophets were *u xvnlous against luxury and oppression.
The purpose, which they aimed to attain, marked out in the Mosaic
economy, their right and authority.

5. Connexion of nil the tribes through their relation to tho promised land
and to the Patriarchs. Confinement of the people and of the law of
Moses to the local boundaries of tho country. Local character ot all
the Hebrew writings, hopes and poetic inventions. Of the peculiar
providence of God over Cana :«n. Origin of this kind of representa
tion. Usr of it in Moses and in the poets.

6. Second bond of connexion among the tribes fnm the Theocracy.
General principle of the government. Dignity nnd beauty of it for
rational beings. Proofs from the tribunals, punishment?, taxes, revo.
nues, &.c. Most of the Hebrew poetry of a political character.

7. Objection against tho tribe of Levi as being the chief support of the
Theocracy, Why this tribe was placed in that condition. First plnn
of Moses, The manner, in which the lawgiver limited this tribe, the
duties imposed upon it, and how far it was injurious to the general or
ganization.

8. Of the Prophets, on whom the hopes of Moses wore placed. Sad

117

fate of Moses, that he could not himself establish hit laws in Canaan.
Causes and consequences of this, and his own regret on account of
it. End of the 90th Psalm. Hope of Moses.

9. Of the reference to God in the laws of Moses. Necessity and use
of this. Whether ii was merely pretented. Whether we can or ought
to decide on this point. The law of God and Moses, a Jewish fable.

It will be necessary to say yet a few worda respecting the
customs of the nation, of whose poetry we are treating, res
pecting the cultivation, which they received through the laws
of Moses, and generally respecting the political design of these
laws. For we can attain a distinct knowledge of the fruit
only through a knovvldedge of the tree, on which it grew.

1. 7Vi« rchttiona of father anfl child, constituted the primitive
forms of government among men, and with a race of herds
men, such as the Hebrews were, these remained fora long pe
riod the firmest bonds of union. As the Israelites hud before
them as examples, in the patriarchs of thoir tribes, no other
than a paternal government, so were these inherent rights of
humanity held sacred by the law of Moses. It prescribed to
children the reverence of their parents, as the condition, on
which they were to enjoy the land of promise, and the same
lesson is enforced by the moral poetry of the nation. Thoir
language h;is no more favourite expression, by which to de
signate even a king, a priest, a Prophet, the director or inven
tor of a thing, than the word fatlur. Their history had an
expression of childlike simplicity in its style, because its ear
liest productions were from the times, when they were still a
race of herdsmen, and these served as a model for those
which followed. So too are their proverbs and preceptive in
structions peculiarly marked by a tone of paternal kindness
and unaffected sincerity, of which scarcely any other people
can furnish an example, because the poetry of no other people
goes back to so early a period of the human race. The first
chapters of the Proverbs of Solomon, which serve as an intro
duction to the book, arc written with a style of engaging earn*

118

, and from the lips of the teacher, alluring his son to th«
paths of wisdom and virtue, flows as it were milk and honey.
Even the rigorous and precise laws of Moses do not abandon
this tone, wherever they enforce human obligations, and tho
book of Deuteronomy has the dignity and imprcssiveness of a
sage imparting the lessons of wisdom to his children. Let one
collect what is said, of the relation of children to their parent*
of and domestic happiness, in the Proverbs, Psalms, and Pro
phets, and he will have a summary of the earliest and most de
lightful moral sentiments. The ethical poetry of the Persians
is refined, that of the Arabians subtle and discriminating, that
of the Hebrews simple and childlike; the delicate nourish
ment of the primitive age of humanity.

2. The wife according to Oriental notions was subjected to
the husband. They had no thought of a sovereign and re
posing elevation of this sex, and celebrated in it only chastity,
industry, modest, domestic, and matronly virtues. Customs,
fuch as the luxurious poetry of later times ascribes to them,
would in that age of the world have been folly or shame. 'It
is therefore absurd to look lor the gallant poetrv of fushioria-
ahle conversation among a people, when the. female sex, shut
up in retirement, either bloomed as a flower in the garden, or
bore fruit like the vine.

Blessed is he that fcarcth Jehovah,*

And wulkcth in his ways,

Thou shalt eat the labour of thy hands,

Happiness and prosperity uro with thee.

Thy wife is like the fruitful vine,

That spreads on the sides of thy house ;

Thy children around thy table

Like plantations of young: olives.

Thou shu'l «ce thy children's children,

And peace upon Israel.

*P«. cxxvjii.

119

That was the happiness of a rural simplicity, which poetry
celebrated. The peaceful times of the future could not, it
seems, be more vividly pictured to a distracted kingdom, than
by the expression,!

A new thing will Jehovah create in the land,
A woman shall compass a man.

(that is there shall be so much security round about, that even
the wifo can give him protection, and, according to the con
dition of the ancient world, in the sphere of domestick happi
ness encompass him as a crown.) The laws of Moses place
a high estimate upon tins family enjoyment. The human
lawgiver excused even from warlike service every man, who
had built an house, and had not yet inhabited it, who had
planted :i vineyard, and had not yet enjoyed its fruits, who had
betrothed a wife, and had not yet brought her to his home.
'•Let him go," says the s:»ge with a noble sentiment, "and
remain at home, lest he die in the war, and another dedicate
his house, another enjoy his vineyard, and another take homo
his betrothed wife."* Happy the lawgiver who was capable
of such sentiments!

The laws of Moses interest themselves, therefore, very
carefully for the instruction, and the chaste conduct, of the
daughters of Israel, the degrees of kindred, which might b*
united, and the publick purity of morals in the relations of the
two sexes. No unchaste woman was tolerated in Israel. The
lawgiver aimed to obviate whatever has a tendency to debase
human nature, to render the familiar intercourse of near rela
tives dangerous, or to degrade the wife in the eyes of her hus
band. On all these points the laws of .Moses are the most
moral, and the most prudently devised, whi?-h were ever fra
med under such a climate. Let any oue collect together the
moral precepts of Solomon, and the son of Sirach, which

«Jer. xxxi. 22. *Deut. xx. 5 — 7.

120

treat of the virtues and attractions of women, and he will find
there all that is ornamental in innocence, in gracefulness, in a
quiet and sociable temper, and in industry, interwoven as in a
garland of flowers. The happiness of a well, and the misery
of an ill advised marriage, are painted in appropriate colours.
It is not without occasion, that the bridegroom is anointed with
the oil of gladness, crowned with a festal garland, and praised
in songs of gratulation. The fruitfuluess of the marriage
relation was valued above all earthly blessings, and the nu
merous expressions in the Psalms* respecting an unexpected
good fortune under the figure, "that God makes the barren
woman to be the mother of children," had iu the sense of that
nation the strongest emphasis. So it is with the song of the
mother of Samuel,! who ascends by a climax of triumphal ex
pression, from her own domestic happiness to the happiness of
her country, and of the world. So also with the frequent
promises, that God shall distinguish the upright more especral-
ly with this blessing.

Lo children are an heritage from Jehovah,

A flourishing offcpring are his rcwurd.

As arrows in the hand of the hero,

So are sons in the pride of youth.

Happy the man, whose quiver

Is stored with arrows like these.

They shall not be asharued,

When they speak with foes before the judge.

The Platouism of love, as well as a monastic sanctity per
taining to the marriage relation, are foreign to the poetry of
this people; but how delicate and refined sentiments, notwith
standing, pervade all the scenes in the garden of love in Sol
omons songs. The sweetest attractions bloom there like gar
den flowers, the mo>t delicate fruils are tested with the inno
cence of a brothers and sisters love. In the Proverbs of

*Ps. cxiii. fl. &c. H Sam. ii. 1.

,121

Solomon wisdom and folly are both females. The latter could
he represented under no image with more forcible admonition,
than as the personification of a seducing adulteress, the for
mer, that wisdom which instructs and enlivens, becomes to
the young man a bride, a mother, the object of his love, vea,
tins daughter of God, beloved from eternity. The passage of
perhaps the most striking force in the Proverbs of Solomon \*
a lesson, which a mother teaches her son. It confirms by an
example what I have been saying, and it will furnish, I trust,
an agreeable interruption to my course of remark, if I insert
it here, together with the eulogy of women, which immediate
ly follows it.*

The words of King Lemuel,
The oracle, which his mother taught him.
All my son ! thou son of my heart !
Thou sou of all my vows,
Give not thy strengh to women,
Confide not thy \va}s
To the destroyers of kings.

Neither i& it for kings, O Lemuel !
Neither is it for kings to drink wine,
Nor strong drink for those; in power.
They drink and forget the laws,
And wrest the cause of all the poor.
Give strong drink to him, that ishopeleas,
And wine to the bitter in soul;
Let him drink and forget his sorrow,
And think of his misery no more.

Open thy mouth for the dumb,
And undertake the cause of the orphans.
Open thy mouth and judge righteously,
And do justice to the suffering poor.

A virtuous woman, who shall search out T
Her preciousness is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband can trust in her,
So that he hath abundance of ap-iil.

*Prov. xxxi.
11

Lore and kindness will she show him,
And do him no evil all her days.

She diligently seeketh cotton and wool,
And worketh cheerfully with her hands.
Shu is like the merchant's ships,
She bringeth her food from a far.

She riseth up while it is yet night
Giveth meet to her household, and work to her mmd«
She considered! a Held, mid buyeth it,
From the fruit of her hands she plunteth a vineyard.

She girdeth herself with new strength,
Still braccth her arms for renewed toil ;
For she tusteth the fruit of her diligence.
And even by night her lamp goi'th not out.

She reacheth her hand to the dialaff,
Her hund holdcth the spindle.
Sheopcnoth her hand to the poor,
She renchcih forth her hand to the needy.

She feureth not for her household,
In the snows of tin- winter season,
For ull her household are doubly clothed.
She worketh fine clothing for herself,
Her festal garment is byssus and purple;
For her husband is already known in public.
And sitteth with the ciders in council.
She weavcth veils and sulleth them,
And furoishcih girdles to the merchant.
Worth and honour ure her apparel,
She hails with gladness every opening day.

She openeih her mouth with wisdom.
In her tongue is only the law of kindness.
She looketh well to the ways of hor household,
And idleness catcth not her bread.

Her sons go forth and cull her blessed.
Her husband also, and pruiseth her.
"Many daughters of the land do virtuously,
But thou excellest them all.
Charms are deceitful, and beauty vain,
But a woman, that fearelh God, deserveth pr»i»«.
Give her the reward of her diligence,
Let her works be praised before all.

123

was the praise of an industrious country woman i»
the country of the Hebrews, for the whole economy of it WM
rural.

3. Moses connected throughout particular families eaefe
with its own tribe, and to this he gave its own independent
domain, the right of establishing its own regulations, and tri
bunals, and even the liberty to carry on war upon its own ac
count. No contest need come before the supreme tribunal,
that \ras not brought there from choice. The father was at
the- head of his own family, the most aged men ruled over the
families of their descendants, uml from these each tribe had
its princes or chief rulers. The several generations were as
sociated together by natural bonds, by the laws oT property,
by reverence lor age and experience, and by the ties of blood.
The judije could always know fully his own land, and tht
business pertaining to it. In the earlier life of industry it
mi^ht iii" anticipated as a reward to become aged in the midst
of the family, lor gray hairs were the ornament of the aged,
and the crowning glory of the tribe. I will not institute a
comparison of this with what may be the fate of the aged in
•tates managed by a system of police, but only remark, that,
even in the poetry of this people, we every where discover th«
respect paid to the aged, to the patriarch of the family and of th«
tribe. Moses had not made the honour of families and dis.
tinctions of birth dependent upon a gilded despotism, and the
servile dignities of a royal city; much less had he founded th«
glory of his whole people uj>on luxurious pomp or martial re
nown. Gainful employment and industry were to be the «»-
•ws of the state; traiujuility, and the honour of the family con
nexion, the delightful reward of industry an dof wisdom. In
this light the Psalms and Prophets picture the happiness of
the people, " that every one should enjoy the fruits of his labour,
and dwell securely under his own olive and iigtree." The first
precepts of wisdom among the Hebrews, therefore, are lessons
from the mouth of experienced old men, the counsels of kind and

124

nged parents. Even their most refined philosophical re
marks assume thin shape, as we see in Ecclesiastes, and sornn
later didactic poems of the Hebrews. It is for this very rea-
*on, that tlie Scriptures are so interesting to children, and to
artless, labouring and unsophisticated people. They find in it
the language of their hearts, the lessons or collected experi
ence of their lives; every thing is connected with the prac
tical business of their lives both in the oiigin and the appli
cation. In Tyre, Sidou, or Carthage, in a warlike state of
Cyclops and cannibal)*, such poems were never sung, such
simply sublime and divine thoughts never produced, as in this
country of agriculturists and herdsmen, amidst mountains,
which toil "and industry alone could render productive. The
poetess Deborah w is a dweller in tents, beneath the palm
trees, the Psalmist David was a shepherd, Amos was thesime,
and in all the Prophets the simplicity of rural nature in their
language and imagery is too obvious to be mistaken. Who
ever will then, may choose the poetry of refinement and lux
urious pride, but that which human nature finds adapted to its
most indispensable wants, which it requires for support in its
greatest trials, and for its earliest development, cordial sym
pathy, simplicity, and dignity are found in their fullest abun
dance in the ancient, mature' thoughts of patriarchal instruc
tion.

•I. From this we may j'ld^e, why not only Samuel proceed
ed so unwillingly to the choice of a king, but the Prophets, also,
showed so warm a zeal against the luxury of the country, es
pecially the capital city. Luxurious pride, as well as a king,
were foreign to the legislation of Moses. The country of the
Hebrews had the most eligible situation, either for enjoying or
selling the fruits of their industry ; but Israel could never, con
sistently with its leading and essential character, become a
mercantile nation, carrying on trade with distant parts, or a
monarchical power engaging in foreign conquests. On both
points tl]e views of the lawgiver were too humane and enlighU

125

ened. He preferred health to superfluity, and the happiness,
which attends on industry and temperance, to worldly renown
with enervation and tyranny. Those, therefore, who are
fond only of these variegated and bloody pictures in the poetry
of a nation, must look for them among other nations. Jeshu-
run was to he an industrious and upright people of a mountain
ous country, who after their first conquest should live at peace.
And although they in fact seldom enjoyed this, hecause the
conquest of the country was not completed from the beginning,
and for the most part was governed in a manner very much
at variance with the law of Moses ; yet, the fundamental prin
ciples of his economy, were so apparent, that every patriot
could refer to thorn, as to the law of the land. How excellent
was the course adopted by Moses in permitting every Prophet
to do this by virtue of his Prophetic character, and to appeal
to tho law of the land! Whether the king or the elders fol
lowed depended on themselves, the Prophet notwithstanding,
fpake in tho name of Jehovah, that is, by the authority of the
national God, and the original constitution of the country,
This high vocation and name admonished him without parti
ality and favouritism to become the genius of the nation, the
upraised voice of publick freedom and virtue, a curb for the
restraint of tyranny and corruption. In all tho Prophets,
whose works we have, it is distinctly to be shown, that even
on political occasions the law of Moses was always the ground
of decision, to which they appealed, that in their counsels
they remained true to the principles of their national constitu
tion, and therefore spake, not as fanatics, but as Israelites, as
citizens appointed and authorized so to do. Respecting ma
ny of their so called prophecies, this principle will give us new
light, and whoever finds himself perplexed on account of the
misinterpreted term " spirit of Jehovah," may, perhaps, get
a clearer view of the matter by substituting a term much used
at present, " publick spirit."
5. But as they were to be, notwithstanding, but one people^

126

how did Moses bind together, so as to effect this, twelve free
and independent republics ? In the first place, by means of
their country, and in the next by the gentlest bond, that can
bind together free and rational beings, the law of a Divine
government. I could wish, that every one, who has any ob
jection yet unremoved, against this term, which has been so
much complained of, would lay them aside, till he shall have
read a fe\v pages farther.

Moses united the tribes together by means of their country.
It was the land of Jehovah, the country of their common an
cestors, which had been given exclusively to them from time
immemorial. The right of property pertained to Jehovah,
and only the usufruct was theirs. To the land strictly apper
tained also the law, and to the law the land of Jehovah. They
could not be separated, and God would expel the nation from
the country, so soon as they forsook the law, as he had driven
out the Cannanites before them ; and since the law, which
constituted them the people of the God of their fathers, could
not be observed out of the limits of Jtidoja, they would cease
with their expulsion from it to be the people of God. By
these menus Moses bound the hearts of his people to th esoil ; he
made their country indispensable to them, because out of it
they, Israel, was Israel no longer. With united force they were
to take possession of it, with fraternal feeling divide it among
them, and thus quietly inhabit it as one united people. Above
it was protected by Mount Libanus, on the right by the river
Jordan, (the tribes beyond did not properly pertain to the
country), South by the desert, and West by the sea. We
shall see also, that, according to the plan of Jacob, the tribes
were to be so placed, that they might forever .have protected
themselves from external force. Now, though this object was
not attained, nor the will of the Patriarch followed, yet Moses
did not fail of his purpose to render the country and people
inseparable from each other. Henco, the confined, local spir
it, which appears in all the Prophets, Hence, in the Psalms,

127

and in all the works pertaining to the captivity, the sighing
after their own land. Even now, after two thousand years
full of vain and delusive hopes, the Jews still indulge the same
longing after the land of their fathers, for there only can God
reign, there only his law be observed, and there only shall
those, who sleep beneath the earth, awake again to life. — What
all ancient lawgivers sought to accomplish, to bind their peo
ple by strong feeling to the land of their fathers, Moses has
attained in the most effectual manner, by giving locality to his
law, and by the national God of his fathers. He planted a
wild vine on the mountains of Jehovah, and encompassed his
people with the arms of the most special antUot al Providence.

Since so much is said in the way of objection against this
last phrase, ami all those Psalms, which are formed upon the
same conception, are the object of such peculiar criticism,
I may be permitted to say a word moie particularly respect
ing it.

The first sensuous impression, which Moses gave his people
respecting the providence of God over their country, was ob
viously such as this.*

It is n land unlike to Egypt,
Whose waters flow from rivers:
A land of hills and valleys,
That drinketh rain from heaven.
Thy God doth visit it continually,
Jehovah's eyes behold it
From the beginning of the year,
Until the end thereof.

And whoever is acquainted with the make and condition of
Judaja, as compared with Egypt, may see the exact truth of
this description. The fertility of the soil depended on the
favourableness of the weather, and was therefore immediately,
us it were, under the careful eye of the God of heaven, and

* Deut. xi. 10. 12.

128

indebted to a constant Providence. The early and the latter
rains, 'he wind from this or that quarter of the heavens de
termined the success or failure of every thing, and so it was
very natural, that Moses should take, as he did, heaven and
earth to be witnesses of their covenant, and call upon them to
avenge its every violation. The heaven was to become iron
and the earth brass, the early and latter rains to f.iil, and the
East wind to sweep them away, &c. if they did iiot obey the
law of God, who looked down uj>ori them from the.-.e, heavens,
and who gave them this land for a possession. Every one
• perceives how impressive, how adapted to time and place,
were these voices from Gcri/im and Ebal. They embrace
the whole character and mode of thinking of the nation thus
delivered, and transplanted hither, and all the peculiar quali
ties of the countrv. Every thing must remind tln-m of their
law, every season of the year, every fertile spot a;i«l watered
glen, but still more their religious worship, with its festivals
and ceremonies. And on this circumstance was formed the
genuine national spii it of the Psalms and Prophets. Yet it
was no we ik superstition or fanatical faith, which he required
of them, hut a faith in the special care and providence of God,
Biich as we ought all to cherish, only with a local application
to the law and land of their fathers.

(5. But the theocracy, which has been so oftc'ii scoffed at?
So far from deeming it to be in need of an apology, I could
rather wish, that, in a form adapted to our degnv of cultiva
tion, we might all enjoy the same thing, for it is precisely that,
which all men wish tor, and for which all *wise u.en have la
boured, but which Moses alone and at so early a period had a
heart to carry into cfl'cct, namely: — that the law should govern
and nut a luwgiar, that a free people shind I whpt it of their
own free, will, and voluntarily observe it, that an invisible t ra
tional, beneficent power should control MS, and not fitters and
chains. Such was the idea of Moses, and 1 know of none
more pure and sublime. But alas ! for that and all the instU

129

tutions founded on it, he came three or four thousand years
too early, and perhaps, at the end of six thousand, another
Moses would find, that the time had not yet come.

All government is matter, not of choice, but of necessity,
that, which is too corporeal and visible, becomes a yoke of
oppression, nay, often a disgrace to hur-ian nature. The light
er and more invisible are the bonds, which unite a community
together, the more the governing principle must work np:>n
their minds, and that in secret arid without witnesses, as a mo
tive of inward, actions can work upon them, finally, the more
all arbitrary power, caprice, and the exclusive domination of
one or a few men, which always is felt as severe, is excluded,
and all power is vested in a national law, above the roach of
arbitrary will, and as it were, established upon an invisible
throne ; by so much is a constitution of government the more
noble, and worthy of man, as a free and rational being. And
what is tbo principle, and the form of government, thus de-
Hcribed, but the theocracy of Moses. Tho law reigned, in
wardly indued with the authority of the Divine word, and out
wardly authorized by the united voice of the people. It wa5
enthroned in the [rational temple. Tliis was a tabernacle or
tent of the God of the country, which belonged to all the
twelve tribes, and was to unite them together, fts one family
and worshippers of one Cio<l. Hence, the gol.len c-ilves at
Dan and Bethel, which severed the national bond of union,
were objects of peculiar hatred to the Prophet. Thus it was to
Jehovah, and not to a man of arbitrary dominion, that they were
bound by obligations of duty and good fiith. Before him they
stood, with their thoughts and deeds exposed to his view, yet,
not as slaves, but as children, as a chosen inheritance; and
the blessings, which he bestowed upon the people, were ever
recalled to their remembrance, as rational men, and rehearsed
anew in songs and the lessons of the Prophets. — What more
refined method is there to combat the wants of the country,
than to commit them to the sanctuary of the nation, instead o4

130

the courtly sensualities of a throne, to place men with their
delinquencies before Jehovah, instead of a man, perhaps, no
less criminal than they. Who has not felt how much oppres
sion is involved in giving to men power over the life of men?
ui committing tin; right of condemnation and of p-irdon to the
caprice of an individual? in having courts of justice composed
and held, not in the presence of God and the nation, not by
judges chosen of the people, but by the hired servants, of prin
ces, in fortified places, in a hibyrinth of judicial hills, technic
al formularies, &c. M >ses had higher and purer conceptions
of the matter. His tribunals of ju.stice were held in publick.
The l:nv of the national God dictated the punishment, and no
judge could give a dispensation. The bench of justice was
God's, and belonged not to a created man. His laws, and
the admonitions of the Prophets respecting them, snind like
the uttered voice of Divine justice, and the very spirit of rec
titude. Joy, pride, und glory in the name of Jehovah, were
to be the impelling principles of all publick action. This joy
and this glory were called religion, and the economy, which
laid the foundation for it, which rendered the law of Jehovah
a perpetual invisible code, we denominate a theocracy. With
the enthusiasm, which animated it, the songs and Prophetic
oracles of the Hebrews, are tilled. The greater part of their
poetry, which is so generally held to be spiritual, is political.

7. " All this might perhaps be so," it will be said, " wer«
it not, that Levi, as we find, was to be the guardian of the
law, consequently the protector of the publick liberty. The
•uperstitious, lazy domination of priests, who had the prece
dence of the other tribes, consumed their choicest revenues,
and yet in times of distress could not help them, has confound
ed all these tine ideas."

There is, it must be admitted, some truth in this objection,
and truth, wbich no one has seen more clearly, than Moses
himself did. J [is first plan was, that the Jirst-born of tvery

131

family and tribe should be holy to iJtt Lord ;* consequently,
also, serve at the altar of the national God ; and what a crown
of honour to the nation, and how honourable to families would
such an arrangement have been, in which all the heads of
their several families should be judges, princes of the people,
and servants in the palace of Jehovah. By this method the
tribes would have been most intimately united and no jealousy
could have separated them from each other.

But when the Israelites danced round a golden calf, when
Moses saw, that he must not commit himself to the people at
large, in their rude state, that they were fur from being sufii-
cientlv advanced to be prepared by him single handed, for the
prosecution and attainment of national ends in the name of
Jehovah, what remained for the lawgiver, but to select a sin
gle tribe, and through that accomplish his purjx)ses with the
rest ? This idea approached more nearly to the Egyptian
economy, and was at least easier of execution, but it necessar
rily threw the apple of discord and jealousy among the tribes,
oil of whom would consider themselves as placed in rank be
low the chosen tribe. In the choice of this tribe, Moses nat
urally selected the onc,t which was most nearly allied and
most faithful to him, which on the occasion of the golden calf,
that is, of the rebellion against Jehovah, had proved true, ami
which, moreover, had Aaron at its head. The brother of
Moses, second in honour only to Moses in the deliverance of
Israel, was also a prince of the Most High, the decorated im
age, though only an image, of a king and Supreme Judge.
Moses saved the freedom of his nation as he could. The tribe
of Levi had no inheritance, no executive, still less a legisla
tive, and least of all, a despotic power. The execution of ev
ery political cnterprize depended on the ciders of the tribes of
the whole people. Levi was only the learned, not the ruling
tribe, and since on it depended the interpretation of the law,

• Ex. xiii. 2. xix. 6. xx. 24. t Ex. xxxii. 29.

132

the sanctuary, jurisprudence, medical knowledge, and what
ever else of science pertained to that age, these things at least
were not burthensome to the people by any wide distinction,
which they implied. The priests were in every tiling only
counsellors, mere servants. Even in the highest consultation
by Urim and Thumniim, the royal shield of truth, the person
of the high priest was lost sight of, for God sp:ike, and if the
priest was a man of any degree of feeling, he could not, under
the impression of awe, which the most holy place inspired, and
in the name of eternal truth, speak otherwise than in accord
ance with truth and rectitude.

Yet is it undeniable, that the dependence placed upon the
priesthood in the system of Moses was the first to fail, and
Moses seems himself, when in his benedictions he comes to
Levi, to feel this.* Jn iKe conquest and division of the coun
try we find little employment of the breastplate of the high
priest. The fulfilment of the law of Moses was not pressed,
as it should Irive been, and here* was laid the foundation of all
the evils, which under Kli rose to almost perfect anarchy.
The people also resolved to have a king, and with the reign
of the kings the genuine Mosaic economy for the most part
terminated. The reign of priests after the captivity was any
thing but the ancient constitution of Moses ; in short, the de
sign of the lawgiver was scarcely apprehended at all, and still
less reali/ed — such was the constant complaint of the Pro
phets.

• 8. " Rut Moses placed his reliance upon a Prophet, such as
he was, to whom Israel should give heed as to him ; why did
this Prophet never come ? or if he came, destroy, instead of
completing the work of Moses ?" How has this great man
been misapprehended, and his noblest principles traduced !
The work of Moses remained alas ! incomplete, for the stub
bornness of his people, and his own sad destiny deprived him

* D«ut. xxxiii. 8.

of the longed for crown of his labours, the privilege of himself
putting his laws in operation in the land of Canaan. In a.
few months after they went out of Egypt, the whole plan of
his laws was arranged, men were sent to explore the country,
and he was already upon its borders. But the cowardly peo
ple were rebellious, and he must return and encamp for thirty
eight tedious years in the cheerless desert of a peninsula in
the Red Sea. Of the history, of this period we have nothing
but an unpretending record of encampments, though it was
here, that he was able to accomplish so much, and would have
accomplished every thing for the establishment of his laws.
Now it was, that he sang the 90th Psalm, in which he con
templates the generations vanishing away, and his own life
passing as an idle tale, and directs himself to God as alone
enduring. — We have already listened to one half of this sub
lime ode, let us now hear the other.

Who sees that this, O God, is thine nnger,

That he may fear thee, as thy wrath is fearful ?

Teach us, O Lord, so to number our days,

That we may apply our hearts to wisdom.

Turn, O Jehovah ! how long art thou angry !

Comfort us again, we are thy people.

Let us early rejoice in thy goodness,

Then will we exult and be joyful,

All the days of our lives.

Make our lives, O Lord, joyful again.

Which thcu BO long hast afflicted,

Which so many years have seen only Borrow.

Let thy work, O Lord, appear,

Which thou hast reserved for thy servants,

Show them, show their children thy favour.

Let the smiles of Jehovah our God

Bo upon us again, establish. O Lord,

Establish the work of our hands,

The work of our hands, establish thou it.

But the supplications of Moses did not avail. He waa not
destined to survive the establishment of his work in Canaan,
12

134

and since, as an old man of 120, he daw his death near, since
he knew the character of his people, and no one was perceiv
ed, who could entirely fill his plan, what remained for him in
his perplexity ? With what could he sustain himself, but with
the hope, that God himself would raise up another man like
him, who should carry forward his designs to their comple
tion, and to whom Israel would yield obedience. Such a man
could not and would not destroy the work of Moses, for it was
the national constitution, in accordance with which even the
Prophets must speak and act. But alas ! no such man ap
peared in that first age, on which so much depended. Joshua
was merely a hero, and Eleazor a priest. The power was di
vided, and the rude tribes abandoned the fundamental princi
ples of the Mosaic economy. Whether in later times, and
after the period of the captivity, there were Prophets like
Moses, we shall see hereafter; enought, that , whoever has a
human heart, and feels what pain and \vh;it anxious longings
the lost labour of a year, to say nothing of a whole life, awa
kens in the soul will not grudge the dying legislator so patri
otic a hope, at least for his last soothing consolation. It was
indeeed the only reward of his lal>orious find painful life.

9. "But why," it is asked, "did Moses give out his code of
laws for the work of God, and his tables for the hand-writing
of Jehovah, and why did be implant in the minds of bis peo
ple their misanthropy and religious arrogance?

And supposing as the question implies, that be merely guv*
tJuin out as such did he not act wisely in doing so ? What
other means had be of attaining bis end ? Let one read what
he endured for forty years, what be bore amidst all the mira
cles, the benefits and judgments, which he performed in tlie
name of God. How then would be have succeeded had he
goneforth with the cold dim light of political philosophy to re
strain and convince his 600,000 rebels.

Laws must be held sacred, and for a rude people, such a«
the Israelites then were, they could become sacred in their
eyes only by being regarded as divine. Even now our best

135

laws are wanting in Bacredness and impressiveness in their
relation to the minds of the people. Those, who violate look
upon them as arbitrary and conventional rules, which they
may venture to break over, and the lawgiver himself is the
first to transgress. The economy of Moses was designed not
to be thus. It was to be regarded, as the ordinances of God
in nature are regarded, and as such is it celebrated in the Pro
phets and Psalms.

Consider it then, at least as a matter of necessity, as pru
dence and humility in the lawgiver, that the laws of Moses
appear impressed with the glories of a Divine original. For
the good of his people he erected an ever enduring monu
ment, arid yet his own name was not to receive the glory of
it ; the presiding Genius of the nation was its author.

Such is the answer, which I would give on the supposition,
that his laws were not really, but only professedly of Divine
origin. But why need we make this supposition? What
greater work has Providence to accomplish among men, than
to form and promulgate law and order, light and truth, among
the nations? And was ever so much of these divine blessings
conferred by one institution, as by the pure, the wise, and mo
ral code of Moses?

And according to the conception of all nations is there a
nobler work of God in the souls of men, than the divine
thoughts, impulses, aims and energies,* which he sometimes
imparts to one chosen man for the cultivation of thousands?
Those ancient lawgivers, the earliest and greatest benefactors
of the human race, have they not universally been held by
their cotemporarics, or their posterity for favourites of the
Deity, and holding secret intercourse with the divine being?
and which of them lived at so early a period as Moses?

Who now will determine, when in the soul of such a man,
learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and excited and
actuated by the God of his fathers, the human ends, and the
more than human begins? where, in the handwriting of the

130

tables, his finger and the finger of God met together. In the
grammatical sense, we all know what is meant hy spirit and
Jingtr of God, but here there is a historical relation of what
was executed and done.

Nor must we judge of such matters according to what we
see in our own times. We live in the midst of scattered ruins,
amid arts and implements of all kinds. Every thing for us is
previously devised, has become a familiar tale, and a matter of
record. Our most familiar and intimate thoughts are devi
sed, they are not our own. But in the deep stillness, in the
sacred soliMriness of th.it lonely descent— who of us can
place himself there ? who would venture to judge and decide
concerning the inward working of God in a soul so pure, so
full of energy?

And why need we decide ? Let them, who stood by the
mountain, and received the law, seek to comprehend the mar
vellous glory, which adorned the glowing heaven ; why should
we attempt it? It is enough, that the contents, and the ef
fects of the law of Moses are Divine, and Divine also the po-
etry, to which it has given birth. The work and the effect
bear testimony to the work-master.

67iev£ufiFVOf itlfaai -toviwv tie
uOuvuruv IE Oeutv,
ijit exuijiu

THE LAW OF GOD AND MOSES.

A JEWISH FADLE.

Satan, the enemy of all good, learned that God had given to
the earth a law, in which all the wisdom of heaven lay hidden,
and which should put an end to the worship of Satan upon
earth. He hastened therefore, to the earth, saying to it,

137

" Earth where hast thou the law, which God hath given thee T"
And the Earth said, " The Lord knoweth the ways of his
wisdom, I understand them not." He went to the sea, and to
the deep abyss. The sea and the abyss said, " It is not in
me." Pie went to the realms of death, and the dead said,
" We have heard the fame thereof from afar."

After he had traversed the world, and wandered through
all the nations, that served him, he came into the Arabian de
sert, and saw a man with a shining countenance ; it was Mo
ses. He approached him in the garb of hypocrisy, being
clothed as an angel of light, and with flattering address offer
ed himself as his scholar. " Man of God," said he, " who
possessest the wisdom of Jehovah, and hast hidden all the
understanding of the Elohim, and all the mysteries of creation
in thy law."

" Silence," said Moses interrupting him with a look, that
at the same time changed him again into his Satanic form,
" silence ! the law is Jehovah's, not mine. With him is wis
dom and understanding, counsel and strength; for man the fear
of the Lord is wisdom, and to avoid evil is understanding for
him."

Satan abashed shrunk back, arid the angels of God ap
proached to attend upon a man thus humble in his exaltation.
They taught him, and he gave instruction to them. The
prince of the law was his guardian spirit, and God himself
answered from the cloud. " Keep the law of Motes my ser
vant ; because he was humble and gave me the glory, I have
it him for his own possession.

12*

VI.
BLESSINGS PRONOUNCED UPON ISRAEI*

Whether Jacob anticipated that his posterity would be under the neces
sity of conquering Canaan by force of arms. Why BO painful a neces
sity existed in the -time of Moses. What was meant by a war of
Jehovah. Whether the claims of the Jewish nation to Canaan could
or need be sustained according to our systems of international law.
Poetical title of gilt, as evidence of right to the country, Jacob's bles
sings upon his eons. What ho probably effected by them, and how
far his views were adopted and followed. Explanation of the passage
" he was fleeting as water" in the prophecy upon Reuben. Explana
tion of the blessing ofJudah. A short history of what it imported.
Designation of Issuchar's place of residence. Where probably it was
designed, that Dan should dvvoll. Illustration of the blessing of Jo-
seph from local circumstances. General conception of Jacob's loata.
ment.

Blessing uttered by Moses. Difference between these and those of Ja
cob. Particular illustrations. Striking position of the land of Judrca.
Its poetical renown.

Appendix. Tabor the mountain of the sanctuary, a wise conception of
Moses.

Wrhen Jacob predicted their destiny to his sons, he scarcely
conceived, that they must conquer with the edge of the sword
the land, which he promised them. lie had quietly traversed
it, and looked upon it as his father-land, where even in death
his bones longed to find rest. This he divided to his sons
according to the traits of their several characters, as a land
for herdsmen. Of a bloody conquest no trace of a conception
is found iu his benediction. lie looked with horror upon the
deed of Simeon and Lev! in destroying a Canaanitish town
and family, who yet had insulted his race. He probably sup-

139

poaod, that his sons would soon range over the country again,
and establish themselves here and there, as he had pointed
out to them. But it was destined to be otherwise. Four
hundred years the nation lingered in Egypt, and had no na
tional leader. It sunk under oppression, till finally, awakened
by distress, it received a deliverer, whom yet it followed with
difficulty. What hindrances did he find in his way? In
Canaan itself every thing was changed. Immediately on his
going out from Egypt the hordes of Amalek went forth to
meet and oppose him, no people would willingly yield him a
passage, and with arms in his hands he must open a way for
his host. That Moses did this unwillingly we see from the
whole account of his inarch. He chose not the shortest and
most direct routes to Canaan, because he. must have forced
his passage through a nation of Egyptian origin, and he was
chiefly careful for the safe return of his unwarlike host.
Through some kuulred nation as the Edomites he supposed
that he might pass, and gave assurances against the slightest
injury. All was to no purpose, and so his people must first
range for thirty years in the desert, the aged die, and the
young be formed into a warlike race in the best manner, that
circumstances permitted. For oue thing was certain, that
among the inhabitants of Canaan the Israelites could not live
in conformity with the laws of Moses. These nations were
warlike hordes, and Israel was to be a peaceful, agricultural
people. A part of the inhabitants of the country were trog
lodytes, dwellers in caves, and we know how debased and
hateful these were in the eyes of Nomade tribes.

The sons of base men, nameless children,
Who should be driven from the land ;

says Job,* and Moses.t They must be expelled from the
country on account of their savage mode of life, the promise

•Job. xxx. 1—8. t Lev. xviii 24—30. Num. xviii. 23. 29, 31,
Dout. ii. 10—12. ix. 2. Wisdom of Sol. xii. 3— G,

140

cuous intercourse of the sexes, and other vices among them.
The Hamitish superstition however was the blackest of all,
for human sacrifices existed among them, and how could this
consist with the Mosaic economy and political constitution?
Only one means too remained of attaining the end, the sad
but common right of war, as it existed in those times. They
must leave the country or be destroyed ! That Moses felt the
severity of this measure, as deeply as we feel it, we see from
the mild laws of war, which he prescribed to the Israelites for
after times.* He commanded even to spare the trees in a
country made the seat of war. This too was now a war of
sad necessity, or as it was called a war of Jehovah t that is, an
expedition, to which they were constrained by a regard to the
land of their fathers, their religion, the graves and primeval
claims of their ancestors. What holy war of modern times
would bear a comparison with it? And yet how fearfully has
this expedition in the name of Jehovah, i. e. for ancient pos
sessions and ancestral rights been abused ! Israel fought pro
aris et focis patrum, for from this country they carne, and
there lay the bones of their fathers. There was many a grove,
ajid altar, sacred to the God of their fathers; every thing,
which among ancient nations was denominated the family
sanctuary, was to be sought there. The nation moreover
could not remain in the desert. In the short space of 40
years 600,000 had died, and they were not formed to live like
the predatory hordes of the Ishmaelites. A race of shepherds
must have a place of rest, and where should they go, if not to
their own fatherland. This is the hereditary right of all
dwellers in tents among the Orientals. They feed their flocks,
where their fathers fed them, and their flocks themselves know
the way to their places of resort. It is strange, that we should
seek to justify a people so ancient and diverse from us in their
notions of life, and of the rights and relations of their tribes,

Dcut, XX.

141

by oar notions of property', or to judge therh by our most mo
dern international laws, of both which they were wholly igno
rant. The testaments and transmitted rights of their ancestors
were not recorded in written formularies, but preserved in
traditions, in songs, in benedictions, and for these they con
tended as for their most sacred possessions, as Tor the honour
of God and of their race. Instead of juridical formularies
let us now examine a poetical title of gift and inheritance,
which we have reserved for this connexion. It is the blc.s-
ing of Jacob, who had, as it were, a map of Canaan before
him, and distributed the country to his children as his proper
ty. We shall notice how he places the tribes, and represents
their entering upon their inheritance, and afterwards by way
of contrast treat of the blessing of Moses; as aside from that
consideration this would be the place for doing so. So far as
the benediction unfolds personal traits of the sons of Jacob,
I have elsewhere illustrated it;* here it is before us only as a
national document, as the most ancient map of Canaan, in
which we shall at the same time see, what effect the oracle of
the patriarch produced on the spirit of the nation.

JACOB'S TESTAMENTARY WILL

IN REC.ARDTOTHK INHERITANCE OF TJIE TJ11UES.

Gather yourselves together, thut I may declare
What shall befalyou in later times.
• 4issun)ble yourselves and hear, ye sons of Jacob,
And hearken unto Israel your father.

[Jacob does not form a distinct conception of the time,
when the prophecy will have its accomplishment. lie wished
perhaps, that it might be soon after the death of Joseph, be
cause he longed himself to be out of Egypt. But such a wish
was at variance with the period of 400 years in that dream
of Abraham, in which servitude and aflliction were exhibited

*3riefe, dns jtudiutu der Theologie betreffed Th. 1.

142

as the destiny of his posterity. The dying swan therefore
looked forward to far off times, but his last song could not but
commemorate the land of Canaan, as the land of his heri
tage, and fix it in the hearts of his children, that thus they
might always feel themselves strangers in Egypt, and have
their liveliest hopes fixed upon those distant mountains. With
out doubt this song, like the older traditions of their fathers,
contributed much to preserve the spirit of the nation uncon-
taminated even in Egypt, and to cherish the feeling, that they
were a race never to be united with the nation, in which for
the time they were sojourning.]

Reuben, thou ! my first born son,

My might, the firstling of my strength I

Thy precedent dignity and excelling power,

Pass by thee, HS thu proud wares,*

Thou hast precedence no more.

For thou wentest up to thy father's bed,

Thou hast defiled thy father's" couch.

[A sad beginning, and painful both for farther and son. Reu
ben has dishonoured his family, and his birthright, the hon
ours of the tribe, which pertained to the firstborn are taken
from him, and given, as we shall see, to two of his brethren.
Judah obtains the precedence in rank aiid dignity, the scep
tre of command, and Joseph the two fold inheritance. The
priesthood, (of which Jacob however knew nothing), after
wards fell to Levi. Reuben must receive but a common in-

*l offer it for consideration, whether this slight verbal elucidation of this
passage does not as clenrly suit the context, as the common construction
does violence to it? What sense in saying, he passes away with levity
or with pride as water? and then how forced? Does the dying father deal
in sarcasm ? and that too respecting the misfortunes of his eon, the reco!.
lection of which must BO deeply affect him ? Could the last clause of
the preceding verse moreover stand alone ? Obviously it belongs to the
following ; and then the otherwise imperfect parallelism IH rendered corn,
plete,

143

heritance among the tribes, and the command of Jacob in ,
this particular was followed. The patriarch assigned him no
definite boundaries, and he afterwards received his inheritance
without the proper limits of the holy land. How sad, and at
the same time beautiful is the image presented, that the super
abundant dignity and power which • belonged to him, now
sweeps by him like a proud wave, and his hopes are annihila
ted by his guilt.]

Simeon and Levi ! they are brethren.
Their swords were instruments of murder.
My soul came not into their bloody counsel,
My heart was not joined in their company.
When in anger they slew a hero,
And in revenge destroyed a noble ox.*
Cursed be their revengeful anger,
Cursed be their cruel hatred,
1 will divide them in Jacob,
And scatter them in Israel.

[The command of the patriarch was fulfilled, and the de
scendants were destined to bear the burthen of the fathers of
their tribes. Simoon was in little estimation, and Moses omit
ted him in uttering his benedictions, probably because he
could find for the tribe according to this ancient oracle no fix
ed boundaries. It afterwards acquired a few scattered cities in
Judah, and was compelled to seek places of residence without
the limits of Judaia. For Levi Moses provided also by giving
the tribe 48 scattered cities. We have now done with those or
acles, which are of a melancholy character. With the bless
ing on the princely Judah we are at the same time conducted
to the land of promise.]

*Ox and man are here synonymous. The parallelism shows this, and
we know, that, even in the poetry of the Greeks, a stately ox was the im
ago to represent a brave man. [This is not the only ca?e in which it is
nearly impossible to give the sense as laterally, as I have aimed to do,
and at the same time preserve any degree of poetical expression, TK.]

144

Judah, thou art he,

Whom thy brethren (a« a leader) ahill praise.
Thy hand shall be upon the neck of thine enemies,.
Thy father's children shall bow down before thee.

Judah is a young lion !
By spoils, my son, art thou exalted !
He lieth down, he croucheth as a lion,
As a strong lion, who will rouse him up?

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,
Nor the commander's at iff from his march,*
Until he conies to his place of rest,
And nations arc obedient to him.
For he bindeth his foul to the vine,t

•I Tenture to retain the Hebrew though some prefer the reading of the
Samaritan copy. How could th« patriarchal shepherd be thinking of mil-
ilitary standards, while his eons were standing before him as shepherds,
and when all the other images possess the corresponding simplicity. Ju.
dah'shand is clenched upon the neck of his enemies, he seizes his prey
like a lion, he marches forth as a conqueror, und complacently and proud,
ly satiates himself with wine und milk. Such are tiie images, which the
picture presents, and how came warlike banners among them ? Besides
the parallelism requires rather the sense, which I have given. Judah
is always to retain the insignia of office, and since the language here
relates to a march toward Cnnann or Shiloh, the place of rest, the sense
becomes clear. "Judah in his march, und his pursuit of his enemies
is never to lay down the stutf of a commander, till pence is secured, and
the nations brought in Mjbjeetiou." That the original word here means
not only a commander, but the commander's Btaffof office, is plain from
Num. xxi. 18. as well a<* from the parallelism. The word corresponds
with "sceptre" us "bis march" must also with " Judah." This again
according to what follows can only mean «he going, the «f*y>s, tho march
of Judah. That the original admits of this sense, and that indeed the
name of the foot in Hebrew was derived from its motion, its step, needs
no proof.

tThough afterwards used in a wider sense, these images originally
expressed only the exultation of the hero in his new and fertile country.
In this feeling he dismounts, and binds his ass by the rich clusters, wash,
es his garment in wine, cleanses his mouth with milk &c. Of a moral
sense it is not probable the patriarch thought. He aimed rather to ex.
cite Judah to take the lead in returning to Canaan by exhibiting them a
picture of secure and triumphant peace.

145

His ass's colt to the choice vine**
In wine he washes his garment,
His mantel in the blood of the grape*
His eyes are sparkling with wine,
His teeth are white with milk.

[Every one feels here, that the whole picture represents only
a march, or progress of a Nomacle horde. Judah is preferred
to the dignity and power of the firstborn, that he may march
in advance of all, that his hand may he first in the neck of
his enemies, that he may be a bold lion, and lay himself down
in Canaan in confidence and tramjuility. The course is to
wards Shiloh, and Jacob perhaps named that place, because
it was in his own peculiar region of country, between Sichem
and Bethel, and thereby he at the same time instructed Judah
not to lay down the badge of a leader, till he reached the in
heritance of his father. The parallelism in the mean time
shows, that the patriarchal Prophet had more in view here,
than the name merely, and that the term signified also a place
of rest, a city of peace. For the conquerer does notjbind his
ass to the vine, and wash his mantle in the blood of the grape,
until the nations quietly obey him. Judah in a measure,
though not fully, performed the duties thus imposed. lie did
not impel his brethren to leave Egypt, but suffered himself to
be oppressed, like the others, until a levite came and effected
their deliverance. In the desert Judah (probably with the .
banner of a lion, in accordance with the language of Jacob
here,) proceeded in advance of his brethren ; but, so soon as
they arrived at Shiloh, (supported also perhaps by the author
ity of this benediction) he secured to himself the first portion
of the conquered country, though the nations inhabiting the
land were not, as the same authority required, all of them yet
brought in subjection. lie, indeed, was now supplied with a
land rich in vineyards and pasturage, but a large part of his
brethren were destitute, and when afterwards it was enquired
of the sacred oracle, " who shall conduct the war ?" no other
13

146

answer could be expected, (according to this same blessing of
Jacob,) than " Judah shall be the leader." For this was a
duty pertaining to his rank, by right of which, also, he had at
once appropriated the half of the land of Canaan. — After Da
vid the most renowned of their kings arose out of Judah, the
images, which. occur in this ancient benediction, could not
fail to be applied more especially to him, and thus the lion of
the tribe of Judah reposed himself in a still higher sense. Jeru
salem is denominated, by a Prophet, Ariel, the lion of God, and
now the conqueror dips his mantle in the blood of his enemies,
as the Patriarch of old had dipped it in the limitless blood of
the grape. In process of time these figurative expressions
were transferred even to the lineage of David, and filially, they
were all appropriated in one of the latest Prophets, to the fu
ture king of peace and blessedness, including even the ass
and the ass's colt. The whole plainly sprang from this an
cient prophecy, as the original source. The tribe of Judah
always maintained itself the first in rank and dignity. Even
in the captivity, the leader of the people was a prince of Judah,
;;nd Zerubabel of that tribe wis their guide in the return* from
captivity. Thus one thing is connected with another by the
relations of time, and with the progress of events the sense of
the prophecy was more ami more amplified, as \\e shall soon
see more at large.*]

Zebulon shall dwell by the sea,

At the haven for ships shall he dwell,

And his boundary shall reach to Sidon.

• I merely remark in addition, that in this wuy the literal sense of the
blessing took continually a wider compass. The word "forever" which
probably belonged to the second clause, was referred to the first. •' For.
ever shall the sceptre not depart from Judah," and thus the second clause
acquired an entirely new sense. A long critical history might be writ
ten on this passage. The original sense, and the natural progress of
the conceptions connected with it, will be pretty clear from what I have
said.

147

[It was propably Jacob's intention, that when Judah had ta
ken the lead as far as Shiloh, the heritage of his father, Zebu-
Ion should fall to the West, and seek his dwelling place by
the sea; and though they came to Shiloh, and divided the land
under other circumstances, than were contemplated, the com
mand was too distinct not to direct Zebulon for his residence
to the bay of Acco, which nature herself has marked with
convenient harbours along its coast. He did not, however,
extend his limits to Sidon, because the conquest of the upper
part was not completed, though this district is mentioned in
Josh. xiii. (>. as the heritage of Israel.]

Issachur is a strong beast of burden,
That lieth down between two hills.
He seeth that repose is pleasant,
The land around is benutiful,
He stoopeth his shoulder to bear,
And serveth the vessels of water.*

[He was to choose for himself, that is, the delightful valley
between Tabor and Hermon, and there dwell in tranquility
There he \Could find a beautiful country, and fine views,
suited to his peaceful character. There among the rivers and
fountains he could distribute the water, and in his patient and
industrious manner become useful toother pastoral tribes, and
gain profit to himself. This is plainly the primary and simple

• The language here by no means relates to tribute, for how would
that be consistent with the image of a beast of burden, the comparison,
with which is yet obviously continued in the representation of bearing up.
on the shoulder. The word in the original meant, undoubtedly, a bottle
or leather bag, and the notion of tribute came to be denoted from their
bringing tribute in bags or sacks. Issachar came to dwell by the Kadu.
mim, small streams and torrents, which were swollen in time of rain, and
htire according to his patient nature he was to divide the water to his
brethren, the roving herdsmen, and obtain from it his own advantage.
That in this region there were assemblages of herdsmen for the dis.
tribution of water, we see from the song of Deborah. Jud v. 11.

148

aense of the passage, and we shall see, in the benedictions of
Moses, how he wished to apply and use the labour of this tribe
for the place of his sanctuary. His word was not accomplish
ed ; but the passage in the blessing of Jacob was too plain, for
Issachar to fail of obtaining his portion between Tabor and
Hermon, where every thing, which Jacob said of the beauty
of the country, was found true. It abounds in delightful views,
and fertile pastures, and the character of Issachar proved to
accord with the language of the Patriarch. The tribe pro
duced few heroes, though its long and beautiful valley was
often the theatre of war. But this tribe was strong in the
number of its population, and even in Egypt had increased to
a great extent.*]

Dan also shall be th-3 leader of his tribe,

As one of the tribes of Israel,

A s»rpeiu shall Den be in the way,

A horned serpent in the path,

That biteth the heel of the horse,

So that his rider fulleth backward.

[By the first words here Jacob admits Dan, who was the first
among the sons of his concubines, among his other sons to
receive an inheritance with thorn. This, therefore, could not
be altered, when they took possession of that country, but
since he was the seventh in order, he was set far back and
received his portion among the last and least regarded. Ac
cording to the intention of Jacob he was to have his inherit
ance in a region, where from narrow mountain passes he might
fall upon the rear of an enemies' cavalry in their incursions,
and make their riders fall backwards. A small part of the
tribe of Dan accordingly sought the Northern section of the
country, probably as the heritage assigned it by the language

' There may perhaps, be a play upon worda intended in the original,
OB the;term used means both a heap and an uss, The former notion may
have led to the latter,

149

. /

of Jacob. All incursions into Judaea came from Syria through
the valleys of Libanus. That was the way of the nations, and
thither very appropriately, if we judge it by the character of
its hero Sampson, the tribe resorted. To the Philistines he
was truly a serpent in the way, a bold cerastes, which threw
itself from behind upon the horses heels. By craft and a
skilful choice of positions he defended himself against multi
tudes, and greatly injured, when he could not conquer them.
On the side of the Philistines, also, Dan had a country full of
caverns and narrow passes, where the tribe, especially in the
deeds of Sampson, rendered itself distinguished by the artifi
ces of war.]

I hope in thy salvation, O Jehovah.

[These words, which have been thought so obscure, and been
so /ariously interpreted, seem to me to derive a pretty clear
explanation from the connexion, in which they stand. On
the; North the hind of Judnca was exposed to the most power
ful and dangerous attacks, as has been shown by the history"
of the various conquests and desolating incursions, which it
has exi>erienced. And there must Dan have his dwelling
place ! There must Jehovah bring deliverance to the nation
or they must perish. In such deliverance the patriarchal
Prophet confided, and by this expression showed how deeply
he looked into the condition and wants of the country, which
his sons were to inhabit.*]

Gad ! (a troop) troops oppress him,
But ho (shall press upon their rear.

* The original jisinifies help, assistance, deliverance. This in all his
difficulties Jacob had hoped for and received from God. He hoped for
it also for the safety of his sons, when he was obliged to speak of dan-
gerous assaults. This seems to me the easiest and most natural ex
planation, which the context admits. Every other is far-fetched and
unsupported by the context.

13*

150

[In the original a fourfold play on words. We know not by
what crowd of nations Gad was to dwell, for Jacob could hard
ly have referred to the country beyond Jordan, out of the pro
per limits of Canaan, where Gad actually inhabited. Yet
here in a country of Nomades, on the mountains of Bashan,
Gad had occasion to show the import of his name. It was a
bold tribe, and Moses saw with sorrow, that it demanded its
inheritance beyond Jordan.]

Out of Aaher cometh bread, that is rich,
He it is, that yieldeth dainties for kings.

[This passage was too intelligible not to be obeyed, especially
when Moses had given the interpretation.* Asher obtained
a region rich in oil and fruits, between the mountains, and
near the sea coast.]

Naphtali is a spreading terebinth,
He sends up beautiful branches.

[This tribe received a mountainous tract, covered with forests,
on the Northern border of Canaan, where it flourished like a
terebinth with its luxuriant top. Atid now Jacob turned to
Joseph the benefactor of his family, who stood there as a
prince crowned in the midst of his brethren. He did in fact,
crown him among them by giving him in his two sons the se
cond prerogative, which he had taken from Reuben, the two
fold inheritance ; and more than this, because he had been
his benefactor, he gave him his more special paternal blessing,
the guardian providence of his youth.]

The son of a fruitful mother is Joseph,
The branch of a fruitful tree by the well,
AVhose branches shoot over the wall.
. They were embittered and shot at him,
And hated him, who are skilful with arrows,
Yet his bow ubode in its strength,

* Deut. xxxiii. 24. 25.

151

His arms and hands moved quickly.

From th« hands of the mighty God of JacoN
From his name, who guarded me upon my rock,* » v

From thy father's God— he stood by thee,
From the Almighty — he,will still bless thee,
The blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the sea that is beneath,
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

The blessings of thy father prevail
Above the blessings of my mountains,
To the glory of the everlasting hills.t
They shall come on the head of Joseph,
Of him that was crowned among his brethren.

[So far as this blessing contains allusions to Rachel and the
early history of Joseph, I will not repeat the illustrations of it,
which I have given elsewhere.}: Here it will simply serve us
as a map of the region, which Joseph was to possess in Canaan
for the two tribes of his posterity. The Patriarch describes it

• This passage, also, Moses explains, (Deut. xxxiii. 16.) who instead
of a watchman over the stone of Israel places the God, who appeared to
him in the bush, the guardian God of his life in his first manifestation,
as Jacob here names the guardian of his youth, in his earliest appearing.
The construction has nothing harsh, if wo regard it as the usual abbre
viated name of God, as connected with the incident referred to, of the
same kind with other local names of God, as Gen. xxii. 14. &c. the God
of Bethel. Let one read Gen. xxviii. 15.20.21. where the phrase is
explained, and say whether an expression more fitting the incident could
have been put in the mouth of a shepherd.

t Moses, the most ancient and authentick interpreter of this passage,
has understood by the term here used mountains, (Deut. xxxiii. 15.) and
the parallelism also requires it. The reference is to the smaller moun.
tains of Canaan, which Jacob looks upon as his own land, nnd above
which, Libanus rises as one of the elevations of the primitive world.
The spices and balsamic odours for crowning the head of Joseph are, in
the language of poetry, the blessings of the mountains, their costly glory,
an Moses describes them elsewhere, Deut. xxxiii. 15.

t Briefe das Studium der Theologie betreflend, Th. 1.

152

in a picture of the life of Joseph. His branches spring up
luxuriantly over a fountain where the boughs reach over the
wall. He is an invincible archer, whose arms and hands are
only rendered the more active by the assault of the bravest
enemies. He is crowned with the peculiar blessing of high
mountains, where the heavens are expanded above, and the
sea spreads beneath, in which image the wish of the father
aspires even to the heights of the primitive world. What then
were these ancient mountain heights? Moses explains the
matter in his benedictions. He shall trample the, nations even
to the c fin mitt/ of the land. Ephraim, therefore, the mighty
unicorn, with his fraternal tribe, was to dwell, probably on the
highest Northern elevations of the country, on the skirts of
Mount Lebanon. Here was Phiala, the fountain of the river
Jordan, by which the fair fruit tree was to be nourished, and
here it might shoot its branches upon the wall, and beyond the
wall or boundry of the land, and exhibit the active and untir
ing boldness, for Which the father of the tribe was renowned.
Here they had the heavens above, and the sea stretching be
neath; here the blessings of the everlasting hills, the moun
tains of the primeval world, from which were to be brought
spices and precious things, as a diadem and an unction for the
head of him, that was crowned among his brethren. In this
way every particular in this pregnant benediction becomes
not only consistent but picturesque and local. As Lebanon,
like a mountain of the primeval world, overlooks the land of
Canaan, crowned with white, and lifts itself to the clouds ; as
the everlasting cedars, the trees which the Lord hath planted,
stand upon it, and its deep vallies beneath are filled with vine
yards around the numerous fountains, which flow from them ;
so shall this tribe flourish, fresh and lively as the vine upon
Lebanon,* as a fruit tree by the fountains of water. The
mountain alxiunds in trees, which yield odorous gums, (from
which the Greek name was taken,) spices for the head of Jo-

* IIos. xiv. 8.

153

seph, balsams for the head of him, that was crowned. The
smell of Lebanon occurs in the song of Solomon and the Pro
phets,* as a poetical expression for precious odours and spices.
The pass of Hamath, in which Joseph is here placed, as the
strongest and most expert archer is the most important for the
safety of the whole country, and, according to the figure em
ployed by Moses, Ephraim and Manasseh were to guard it
with the strength and vigiour of a wild bullock. And who can
deny the wisdom exhibited in these conceptions of the Pa
triarch ? The children of his Egyptian son he removed to the
greatest distance from Egypt. Those, who held this most
difficult pass, he furnished with all the blessings pertaining to
royal-dignity, bestowed upon them all the honours of heroism,,
and the invocation of all good from the great and mighty
God, the guardian of Israel upon his rocky pillow. There,
indeed, he placed the chief reliance for the defence of the
country. Below, in the South, a lion, the heroic Judah, was
to be the watchman, on the Northern frontier the wild bullock
was to stand in the passes of the mountains. — And Benjamirv
also, a tribe most nearly related by blood, was to be at the side
of Joseph.]

Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf,

In the morning he shall tear the prey,

In the evening divide the spoil,

because contending parties in the East go out for plunder,
morning and evening. lie also was to dwell in these moun
tainous regions.

This arrangement, too, we know was riot adhered to. When
Judah had taken his portion, Ephraim the tribe second in
power sought to do the same, and took what was neither des
tined for him, nor satisfied him, when obtained. Benjamin

* Hos. xiv. 7. Song of S. iv. 11. The flowers, the ^pastures, the fbun.
tains, the scenery of Lebanon, are in like manner praised in Nahumfc u 4.,
Jsa. *1, 16, JSong of S. iv. 15. <fep,

154

remained by his side. The praise of the Patriarch given to
his benefactor was therefore the cause, that the sons of Joseph
did not prove deserving of the praise bestowed. In the mean
time, it appears that a remembrance of the original appoint
ment still remained in Israel. The Prophet, who most espe
cially prophecied to Ephraim, Hosea, employs the finest images
of Leban6n. His roots shall branch out, his boughs shall
spread and diffuse a fragrance like Lebanon. lie shall flour
ish like the vineyards, his remembrance be vivifying like the
wines of Lebanon. The mountains of Ephraim also are united
with the Northern region of Dan, which lay at the foot of
Lebanon, (Jer. iv. 15. 10.), and thus Joseph becomes pecu
liarly the crown of the land.

Thus did the ancient Patriarchal shepherd picture to him
self the settlement of his tribes, and the country would have
been invincible, if Lebanon, Jordan, the sea, and the desert,
well guarded, had encompassed it, Jlis benediction rises like
a palm tree, whose branches spread wider and wider, till it
becomes at length as a cedar of God upon the mountains.
Had Israel gone thither earlier, and extended themselves by
degrees, or when they came at length with united and perse
vering force, then would there have come to be a resident
force, formed with the invincible banners; which guided them
in the desert, and which later tradition combined into images
of the cloudy chariots of God ; a perpetual phalanx, and in the
midst of it the tabernacle of Jehovah.

We come now to the sad contrast of the blessing of Mosea
with that of Jacob. Here the speaker was no longer a father,
who could look over the land with a peaceful and tranquil eye,
and divide it as his own among his shepherd sons. It was the
wearied lawgiver, who saw his grave opening before him, and
had spent his life among an undeserving people. Two tribes

155

and a half had already violated the plan of Jacob, and of the
rest he could expect but little good. He clothed his last wish
es, therefore, in the form of a prayer, and his admonitory and
encouraging proposals in the form of a benediction, which
however, should be considered no less an earnest injunction,
than the last will of Jacob. The piece is composed of definite
and well considered expressions, the political testament of a
departing sage.

BLESSING OF MOSES THE MAN OF GOD UPON ISRAEL

IN VIEW OF HIS APPROACHING DEATH.

lie said,

Jehovah came from Sinai,
Went forth to them from Seir,
Shone forth from Mount Puran.
lie came from mountains of Kudesh,
And round him was radiant fire.*

How greatly doth he love the tribes,
All the pomp of his glory is around him,
And every one at thy feett

* That the common construction of the term here ns n fiery law IB
harsh, every one is sensible and here too it does not suit the context.
God comes v. 2. 3. as a teacher of the people, while the tribes sit at his
feet to learn of him. Moses becomes their teacher, and his law is the
utterance of the mouth of the Most High, a far more dignified image,
than when God is represented as bringing it in his hand. I prefer rather
to consider the radiant glory of the right hand in the 3d verse, as plac«d
in contrast with the expression described in the second, and pomp and
majesty distinguished from grace. Habakkuk explains the image, and
interprets it by radiant fire, shooting rays. In later times these images
were converted into the diurutyai aj'^f icuv, the ranks and orders of an-
gels, and this illustrates their meaning.

t How fine a contrast have we here of fearful majesty and condescend,
ing grace. Only Moses could thus have spoken of the giving of the law.
The word used in the 3d verse means plainly, not angels, but the assem-
bled tribes which had been already named, and are again referred to
v. 5. They sit at the feet of their father, who teaches and admonishes
them as children. The notion of angels teaching is a later rabbinical in-
terpretation.

156

Received thy commandment.

Moses enjoined on us the law,
A heritage of the congregation of Jacob,
For he was king of Israel.
All the heads of the people assembled,
And the tribes of Israel.

[Thus was Israel to learn respect and reverence for the law as
a Divine economy, freely adopted as the instructive lore of
Divine wisdom and truth. Moses was their king but only
among the assembled chiefs of the nation, and therefore, in a
free state. In this character, also, he uttered his last words,
and at the same time connected with them the reverence,
which he gave to the Divine Being, the dignity and love.]

Let Reuben live, and not die,
His people shall be multiplied.

[A small blessing is this, which is thus bestowed upon the first
tribe, at all times, but yet a blessing. Simeon is passed by,
because, in following the benediction of Jacob, Moses had no
land which he could apportion to that tribe.]

To Judah he said,

Hear, O Jehovah, ths voice of Juduh,
And brin<j him unto his people,*
His arm will contend bravely,
And, when his enemies oppress him,
Thou wilt be his salvation.

[The blessing conferred upon Judah, also, is small compared
with that bestowed by Jacob. Yet he is not undistinguished
here, and is reminded of his duty to be the leader in conflict.]
To Levi he said,

• The people, to whom Judah is to be conducted, is probably the same,
of which Jacob had assured him, Gen. xlix. 10. his distinguished and pri
mary inheritance. Here slept the bones of the Patriarchs. He was to
give his name to the nation, and this was to adhere to him as its leader.
Hence the expression.

157

Thy light and right thou confid««t

To the true, the devoted man,

"Vyhom thou didst prove at the place of trial,

And strive with at the waters of strife.

He said to his father and his mother,
" I know you not,"
And remembered not his brethren,
Nor acknowledged his children**

So shall they also keep thy word,
And observe thy covenant,
Shall teach Jacob thy judgments,
And Israel thy law.
They shall burn incense before thee,
And sacrifices upon thine altar.

Bless, O Jehovah, their power,
Accept the work of their hands.
Strike down him/that riseth against them,
And him that hateth them, that he rise not again.

[Here we perceive the feelings of the Levite blessing with
hearty sincerity his own tribe. He speaks as the brother of
Aaron, and honours his memory, not only by recollecting, that
God had bestowed upon him the highest judicial authority,
but also that he, who first bore the sacred breastplate, was a
man of great integrity, and unsullied character. Almost he
murmurs against God, that for a single and trilling fault he
had contended so severely, with him. He calls it an unhap
py spot, the guilt of wliich that upright devoted man, was
doomed to expiate with his life, and at the same time impliedly
excuses his own conduct. For he, too, was in the same con
demnation, on account of which, also, he is now called to meet
his approaching death. (Num. xx. 1 — S and Deut. xxxii. 50.
51.) The transition from the praise of Aaron to the duties of

» The construction, which I have given this verse in the translation,
imparts to it, as I think, dignity and clearness. The word in the singu
lar refers to Aaron, the following plural to the Levites, who were bound
to imitate his noble example of impartiality in giving judgment, and of
faithful adherence to God their rightful Lord.
14

158

his tribe, is very beautiful. The memorial of him, who first
bore the sacred breastplate of judgment, was to be their en
during model. Their duties are expressed as hopes, and God
is entreated to take part with the tribe, which was so necessa
ry to maintain the constitution of the country, and had so ma
ny enemies. This benediction of the lawgiver is beautifully
conceived, but we have already spoken of it at large.]

To Benjamin he said,

The beloved of Jehovah shall dwell safely,
The Most high hovercth over him daily,
And giveth him rest between his wings.

[This blessing is tender in sentiment, and entirely changed
from the character of Jacob's. The ravening wolf is here
again the same Benjamin, whom his father restrained from
the hazards of a journey, and carefully commended to the
guardianship of his brethren. So Moses commends him to
the protecting care of Jehovah under the frequent and favour
ite image of an eagle.* This bird hovers over its yonng, sup
ports them, when about to fall, and permits them to rest upon
its back and between its wings. All this the paternal law
giver applies to Benjamin.!]

To Joseph he said, ^

Blessed of Jehovah is thy land,
With precious things of the heaven above,
And the sea from its bosom beneath,
With precious things produced by the sea,

•Gen. xliii. +Deut. zxxiii. 11. Ex. xix. 4.

tit is not shown that shoulders (either of God or Benjamin) means'
mountains, and the discourse here is not of the mountains of Benjamin.
between which God should dwell. Between the mountains Moriah and
Zion, even had they belonged to Benjamin, Jehovah never dwelt. There
was a cleft between them, but the temple stood upon the mountain.
The Hebrew text here must be read as the 70 read it.

159

And precious things brought forth by the moon,
The good, that grows from Eastern mountains,
The beautiful, that springs from ancient hills.
All precious things, which the earth produces,
And the favor of him that appeared in the bush,
Let them come upon tho head of Joseph,
Of him who was crowned among his brethren.

His glory is like that of the firstborn bullock,
His horns as the horns of a wild ox,
With them he pusheth the nations,
Even to the extremity of the land.
This will the ten thousands of Ephraim do,
And the thousands of Munasseh.

[The blessing of Moses upon the tribes is rich and instruc
tive. He paraphrases the blessing of Jacob, and adapts it to
his age, and to his own views. The blessings from heaven
he explains by the dew, and of the sea by the efluxes of the
nether sea, which in ancient physics was the source of fertil
ity. In like manner the influences of the sun and of the moon
are referred to the precious products, which attend upon the
revolutions of the year and the months. The everlasting
mountains of Jacob he places in the East, because from that
direction were brought at that period the costly spices, gold,
&,c, The corresponding word in the blessing of Jacob he
took in the sense of a bullock, and invests Ephraim in the he
roic stateliness of a firstborn of the species. So also by the
ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manassah he
has reference to the expression of the Patriarch, who made
Ephraim the firstborn of the sons of Joseph. Thus the bless
ing is expressed with instructive reference to this more
ancient document. It was however hardly fulfilled, since
Ephraim did not receive the extremities of the land for his
jK>ssession, and perhaps the very passage, which Moses has
here devoted to him and Benjamin, contributed to prevent the
fulfilment of the direction which it contains. Benjamin pla
ced himself between two strong shoulders the powerful tribes

160

of Ephraim and Judah. Ephraim at an early period chose
his portion in the midlle of the country, which was indeed
fertile, but did not correspond with the fulness of blessings,
which were here described.]

To Zebulon he said,

Rejoice, Zebulon, in thy commerce,

And, Issachnr, in thy tents.
The tribes shall proclaim your mountain, •
Where rightful sacrifices nhall be offered,
For there can they draw the influx of the Ma,
And the hidden treasures of the sand.

[Since I have too much to say on these words tosuit this con-
iiexion, I shall defer it for an appendix to this chapter, and
throw the explanation of the next benediction into a note.]

To Gad he said,

Blessed be God, who hath enlarged Gad,

He dwellcth as a lion, the arm and the head are his prey.

The first spoil of conquest he chose for himself,

*1 shall here only defend the translation on grammatical grounds. It
is strictly a literal one. That the word commonly rendered nations
means the tribes, is shown in the 3d and 21st verses, and that the inoun.
tains mentioned must be near these tribes, is shown by the local circum
stances which follow, which refer to the harbour near Acco, as well as
to the place where glass was first made. Of calling strange nations
to a mountain in the tribe of Judah, in order to draw there the treasures
of the sea, the text says nothing.

tThe blessing bestowed upon Gad contains both praise and censure ;
praise for heroism, since Gad was the first of the three tribes, which
joined his troop. Hence he calls him the leader, and says that like a lion
he has seized for himself a fair inheritance, and there already protected
he dwells in proud security, while his brethren still wander in tents.
Yet he gives praise for the promise made still in future to go forward
with the host, until all the wars (the judgments of God upon Canaan)
are completed. In the first expedition the tribe of pad did so, and
went in advance of the host. (Jos. ivf \%.

161

Because the portion of hie prince* was then safe.

Yet will he march onward with the host,

To finish the wars of Jehovah,

And to execute the judgments of God

With Israel—

To Dan he said,

Dan also is a young lion,

He leapeth forth upon Bashan,

[where at that time perhaps the tribe was stationed. The pur
pose of Moses is therefore to call upon the tribe, and excite
them to the conquest of the land.]

To Naphtali he said,

O Xuphtnli, satisfied with favours,

And filled with the blessings of Jehovah,

Possess them the sea and the land of the South,

[that is on the sea of Gennesareth, at the southern part proba*
bly, according to the command of Jacob.]

To Ashcr he said,

Blessed shall Asher be among the tribes,

He shall ho acceptable to his brethren,

And shnll dip his feet in oil.

Brass and iron shall be thy bolts,

And us thy days so shall thy strength increase,

[The more lie uses the products of his country, the more shall
his wealth and power increase, and thereby also shall he be
serviceable to his brethren. The blessing of Jacob is again
altered with reference to political and national considerations.
Asher was not to serve foreign kings with his iron and fine oil,
but his brethren. Thus Moses united the tribes together, and
aimed to animate the whole in their various residences with
one paternal impulse, with one self-improving spirit of Indus*
try and national feeling.]

102

There is none, O larael, like God,
Who rideth on the heavens for thy help,
And in his majesty on thy lofty cloud**, :•£•?•

Thy protector is the eternal God,* *V
Thou art beneath his everlasting arm, t
He thrusteth out the enemy
From before thine eyes,
And saith "destroy them"!
Yea Ijracl shall dwell
Securely and alone.
The eye of Jacob looketh upon a land,
That is full of corn and wine,
On which the heaven droppeth dew.
Happy art thou O Israel.
Where is a people like thee,
Whom Jehovah protccteth?
He is the shield of thy help,
And the sword of thine excellency.
Lot thy foes seek thee with guile,
Yet shalt thou in triumph
Tread upon their high places.

With such words of golden richness does Moses take leave
of his people. He builds their hopes on God, represents
their land as the object of his love, that land, from which they
looked down from the heights of Bashan and Gilead. Here
shut out from the nations, secure and alone, should Israel
dwell, nourished, not as Egypt by the river, but immediately
by the dew of heaven, and the hand of Jehovah. A bold
mountain race should Jeshurun become, and though the
crafty wiles of their enemies were unceasing, should proceed,
till they trod as conquerors on all their high places. Would
that the will of Moses had been accomplished! The coun
try lies apart, surrounded and limited by mountains, seas, riv-

*That this IB the most emphatic word used by Moses to express the
eternity aud inviolable truth of God we know from Ps. xc. 1. By the
words here used and the triumphal inarch of God in the clouds ho re-
minds us of hia ancient wonders.

163

ern and deserts ; a email, but divinely chosen spot, which,
cultivated with diligence and guarded by the united force of
the tribes, might have flourished. It lies as it were between
the three divisions of the Eastern continent, in the boundless
Asia, at the foot of these rich mountains of the primitive
world, and is their outlet and haven. Above and below Ju-
dica were the routes of the trade of the ancient world. So
far as its situation is concerned, it might have been the hap
piest people in the world, had they used their advantages, and
remained true to the spirit of their ancient law. Poor, and
now barren, and naked land ! in which partly through sacred
poetry and song, but yet more through the consequences of
, misfortune and folly, we know almost every glen and hill, eve
ry valley and village, which ages ago in the history of man
kind wast famed for superstition, blood and war, wilt thouever
enjoy a better renown? or are the mountains, on which thy
Prophets trod, once so fruitiful, doomed henceforth to perpet
ual desolation?

TABOR, THE MOUNTAIN OF THE SANCTUARY

AS AN IDEA OF MOSES.

To Zebulon he said,

Rejoice, Zebulon, in thy commerce,

And, Isaachar, in thy tents.

The tribes shall proclaim your mountain,

Where rightful sacrifices shall be offered,

For there can they draw the influx of the sea,

And the hidden treasures of the sand.

Wherefore does Moses unite two tribes together here, and
those too so opposite to each other ? He himself explains,
that he does it on account of a mountain, which the tribes
would proclaim for the place of the sanctuary, and of the reg
ular sacrifices ; for here, he proceeds, will they be able to en
joy the influx of the sea, and to behold, to acquire, and use,

164

rare and beautiful productions, the secret treasures of the sand,
the glass made in that vicinity. He allures them, therefore,
to the place of their national assemblies by the influence of
profit and curiosity.

What mountain then was it, which he did not, indeed, en
join, but proposed to them as a free people ? It could be no
other than Tabor.

Tabor lies between Zebulon and Issachar, and forms the
mutual boundary of the tribes. It lies directly against the bay
of Acco, the most natural harbour on the whole coast. The
lake Cendevia, where glass was most anciently produced, is
not far from it, and the river Belus, so well known on account
of this production, derives a part of its waters from Tabor.
The reasons assigned, also, suit no other mountain than this,
and the very words clearly and literally point it out. The
thing spoken of is not the calling of foreign nations to a moun
tain, (in the desert somewhere and at a distance from these
tribes,) but the tribes are to proclaim a mountain for the place
of their Sanctuary, where they could have the advantages and
gratifications.pointed out, and such was Tabor.

How judicious, and, on whatever side we consider it, how
wise was this idea of Moses! This was in name the umbili
cus, or middle point of the country, and in destination was to
have been, like the Delphic Oracle in Greece, the central
place of assemblage for the tribes. In choosing Zion for the
place of meeting in the lower section of the land they subject
ed the upper tribes to the necessity of a long and dispropor
tionate journey, The consequence was, that they visited it
but seldom, and with groat difficulty, and on the first favoura
ble occasion the ten tribes fell oil" from this sanctuary, and
chose for themselves more convenient places at .Dan and
Bethel. Had the conquest of the land been prosecuted ac
cording to the intention of Jacob and Moses, and extended as
far as Mount Lebanon, there would have been no place sa
central mid convenient as Mount Tabor,

165

This mountain, too, by its nature and position, was marked
out a« a place for a national assemblage. It rises in the midst
of a very fertile plain, and all travellers agree in their account
of its remarkably beautiful appearance. Apart from* all other
mountains, it stands alone upon its delightful plain, perfectly
round, as if shaped by the hand of art. It is difficult of as
cent, and therefore a natural strong hold, and occupied for
that purpose against the Romans at the time of their conquest.
In the lower part it is rocky, but above covered even to the
summit with thick shrubbery, vines, olives and other fruit
trees, as if encircled with a verdant crown, while the branch
es are everywhere vocal with the song of birds. It affords a
wide and beautiful prospect, and Jeremiah says of a hero he
shall move with dignity, like Tabor among the mountains.
Its summit is an elliptical plain, a stadium in breadth, and
two in length. In every respect, then, how beautifully was it
fitted for the sacred tabernacle of a people inhabiting the
mountains ! and how much more beautiful the scenes, which
would here have been celebrated by the sacred poets, than
those around the small and barren Mount Zion : scenes, in
whiclfthe fertility of the country, the view of tribes happi
ly united and leagued in harmony, of the sea, the lake, and
the river Jordan, would have mingled in their descriptions.
ThcKishon and the Kadumim, which flow from this mountain,
would have resounded in these sacred songs, instead of that
small brook, which is now celebrated in the Psalms.

Such was this mountain, as to its natural form and position,
nor was it less eligible from its relation to the political divi
sions of the country. It was situated between two tribes,
which were not the most ambitious, but the most industrious
and most profitably employed, and belonged exclusively to
neither. These were more than any others able to furnish
provision and entertainment for the national assemblies. From
its fruitful plains the tribe of Issachar could provide sacrifices,
thereby derive a revenue from the products of its soil.

166

Zebulon lay upon the sea, and could enjoy a profitable trade
with the neighbouring commercial cities, as the lawgiver dis
tinctly intimates. Here no rivalship between the tribes was
to be feared, for both were sons of the same virtuous mother,
and second to none in dignity and worth, while at the same
time they contended with none for precedence in rank. They
enjoyed their advantageous situation with quiet industry, and
on this Moses himself had reckoned. This is plain, if we
compare his benediction with that of Jacob. The Patriarch
had compared Issachar with a patient beast of burden, and on
that account placed him in this fertile region to distribute wa
ter to neighbouring herds. Moses, therefore, who neither
could nor would look to Canaanitish slaves and Gibeonites to
bring wood and water to the Sanctuary, placed this in a re
gion, which had the patient beast of burden of the Patriarch
on the one side, and the dealer in foreign merchandize on the
other, on both sides means for accommodation and interesting
excitement. Where were these to be found in the deserts of
the tribe of Judali ? and yet we know the national festivals
were designed for national amusement and for trade. Its vi
cinity to one of the finest harbours on the coast would have
brought to Mount Tabor, besides the people of the country,
strangers from thence at the time of the national festivals,
would have awakened industry and promoted the interchange
of commodities throughout the land. For on the one hand
was Acco, on the other Gennesareth, flourishing communities
on all sides, and Tabor the crown and pride of all at tljc point
of union in the midst.

Yet alas! it was not chosen, and the wise conception of the
legislator was neglected. The rude people idly suffered tire
ark of the covenant to remain where it first rested, and visited
it but seldom. Every one was eager to seize upon his own
possession, and no one concerned himself for the common in
terests and organization of the combined whole, for Moses
was dead, Joshua was now old, and EJiezer weak or destitute

167 <v

of the necessary influence. Soon the ark fell into the hands
of the Philistines, and was entertained as a guest here and
there, — until David took possession of it, and fixed it perma
nently upon his own Zion.

By thus establishing upon the same mountain, and one too
but recently gained as a conquest by himself, his own resi
dence and the tabernacle of God, this monarch, no doubt,
added both power and glory to his reign. The circumstances
of his own life, and of the tribe from which he sprung, and in
which he could most fully confide, made this choice moreover
necessary for him. Yet it is none the less true, and the result
clearly proved it, that the more enlarged plan of Moses for
uniting all the tribes as brethren, by a more free and more
central place for their national assemblages and festivals, was
thereby forever defeated, and an apple of discord, by the ar
rangement which David adopted, was thrown among the tribes
to their final separation. Ephraim and Judah were rivals for
precedence in rank, because in the blessing of the Patriarch
both were invested with a crown. And because under the
tamily of David the tribe of Judah acquired an undue share of
power and honour, Ephraim combined with the other tribes,
and chose along with their own king their separate places,
also, for their sacred assemblies. Only Judah and Benjamin
remained united, and they plainly because the temple, which
was built upon mountains belonging to them in common, held
them together — a proof, that, had this been placed elsewhere,
it might have exerted the same fine influence upon all, which
was now felt by these two tribes alone. The nation had lost
its balance ; the point of union was thrown from the centre in
to a corner of the country.

If we look for the cause of this evil, we find it indeed, in a
source of itself innocent enough, the benedictions of Jacob.
From gratitude to Joseph and respect for the heroism of Ju
dah he had given to these two sons, prerogatives, which were
abused by their weaker posterity. It was the injunction of

168

Moses, that the country should not be divided, until the whole
was in their possession, and should then be apportioned ac
cording to the population of the several tribes. The command
was reasonable and necessary, for if the more powerful tribes
seized upon their portion before this, who was to support the
weaker and aid them in securing theirs ? And how, too, in
that case, would an equitable apportionment of the whole be
possible ? Yet the injunction was not carried into effect. Mo
ses was already before hid death compelled to give some of the
tribes their portion beyond the river Jordan. We know that
he did this unwillingly, and bound them by an oath still to go
forward and aid their brethren in completing the conquest of
Canaan. It was, however, never completed. So soon as
Joshua had made one or two successful expeditious, the two
most powerful tribes, Judah and Ephraim, seized upon and
appropriated more than half of the whole country. In the
mean time the weaker tribes wandered about and made terms
with the Canaanites as they best could. The division was three
times repeated before all the tribes were able to find their pos
sessions. Some of them, indeed, were still inadequately provi
ded and compelled to seek for new dwellings. Those which
were treated with neglect by Jacob, obviously suffered by it,
and it was not without reason, that Moses so often impressed
it upon the people, " that God visits the sins of the fathers up
on the children only to the third or fourth, but extends his
blessings to the thousandth generation." For what fault was
it of the tribes of Simeon and Levi, that their fathers had
done a foolish and rash deed ? How was Dan to blame, that
he was born of a concubine, and almost forgotten iu the distri
bution of blessings ? In short, the land was divided without
system or equality, the Northern part not wholly conquered,
and what was worse the most warlike tribes were settled,
where there was the least danger of assault, in the middle of
the country. The parts most exposed to danger, on the con
trary, were apportioned to the smaller and feebler. From

Egypt, Canaan had nothing to fear, and every tribe was able
to defend itself against the Arabian hordes ; but on the North,
towards Syria, Assyria, and Babylon, it was otherwise, and
there Jacob and Moses had assigned to Ephraim, Manasseh,
and Benjamin their several portions, Here the frontier was
now left unprotected, and hence the hostile assaults, in which,
first Israel, and finally Judah was destroyed, came in that di
rection. The nation, indeed, was exposed to ruin even from
the Canaanites, because they were divided/and did not pros
ecute the war, till their conquest was completed. There was
no general supervision, and no wise apportionment of the whole
was any longer possible. Of the sanctuary, which Moses had
carefully placed rather to the North than the South, no thought
was taken, no bond of union was preserved among the tribes,
and they became one by one the prey of the most despicable
enemies.

In the mean time the beautiful Tabor remained what it
was, and in its native pride and luxuriance, as described in
one of the Psalms, spoke the praises of its creator. Indeed,
in its relation to the political interests of the nation it became
(from its natural advantages of form and situation) the first
theatre of victory and of national deliverance,* and hence
will forever flourish, at least as the mount of heroism and lib
erty, in the song of Deborah.

•Jud. iv. 5.
15

VII.
TRIUMPHAL SONGS OF THE ISRAELITES.

History of Balaam, considered with reference to th» age, in which he
lived. Propensity of ancient, uncultivated nations, especially in the
East, to confide in Prophetic benediction«, and the arts of soothsayers.
Influence ol Moses against this. Design of the song of the well,
which he introduces. Dreams, trances and visions of the Prophet
and soothsayer. Vision of Balaam. Its purpose. Probability of it in
the mind of an Eastern conjurer. The language of benediction and
triumph uttered by Balaam. Of whom it was spoken. How they
came into the possession of the Israelites, and in what way probably
they were preserved.

Book of the wars of Jehovah. Fragments derived from it. Poetical
explanation i>f the altar of Moses. Whether Amulek or Moses raised
his hands towards the throne of God. Song of triumph over the
Amalekites. Poetical passages in the Books of Joshua and Judges.
Of the standing still of the sun and moon. Of the sound of the trum
pets at Jericho. Ago of poetry in the Book of Judges. Difference
between such an age and one of political order and social happiness
like ours. Tone of the narrative in these heroic talcs. Animation in
the description of remarkable events and heroes. Example in the sto
ry of Sampson. Triumphal song of Deborah, accompanied with re-
marks and an appendix.

In the foregoing section I have treated of two blessings pro-
• nounced upon Israel, from different periods in their history,
and in different styles of expression ; I shall now add to them
another, more strongly marked, than either, in the boldness
of its composition, and the crown of the whole. It is the pro
phecy of Balaam, when lie saw the camp of Israel. But the
history, which precedes, is the suhject of so many contradic
tory opinions, that it will be necessary to exhibit it with gome

171

care in the light which seems to me most natural with refer
ence to time and place.

When Israel went against Moab, and the king of this
people felt himself too weak to withstand them, he sent* for a
celebrated soothsayer to affect by imprecations, what he could
not do by the power of his arms. This circumstance has
nothing strange in it, if we take into view the notions of an
cient tribes, or even of rude nations of the present day, as
we learn them from history and the accounts of travellers.
They attached much importance to the imprecations and
blessings of their soothsayers. They believed that misfortune
awaited them, if they had offended one of these, and even
ascribed invincible power to the precise words and figures of
the curse or of the blessing. The history of superstition
among all nations, not even excepting the better informed and
ingenious Greeks and Romans, t boars witness to this. That
such should be the case in the East, therefore, and among the
rude people of a mountainous district, is nothing peculiar.
It was one among the imperishable and peculiar merits of
Moses, that surrounded, as he was, by superstitious tribes, he
directly opposed in his system of laws superstitious practices,
and did not tolerate enchantments, magical imprecations, and
blessings. The song of the well, which belongs to this peri
od, was introduced perhaps for this very purpose, to guard
against the superstition of the people. J

Sprint up, O well,
Sing ye unto it.

*Num, xxii. 1. tThe Inttcr it is well known had their incantatores.

tNum. xxi. 16. The Arabs still believe in the power to charm fish,
so that they shall conic in heaps if they call to them ml! tal ! (come!
qorne !) and precisely these ure the first words of the song. (See Nu-
buhrs Reisen Th. 2.) Among other nations also I have read of similar
words of enchantment, by which they believed, that water could be
made to flow up from the earth,

172

The princei digged the well,
The nobles pointed it out,
With their scepters,
With their staves.

Perhaps Moses caused the place to be marked by the staves
of the leaders, that no enchanter's rod might be permitted to
approach it. Balaam himself was obliged to confess, " that en-
chantment had no power against Israel, and that no bene
diction could prevail against Jacob." Considered in this
light, therefore, the story is to the honour of Israel ; Moses
shows, by the example of the most celebrated soothsayer,
how vain, and how subject to the control of God, was this art,
which he had forbidden.

The messengers sent by Balak came with presents, and
B ilaam had a wish to follow them, when the guardian God of
the people, whom he was to curse, in a nightly vision forbade
the journey. Here too I find nothing, that should be thought
etrange. Were not dreams in these ancient times honoured
and permitted to have great influence among all nations?
Was not the mind of a soothsayer, who as he says,

With open eyes uttered his oracles,
Who lihtened to the words of God,
And suw the visions of the Almightyy
Who fell in a trance but saw clearly,

wan not the mind of such a man, who believed, that even wa
king he experienced such trances, be still more likely to see
visions in the quiet hours of sleep? And why should not God
employ the way of access to him most accordant with the laws
of nature, as he gave commands in dreams, or awakened con
ceptions, in the minds of Abimelcch, of Nebuchadnezzar and
other pagans. The result was, that Balaam, daunted by the
guardian God of Israel, refused to accompany the messengers
of Balak.

Other messengers were then sent with still greater presents,

173

The heart of the diviner was tempted, and God permitted him
to go. Yet however with the express prohibition to say any
thing else, than that, which he put in his mouth. Still more
to alarm the dealer in benedictions, that fearful vision appear
ed to him in the way, of which so much has been said. The
viHion, it is to be observed, appeared to him by degrees. The
ass went out of the way, pressed against the wall, fell upon her
knees; and now the vision began to appear in the mind of
the soothsayer. He hears the ass speak, he sees the messen
ger of Jehovah with a drawn sword, (perhaps a flame of fire
flushing or blazing up before him) and finally he hears a voice.
The messenger of Jehovah, who stood before him in the way,
reproached him, because, with less understanding than his ass,
ho had not heeded the less marked presentiments of his mind.
He threatens to shy him and save the brute, and gives him
finally another strict charge to say nothing but that which God
should suggest to him. Thus impressed with fear he proceeds
onward, his mouth restrained as with a bridle.

In this incident too I see nothing, which would not corres
pond with the character of a soothsayer. Let one read ac
counts of travels in all countries, where such still exist, and he
will see with astonishment of what vehement excitements of
the imagination they are capable. Their souls wander from
their bodies, which in the mean time lie apparently lifeless,
and bring accounts of what they have seen in this and that
place, to which they have just been. So too of their divina
tions which are confided in by the people, and at which the
most intelligent travellers have been confounded. All in fact
look with wonder upon the feats of these men, and the unnatural
states, which they assume, and compared with which the vision
and trance of Balaam are but trifles. Why then should not the
Divine Being, who would now employ the voice of this crafty
diviner going not in fact to curse but to bless, proceed in the
way, which was the most customary and most effectual upon
the mind of the diviner. A fearful phenomenon was to meet

174

him in the way. He actually heard and saw, in a waking
vision, what is here related, and how trifling for us to enquire,
whether the ass actually spoke ? and how ? whether and in
what way God gave her reason and human organs of speech
&,c. ? To tho diviner the ass spake in a vision, that is, he heard
a voice and saw an appearance. She could not have spoken
to us, unless we would also have become diviners.

From a man of such imagination we should expect effu
sions of a bold and elevated character, and such they are.
They possess the highest dignity, brevity, animation and co
piousness of imagery. There is little in the later Prophets,
and nothing in the discourses of Moses, that equals them in
this respect. They stand somewhere in the same rank with
the Book of Job, and the narrative, by which they are intro
duced, with all these dreams and visions, with the fearful cli
max of warnings, the various high places with seven altars up
on each — all this is so simple, told with such emphasis and
symmetry of parts, that we seem to be brought, by a kind of
magic ladder, to that for which such preparation is made.

BLESSINGS OF BALAAM UPON THE CAMP OF ISRAEL,

Balak the king of Moab brought me from Aram,

Called me from the mountains of the East.

Come hither, and curse me Jacob,

Come hither, and denounce Israel,

How can I ci.rse whom God hath not cursed t

How can I denounce whom God hath not denounced?

From the rocky summit 1 behold the nation,
From the Mountain tops I survey them.
Behold a people, thatdwelleth alone,
And joins itself not with the nations.
Who can count the dust of Jacob ?
Or number the fourth of Israel?

175

Let me but die the death of the righteous,*
And let my last end be like his.

The king is alarmed, that Balaam, instead of pronouncing
a curse, utters a blessing; and as if this was an unlucky spot
where perhaps no sacrifices would avail, or he received only
unfavourable visions, he conducts him to another place, from
which he could have a viewof the whole people to the farther
most tent, in short to the top of mount Pisgah. Seven altars
are built, seven offerings brought, and Balak with the prince*
of Moab remained by the offering. The soothsayer retirei
again into solitude, that God may meet with him. He return*
and says.

Stand up, O Balak, and hear,

Hearken to me, them son of Zippor,

God is not a man, that he should lie,

Nor the son of man, that he should repent.

Hath he said, and shall he not do it?

Hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good!

Behold I huvc received a blessing,

He hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it,

No evil is to be seen upon Jacob,
No misfortune impends over Israel,
Jehovah his God is with him,
The shout of a king in his midst.
God hath brought him out of Egypt,
Like a wild bullock is his strength.
No enchantment prevails against Jacob,
Nor any divination against Israel,
According to the times it shall be told him,
What God hath resolved to be done.t
Behold this people, they rise up as a lion,
And lift themselves up as a young lion.
v He lieth not down, till he eat the prey,
And drink the blood of the slain,

•Jeahurun seems to be a term of distinction for Israel, nearly in the
•onae of ayados in the most ancient times, It often occurs as a name
of Israel, and in the song of Solomon all the lovers of Solomon ire
xoAo» xa* yadoi.

tA fine distinction between a diviner and a true Prophet.

176

Now Balak entreats, that if he will not curse, he shall at least
not bless Israel ; and conducts him to a third place, to the top
of Peor, which looks towards the desert. After the altars are
built, and the sacrifices offered, the diviner goes noVarther to
seek for auguries. He raises his eyes, and looks upon Israel
encamped by tribes. He is filled with enthusiasm, takes up
his parable, and says,

Thus soith Balaam, the eon of Beor,
Thus saith the man, whoso eyes arc open,
He saieh it, who hcaroth the words of God.
Who seeth the vision of the Almighty,
Fulleth in a trance, and seeth with open eye.

How beautiful are thy tents, O Jacob,
And thy dwelling places, O Israel,
As rivers spread themselves abroad,
As gardens by the river's side,
As aloes, which God hath planted.
As cedar trees, beside waters.
Waters run from their fountains,
And many streams shall be his offspring.
His king shall be higher than Agag,
And his kingdom shall be exalted.
God hath brought him out of Kgypt,
As of a wild bullock is his race,
He devoureth the nations his enemies,
He hreaketh in pieces their bones,
And pierceth them with his arrows.
He roucheth and lieth down as a lion,
As a young lion, who shall rouse him up?
Blessed is he, that blesseth thee,
And cursed is he, that curscth thee.

Balak enraged smites his hands together, and commands him
to depart to his own place. Balaam in taking leave instructs
him farther, however, what this nation shall do to his own peo
ple in later times. Hero the prophecy reaches its highest
point of sublimity.

Thus saith Balaam, the son of Beor,
Thus eaith the man, whose eyes are open.

177

He sahh, who heareth the words of God,
And knowoth the knowledge of the Most High,
Who saw the vision of the Almighty, .
Falling down, but with eyes open.

I see him, but he is not yet,
I behold him, but he is yet afar off.
There cometh a star out of Jacob,*
A sceptre riseth out of Israel,
Which smiteih the corners of Moab,
And destroyeth his high fortresses,!
Edom is his possession,
The hostile Scir his conquest,
Israel doth valiant deeds,
Out of Jacob cometh a conqueror,
And wustcth the remnant of the habitations.

He then looked abroad upon Amalek, took up his parable,
and said,

Amalek the first among the nations,
His end shall be — to perish forever.

He looked upon the Kenites, took up his parable, and §aid,

Strong is thy dwelling place,
Thou puttest thy nest in a rock,
Yet shall the Kenite be wasted,
Till Asshur carry tliee away captive.

Again ho took up his parable, and said,

Who shall live, when God doeth this?
Ships from Italia's coasts,
Bring down the pride of Asshur,
And humble the pride of Eber,
He also shall perish forever.

* David the conqueror of the Moabitea.

t The " fortresses" are obviously in parallelism with the •• corner* of
Moab.H If the one signifies the fortified summits and angles of the moun
tains, then the other signifies the towers built on these, or the men who
garrison them. Children of Sethis a term, that could have no meaning

here, as distinguishing the family descent.

178

And Balaam rose up, and departed to go to his own place, and
Balak also arose up and went his way.

What a crown of triumph for Israel ! a crown of laurel, that
becomes continually more precious with age. And was this
an artifice of the Moabites ? a device for their own injury ?
and for the glory of Israel ? If it be an artifice, it must be
one of Moses, or of some later Hebrew poet. And to whom
then could it be ascribed ? What later poet has figurative
language so bold as this ?

" But of what consequence was it whether a foreign sooth
sayer uttered curses or blessings upon Israel ?" Let us consid
er, that they were uttered not for effect upon us, but upon Is
rael and Mo:il>. The Israelites, already disheartened at the
war, would have been, perhaps, still more discouraged, had a
soothsayer so famous as Balaam imprecated evil upon them; as
on the other hand it failed to raise the courage of the Moabites,
when they heard such destinies announced. Thus Jehovah
here adapted himself to the weakness of the host of Israel, and
seized upon the device of the enemy, which was to have ren
dered them hopeless, and converted it into a means of inspi
ring them with new courage.

" But how came it to the knowledge of the Israelites ?" In
answer to this let us enquire, how Moab and the Israelites
were situated, and it will be seen, that, as Balaam came from
the mountains of the East, he must have passed by or through
the hosts of the Israelites. The history of the blessings were
probably recorded ia the Book of the wars of Jehovah, from
which several poeticafextracts and songs are introduced in this
place.* Thus we can at least conjecture, whence it came,
and how it was preserved. Let us look at these other songs '

« Num. xxi. 14—30,

179

When Moses, compelled by necessity, smote Amalek, he
began a book of the wars of Jehovah, that was afterwards con
tinued. Only a few poetical passages of it, however, remain.
A passage from the triumph of Moses over Amalek.*

I will blot out, utterly blot out

The memory of Amalek from under heaven.

The altar, which Moses built, and which he called " Jehovah,
my banner of triumph," has in like manner a poetical explana
tion.

Because my hand was raised to Jehovah's throne,
Jehovah will have war with Atualck,
From generation to generation.

It was not the hand of Amalek, but that of Moses, that was
raised to Jehovah during the battle, It was supported by a
stone, and this suggested the idea of an altar, which was call
ed tho " banner of victory." Asa conqueror Moses had rais
ed his hand to the throne of Jehovah.

We find afterwards other poems from this book.t The song
of the well was before introduced, and a triumphal ode over
the Amoritcs here follows. ^

A SONG OF TRIUMPH OVER THE AMORITES, WHO HAD
BEEN THE CONQUERORS OF MOAB.t

Come ye into Heshbon,

Build and strengthen Sihon.

A fire went out of Heshbon,

A flame from the city Sihon,

Which consumed the mountains of Moab,

The dwellers in the high places of Arnon.

Woe unto thee, Moab,
Thou art undone, people of Chemoeh.
Thy sons must be fugitives,
Thy daughters become captives
To Sihon, King of the Araoritei.

» Ex. xvii. 14. t Num. xxi. 14. I Num. «i. 27.

ISO

Their yoke ia now broken
From Heshbon unto Dibon.
We laid waste unto Nophah,
We laid them waste unto Medbah.

The Israelites invite their guests into the conquered Hesh*
bon, and Sihon. They boast that they have now conquered the
conquerors of Moab, and celebrate with irony the deeds of
their conquered enemies. Of such irony there was much in
the ancient triumphal songs, which can have little interest
for us.

In the Book of Joshua we find nothing like the songs above
introduced. A few bold features in the narrative, seem, how
ever, to have come from triumphal songs, and in the boldest of
them, the account of the sun and moon's standing still, refer
ence is expressly made to the book of ancient heroic songs ;*
and hence it is strange, that this beautiful passage should
have been so long misinterpreted.

Joshua attacks the Amorites early in the morning, and
continues the battle until into the night, making it, therefore,
a long day, and the day seemed to be lengthened in order to
the completion of the victory. The sun and moon, therefore,
(for he pursued the enemy till into the night,) were witnesses
of his deeds. They seemed to stand still with astonishment
in the heavens, till the victory was completed. All nature
appeared for once, subject to the command of the hero, and

* The book may have been called Jasher from the kindred word tig.
nifying *ongt and if it was a book of Hebrew heroic poetry, it probably
began with the song at the Red Sea, and from tlte first word in that, per.
haps, acquired its name. Or Jasher was equivalent to the book of he-
roes, because it was the heroic designation of this people as Jeshurun,
ayudof, as we have seen above. Both amount to the same thing, if we
translate Jasher, the book of heroic songa. That it was such it» content*
•how»

181

to obey his commanding voice. Jehovah himself seconded it,
not only by sending a supernatural, i. e. panic fear upon the
enemy, but, when they fled also, by pursuing them with a
storm of hail, as if he were the leagued ally of Joshua. Simi
lar representations from the history of the times were at the
foundation of this. The narrative proceeds —

And as they fled before Israel,*

The way that lendeth to Bethhoron,

Then cast Jehovah mighty stones

Upon them out of heaven,

Along the way unto Azekah, and they fell.

A greater number fell by th« hail,

Than were slain by the sword of Israel.

Then Joshua spake unto Jehovah,

In the day, when Jehovah gave the Amorites,

To fall before the children of Israel,

He said before assembled Israel,

"Stand still, thou sun, upon Gibeon,
And thou moon in the valley of Ajalon.
Then the sun stood still,
And the moon was stayed,
Until the victory was completed,
The war of Israel upon their enemies."
For is it not written in the book of heroes,
"The sun stood still in the midst of heaven,
And went not down, although the day was ended.
And never was a day like that day,
Neither before it nor after it,
That Jehovah listened to the voice of a hero,
For Jehovah himself fought for Israel."

Who does not see, that here is the costume of poetry, e?e«
if no book of heroes were referred to? To the language of
Israel such expressions were not foreign, nor was their bold
ness unusual. How often is it said in the plain style of histo
ry, " God fought for Israel." In the song of Deborah evei

• Josh. z. 11.
10

182

the stars become combatants. The sun and moon and eleven
stars are represented in the dream of a youthful shepherd, as
bowing down before him. The Sun has its place of rest, and
knows the time of its retiring to repose.*

So it is with several passages in the Books of Joshua and
Judges. When the walls of Jericho are described as falling
down at the sound of the sacred trumpets, let the account be
read in the spirit of that age, and it will cease to excite a
smile. With the sound of the trumpets was united the war-
cry,and the rush of warlike assault, and the one was only the
signal for the other. For six days the commander had for
bidden the assault, and on the seventh, when the enemy were
put off their guard, by the idle loitering of the Israelites, and
the walls at the early dawn were undefended, he gave the sig
nal for the war-cry, that is, for storming the place, and thus
they took possession of the city.

The whole Book of Judges is animated with the spirit of
horoic poetry. It breathes the spirit of the age, the youthful
vigour of a newly settled race of mountaineers, who indeed
were often subdued and oppressed for want of organization
and government among themselves, but whose heroism and
love of liberty now and then kindled up in the hcroick souls
of individuals, and broke out into a flame. I might denoimn-

* It may be that Joshua had expressed the wish, that the day tnij-jit be
prolonged, (for do not Homer's heroes express wishes of the same sort,
and do they not correspond with the spirit, that prevail? in the heat of
battle?) and when the event corresponded with his wishes, nnd the light
cotinucd unusually long, nnd the very heavens seemed to come to his aid
by a stunn of hail, what was more natural, than that the triumphal sung
should compose the picture of a day unlike to any other, should represent
the hero as speaking, employing Jehovah himself as a coadjutor, and
make the aun and moon participate in the triumph, and wonder at the
boldness of the heroic leader.

183

ate this the poetical age of Israel, and will explain myself on
the point more at large.

A period of civil and political order, of peaceful security,
and established moral customs, is certainly the happiest for a
nation, but not the most favourable for producing poetry, that
is filled with life and action. This delights rather in bold and
striking incidents, in the prevalence of passion, of the mar-
yellous, and of liberty. " At that period there was no king in
Israel, and every man did what was right in his own eyes,"
and often, therefore, the most savage and cruel wrong, as we
see from many traces of their history. He acted according
to the impulse of ardent and unrestrained desire, and in rela
tion to all heroic deeds it is said, " the spirit of the Lord, that
is, the national spirit of the Israelites impelled him, or the
national God aroused and armed him, the spirit of Jehovah
began to drive him hero and there," even when the actor was
by no means a man of moral worth. It is painful to read the
objections, that are multiplied against this book and its mar
vellous events without regard to the time and circumstances,
in which it was written. Every one knows, that all ancient
nations in their wars permitted themselves the use of artifice
and deception ; all rude nations do so at the present day, and,
where in other respects magnanimity exists, prefer craft to
force. A disorganized and oppressed people, whose national
power exists only in individual enterprize, have more especial
need of such weapons. For how can an individual even the
strongest and bravest, if we mean to speak rationally, main
tain himself against a multitude, if he does not gain an ad
vantage by the arts of war ? And what are these arts, but
skilful artifices ? Or is there a less ingenious artifice, a less
heroic heroism, than that which breathes from the mouth of
the cannon ? Let Ehud go, then, excited by Jehovah, and

184

with hia dagger pierce the foreign tyrants of his country. It
was more decicive than a victory with us, which is purchased
by the blood of thousands. Every thing then depended on in
dividual heroism and prowess. The rude dweller in tents,
Jael the wife of Eber, who, uniting with her people, pierced
through the commander of a foreign foe in her tent, could
make, indeed, but little claim to rank in our orders of military
merit, yet deserved, according to the spirit of the age, the
national praise awarded her in the song of Deborah. We
must first convert the hordes, which made war upon Israel to
well ordered nations, and their times into ours, if we would
apply our principles of right in war to them.

Quulem ministrum fulminis alitem,
Cui rex deorum regnum in aves vugus,
Permisit, expertus fidelcm
Jupiter in Ganymede flavo,

Olim juventas et patrius vigor
Nido luborum propulit inscium;
Vernique jam nimbis remotia
Insolitos ducuere nisus

Venti paventem ; inox in ovilia
Demisit hosteia vividus impetus
Nunc in reluctantes draconea
Egit amor dapis atque pugnac.-—

Thus do I picture to myself the deeds of Deborah, of
Gideon, of Jophthah, arid of Samson, and I hold no more
prolonged vindication of particular circumstances on the
grounds of morals and natural rights to be necessary. The
whole stands forth, even in respect to the tone of the narra
tive, in the light and costume of poetry. Some of the narra
tives, indeed, as the capturing of Samson in the lap of Deli
lah, are arranged with poetical symmetry. Individual ex
pressions have a remarkable force, the language of the heroes
is full of the spirit of Jehovah, i, e, of enthusiasm, resolution

185

and boldness. The annunciation of some of them before
their birth, the appearance of an angel t or a nameless Prophet,
the singular proofs, whether of the calling or of the courage
of these men, the riddles, the play upon words, the youthful
ruslmess for example of all the enterprises of Samson — all
this gives to these narratives more poetry, than many heroic
poems have been able to exhibit with all the marvels of their
fabulous machinery. Each of these heroes too is so charac
teristic, so like himself, in the slightest features of his history,
that in the brief space of one or two chapters allotted to it he
stands forth a living hero.* "

*I will endeavour to show this by a few particulars in the history of
Samson. Good humour, levily and arrogance pervade his whole life.
Wine and strong drink are forbidden him, but he yields himself the
r.-iorc devotedly to love, which more than once led him into a snare, and
lit length deprived him of his prowess, his liberty, and his eyes. •* J
will seek a wife among my enemies that I may find occasion against
them" was a foolish thought, and yet how entirely in the spirit of a
headlong youth, who, conscious of his superior power, knows not how
to direct it, nnd divides his heart between love and bold adventure. The
riddle at his marriage feast, and its consequences, show the same char,
uctcristic. In opposing men he was a man, in opposing women he was
but a woman, as many similar heroes in history have been. He answers
with levity those, who through his own means had solved his riddle,
goes forth and slays thirty Philistines, th;it his thirty marriage guests
might receive their prize, deserts his wife, and returns with a kid for a
present, and as if nothing had happened, goes directly to her cham,
bcr. When he learns, that she lias become the wife of another, he says
"now at length I shall have just cause against the Philistines, I will do
them mischief," as if he had been waiting for such an occasion. The
story of the three hundred foxes with the firebrands between their tails
is entirely after his manner; and the objections, that have been made to
it are not worthy of reputation. The foxes or rather jackals of that coun.
try enter into houses, arc easily taken, and an idle, frolicksome adven.
ture like this would not fail to engage merry accomplices enough to
carry it into effect. They had the sport. He looked to the result. So
nlso with the gate of Gaza, which to the reproach of the Gazites ha
drew off to the mountain. So with the jaw-bone of the ass, the pun
upon which was strictly in character for Samson, The place where he

186

To this poetical age belongs ai^o the finest heroic song of
the Hebrews, the song of Deborah. The (J8th Psalm will ap
proach nearest to it, but is still far behind. In the song of

made the attack was called Lechi, jawbone, and as clearly appears
from chap. xv. 13. 14. 19. this was a narrow pass, a sort of hollow shaped
probably like a jaw.bone. He had made an arrangement with his country,
men, that when they hod fulfilled the part which their cowardice led them
tu take, of binding and delivering him to his enemies, they should remain
quiet, since they could not have been excited to any thing more. And
when in passing he came into this winding and narrow pass, to Lechi, he
chose his opportunity, seized upon the jaw.bone of an ass, which lay
there, and accomplished his work. He then congratulated himself re.
•pecting it in a double play upon words, to which still another is added,
that God showed to the fainting warrior, who after his bold adventure
longed for a cool draught of water, a fountain in the same winding rock,
Lechi, where the battle was fought. The fountain, as the narrator tells
us, is called to this day the caller's fountain or the fountain of invocation.
(Here too the fountain could not have flowed from the jaw.bone, which he
wielded in his hand, but from something that remained to aftertimes, obvi.
ously the winding rock, Lechi, v. 11) All this is told with an animated
brevity, which shows the genius of Samson. The same is true of the
•ad history of his reposing in the lap of Delilah. His two great weak
nesses, love and levity, deprived him of his secret. For he knew noth
ing more, than that he was dedicated lo Ins national God, whose strength
would remain so long as he kept his inviolable vow. This he knew
from his name, his education and mode of life, which migh^ perhaps bo
sufficiently self-denying. Suddenly he lost his courage, when his vow
was broken and felt that the assistance of God was withdrawn from him,
Dut as his Imir grew he found his cheerfulness and courage revive. Ilia
enemies knew this, and when he was to furnish them with amusement,
probably in an old, widely extended, and lightly built house of idol wor
ship, he amused himself by trying his renewed youthful energies upoa
the pillars o! the house, thus seeking a joyful death. He died as bo
bad lived, an irreconcilable enemy of the Philistines, and rejoiced in
uniting their death with his own. I will not ask, whether a narrative BO
characteristick, and self.consistent, could have been the work of fiction ?
I only say, that it is strikingly correspondent to the age, and beautifully
told. Precisely that, which ia most the object of sarcasm, or most ab-
•urdly defended, is the finest, And so generally with the narratives of
the book of Judges,

187

Deborah all is present, living action. In that of David an
ancient heroic narrative is to become the embellishment of
n solemn state ceremony which still remains only a ceremonial
pr ossion. Forgive me, thou heroine, beneath thy native
pamis, that I mingle in the dance of thy nation's jubilee, and
in feeble tones re-echo thy triumphal song.

TRIUMPHAL SONG OF DEBORAH AND BARAK.*

Then sang Deborah, and Barak, Abinoam's son,
On the day of their triumph they sang.

Give ye praise to the Lord,
That Israel hath taken her revenge,
Thut the people came freely to battle.

Here ye kings, give ear ye princes,
I will sing, I will sing unto Jehovah.
I will sing unto Jehovah, God of Israel.

Jehovuh, when thou wentest out from Seir.t
And marchedst from the hills of Kdom,
Then the earth quaked, the heavens dropped,
The clouds poured streams of water,
The mountains melted before Jehovah,
Sinni before Jehovuh God of Israel.

In the days of Shnmgar son of Anath,
In the days of Joel the highways were empty,
And travellers sought the winding paths.
The assemblies of Israel were no more,
They ceased, until I Deborah arose,

•I have translated this song in den Briefen das Stadium der Theo-
logie betrefTerd Tli. 1. S. 111. and accompanied it with remarks which 1
will not now repeat. Later investigations have given me new views on
some passages, but I must refer to those remarks with reference to th«
connexion of thought in the piece. Whether there was a chorus to it
will soon appear.

tThe song begins with the figure, which Moses used, Deut. xxiiii. 5.
and with which David began the 68th psalm, and Habakkuk, cap. 3.
It set mi to have been a customary beginning of Hebrew songs of tri.
Uniph, because they all follow Moses as their Homer.

188

Till I arose the mother of Israel.

They had chosen thorn new Gods,* ,
Then war was raging at the gates.
And no shield or spear was seenf
Among the forty thousands of Israel.
My heart turns to you, ye leaders of Israel,.
And to you ye volunteers among the people,
Sing praises with me to Juhovah.t
Yc that ride on asses richly harnessed,!!
That sit on costly coverings,
And who walk on foot in the streets,
Meditate and utter a song.

An ode for the iicrdsrncn§ to sing —
Who water their herds among the wells,
That there they may praise the goodness of Jehovah,

•The whole Book of Judges proceeds on this idea, and to this cause,
in strict accordance with the law of Moses, ascribes the ruin of the
country. The principal incidents of the book arc however equally ori
ginal with this fcong itself.

tNot that there was no shield or spear in Israel, but there was no one
who called them forth, and summoned the forty thousand brave Israel.
itcs to the war.

tThose who led, and those who voluntarily followed, are all to unite
in praise ; they all partnke in the victory, and the song of triumph.
There is a refinement in the beginning and the transitions of the ode
hardly to be expected in that age.

(| Persons of distinction. Those who sit on costly apparol, judges or
princes, and tho.se who walk the streets, common people. All enjoy the
fruits of victory, public security and freedom.

$ The interpretation of this difficult verse commend* itself, I think, br
its facility, and tlie connexion of the whole. The battle occurred among
the rivers and torrents of Mount Tabor, (compare v. 21. and chap. iv. 6.
7.) and' here, therefore, the victory is forever to be celebrated. The
battle was fought in the rainy season, when the fountains and rivulets
were swollen, ond according to v. 21. swept aw-iy the Canaanites. On
this account Deborah begins with the dropping heaven0, introduces the
constellations, which bring rain as combatants. In like manner are the
narrow passes of Tabor conceived, in which the people were placed, and
lUus the scene of battle is accurately defined.

189

His goodness to the peopl* of Israel/

For there the people of Jehovah were in strait*.

Arouse thee ! arouse thee, Deborah ! t

Awake ! awake ! give a song of triumph,

Arise Barak, bring forth thy captives,

Thou son of Abinoam.

Then went a remnant against the strong,

Jehovah with me against the mighty.

From Ephraim came the first to Amalek,

Then earnest thou Benjamin with thy people,

From Machir came over the leaders,

From Zebulon those that muster for battle.t

The princes of Issachar were with Deborah,

Issachar, in bravery like Barak, ||

Sprang forth into the valley.^

By Reuben's brooks was much consulting.*
Why sittest thou there among the stalls?
To hear the bleating of the herds ?

* The heroine, an inhabitant of the country, is particularly concerned,
that the people of the country should never forget the victory and deliver
ance of Israel. By this circumstance, perhaps it was preserved.

f Properly, " rouse up ! rouse up ! excite thyself, that you may leave
a picture of the whole exhibition, which v. 11 — 15. proceeds in the order
of battle. Her admonition to Barak (chap. iv. 6. 14.) is the beginning,
and then follows the' order of march, as the tribes asserhble and follow
her. She was from the mountains of Ephraim, (iv. 5.) and there also,
was the primary source of the army, and of the victory. Perhaps the
mountain, on which she dwelt, was called A.malek, as many mountain!
still retained their names from more ancient times.

t Those that bore the rod for mustering, plainly representing, that th«
most noble and ancient of the tribe, who gave command to others, foU
lowed her in the enterprise.

flit is a special honour to this tribe to be compared with the leader, as
•qual in bravery. Tabor lay between Zebulon and Issachar.

$This is explained from chap. iv. 6. 12. 14. 15. They held themselves
on the broad plain of Tabor.

1 Here begins the sarcasm upon the tribes, wbich.reraained behind to
f, 17.

190 •

By Reuben's brooks is great consulting.
Gilead beyond Jordan stayed unmoved,

Dan also, or why should he dwell in ships,

Ashcr was safe by the shore of the sea,

And lingered by his bays and creeks.

Only Zebulon jeoparded their lives,

And Naphtali on the mountain heights.*

But the kings they came and fought, f
There fought the kings of Canaan,
At Tanach by the waters of Mogiddo,
But money, their desire, they received not.
From heaven they fought (ttgainst them),
The stars from their courses fought with Sisert.
The river Kishon swept them away,
The winding river, the river Kishon.
March on my soul in thy might.!

Then slumped the hoofs of the horses,
In the fleeing, in the fleeing of heroes.
Curse Meroz, said the angel of Jehovah, f|
Utter curses upon the inhabitants thereof,
They came not to the help of Jehovah,
To the help of Jehovah in his host of heroes.

Blessed above women be Jael,
The wife of Heber the Kenite,
Blessed above the dwellers in tents.

* They were the first, whom Deborah committed to Barak, (iv. 6.) and
in whose heroism she confided, and who are hero also honoured with the
last and highest praise. They with the Northern tribes of Judaea were
heroic mountaineers. Zebulon it seems is contrasted with Aaher and
Dan, because like them it was by the sea, and yet joined the expedition.

tin every word of this description there is sarcastic raillery. She
honours them with titles, that she may annul them; and this tone con,
tinues in what is said of the mother of Sisera and her women,

I She excites herself to proceed with the same animation through the
rest of the song.

fl In the whole book of Judges the voice of God is called the angel of
Jehovah. (Chap. ii. I— A. vi. 12—22. xiii. 3—21.) The denomination
here is probably from the first of the passages, for the angel of the Lordx
which appeared there, commanded to conquer the land, The song speaki
in the name of God, i. e, as the voice of the nation.

191

He asked water, she gave him milk,*
She brought curdled milk in a lordly dish.-—
She seized with her hand upon the nail,
With her right hand the heavy hammer.

And with the hammer ahe smote Sisera,
She smote him through the head,
She pierced and struck through his temples,
Under her feet he bowed himself,
He fell, he lay down,
At her feet he bowed, he fell.
Where he bowed, there he fell down — dead.

The mother of Sisera looked from a windovr.f
She cried through the lattice,
"Why are his chariots so long incoming?
Why tarry the wheels ot his chariots ?w

Her wise ladies answered her,
Yea, she quickly returned answer to herself.
" Are they not then to find and divide the spoil,
To every man a damsel or two,
And variegated garments for Sisera,t
A prey of bright embroidered garments,!
Doubly embroidered, variegated clothing,
The triumphal procession of the spoil.

So let all thine enemies perish, O Jehovah,
But let them, that love thee, be as the sun,
Whcnhegoeth forth in his glory.H

• This, too, is irony and imitative representation to the last breath of
the smitten Sisera. The picture is beautifully poetical, and character.
i*e« the age in a lively manner. That it was intoxicating milk, is plain
from a multitude of Oriental books of travels. He concealed himself in
the interior gynacseumof the tent, and there in profound sleep found his
death.

t The contrasts ofjthe picture render the irony perfect.

1 This wise lady of the harem was not desirous, that Sisera should
acquire any damsels. She wished only for variegated garments and
whowy trappings for the triumphal procession of her lord.

B This short sentence is, as it were, a seal of the whole pong, and
shows that it is as methodically arranged, as it is consistent with the ago
and suited to the people and the place.

MUSICK AND DANCING UNITED IN THE COMPOSITION

OF NATIONAL SONGS.
AN APPENDIX TO THE SONG OF DEBORAH.

Brown, an English writer, has hazarded the hypothesis,*
that poetry, music, and dancing never have a more powerful
influence, than when united, that among all nations in a state
of nature they have been and are still combined together, and
on this account have such power over them. Had he satisfi
ed himself with facts, and not extended his theory to times
and objects, where it does not apply, especially had he left
lawgivers out of the question, and not sought to explain by it
erery thing in all species of poetry, I know of no objection to
his views. The union of these arts among all rude nations is
pretty clearly proved ; even among the Greeks, the drama
arose out of the chorus, or a poetical effusion accompanied
with musick and dancing. That in their earliest forms, and
within a limited extent of cultivation, they are all three natu
rally combined together, cannot be denied, for some poetry at
least is lifeless without tones to accompany it, and the most
simple and natural musick has no animating effect without
poetry. Such musick alone gives only a series of obscure, un
defined emotions, which require to be rendered clear and dis
tinct by words, or they at length, unless listened to with the

' Brown's Dissertation on the rise, union and power, the progression,
separation and corruption of poetry and musick. London, 1763.

193

car of a mere artist, render the hearer weary, sleepy and sad.
That both these arts naturally lead to the dance we see by
their effect on all children. Musick and dancing ; animated
feelings uttered in words, require gesture to give the expres
sion its highest effect. Thus there is truth in the language
of Milton.

Blest pair of Syrens, pledges of Heaven's joy,
Sphere-born, harmonious sisters, voice and verse,
Wed your Divine sounds, and mix'd power employ,
With saintly shout, and solemn'jubilee.

In the constitution of nature our several senses are united
arid act upon one soul, why must they be severed in respect
to the outward objects of gratification? Why should not the
inward eye, which contemplates the visions of heaven, be ac
companied and confirmed by the inward ear, which listens to
its harmonies ? And why should not both, in order to their
most animated expression, employ gestures to illustrate the
imagery, and the dance to measure the musical rhythm ?
In poetry as well as musick rhythm is but the movement
of the dance. The images of the former, express the liv
ing forms and shapes of universal nature by their likenesses
reflected in the countenance and soul of man. Thus the
three arts are so interdependent and mutually involved, that
even a philosophical distinction of the several conceptions is
not possible, without including each within the spheres of the
others.

If this, then, cannot be denied, there must be a point of
union somewhere, which, if skilfully attained, would necessa
rily give to them their greatest power. It must act, that is,
at the same time upon all the powers of sense, and either in
sinuate itself into the soul, or take it by lorce through all its
organs. It reaches that sensorium commune, in which slum
ber the images, tones, sensibilities, and emotion of the soul,
and excites it as with celestial harmonies.
17

194

Thi§ view of the matter, however, shows of itself, that such
a point of union is of rare and delicate attainment Not all
the images of poetry express themselves by gestures, nor do
all the tones of musick awaken the dance of emotions. If what
is peculiar to one of the three arts greatly predominates, the
others in the same degree lose their influence, and the har
monic proportion, that becomes beautiful only by such an il
lusive correspondence of all, as to produce a perfect unity of
effect, may well be considered a prodigy ; and it was perhaps
best, that each art should follow its own independent course.
This they, in fact, did at the moment when each became a
separate and distinct art. What each lost by being severed
from its companions, it must now make up by embellishments
of its own, and studied, therefore, its own peculiar character,
unfolded it to the utmost, and now wrought its effects by rely
ing upon its own power, while before this it had necessarily
modified its agency from regard to its union with other agen
cies not essentially belonging to it. It is, therefore, manifest,
that each of these arts, as an art, in its objective existence,
gained by the separation, though it is alike undeniable, that
subjectively, as an organ of nature in the soul, the power of
each was diminished.

It would seem, moreover, that there are only certain peri
ods, when these arts could be united in their due proportions.
It could be only when no one of them is yet become a distinct,
peculiar, and refined art ; when poetry has not yet built its
airy castles, where neither dance nor song can follow it, nor
musick become so artificial, that it would require the voice of
birds to accompany its tones and movements with verbal signs;
when too, the dance is not so much a labyrinth of art, as a
natural utterance of the passions and agencies of the souJ
guided by musick, as the animated expressive language of ges
ture. But suppose the separation once made, and each art to
have advanced for centuries upon its own solitary course,
while the human organs in the mean time have been cultivated

195

and refined, and their reunion becomes difficult, or rather at
once impossible. Placefbefore our eyes the artificial dance of
a sensuous people, even the Grecian dithyrambus itself, and
our ear is unaccustomed to combine what is so manifold into
one momentary impression. We distinguish and trace each
several art by itself, and judge it by itself. We fail of that
united impresssion, of that rapid association of ideas, of sensu
ous impulses and upspringing emotions, in which alone their
power of enchantment lies.

This period, in which such a union may exist, falls, there
fore, in nations, whose feelings are yet fresh and lively, whose
life is marked by few but strong impulses of emotion, and who
from their infancy have been accustomed to enjoy many com
bined together. Among nations, whose poetry continues U>
be the expression of truth within the narrow sphere of their
own experience, of their family, their country, the deeds of
their ancestors, the wishes and actions of their own exclusive
mode of life, and who have been accustomed from childhood
to combine these simple objects with all the truth of expression
in their natural gestures, with the favourite gratifications of
the ear, and the movements of their simple melodies; among
nations, whose inusick was, therefore, at an early period adapt
ed to the choral song, and ventured but little beyond the
sphere of this, finally, whose gestures are determined, not by
the rules of a science, but by a healthful state of the passions,
and conventional principles of intelligibility, among such na
tions and such only is found a theatre, in which these magic
sisters celebrate their choral harmonies. So soon as the na
tion advances in its cultivation, the beautiful phantom, which
their enchantment had raised, vanishes of its own accord.

The Hebrews, like all nations which have a taste for muaick
and poetry, had such a period in the progress of their cultiva
tion, but necessarily before it had reached its highest point.
In the song at the Red Sea there is no determinate number
#f syllables, but the words are peculiarly sounding, accompa-

196

nied with choral song, and here and there with mimic rep*
reservation. The adufa was the musical instrument of the
dancing women, and the obscure monosyllabic words employ
ed as terminations are probably the echo of the men ; for in
this way we see children betrin the cultivation of a taste for

J »

song. They fall in wkh the emphatic tone, with the last word
of the line, even when they are yet too infantile to pronounce
it. The times of the Judges were, perhaps, the proper peri
od for the perfect combination of these simple arts, and the
song of Deborah seems to be the most striking example, which
their poetry furnishes. Instead of Pindaric strophes, there
are three leading divisions sufficiently marked in it ; — the in
troduction, probably interrupted by the frequent responsive
shouts of the people, v. 1 — 11. — the picture of the battle, the
naming of the tribes with commendation or sarcastic irony,
here and there accompanied with mimicry in the expression,
12 — 27. — and finally, the derision cast upon the triumph of
Sisera, also imitative, until the last verse, probably as a general
chorus, closes the whole. As all rude nations in their triumph
al feasts celebrate the principal events in imitative songs, so
here we find undoubtedly, traces of the same thing.

On this ground we might account for the influence of po
etry at this period, without supposing it to include any great
degree of art. It was a representation in song of living deeds,
u highly impassioned imitative poetry. It was by means of
such, that the Prophets wrought upon Saul, and David also
with his breathing harp. In our o\vu times examples of this
sort are rare, but not impossible. There is scarcely any man
of sensibility, on whom some strains of musick, the favourite
songs of his childhood and youth, do not exert a marvellous
influence even in old age. In times of sorrow and sickness
their effect is more vivid, often uncontrolable, How many
singular phenomena of this sort might be adduced ! When
skillful musicians study the favourite tones and musical strains
of individuals, and afterwards apply them to those individuals

197

with their highest influence, it is known what striking effects
they can produce upon them. In nations unsophisticated by
refinement such tones are given by national songs, which,
with certain favourite objects of national pride and ancestral
glory, gain a power over the heart and head of every individ
ual from childhood, and when afterwards these tones recur in
connexion with such objects arid on solemn occasions, they
renew as it were the youth of every one, and reproduce the
glow of their earliest enthusiasm. Every one knows what a
magic effect the mere coming together, still more the harmo
ny of sentiment of a great multitude produces. Not merely
that community of outward circumstances excites a common
feeling and hurries the soul, which feels itself but as a drop in
the current, along with it, the general enthusiasm of kindred
ideas seizes upon them, and the result is that pleasing deliri
um, at which the man of the world scoffs, and which the cool
philosopher equally fails to explain.

If we look at the incidents of these early periods of He*
brew history, what themes do most of them furnish for the
simplest poetical effusions, combined with the most natural
musick, in short for the pictures of lyric poetry ! Look at the
daughter of Jcjj/itkah, as she goes to her death with a chorus
of maidens lamenting around her ! She goes as an offering
to the altar, as a bride to the shadows of death. She bewails
her youth, takes a farewell of all that was dear to her in life,
arid prophesies perhaps upon the altar — what a touching
picture, in its language, tones, and gestures! Again take
David in the, presence of Saul. More than one poet has avail
ed himself of the beauty of this situation, but no one to my
knowledge has yet stolen the harp of David, and produced a
poem, such even as Dryden's ode in the composition of Han
del, where Timotheus plays before Alexander. Samson has
famished the tuneful Milton with a subject for a very music
al drama, and the Israelites in the desert is known to us all,
The sword of Ehud might be wrought into a poem, as good at

198

least as that, which waa sung at the Panathensa in Greece;
for the subject is the same. Harmodius and Aristogeiton
carried their swords covered, when they slew the tyrant Hip-
parclms and restored Athens to freedom. The song in which
the deed was celebrated, is yet extant, and their memory lives
in the accents of fame. It is a matter of regret that we
Germans in celebrating these wonderful events of antiquity
have adopted only the form of the epopee, which for most
subjects becomes a powerless tale. Other nations have raised
them to the character of lyric expression, where they are
more brief, more impressive, and more affecting. The opin-
ions also of the age in question abound in materials for poetry.
Whoever has read the summoning of the ghost of Darius in
the Pcrscc of jEschylus, where the deceased king appears in
the midst of the choral song, that he. may prophecy concern
ing the destiny of his unhappy kingdom, will have his mind, in
reading of Saul's questioning the dead at Endor, otherwise oc
cupied than in speculating about the deception practised by
the sorceress. The shade of the Prophet ascending from the
realms of the dead prophesies, as Darius did, respecting the
fate of the desolated kingdom, and the near approach of the
death of Saul and his sons. Why should not the numerous
Patriarchs, who uttered prophecies in thgir dying moments,
remind us of Hector, of Patroclus, of Cassandra, whom ./Es-
chylus and Homer have represented as prophecy ing in the
last moments of life? Finally the friendship of Jonathan,
the early incidents in the life of David — what pictures for the
susceptible feelings of the poet and musician ! In«short the
blooming youth of the Hebrew muse falls within this period of
the national history. The wonders of the desert were so far
withdrawn, as no longer to overpower, but Btill to elevate and
delight the imagination. They had not yet become lifeless
marvels, as they did in later times. It was the precise period,
when they were fitted to awaken national inspiration, for eve
ry hero was seized by the spirit of Jehovah. This name, and

199

the ancient miracles, whose fruits they were enjoying, diftV
sed unity and interest over many deeds not otherwise exciting.
If all histories could be related to children in the style of the
books of Judges and Samuel, they would learn them all as the
animated pictures of poetry.

Note, t have omitted here a dialogue of four or five pages respect,
ing the history of Samson, which the editor inserted from the author's
manuscripts. The views presented in it are with very trifling additions
the same with those found in the note p. 185. Even the additional illus.
trations occur again the following section. Tr.

VIII.
ADDITIONAL FRAGMENTS

THE YOUTHFUL PERIOD Of HEBREW rOJSTRT. ^

Jotham's fable. Of the spirit of Oriental fable generally. Samson**
riddle, with that of Agur. Fondness of children and of nations in an
early period of cultivation for thia kind of fiction. Samson's play
upon words. Of verbal conceits among the Hebrews generally.
Causes of the frequent occurrence of these among this people and in
their language. Of the purpose and value of such, as a gratification
to the ear, or an aid to the memory. Fondness of the Hebrews for
dothing new ideas in old and consecrated terms. Whether the tiros
of the Judges was a period of happiness. Song of Hannah. Annun
ciation of a change of times. Merit of Samuel. Schools of tha
Prophets. What they were. Effect of their singing upon Saul.
Friendship of David and Jonathan. Lamontation of David over
Jonathan.

To the poetical age of Israel's liberty belongs also the beau
tiful fable of Jotham. Like the fables of ^Esop and Menen-
ius Agrippa, it was spoken to the people for their instruction
respecting an actual event, and such is the truest and best ori
gin and aim of fabulous compositions. In this fable trees
speak and act, for Israel then lived beneath the trees the life
of herdsmen or cultivators of the soil. The youngest son
of a worthy father, who alone was left after the murder of all
his brothers, goes upon the top of the mountain, raises his
voice, and addresses in the following language the people, wlio
had made the oppressor of his family and the murderer of all
his brothers their chosen king.

Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem,
That God may hearken unto you.

The trees went forth upon a time
To annoint a king to rule them.

201

They said unto the olive tree,

«« Be thouthe king over us.'*

But the olive tree said to them,

•• Shall I give up my oily sap,

For which both God and man respect me,

And go to ware above the trees ?

Then the tree* said to the fig-tree,
" Come thou and be our king."
But' the fig-treQ answered them,
" Shall I give up my sweetness,
And my rich annual fruits,
And go to wave above the trees ?"

Then said the trees unto the vine,
" Come thou and be our king."
The vine made answer to them,
" Shall I forsake my wine,
Which cheereth God and man,
And go to wave above the trees ?"

Then said all the trees unto the bramble,
"Come thou and be our king.".
The bramble said unto the trees,
"If in truth ye annoint me over you,
Come and put your trust in my shadow.
But if itke not so,
Let fire come out of the bramble,
And devour the cedars of Lebanon !w

The fable, as a species of composition, lives wholly in the
wild period of uncontrolled liberty. In the spirit and feeling
of such freedom it represents the quiet happiness of the sev
eral fruitful and luxuriant trees, none of which are desirous of
the proposed elevation. It clearly exhibits the gifts and
qualifications, by which the bramble attains the royal dignity,
and of which on the first proposal it is conscious in itself. It
shows the inward and essential character of the kingly office,
as cold and barren, without oil and joyless, to wave above the
blooming trees, Finally it relates the first gracious acts of
the bramble, the conditions offered to the cedars of Lebanon,
either to come and place themselves under the shadow of the

202

bramble, or be consumed by it with fire. Beautiful fable ! full
of sad truth for more than one age !

The East is full of such ethico-political fables. What the
historians of European nations propose in aphorisms, the Ori
entals clothe in the dress of fiction or fable. The tyrant,
who took from them their freedom of speech, must at least
leare them their fables, their proverbs, their wild and romantic
tales. These not only commended themselves to the minds
of the common people, but sometimes ventured in humble
guise to approach the ear of the monarch. Thus Nathan re
lated to David, the king after God's own heart, a little story of
the one ewe lamb of the poor man.* Thus too, Isaiaht sung
to his well beloved, the people, a fabulous song of another be
loved, the sentiment of which is simply that the former is an
unfruitful and unprofitable vineyard, which the latter, the
Lord of the vineyard threatens with immmediate destruction.
The Prophets paint symbols upon the wall, or themselves bo-
come symbols, living fables, and when curiosity prompted the
enquiry, what is this? what does this witless figure mean?
the Prophet explained its pregnant import. Often, too, this w
given dressed in verbal conceits.

What seest thou Jeremiah ?
"A rod of an almond tree."
Thou sawcst truly!
For I will watch over my word
Till I accomplish it,

where the words in the original exhibit a paronomasia.

What play of words, too, in regard to proper names, monu
ments, and historical events, do we find abounding in the his
torical and poetical writings of the Hebrews. — And as the
riddles and puns of Samson belong here, it may, perhaps, be
the most fitting occasion to illustrate more at large both these
topics, which are so great favourites in Oriental poetry,

2 Sam, xii, 1, tlsa.v, 1,

203

When Samson celebrated his marriage festival, he knew
of no better way to entertain his guests than by a riddle,
which he propounded in verse.*

Samson.

I will put forth now a riddle to you,

And ye shall interpret it.
Answer.

Put forth thy riddle then,

That we may hear it.
Samson. .

Out of the eater came forth meat,

Out of the strong came forth sweetness,
Answer.

Nothing is sweeter than honey,

Nothing is stronger than a lion.
Samson.

If ye had not ploughed with my heifer,

Ye had not found out my riddle.

All these sentences in the original are in parallelism, or in
a word, rhymes. The question is formally proposed, and for
mally answered. Seven days were given them for reflection,
and a liberal reward offered for the solution > clear proofs of
the value set upon such trials of wit in these times.

We find this respect and fondness for riddles even in later
books. The queen of Sheba came to test the wisdom of Solo
mon by trials of the same kind, and the last chapter but one
of his proverbs contains little else but riddles,t though, in
deed, in a different and higher style.

THE WORDS OF AGUR THE SON OF J AKEH.

In lofty phrase the man to Itheil spake,
To Itheil and Uchal spake he thus.

More brutish surely am I than a man.
What men call prudence I have not.

• Jud. xiv. IS— 18. t Prof.

204

I have not learned their wisdom,

And should I know the knowledge of the. Holy ?

Who up to heaven ascended or came down ?
Who gathered up the wind within his fist ?
Who bound the waters in a garment ?
Who gave the earth its several bounds ?
What is his name ? and what his son's?
Inform me, if thou knowest?

I have already ventured, and I fear without success, an ex-
planation of this enigmatical passage.* It is, perhaps, more
simple, than one is apt at first to suppose, and the reason we
fail to discover the meaning, is in fact, that we look too deep
for it. The sage Agur is to discourse lofty sentiments to his
pupils, but he begins with modesty, that too exalted wisdom
may not be expected from him. How shall he, who in un
derstanding and knowledge is inferior to his race, and con
fesses, that he is not versed in human wisdom, be supposed to
possess that knowledge, which belongs to those, who are en
trusted with the truth of God, to the holy ones. The wisdom
of men is obviously placed in contrast here with a higher
science; and the holy, therefore, are such as may boast of a
higher light, and admission to the Divine counsels, as he him
self at the same time explains by his questions. The true
sage must have ascended to heaven and returned thence, he
must know the depths of creation, and understand the w^iole
compass of the world, or he deserves not the narne.t "And
what," asks Agur, " is the name of the man, who can venture
to say this of himself? Where does he live, and who are the
disciples whom he hath taught. Tell me his name?" In oth
er words, none such is found on earth. — Obviously this com
mencement is but an echo of what is said of wisdom in Job,
where in the same language, and on the same grounds, it is

• Briefe das Studiura der Theologie betreffend. Th. 1. S. 184.

t That this is the ideal of wisdom among the Orientals, we see from
Gen. iii. 5. Job. xxviii. Prov. iii. 8. 20. viii. 22—31.

80S

said, that God alone is wise, 'because he alone knows the
whole broad creation, hath weighed the winds, and marked
the boundaries of the earth. To man belongs only a different
wisdom, and it is precisely that, which Agur gives. He pro
ceeds on.

What God enjoins is wisdom pure as gold,
He is a shield to them, who trust in him.
Add nothing to the words of God,
Lest he reprove, and thou be found a liar.

The same sentiment, which Job also expresses, that " the
fear of God is for man the only divine wisdom." — In the intro
duction of Agur, therefore, there is nothing enigmatical. Some
of his other sayings are more nearly so.

TWO WISHES WITH RESPECT TO HUMAN LIFE.

But two things only have I asked of thee,
Deny me not, so long as I shall live. *
Put far from me idolatry and lying,
Allot me neither poverty nor riches,
But give me food in just allowance,
Lest I, too full, become a liar,
And say, who is Jehovah ?
Or lest, too poor, I steal,
And take the name of God in vain.

How beautifully are the two objects here related to each
other in life ! how true and convincing the mode of present
ing them !

THE EVIL RACE.

There is a race, who curse their father,
And bring no blessings on their mother,
A race, in their own eyes forever pure,
But yet not washed from their own filth.
A race, whose eyes are carried loftily,
And eyelids lifted up with pride.
A race, whose teeth like daggers,
IS

206

And forward teeth, like knives
Devour the poor from off the land,
. The needy from among mankind.

The two last lines contain the solution of the riddle, wheth
er spoken by the poet, or added by another.

THE INSATIABLE, A RIDDLE.

Two daughters hath the Halukah,
That cry "bring hither, bring hither.**
Three things are never satisfied,
And four say not " it is enough."
The realm of death,
The womb, that never bears,
The^earth, insaturate with water,
And fire, that never saith, "enough.'*

The Halukah is the Parcae of Oriental fable, probably the
mother of the realm of death, and the abyss, which accord
ing to Prov. xxvii. 20. are never satiated.* It is here placed
as an introduction, and by way of comparison with the four
things, which like it are never satisfied. In the passage
above referred to, the eyes of men are also included.

Hell and the abyss are never full,
The eyes of men are never satisfied. •

FOUR HIDDEN THINGS.

Three things nre too mysterious for me.
And four I cannot comprehend,

The way ofan eagle in the clouds,
The way of a serpent on the rocka,
The ^ ay of a ship amid the waves,
The way of a man with a maiden.

* In several poetical passages they are placed together as personified
beings, as Prov. xv. 11. Job. xxvi. 6. xxviii. 22. Respecting the Ha.
lukah •• the fate of the Orientals. See Bochart. Hierozofcon, T. 2. p.
800.

207

The three first are very probably used only to introduce the
last. It is the manner of the Oriental enigma, thus to prepare
the way for a sentiment. But since the fourth has an ambi
guity in the translation, which does not belong to the Hebrew,
I will add here a kindred passage,* which will remove the
ambiguity.

As thou knowest not the way of the wind,
Nor how the bones are formed within the womb,
Even so thou knowest not the works of God,
Which he performeth.

The manner, in which man is formed in the womb, was to
the Orientals the most unsearchable mystery, the most insolva-
bl<; enigma, and is it not so among natural philosophers to the
present hour? To this, then, the proposition was directed
with its far-sought comparisons. It was probably another
hand, which added to these four unsearchable things still a fifth.

Such also is the way of an adulteress,
She eateth, and then wipcth hermouf.h,
And saith, " I've done no wrong."

We see here the humourous conceit of arranging together
things very different, which yet come under some one general
conception. The more diverse they are, according to the
taste of the Orientals, the more acuteness do they show, and
are, therefore, so much the better. Especially were they fond
of tracing analogies between the kingdom of nature and hu
man customs.

THINGS OPPRESSIVE AND INTOLERABLE,

Three things are ever to the earth oppressive,
And four are found intolerable to it.

The slave, when he becomes a king,
The fool, when filled with meat,
An odious woman, when she's married.
The maid, who is her mistress's heir.

•Eccles. xi. 5.

208
FOUR SMALL, BUT VERY ACTIVE THINGS.

Four things are little on the earth,
But wiser than the wisest.

The ant race are a people without strength,
Yet they prepare their meat in aummer,
The conies are a feeble race,
Yet built their houses in the rocks,
The locusts have no king to rule them,
Yet all of them go forth by bands,
The lizard ; one may seize it with his hand,
And yet it dwells in royal palaces.

The whole comparison was perhaps nWe on account of
the last, when an animal of that sort, (which in warm cli
mates live in the walls, and are very annoying,) made its ap
pearance ; for the Orientals are fond of such conceits, and
involved propositions, especially in company ; as they often
indeed assembled for the purpose of enjoying them.

THINGS STATELY IN THEIR MOTION.

Three things are stately in their going,
Yea, four, move with comeliness.

A lion, the heroic king of brutes,
That turns not before his enemy,
A cock, that proudly treads his dunghill,*
A ram, that moves before his flock,
A king, when marching with his people.

But enough on the subject of these conceits. We see
what is their aim ; to seize upon the resemblances of things,
and unite them under a moral or artificial point of view. All
nations in the early stages of their cultivation are fond of en
igmatical conceits, as children are also upon the same grounds.
Their wit and acutcness of discrimination, their powers of ob-

* The second and third I have supplied from the ancient Tensions, for
in the Hebrew text the subject of the second and predicate of the third
Are wanting.

209

taxation and invention, are exerted in this way respecting
particular objects, with the greatest facility, and the praise,
which the inventor as well as the interpreter of a good riddle
receives for it in his own circle, is to them as it were the prize
of battle, the harmless crown of victory. I could wish, that
wo possessed from the corresponding period, the sensuous age,
of more nations instead of descriptions of their spirit, the ao
tual proofs and examples of their childlike wit, of their acute-
ness exercising itself in proverbs, verbal conceits, and rid
dles; for with these we should have the peculiar current of
their minds, the indications of their peculiar spirit. For evi
ery ancient people, with whoso records I am acquainted, ex
hibit, in the discovery of such resemblances among their fa
vourite objects and ideas, their own entirely peculiar method.
We have such however from but few nations, because these
are the very things, which belong to the inner sanctuary of
each language, and are often as difficult to be understood, as
incapable of being conveyed in another language.

We come now from riddles to puns. Of these the jovial
Samson seems to have been peculiarly fond, and makes three
or more of them on a single occasion,*

With jaw-bone of an ass a mighty heap,t-

With jaw-bone of an ass I slew a thousand men,

How idle and fruitless the task for us to analyze and vindi-.
cate every jxiiiit of such a punning conceit in the mouth of a
lighthearted hero intoxicated with victory! The word thou«
sand too involves a double meaning, since the word signifies
also a troop. Who then would take pains to number the slain,
and determine, whether the punning hero had not made them
more than they were ?

When in his melancholy blindness he was about to die

• Jud. xv. 1G, t Ass and heap are the samp word in the original
IS*

210

with his enemies, he embraced the pillars of the house and
said,*

Jehovah God, look down yet once upon me.
I pray thee strengthen me this once again,
I pray thee, that I yet may bo avenged
With one revenge for my two eyes.

The bitterest emotion here gave him, what on other occa
sions was the offspring of sport and irony, a verbal conceit.

Since these are alike numerous and diverse in the poetry
of the Hebrews, and since very different judgments have
been formed on account of the name, "pun" or verbal con
ceit ; we shall follow the subject a little farther. Verbal
conceits pervade all the writings of the Hebrews. Isaiah es
pecially delighted in them, and the poets, who followed, co
pied his example in this also. For this very reason many of
their most powerful and beautiful passages are wholly untrans
latable.

I must request beforehand, however, that the term " pun"
(wortspiel) may be omitted, and that we substitute the terms,
verbal conceits, accordances of sound, paranomasia, &,c. By
the first we understand usually the low art, which the English
call the ait of punning, and of the levity of which the Hebrews
knew nothing. Their conceits have regard to names, me
morials, things, or they lie in the imperfections and structure
of the language. From all these sources they pass very natu
rally into the sphere of poetry.

1. From the earliest times every thing among the Hebrews
was dependant upon names. These involved their history,
the memorials of the remembered past, the tradition of the
patriarchal blessings. If one received his name from the cir
cumstances of his birth, or the incidents of his life, there fol
lowed necessarily what may be called, if we choose, a play of
words, but one of great importance in its relation to history.

•Jud. xvi.28.

211

We find examples of this from Adam downward. Ail the Pa
triarchs, acquired their names in this way.

2. When these names were changed, or modified from inci
dents in the life of the individuals, there arose a new play of
words, as agreeable to the ear, as it was important to the me
mory. Thus were the names of Abraham, Sarah, and Jacob
changed,* and perhaps those of Cain, of Noah and many
others. Reference is often made to this in giving an account
of their lives. Thus Isaac sported with his wife Rebecca.t
So Ephraim, by a slight change, signified either a fruitful
branch, or a savage.\

3. Especially were the blessings associated with the names
of the sons, ou whom they were pronounced. Seth, Shem,
Japheth, Judah, Gad, Ephraim, Dan,|| &,c. include their bless
ings in the signification of the words. With the name of a
Patriarch his posterity associated the blessing bestowed upon
him. When the race fell away from God, the reproving Pro
phet changed also by a slight modification their auspicious to
an ill omened name. All this was not mere play of wit, but a
means of recollection for those, to whom it applied.

4. What is true of names holds also of monuments, and of
cities. Remarkable incidents gave them their names, new
events changed them, as the case might be. JBcthel,ihe house
of God, where Jacob slept, became Beth-aven;§ the great
stone (1 Sam. vi. 18) a stone of sorrow by a slight inflection of
the name. So it was with the heap, which was to be a witness,
(Gen. xxxi. 5:4.) Laban and Jacob gave it different names
on the same grounds. How variously were the names of
cities and nations changed and applied by the Prophets, who
prophecied respecting them. Babel, Edom, Canaanites, Ken-
itcs, Ekron,Gaza, &,c.

5. The same was true in regard to occurring events, wheth
er in derison or commendation. Those, who rode on thirty

» Gen. xvii. 5. 15. xxxii. 28. t Gen. xxvi. 28. I Gen. xli. 52.
Hoa. xiii. 11. || Gen. iv. 25. ix. 26. 27. xlix. 8. 16. 19. 22. $ Amos v. 5,

212

astrt, acquired thirty cities.9 Nabal wa» a fbol> as hia name
signified. Samuel was a gift of God, by a alight transformation
of the word, because he had been asked of him in prayer.t To
all thU the language remarkably contributed, recurring as it
does to so few radical words, and these so like each other, and
by the uniform inflections of these effecting so many changes.
A very elaborate treatise, which I have cited in the notej has
carefully collected these verbal conceits of the Hebrews, ar
ranged according to the alphabet, and the principal varia
tions.

6. Brought thus into this method by names and the struc
ture of the language, and carried forward by the patriarchal
benedictions, and the honour of the race as associated with
their ancestral names, what could the j>oets do other and bet
ter, than to connect their maxims, and proverbs with this
characteristic in the genius of the people and the language,
and what they would «ay to the understanding say also to the
memory and the ear. From the earliest periods down we find
not only benedictions, but also laws and precepts preserved in
forms of expressions, in which resemblances of sound are
sought. lie that sheddeth man's blood, by man shall li'is blood
be shed. The Gods of the heathen are no-gods t senseless
idols, &c. Isaiah is the most happy in impressing such sen
tences. Leaders are stubborn, refuse to be led, the law is
light; the confiding are abiding. The mourners have beauty
for ashes. .Among the people, instead of righteousness, isww-
righteousness, instead of justice, injustice, &c. plain and stri
king antitheses, which impress the sentiment of the Prophet
deeply upon the mind. A part of the Proverbs of Solomon
have the like correspondencies of sound, which as it were
give point and completeness to the sense.

7. Especially in the use of symbols, which the Prophets see
or show to the people, or of words, which they take as it were

*Judg. x. 4. 1 1 Sam. i. 27. 28.

t Christ. Bened. Michxlis diss. de paronomasia sacra. See also Ver-
achuir de paronomasia in the collection of his dissertations.

213

out of their mouths, and point against themselves, we find
the most artless and apt paranomasia, though for the most part
incapable of translation. So is it with the language of Jere
miah, 1L 20 — 23, and other places. Luther, the great master
of tiae German Siaugmage, bas sooaeUroes Tery happily imita
ted expressions of this sort, and it were to be wished, that
where they effect the sense they might be generally preserved
in the translation.

From what has been said it seems to me clear, that the He
brew puranomasia is not so ridiculous a matter, as we are
apt to infer from the place and character of such things in
modern languages. That language was of a wholly different
construction, and these verbal conceits had an entirely differ
ent aim. The Hebrews had no rhyme, but were fond of as
sonances and alliterations, to which the parallelism naturally
led them. Which then is more intellectual and intelligible,
the use of rhyme, which is an artifice merely for the ear, or
the varied resemblance of sound to sense, where the word, as
Pope expresses it, becomes an echo to the sense. How fine
is the effect, when even in our rhymes or in Proverbs, anti
theses, metaphors, images, the resemblances or diversity of
the thoughts finds itself expressed also in an unsought but
corresponding word. Even in philosophy happy expressions
of the sort produce their effect, and carry home to the mind
with the additional force of the word the observed distinction
or resemblance in things. In the suggestions of wit and
acuteness they are still more in place, and so long as a nation
is still sensuous in the character of its mind, so long as they
carry their language with them, as belonging to the mouth
and the ear, and not in written characters for the eye, sounds
of this kind, as voices speaking to the memory, are no less
pleasing to them, than indispensable. Hence among all na
tions, who have no books or but few, the same fondness for
assonance and verbal conceit. Hence among them especial
ly that emphatic and legitimate brevity, that rapid and mem-

214

orable expressiveness, which the tracer of letters can never
attain. Foolish and ridiculous, as it would be to imitate the
taste of the Hebrew language in our own, which is of a dif
ferent construction, and stands upon a different grade of culti
vation, it is not less so to judge that people by ourselves, and
not to make allowance in these respects for the early age,
in which they lived, the simplicity of their language, and the
correspondence between their outward sense and the inward
character of their minds. Children delight in making paro
nomasia, and, if they have meaning, in hearing them too.
They show, that he, who makes them, thinks in and by means
of the language. Poetical nations never think otherwise, so
that I might here by a paronomasia apply the address of Mo
ses, (which is itself one also)

A voice of those that answer do I hear,
They shout not victory one to another,
They shout not overthrow one to another,
The voice of those that sing I hear.*

Among the Hebrews history and poetry rest in a great mea
sure on paronomasia, as on the originals of the language, and
only by a taste for these can our ear come to an intimate ac
quaintance with the spirit of the language.

And this acquaintance is the more necessary, since their
writers delight in copying arid improving upon each other in
whole phrases, which they unfold and amplify, each in his
own peculiar style. This, too, if any choose to call it so, is
a playing upon words, yet such as even the refined Greeks
did not dislike. It was a favourite practice with them to ex
press their own thoughts in the words of Homer and other
distinguished ancient writers ; and who would not be gratified
by it ? Both the speaker and hearer are gratified, the former
with the successful exercise of his invention, the latter with
finding a new friend in an old and favourite costume, a new

» Ex. xxxii. 18.

215

thought in a known and approved form of expression. So
the Prophets employ the figurative language of the Patriarchal
benedictions and the Psalms. So the modern Hebrews em
ploy the words of all the more ancient writers in a new sense,
but in the same beautiful forms of expression. Their poetical
language, in employing the expression of the Bible, may be
said, perhaps, in some sense, to be nothing but a play upon
words ; but how refined ! how interesting for one, who has a
taste for the simplicity of ancient times, which in this way
reappear, as it were, dressed in a finer costume. I could wish,
that more of their poetry were known in our language, than
has hitherto been, and my opinion concerning it would be sus
tained. — But enough on these topics ; I return to the writings
of the age of Samson.

That period, in regard to the condition of the people, was
any thing but a happy one. Frequent collision with the
neighbouring nations disquieted the land, and at length an
atrocious crime led to a civil war and the almost entire extir
pation of one of the tribes. Famine often bore heavily upon
the country, and an occasion of this sort has given us the
beautifully told family history of Ruth. In the time of Eli the
decline of the nation, which was without any efficient head,
was at its lowest pitch. The sanctuary itself, the ark of the
covenant was captured by their enemies, and the family of the
High Priest came to a miserable end. — Even then, however,
the voice of poetry was not wholly silenced ; but assumed rath
er a new tone. Heroic songs were no longer heard, but the
voice of the Prophetic muse] returned. Jehovah 'fulfilled his
word, and gave to the oppressed people a[leader with a portion
at least of the spirit of Moses. The calling of Samuel in the
temple, as well as his history, is related with a quiet simplicity,
and his mother's song of thanksgiving, brings before us anoth
er Deborah, though in a peaceful and domestic character.

216

MX Heart rejoiceth in Jehovah,
Through Jehovah is my horn of joy exalted.
My mouth is opened wide in songs of triumph,
For I exult in thy salvation.

There's none that's holy like Jehovah!
No God but thee ! no guardian like our God !

Why boast ye so of your high places ?*
Away with arrogance from out your mouths.
Jehovah knoweth and will weigh your deeds.

The bows of the mighty are brokcn.t
And they,, that wavered, are girded with strength,
Those, that were full, are begging for bread,
Those, that were hungry, are now at rest,
She, that was barren, hath sevenfold fruit,
She, that had many sons, is now bereft of help.

Jehovah killeth, and he maksth alive,
He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up«
Jehovah maketh poor and nmketh rich,
He bringeth low and lifteth up again.

He raiseth up the lowly from the dust,
And lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill,
That he may seat them with the princes,
And make them heirs to princely thrones.t

For the fountains of the earth are Jehovah's,
The world hath he established thereon.
The footsteps of the faithful hath he assured,
But the wicked are dumb in obscurity,
For not by strength do heroes triumph.

Jehovah's advsrsaries shall be dashed in pieces,
When he from heaven shall thunder on them,
Jehovah shall judge the whole of his land,

* They strengthened themselves in these, and became self-confidem.
Asaph in Ps. Ixxv. 6. has imitated, and beautifully varied this expression,
as well as the whole song.

f A new period of tranquillity is beginning, in which eren the feeble
and the poor shall enjoy happiness. This she illustrates from her own
history.

t Aa Samuel, when he was judge of the nation. Tho following line*
ar« rery applicable to him, and the family of Eli, though I would not re.
strict their more general sense.

217

Shall give hi* king h«roick strength,
And far exalt the power of his anointed.

Whether Hannah uttered this song, or is merely represent*
ed as uttering it, it is enough, that it anticipates and predicts
different times from what were then experienced. The stormy
of war were passed away. The insolence of individuals, ex
alted in power and privilege, was at an end ; and God had
given to others the song of triumph. Freed at length from
the shame of barrenness, she sees her son rising from his low
condition to take his seat with princes, as one of the nobles of
the land, as a judge of the people. The family of Eli sinks
into obscurity while he rises to distinction. By him Jehovah
judges the whole country, even to its borders, and through his
means, too, anoints over Israel a brave and fortunate king.
Such is the tone of this song, and it became the model for
many Psalms, resembling it both in style and matter ; for it
was a prediction of what was always the favourite topic of the
nation, a new and happier era.

This happier era Samuel1 established at least prospective]/.
He was the first Prophet after Moses, who exerted an influ
ence on the political organization of the state. God called
him not by a vision, but by a distinct voice, in which he sig
nified to him the downfall of the vicious and indolent family
of priests, which had hitherto ruled. His answers were al
ways distinct and determinate, and hence he was denomina
ted a Seer, instead of a Prophet. The expression continued
in use for a considerable period, and even David retained his
Seers, until Prophets again appeared.

It is undeniable, that Samuel employed the first tranquil
period in the organization of the state, as far as he was able,
for commencing also the intellectual cultivation of his people.
He established the schools of the Prophets;* and though we

* The word used, 2 Sam. *ii. 8. means a shepherd's cottage or fold,
but the Prophets we know lived in the most simple manner.
19

218

beed not adopt the extravagant conceptions sometimes formed
of them, yet their organization by Samuel was marked with
wisdom. He sought to bring the arts of cultivation, which
then consisted of musick and poetry, from the exclusive pos
session of a single tribe into general use. " The hill of God"*
resounded with the songs of the Prophets, i. e. the pupils of a
free system of national instruction and wisdom. They dwelt
in simple cottages, which have been very incorrectly transla
ted schools, and conveyed the notion of something corres
ponding to our own schools of learning. They were simply
assemblages of young men, or those of maturer age, practising
themselves under the direction of Samuel, who was the judge
and father of the state, in what then pertained to national cul
tivation, not therefore, in ravings concerning futurity, nor in
barren litanies connected with the service of the temple.
When they met Saul, by the sentiment and lofty style of their
•ongs they inspired him with the first feelings worthy the heart
of a king,t and these alas ! continued only till his regal power
was established. In their songs, which probably sung of his
own regal dignity, the humble herdsman first felt himself in*
spired with more elevated thoughts, and more daring resolu
tion ; and even in later times, when in pursuit of David, ho
forgot even his mortal foe, seated himself among them naked,
i. e. in the simple dress of a Prophet divested of his regal or
naments, and touched the strings of his own forgotten harp. —
Would that some specimens, at least, remained to us from
these hills of God, these airy elevations, vocal with national
•Qngs, and the poetry of nature ! But they are lost in oblivi
on. The association of foetry with the residence, the court,

* 1 Sara, x. 5.

tThe passage has been rendered ridiculous by being misinterpreted.
It was not by the sound of their instruments, that they gate Saul the
heart of a king, but by the sentiment of their songs accompanied with
th« sound.

219

and the temple of David soon rendered these hills silent and
desolate, brought every thing within a narrow compass, and
those ancient songs of war and victory, those fables, and un-
confined songs of the Prophets of Samuel — were lost forever.
Yet ihe germ, and the earliest flowers of the poetry of David
belong also to these times. The pastures of his flocks were
rocal with the songs of his youthful Muse, and by these he
gained access to the king and to the friendship of Jonathan.
But this period in the history of David is characterised more
by the friendship between him and Jonathan, than by all his
poetical effusions, David appears before Jonathan a youth,
and after a deed of daring enterprise, which the latter could
not himself accomplish. Yet, instead of envying, he conceives
for him a sentiment of affection. " His soul was knit with
tho soul of David, and he loved him as his own soul."* He
justified him, also, to his father, (even by representations not
entirely true, and which might have fallen upon his own head).
Ho set honour and life at stake ; disregarding the impression
made, that he gave up the throne from want of enterprise, and
even the derogatory epithets bestowed upon him by his father j
for he was indeed a true and genuine hero. I seem even now
to see them, as before the fuce of heaven, with kisses and
tears, they confirm by an oath thoir perpetual covenant, t and
Jonathan, as, after a long absence, he comes to his friend in
the desert, encourages him, and says,| " fear not David, the
hand of my father shall not find thee. Thou shalt.be king
over Israel and I shall be next unto thee." What heroick
friendship was this ! He offered up the throne to him, that
a« a friend he might continue nearest (his person. Only an
age of poetry, and souls like Jonathan's, but rarely found, are
capable of such a covenant of love and fidelity. When Jona
than died and left the throne to his friend, what could that
friend give him for all the kindness, which he had shown him,

• 1 Sam. xviii. 1. 1 1 Sam. «. 41. II Sam. xxiii. 16, .

220

bat an elegy upon his tomb ? an elegy , in which, however,
beautiful as it is, the memory of Saul and that of Jonathan
live united, as if both had equal claims ufkm his heart. 1
know, indeed, it was written for the people,* but for myself
I could have wished, that it might be written for David and
for Jonathan alone, not for Saul and the people. And his
son Mophibosheth — what apology can be found for David,
that he so readily sacrificed this son of the friend of his youth
to a false accusation, and, when it was proved to be false, in
stead of restoring him threefold, merely divided what had been
taken from him between him and his base accuser?! And
how lamentable, too, that he must give up the sons of Saul,
who yet were all of them brothers of Jonathan, in compliance
with the cruel request of a city, to a death so shameful !J
Here is the beautiful elegy of David on Saul and Jonathan,
To me the heart of Jonathan remains sacred, and may his
name forever adorn the altar of friendship.

DAVID'S LAMENTATION

FOR JONATHAN, II 18 FRIEND.

Beautiful Roe, thou pride and glory of Israel !
Thus then art thou wounded upon thy high places !
CIIORUS. Fallen, fallen ore the heroes!
How are the heroes fallen ?

Tell ye it not in Guth,
Publish it not in the streets of Askelon,
Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised leap for joy.

Ye mountains of Gilboa, on you henceforth
Let no more rain nor dew descend forever.
No more on you, ye mountains blighted with a curse,
For there the shield of heroes was struck down,

• 2 Sam. i. 17. 18. t 2 Sam. xvi. 4. xu. 29.

' t 2 Sam. xxi. 8 — 10. where the beautiful account of Rizpah, the moth.
«r of two of the sons of Saul, is related, Every one it reminded by it
erf the Antigone of Sophocles.

221

The shield of Saul, as of one unconsecrnted with oil.

From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the strong.
The bow of Jonathan never turned backward,
The sword of Saul returned not empty. (It reached the blood of

the slain.)

Saul and Jonathan, dear to each other in life,
They went undivided in love to the realm of shades.
Swifter than eagles, bolder were they than lions.

Daughters of Israel, weep ye for Saul,
No more will he clothe you in garments of purple,
Nor deck your apparel with ornaments of gold.
CHORUS. Ah .' how are the heroes fallsn in the midst of battle,
Jonathan, thou lovely Roe, slain on thy high place*.
I am afflicted for thee, my brother Jonathan,
Lovely wast thou to me, exceeding lovely,
Yea, my love for thee surpassed the love of women.
CHORUS. Ah ! how are the heroes fallen.

And their weapons of war perished.

NOTE. I have omitted a more literal version of the lamentation of
David inserted by the German Editor. The sense as given by him,
where it differs from the above agrees with the version of the English
Bible. That version, is indeed, very true to the original, and not the lest
pootical on that account. TR.

19*

IX.

History of David as the author of the Psalms. How this kind of poetry
came into use by his means. In what relation it stood to the more
ancient poetry. Perversion of the Psalms in the common use made of
thorn. The proper and natural view to be taken of them. Rules for
using them aright. How far the common division of the Psalms into
higher, midrib, and lower is to be regarded. Division of them accord,
ing to their lyrical character. Psalms expressive of a single senti.
ment or picture. Examples. Psalms comprehending several con.
trusted sentenced and members. Examples. Psulms expressive of
emotion, and didactick Psalms. Examples. Services of a German
poet in transferring the poetical tone of the Psulms into our language.

In the time of David the Lyric poetry of the Hebrews at
tained its highest splendour. The scattered wild flowers of
the country were now gathered and planted, as a royal garland,
upon Mount Zion. From his youth upward the mind of Da
vid had been attuned to musick and poetry. lie had spent
the happiest years of youth, as a tender of flocks, and amidst
their rural haunts. There he had gathered those flowers of
pastoral poetry, which often adorn, also, his heroick Psalms,
and even those expressive of sadness and affliction. By mu-
sick, with which was then combined not only poetry, but
whatever of cultivation belonged to the age, he had first found
access to the person of the king. This circumstance, un
doubtedly, contributed to make him cultivate and strengthen
still more the powers of his Muse. Soon after, as if the same
art was to be for him the occasion both of good and evil for
tune, in consequence of the triumphal song of the women,
who went out to meet him, lie was regarded as the rival ol
Saul, and in several instances scarcely escaped, with his harp

223

in his hand, the javelin of the king. Hte betook himself to
flight, and for years either alone or with a few companions,
wandered about the deserts of Judaea, and was like a bird
upon the mountains. Here his harp became his comforter
and friend. To it he uttered the complaints, which he could
confide to none else. It calmed his fears, made him forget
his misery, as once it had subdued the evil spirit in Saul, and
made him forget his envy and vexation. From it he now
drew forth tones, which were an echo to his feelings in
sorrow and in joy, and the most tender and impassioned among
them were prayers ; prayers by which his courage was excited,
his hope confirmed, until in the providence of God he tri
umphed over all. Now his harp became in his royal hands
consecrated as a thankoffering to the publick. Not merely
that he himself, as he had often promised, made publick the
prayers relating to his own distress and deliverance ; he or
ganized and devoted, in a far greater measure than had be
fore been done, musick and poetry for celebrating the service
of God, and promoting the magnificence of the temple. Four
thousand Levites, distinguished by a peculiar dress, were ar»
ranged in classes and choirs under master-singers, of whom
the three most distinguished, Asaph, Ileman and Jeduthun
arc known to us by specimens of their art. The children of
Korah, probably, belonged to the middle class. David em
ployed himself even as king to increase the treasures of this
temple musick. Dangers and triumphs, especially the very
groat danger and affliction experienced from the rebellion of
Absalom, awakened again the slumbering tones of his youth
ful harp, to sing of royal cares and troubles. Every impor
tant measure which he adopted, especially the consecration of
Mount Zion, was brought into general notice, and placed in
a clear light by his own poetical effusions, and those of the
poets employed under his patronage. In his Psalms his whole
kingdom still lives. These were sung at the publick festivals.
Dazzled with the magnificence of the king mid the royal city4

224

the people sung them with enthusiasm. They were treasur
ed up and preserved as royal Psalms ; every thing, which
could be, was included and arranged as such ; and these were
imitated as far as possible by other writers. The poets 'pat
ronized by David, followed the splendid example of their king,
not by devoting themselves to song merely, but by doing so in
the same spirit and style, which he had adopted ; and why
ehould not the succeeding ages, in which David was become
a sacred name, the father of the whole race of kings, and as
sociated with the future hopes of the nation — why should
they not follow so glorious a model 1 Even the Prophets im
itated him, because David was the favourite name among the
people, because his Psalms were the song book of the nation,
wherever it took part in Divine worship, in musick and poet
ry. In this way was formed the collection, which we have
under the name of David's Psalms. Not all are his or of his
age. Only an individual song of Moses, however, is from
more ancient times, and later writers obviously followed him
as their model, even when they did not ascribe their songs to
himself. The superscription ascribing them to David, where
it stands without farther limitation, seems to be as indefinite
in its import, as the ascription to Solomon of whatever pro
verbs and delicious songs belong in any sense to his age, or
correspond with his character. In short, .this greatest and
most renowned king of Israel succeeded in uniting the garland
of lyrick poetry with the triumphal and regal crown, and
among the Hebrews a beautiful song is synonymous with a
song of David.

It is, therefore, undeniable that David greatly refined and
beautified the lyric poetry of the Hebrews. Instructive ex
hibitions of the attributes of God, of human nature, of indi
vidual virtues and vices, of the happiness of the upright, and
the misery of the wicked, commenced with the Psalms, for in
the law of Moses and in the wild and uncultivated period of
the Judges they had scarcely found a place. The warliko

225

trumpet wa* softened to a milder tone by the song of the
shepherd's flute, and the more toucltfng harp of the mourner;
for harsh as the sentiments are, which still occur in some of
the warlike Psalms, yet the general tendency is undeniably to
a style and character of greater gentleness and refinement.
The pomp of royalty, and the imposing arrangements of a civil
government, were to be celebrated, and these softened and
controlled the sacred fury of the ancient Muse. The history
of other nations also teaches us that, in order to a splendid na
tional poetry it requires the splendours of a king, whose reign
at once furnishes by its deeds rich material for song, and se
cures the order and tranquillity necessary for using the trea
sures thus provided. The rei£u of David formed this period
of the classick poetry of the Hebrews, which furnished models
for Solomon and the Prophets.

In the mean time i: must be acknowledged, that while
these advantages were gained, the rude strength, the anima
ted movement, and the lofty sound, of the ancient poetry waa
in some measure lost. We seek in vain in the Psalms for songs
like those of Moses and Deborah, figurative language like that
of Job, Balaam and Jotham. Uniformity obviously prevails in
them, because everything was made to revolve around Mount
Zion, and confined to the sphere marked out by the models,
which David had furnished, and by his style of thought.
That hill of the Prophets, full of the free-breathing poetry of
nature, was now silent and desolate. The Seers of David
were no poets, the regularly commissioned Asaph prophesied
only upon his harp, and it was not till centuries had passed
away, that the poetry of the Prophets revived. Thus every
thing in this world has its course, and every human regulation
its different sides of good and evil. What poetry gained in
religious, political, and lyric cultivation, it lost perhaps in
natural vigour and freshness.

No book of Scripture, except the Song of Solomon, has
suffered so many misinterpretations and perversions from its

226

original sense, as the book of Psalms. As David in his own
age gave his own feeling and sentiments general currency,
and rendered his own style the predominant one in the songs
of the temple ; so the book was destined to become the book of
devotional song for every age, for all nations, and all hearts,
though they had no connexion either with the spirit or the
deeds of David. What else could result from this, but a
great extension of the sense of the author, and an application
of his language to objects and feelings very different from
those, which it originally designated? Every commentator,
every versifier found here his own age, the wants of his own
soul, his own domestic and family relations, and on this
ground adapted it to the singing and reading of his own
church. In that all the Psalms of David were sung, as if
every member of the church had wandered upon the moun
tains of Judah, and been persecuted by Saul. They sung
with zeal against Doeg and Ahitophel, imprecated curses upon
the Edomites and the Moabites, and where they could do no
more they put the imprecations in the mouth of Him, who
never returned railing for railing, nor threatening for injustice.
Let one read the most individualized, the most characteristic
ally beautiful songs of David, of Asaph and of Korah, in
many versifications of them, then turn back to the original
situations and sources of the feelings which they depict, and
will he find them always retaining even a shadow of their
ancient form ?

In order to attain a clear view of the Psalms, as lyric po
ems of the age of David, the following particulars are indis
pensable.

1. That we forget all modern imitations, and commenta
tors, even though most highly prized, and the best for their
own times. They read them in accordance with the purposo,
at which they aimed, each for his own age, and with an ap
plication to this of the language, the consolations, and in
structions of the book. Our aim is to see it in its circumstan-

227

ccs of times and place, and in these the heart, and under*
standing of David, and the poets associated with him.

2. In accordance with this aim the first inquiry should be
for the objects and situations, in reference to which these
songs were severally composed. These are given at the head
of many of the Psalms; in others they are determined by the
contents, and in others still it must be left undetermined.
Two things here, however, must be guarded against, in the
first place, that we do not insist upon finding a Psalm for eve
ry trifling event in the life of David, nor invent for every figu
rative, expression in the Psalms a corresponding situation in
his life. The first has been done in relation to David, just
as in relation to other lyric poets. A locality is sought for
eyery thing, and a memorial for every event. In pursuit of
the second, to find a situation, to which every word refers,
strange things have been imagined, of which the interpreter
indeed might know something, but of which the poet certain
ly knew nothing.

3. We must study the peculiar language of David and his
contemporaries, by comparing the different Psalms with each
other, and with the history of the age. That the royal poet
had his favourite expressions, needs no proof j and they may
all be explained from the situations in which he was placed.
"The Lord is my shield, he is on my right hand, he setteth
me in a wide place, he leadeth me to high places," &c., are of
this kind, and a series of others, which in part with some
modification of sense were for centuries current in the church.
A collection of poetical idioms for all these songs would be a
useful book, and indeed we are in need of a similar collec
tion for all the principal writers of the Old Testament.

4. We should regard the feelings that prevail in the Psalms
neither as an enemy, nor yet as blind defenders of them.
They exhibit the characteristic traits of individual men, and
as such should be explained, without being dressed up as a
model of holy feelings for all men. David had his peculiar

228

feelings and cares, both as an exiled wanderer, and as a king.
• We are neither of these, and need therefore neither impre
cate curses upon enemies, whom we have not, nor magnify
ourselves as their conquerors; but we must learn at the same
time to understand and appreciate these feelings. The Scrip
ture itself gives 'us a rich commentary on the subject, for it
does not disguise the character of David, even in regard to
his failings. The man who sinned against Uriah and Bath* »
shcba, may also be too hasty in his language. He was rash,
oppressed and a warrior. He spake often not in his own
name, but in the name of his people, as a father of his coun
try. But always, and in all circumstances, he was a man.
His songs illustrate his history, and his history aids the inter
pretation of his songs; but he, that aims to see every where
in them the superhuman and unearthly, will at last see nothing
distinctly.

5. Again, in studying these as specimens of art, we must
take no examples from other nations and languages, as models,
by which to judge of them ; for the composition of such effu
sions must be judged with reference to the peculiar nature of
the feelings, sentiments and language, out of which they have
grown. To what does it amount, indeed, when we say, that
this or that Psalm is Pindaric I merely that it contains bold
transitions, lofty sentiments, and historical allusions ? and
must not the same necessarily be found in all laudatory odes ?
Yet, in regard to the art of composition, David has nothing
more than this in common with Pindar. The language of
Pindar's lyrick poetry, his periods, and metrical arrangement,
the mode of treating his subjects, derived from mythology and
ancient history, ••ul the nature of his subjects themselves,
hardly admit of a comparison, and we are sure to draw false
conclusions, when we suffer ourselves to be blinded by the
word chorus. A Hebrew is by no means the same thing with
a Grecian chorus.
6. Still less should the style of Da?id be judged by the rulet „

229 \

of lyrick poetry formed in our own age, and not applicable
even to all the odes of Horace, though from these they are
professedly abstracted. The critick, who formed them, had
for the most part, too narrow views, was not extensively ao
quainted with the lyrical treasures of different languages, con
fined himself to a few favourite specimens, and by these framed
his general rules. How then can they be expected to apply
to an entirely different age? to situations and 'languages far
more simple ? Where the rules are true, they occasion no
constraint, but flow spontaneously from the nature of the emo
tions, and the impression upon the heart of the object which
the poet represents. The characteristic traits of the poet, of
the situation, and the language, unite their influence in the
result produced. The rules, therefore, always require actual
experience of their truth, and yet admit of this test but par
tially. In short, where they are true, who would not rather,
in reading a poetical effusion, feel and unfold them himself,
by his own original experience, than borrow them from foreign
models and arts of poetry, and thus violate the primitive sim
plicity of ancient song, by the artificial subtleties of modern
invention. Whoever is not qualified to feel the beauty of mu
sical and harmonious poetry, unaided and of himself, will nev
er learn to feel it by force of artificial rules.

7. We must unfold and experience in ourselves the original
nature and beauty of the Hebrew lyrick poetry. The teach
er should lead the scholar to observe — what is its particular
^objects represented — what is the interest attached to it — in
what manner it is presented — what feeling prevails in the
piece — what style and movement it holds — into what train of
t sentiment it expands itself — how it begins, proceeds and ends.
The more simply and impressively this is pointed out to the
youthful reader, without the technicalities of art, and with
out enthusiastick warmth of commendation, the more will the
poetry find its way to his heart What is beautiful in it he
will love without noisy commendation ; original strains of inv
20

230

*•

passioned feeling will of themselves make their impression
upon him, and, if he has a spark of lyrick feeling in hia^bosom,
Jehovah will give him inspiration. In Hebrew lyrick poetry,
simplicity, in this development of it, is especially necessary,
since of all poetry it was least constructed by rule, and as a
work of art, and was rather poured forth spontaneously, as
genuine feeling wells up from a heart filled with lively emotions.
Would that we had an edition of the Psalms, in which David
was treated merely as Horace is I in which, without casuistick
subtleties, the poet should be shown as a poet, his beauty not
indeed, cried into our ears, but at the same time not defaced
by the patchwork of languages and versification foreign to its
nature. In higher criticism upon the poetry of the Hebrews
we are still but children, We either stifle ourselves with va
rious readings, or embellish the simplicity of the original with
the modish attire of modern languages.

I will now go through the Book of Psalms, in order to mark
some of the chief varieties of their lyrical style. To do it ful
ly would not accord with my present plan, and no one will
expect me in a few brief sketches, to exhaust the variety to be
found in this collection of one hundred and fifty songs.

It is customary to divide the Psalms into the elevated, the
middle, and those of a lower tone, and this is very well, if the
division taught any thing definite. Any matter of any cou-
siderable extent can be divided in tkis way ; but the question,
always remains to be settled, where each particular piece be
longs. Now, let one arrange them, as he will, with reference
to this division, and he will be at a loss in many cases, where
to place them. The nuccessive steps of lyrical elevation are
so numerous, and the tones so near together, or rather so flow
into each other, that it would be difficult to apply such a prin
ciple of arrangement to the whole number of Psalms, and after

231

all of what use is the whole system. Let us, then, endeavour
to attain the -object in a different way.

1. Some Psalms are short. They unfold only a single im
age in a simple and uniform tone of feeling, and terminate
with a beautiful completeness in the expression. I might call,
them odes, expressive of a single thought, fttiij, if the last word
did not imply something foreign. Of this sort is the beautiful
133d Psalm, which breathes a fragrance delicate as a rose.

BROTHERLY UNION.

Behold, how lovely and how pleasant,
When brothers dwell in peace together!
Thus breathed its fragrance round
The precious ointment on the head,
That ran adown the beard of Aaron,
And reached the border of his garment.
So descends the dew of Hermon,
Refreshing Zion's mountains,*
For there Jehovah gave command,
That blessings dwell forevermore.

• The union of brothers, of tribes, and families is here com
pared with objects of highest sacredness and beauty, and
which diffuse an animating fragrance. So the good name of
families dwelling in unison is diffused, and gives them dignity
and honour. So the dew of Hermon descends to water the
parched mountains of Zion, and make them productive of bles
sings. — As a national song for their festivals, it has a perfect
and beautiful close. From the flowing ointment he comes to the

* The conception here is not f owing down, which could not be from
Hermon upon Zion but fulling, as dew or rain. From the woody Liba-
nus and Hermon, and from the sea, ascended the vapours, which came
down upon the parched mountains of Judtea. It seems to have been a
requisite in the songs sung at national festivals, that Jerusalem or Zion
should be mentioned. Hence tho figure here. There seems to be no
necessity for altering the text,

232 ,r

descending dew, and from this to the invocation of blessings
upon Zion — the true compass of an ode. Aaron's name itself
presents a fine example of a peaceful brother, whom his own
brother anointed with the blessing of God and the glory of
Israel.

A SHEPHERD'S SONG.

THK 230 F9ALM.

Jehovah is my shepherd,

I shall not want. ,

He maketh me lie down

Upon the green pastures,

He loadeth me

Beside the still waters,

Restoring my life.

He leadeth me in a straight path,
Still faithful to his name. ,

And though I walk
Through death's dark valley,
I fear no evil,

For thou art with me,

Thy trusty shepherd's staff

Is comfort and support.

Here, spread before my eyes,

Thou hast prepared my table,

In presence of my foes, ./

My head thou dost anoint,

My cup is running over.

Yea, goodness and mercy follow ma
Through all the days of my life.
I shall return to the house of God,

4s long as I live.

From the close it is plain, that this beautiful Psalm was
composed in exile. The commencement is a quiet pastoral,
but his feelings lead him to drop the image of his sheep, and
a table, a royal feast, is spread before the eyes of his oppres
sors. This joyful hope rises to a full conviction, that success;
will attend him, as long as he lives. The sudden transition;

233

from one image to another, is in the spirit of the Oriental ode.
Yet but one feeling pervades the whole.

Those who would examine more specimens of this sort may
read the 15th, 20th, 61st, G7th, 87th, 101st, 150th, and o^ier
Psalms. I could wish that I were able to translate all these,
so much am I delighted by their simple beauty.

2. So soon as a lyrical effusion, either from the comprehen
siveness of its subject, or the fuller expression of emotion, be
comes extended, it requires variety, contrasts, a manifoldness
of parts, which in the former kind we perceive only in the
bud, in a trifling variation of the image. Here, according to
the Oriental style, a great effect 'is produced by change of
person, questions and answers, sudden appeals to inanimate
or absent objects, and, if in the form thus enlarged a sort of
lyrical representation and action can be introduced, the ode
attains its highest perfection. It has, in this way, a begin
ning, middle and end, the last returning again to the first, and
the whole forming thus, a lyrical garland. This is what the
critics call the beautiful irregularity, the ambitus, of the Ode,
thejlig/tt, in which it strays, but is never lost. The whole
presents itself before us, a picture full of living action. No
word can be taken away, no strophe change its place. The
beginning and the end are necessary to the middle, and the
middle remains impressed upon the memory. Perfect odes of
this sort, are few in number in all languages, because there
are few subjects, that admit of being treated in this way, but
where they are found they should be kept in perpetual remem
brance. To the class of songs composed of several members
I reckon among the Psalms, the 8th, 20th, 21st, 48th, 50th,
70th, 90th— 99th, lllth— 113th, 120th— 129th. Among the
perfect specimens, which have not only variety and contrast,
but a progressive lyrick action, I venture to name the 2d,
24th, 45th— 47th, 80th, 110th, 114th and 127th Psalms.
Some include here, also, the 29th and GStli, because, in the
voice of God in the former, and the carrying of the ark in the
20*

. 234

latter, they suppose a local progress of the representation ; but
for this I see no ground. The principle of progression must
be inward, from the one living fountain of excited emotion,
and cannot come from outward geographical relations. But
few of all these can be introduced here, and the choice is dif
ficult.

THE ENTRANCE OF GOD UPON MOUNT ZION.

THE 24TII PSALM.

ALL Jehovah's is the earth and its fulness.

The world and they that dwell therein,
For he hath founded it upon the seas,
He hath established it upon the floods.

1. Who shall ascend the mountain of Jehovah?
Who dare to stand in hie most holy place ?

2. He that hath clean hands, and pure heart,
That hatli not bound his soul with perfidy,
Nor ever sworn deceitfully.

He shall receive a blessing from Jehovah,
The approbation of his guardian God.*
1. This is the people, that seek after him,

That aeek thy face, O God of Jacob.
OHORCS. Lift up your heads, O ye gates,

And be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, ^

For the king of glory will come in.

1. Who is the king of glory ?
Jehovah strong and mighty,

2. Jehovah mighty in battle.

CHORUS. Lift up your heads, O ye pates, „

And be yc lifted up, ye everlasting doors,
For the king of glory will come in.
1. Who is the king of glory ?
CHORUS. Jehovah, God of Gods ! he is the king of glory.

* Political crimes were very properly named here, since he must b«
free from these, who would approach his national God. The blessing,
which he was to receive, is in like manner of a civil nature. The word
means properly justification, i. e. in a civil or political sense, and be.
cause this involved the keeping of the law of God, and was enjoyed by
such as had access to him, it became in the Psalms synonymous with
happiness, grace.

235

The change of voices in this Psalm is obvious to every ear,
and it is equally plain that there is a progressive transition of
thought, in its economy full of life and action. It commences
magnificently with the sentiment, " the earth is Jehovah's."
He is to dwell here upon the hill of Z ion, and the whole
earth will be spread out before him. The transition from the
sentiment in the beginning to this little mount.iin is very
beautiful. It becomes a holy mountain, because Jehovah
dwells upon it, and that both in a moral and a civil sense; for
us nothing impure in sacrifices could be brought before God,
so no impure worshipper could appear before him. It seems
appropriate too, that only such vices are mentioned here, as
are injurious to the general welfare ; for Jehovah dwelt here
as their national God, as the founder and protector of the
Je\\;i#h State.* The remainder of the Psalm is full of action.
A multitude presents itself, knocking at the gates, and eager
to behold the face of the monarch ; and lo ! it is Jehovah
himself, the ark of the covenant, over which dwelt their an
cient God, the- leader of their armies. lie, who in ancient
times had gained so many victories, a glorious king, renowned
in war, and shown to be mighty in power, was proclaimed by
the answering chorus, and as such he was to dwell by the resi
dence of the heroic king, upon mount Zion, his recent con
quest. The ancient doors of his tabernacle must therefore
raise their heads, that such a monarch might come in ! How
picturesque and striking the representation ! God entered in
to a small tent, and would have no temple built for him by
David, so that its ancient narrow doors have no magnificence,
but what is derived from him, who enters within them. In
order to give roundness and dignity to the piece the particular
incidents attending the processsion, and historically described

•This portion of the Pdiiilin, as its connexion with the remainder was
only casual, and they could not always be sung together, became a nation,
jal song by itself, (Ps, xv.) as it well deserved to be«

236

in the 68th Psalm, are here passed over. By comparing them
any one may understand the difference between two songs,
the one of which is a picture full of living action, and the
other history lyrically narrated. Let us now take up a Psalm
of the same sort, but breathing a milder spirit ; the most
beautiful epithalamium of so early times,

THE ROYAL BRIDE.

A BONO OK 1,0V*,*

My heart ia uttering words of gratulation,
My work is consecrated to the king.
My tongue ia like a ready writer's pen.

Lo, tbou art fairer than the sons of men,
And grace is poured upon thy lips,
Therefore, God hutli blessed thee forever.

Gird on thy sword upon thy thigh, •

Most Mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty,
And in thy majesty go forth victorious,
Because of truth and the oppressed'a right*

And fearful deeds shall thy right hand perform,
The arrows of thy quiver — (even now
I see the nations falling at thy feet)—
They pierce, O king, the hearts of thine enemies.

Thy throne, I«ord, is forever and ever,
The sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.
Thou lovest righteousness, and hates iniquity,
Therefore hath God, thy God, anointed thee
With oil of joy above thy brethren.
Thy garments are all fragrant
With myrrh and aloes, and cassia.
From Armenia's ivory palaces,
Kings' daughters muke thee joyful
Jn thy magnificence.

But at thy side,

Thy queen is standing, clothed in gold of Ophir,
Hearken, O daughter, look, incline thine ear,
Forget thy people, and thy father's house,

*Pa.xlv.

237

So shall the king desire thy beauty,
For he is now thy lord, incline to him.

The daughters, too, of Tyre with presents
Shall come to thee ; the rich among the people
Shall seek thy favour.

The king's bride

Is beautiful exceedingly— and she herself
More beautiful, than her attire of gold.

And now shall she be brought unto the king,
Adorned with garments of needle work.
The virgins, her companions, follow her,
» They shall be brought to thee,

With joy and jubilee shall they be brought,
And enter now the palace of the king.

In thy fathers' stead, O queen, shall be thy sons,
And thou shah make them princes in the land.

But I will spread thy praise from age to age,
And thus the nations sing of thee, forever and ever.

I have not felt at liberty, in translating this, to destroy the
delightful simplicity of its age by modern embellishment. On
this simplicity, and its relation to Oriental customs, depends
the progress and the whole representative action of the ode.
It begins with an annunciation of the subject, and a sort of
dedication to the king. It then, first, clothes the bridegroom
in aJl the ornaments of beauty, grace, heroick and regal cos
tume, and makes him worthy of reverence and love, before it
places his bride beside him. The ode is from the age of Sol
omon. This is shown by the description of the magnificent
palace, by the daughters of foreign kings, but especially by
Mie representation of the king himself, on whom are heaped
all the blessings, which God had promised to the lineage of
David. As a hero and king he is represented with arms, his
golden sceptre in his hand, the rich anointing oil upon his
head, and his garments breathing precious odours. All these
representations are derived, partly from the history of Solomon,
who was preferred to the throne before his brothers, and part
ly from the benediction pronounced upon him, that his king*

238

dom should be a peaceful and perpetual feign of righteous
ness, in which oppression should cease, and the rights of the
oppressed be vindicated. A transition is then made to the .

' bride. Kings' daughters minister to his happiness in his
palace, but one is the special object of his love and admira
tion. As bride and consort she stands beside him clothed in
purest gold. The song, then, with childlike simplicity ad
dresses itself to the modest and timid bride, admonishing her
to look from her veil and observe him ; to forget now her own
country, and devote herself to her king, who would then love
her in return, and be attracted by her beauty. All this is in
accordance with Oriental customs, where the bride was little
more than a child, and the superiour power and influence of
the husband over her was very great. Soon, however, she
shall enjoy the prerogatives of her station, the daughters of
Tyre, the mart of all costly and precious things, shall wait
upon her with bridal presents, and rich princes shall sue to
her for her friendship and intercession. In language still
more personal and flattering it is then added, that she i* beau
tiful, not only in her outward embellishments, but that her own
hidden person constitutes her loveliness, and excels in beauty
all the precious stones of her attire. In like manner she is
brought richly adorned to the palace ; the procession moves
with songs and rejoicing out of the view of the poet, and he

only adds hir wish modestly intimated, that she may enjoy the
blessings of a happy marriage. The song closes in a lofty

tone, as it had begun in a style of refinement, and exhibits
throughout discernment, loftiness of conception, and grace
fulness of style.

We proceed now to other Psulms, which have not indeed,

so wide a compass in the action, which they develope, but yet

form a beautiful whple; composed of several distinct members,

239

DELIVERANCE FROM DANGER

A NATIONAL BONO.*

Had not Jehovah been with us,
(May Israel now say)
Had not Jehovah been with us,
When men rose up against us,
Then had they swallowed us up,
In their fierce wrath against us.
Then had the waters overwhelmed UB,
The waves had gono over our souls,
The swelling flood passed over our life.

Blessed be God ! He gave us not
To become a prey to their teeth.
Our souls have escaped,
As a bird from the snare of the fowler,
The snare is broken and we are escaped.

Our help is in the name of Jehovah,
Who created tlio heavens and the earth.

The 129th Psalm is obviously formed upon the same lyrical
model.

DELIVERANCE FROM DANGER.

A NATIONAL SONG.

Often have they oppressed me from my youth,
(May Israel now say,)

Often have they oppressed me from my youth,
Yet have they not prevailed against me.
The plowers plowed upon my back,
They made their furrows long.

The righteous God hath cut the cords of the wicked,
The foes of Zion shall return confounded.
As grass upon the housetops must they be, . v

. That before it is ripened withereth away,
Wherewith tho mower filleth not his hand,
Nor the binder of sheaves his arm,
Where none that pass by say,
44 Thu blessing of God be on you,
We bless you in the name of Jehovah."
* Ps. cxxiv.

240

Similar to these is the beautiful song respecting the return
from captivity, in which the first deliverance by Moses which
they anticipated, and made use of to enkindle their hopes, and
strengthen their confidence, is compared with the second.

DELIVERANCE FROM CAPTIVITY.

A NATIONAL SONG. PS. 126.

When God turned back the captives of Zion,*

We were like them that dream.

Then was our mouth filled with laughter,

Our tongue with songs of joy.f

Then said they among the nations,

The Lord hath done great things for them, t

The Lord hath done great things for us,

Whereof we are glad !

Turn then again our captivity, O Lord
As thorn turncdst the streams in the South. §
The sower soweth in tears,
And reapeth with songs of joy,
He gocth weeping, andbcareth his seed,
He cometh with singing, and bringeth his sheaves.

Can a nation be called barbarous, that has even a few such na
tional songs? and how many of them do we find among the He*
brews? I cannot deny myself the pleasure of closing this
class of the Psalms with an elegy, that belongs indeed to a
l&e age, but is not on that account less beautiful.

• From Egypt. [This reference of it to Egypt is not a very probable
one, and the deliverance by Moses could scarcely be called with propri
ety a return to Zion. The Psalm refers properly only to the Babylonish
exile. The poet means to say, we could scarcely conceive the unex
pected joy of deliverance from Babylon, we thought it a dream. Arc.
These remarks apply also to other notes of the author on this psalm. J.]
t Ex. 15.

t Ex. xv. 14. Theso words acquire a clear, beautiful import,
vrhen understood of the first deliverance, and this reference of the ode
give* its chief beauty as a whole.

§ That ia in the Red Sea. Ex. 14.

241
THE CAPTIVITY IN BABYLON,

THE 137TH PSALM.

By the rivers of Babylon we sat down,
And wept, when we remembered Zion.
We hanged Our harps upon their willowt.

For they, that held us in captivity,
Required of us a song,
Our oppressors required of us mirth.
"Sing us one of the songs of Zion."
How shall we sing Jehovah's song
In a foreign land !

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem !
Let my right hand forget me,
Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth.
If I do not remember thee,
If I prefer not Jerusalem
Above my highest joy.

Remember, O Lord, the children of Edorn*
In the dny of Jerusalem's affliction,
"When they cried, •* raze it,
Ua/e it, even to its foundation."

Daughter of Bubylon, the desolate,*
Blessed be he, that requiteth thee,
That requiteth thee, as thou hast done to as.
Happy shall he be that scizeth thy little ones,
And castcth them upon the rocks.

I do not join in the imprecation of the last lines ; but if the
song was written during, or immediately after, the Babylonish
captivity, its accents must be felt, as touching and natural —
and his beloved country is in the view of the poet sacred above
every other object.

3. Every emotion has, its perfect sphere, in which its action
may be contemplated as a whole. The sorrow, which exalts
itself to joy, the anxiety, which exausts itself, and sinks to
rest, the calm tranquility, which changes into a joyful confi
dence, the contemplative mood, that at length loses itself i»

242

an ecstacy, and the rapture, which sinks again into calm con
templation — every effection has its own determinate course,
and gives consequently, a corresponding ambitus to the lyrick
expression of it, in which we feel its completeness. I must
go through nearly all the remaining Psalms, if I would arrange
them according to these principles, for all are animated with
feeling. I give here only a few examples.

Psalms, in which the feelings are elevated from a tone of
lamentation to hope and confidence. Cth, 22d, GOth, G2d,
85th, 145th, and many others.

Psalms, in which an ardent and heroick spirit is raised, till
it sinks again to repose in the remembrance of God. 7th,
10th, 13th, 17th, 26th, 35th, 36th, 52d— 59th, Gist, 64th,
69th— 71st, 86th, 88th, 94th, 109th, 140th— 142d. These,
too, are very numerous.

Psalms, in which a tranquil confidence is expressed through
out. 3d— 5th, llth, 17th, 21st, 25th, 27th, 28th, 30th, 37th,
41st, 44th, 63d, 65th, 131st, 132d, &c.

Others are triumphal songs merely, and of these, besides the
sublime odes already introduced, I will name only the 9th,
18th, 33d, 34th, 66th, 116th— 118th, 138th.— It would be
too tedious to go through with specimens of all these several
kinds. Let the teacher point them out to his hearers, and
those most uniform in their tone, when psychologically con
sidered, will be found beautiful. Of these referred to, I can
give here but a single specimen.

SORROW AND HOPE.
THE GTII PSALM.

O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath,

Nor chasten me in thy fierce anger.

Be merciful to me, O Jehovah ! for I am weak.

Heal me, O Jehovah, for my bonea tremble;

My whole soul is in terrors.

And thou, Jehovah ? O how long !

243

Return, O Jehov*h, deliver my »oul.
O save me for thy mercies' sake.
For in death there is no remembrance of thee,
In the grave, who shall give thee thanki?

I am wearied with my groaning, •
All night my bed is wet with tears.
With tears 1 make my couch to swim,
Mine eye is consumed with sorrow,
It looks but feebly upon all mine enemies.

Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity !
For God hath heard the voice of my weeping,
Jehovah hath heard my supplication,
Jehovah hath accepted my prayer.
Ashamed, confounded, shall be my enemies,
They shall fall back, and be ashamed suddenly.

Unsuitable as thii may be for a general prayer of penitence,
its tone and current of feeling is still strikingly beautiful, con
sidered in relation to David as an individual. The languish
ing, and now aged, and feeble king, who feels his misfortunes
as the chastisement of God, indulges in grief, till he sinks to
the brink of the grave, but, when the word " enemies" is ut
tered from his lips, his emotions change, his courage and hope
return. As most of the Psalms are an artless representation
of particular situations, much still remains to be learned from
them of the natural movement of lyrical emotion and expres
sion.

4. In many of the Psalms, which contain moral sentiments,
a beautiful system of instruction prevails. Of these, the 14th,
19th, 32d, 39th, 49th, 91st, 103d, 1 15th, 139th, and the didac-
tick Psalms of-Asaph 'generally may be named, as particularly
worthy of attention. In the 9th Psalm, some have attempted
to point out a twofold subject, but I do not discover it. From
the great and general household of God in nature, where
every object praises him and obeys his commands, the poet
comes to the more intimate relation of God to his people,
which he represents as more secure and affectionate, in the

244
i

same degree as it is more limited and confiding. The move
ment of the ode, therefore, is antithetic. The first image
presented is raised to its greatest dignity, when it is interrupt
ed, and the tone of the language becomes more and more gen
tle and confiding, till it expresses the near friendship of God,
and his communion with the individual, human soul. The
most secret and hidden faults of his friend are noticed by
Ood, and he causes the silent suggestions of the heart to be
received, as the discourse of a friend. Such is the beautiful
economy of the Psalm,* and the delightful instruction, which
it contains. In diductick pieces of this sort generally, how
ever, we are not to expect the same progressive action, as in
the triumphal anil warlike songs. Instruction loves a smooth
area, and goes directly to its purpose. Finally, in the alpha
betical Psalms we must look for no artificial structure in the
logical connexion. They are a blooming cluster of choico
sentences, and arranged with a view to the memory, and tho
facility of learning them. The long 110th Psalm treats for
the most part, of only one leading sentiment, and is a collec
tion of moral truths expressed with many variations. I must
not here give many examples, since some have already been
introduced, and most of them are familiar to the recollection
even of children. It is, too, the most beautiful test of the du
tlactick, that it is instructive to children.

A LYRICAL DIALOGUE ON DIVINE PROVIDENCE
THE 91ST PSALM.

1. He that dwelleth under the care of the most High,
And abideth under the shadow of jhe Almighty,
He saith to Jehovah, " Thou art my refuge,"

My fortresi, and my God, in thee will I trust."

2. He will deliver tbea from the snares of death,

• A ground of many misinterpretations of the Psalms, is the taking
law, word, judgment, testimony in the modern, and not in the ancien*
political sense, which these words [conveyed to the minds of the Jewa.
To thtfse refer, also, the duties and benefits, which.the Psajrns celebrate.

245

He will save the from the deadly pestilence.
He covereth thee with his feathers,
And under his wings dost thou trust,
His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

A thousand shall fall at thy side,
Ten thousand at thy right hand,
But it shall not come nigh thee.
With thine eyes slialt thou behold,
And see the reward of the wicked.*

1. " In thee, O Jehovah ! is my refuge.**

2. So thalt thou dwell securely and on high.*1
There shall no evil befal thee,

Nor any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

He givcth his servarits charge for thee,
To keep thee in alt thy ways.
They shall bear thee on their wings,
Lest thou dash tliy foot against a stone.

Thou shall tread upon the lion and adder.
And trample upon the young lion and the dragon.
** Hecnuse he trusted in me, I deliver him,
" I exalt him because he honoureth my name.

" When he calleth upon me, I will answer,
" When in trouble, I will be with him,
" I will deliver him, and honour him,
«4 With long life will I satisfy him,
"And will show him my salvation.**

Can the providence of God be taught with a sense of more
cordial trust, or with more tenderness of feeling? There is
here no chorus, indeed, but the change of speakers produces
the finest effect. It makes the whole a fatherly lesson, pro
gressing and rising higher to the end, where the Supreme
Father speaks and confirms his truth.

But enough of examples. In order to feel the beauty even
of the finest Psalms, we must transport ourselves into the age,
in which they were written, and return to its simplicity of
feeling. As most of the Psalms are prayers, so that childlike
submission of the heart is necessary to the proper use of
them, which the Orientals require in their religious ceremo-
21*

246

nies and prayers, that silent admiration of God and his
works, which sometimes rises into rapture, and sometimes
sinks the mind to the deepest abasement. The song hurries
from thought to thought, as from mountain to mountain. It
touches the springs of emotion rapidly but deeply, and is fond
of repeating the impression. It paints its objects only by ra
pid sketches. All lyric poetry, in which pastoral innocence
and rural sentiments prevail, requires a calm and quiet mind ;
its beauties can produce no effect upon a sophisticated and
scoffing one. As the heaven pictures itself only in the clear
calm sea, so we see the gentle wave of emotion describe its
circles only in the tranquil soul.

Here it would be unjustifiable to withhold in silence the
name of the man, \vho first made us in Germany familiar
with the genuine tones of the Hebrew Psalms. The most
simple of the odes of Klopstock especially in detached parts,
are tones from the harp of David. Many of his lyric pieces,
and the most artless songs of his Messiah, have given to our
language a simplicity and truth of lyric expression, which we
should seek in vain from the most successful in this depart
ment of ihe neighbouring nations.

CHARACTERS OF THE AUTHORS OF THE PSALMS.

I. Of the character of David. The delicacy and sensibility of hit
mind in sorrow and joy. His confidence in God, and whence it origin,
ated. What class of reader* consequently will be particularly fond
of his Psalms. The straight forwardness and cordial sincerity, which
characterise them. David's praise of Abner at his grave. His warm
foelings excited by tho persecution of his enemies. Passages in
the Psalms relative to Divine retribution and justice. A peculiarity
of David in promising eongs to God, as the best offering, which he
could bring. Of the passages, in which he speaks of the law of God,
as the political constitution of the country. How we are to apply the
characterustick sentiment of these Psalms.

II. Of the character of Asaph. A theodiceo respecting the fortune
of the wicked. Prize songs on this subject by David and the son*
of Korah.

III. Songs of the sons of Korah. Earnest longing after Jerusalem, an
affecting elegy.

IV. Songs of anonymous authors. What the ascending songs or song*
of degrees probably were. Examples and proofs from what is con.
tained in them. General view of the whole book of Psalms.

V. Of the rnysick of the Hebrews. Their various instruments of mo,
sick. Influence of the instrument upon the various songs. What is
meant by ihe word Selah.

We have hitherto only surveyed the Psalms as it were ex
ternally, let us ii DW look more nearly into the character of
their authors.

I. CHARACTER OP DAVID AS A PSALMIST.

The leading trait of his character is truth. His songs are
a faithful picture of his life, his feelings, and his age. Hence
Luther called them, in his preface to the Psalms, a garden,

248

where all beautiful flowers and fruits flourish, but where also
at times the most violent winds sweep over them. If his lan
guage were not in earnest, but only poetical colouring, we
should have nothing to do but to praise his colours. Now we
may derive instructions from his writings, by the picture
which they present both of good and evil.*

1. In David is manifested throughout a tender heart, and a
**ntl full vf sensibility, lie exhausts the emotions and the
language of joy and sorrow, and there are expressions of this
sort in his Psalms, for which our language has almost nothing
corresponding. This may be seen in the 22d, 38th, 39th, and
many others, lie is afflicted either by God or his enemies;
(the later misfortunes of his reign he looked upon, as the
chastisements of Jehovah) and how is his spirit bowed!
How does his harp complain ! He is dissolved with anguish
and tears.

2. These tears are poured out to God, but soon change into
trust, courage, or childlike submission. God had taken him
from a keeper of slicep, and anointed him as the shepherd of
his people, had delivered him from many dangers, and sus
tained him under many sufferings. All this inspires him with
an individual, personal confidence in his most faithful and
best friend, and this confidence is the theme of his songs,
they utter the feelings of personal confidence and friendship
in his communion with God,t and hence they have been so
highly prized by all great and noble minds, who have placed
a similar confidence in God. For all found in them the pro
per language of their own hearts, and could find no better
expression of their feelings, than in the words of this ancient
hero. Perhaps no one has exemplified this more strikingly
lhan our own Luther, who found his whole heart in the book

•For Proofs of hia earnestness and sincerity see Pa. 5. 17, 26. 32. 34L
36. (J3. &c.

tSee Pa. 11. 18. 21. 27. 31. 40. &c<

249

of Psalms, and applied it to his own times, whenever and
wherever he could do so. It is a great and good character-
istick in a man to believe in a particular providence. All,
who have been exposed to severe and numerous trials, and
been proved upright, have had this faith. They knew God
not from books, but from the truth of their own hearts,
the experience of their own lives. No topic in .relation to
God is unfolded in the Psalms with a scientific or theoretical
purpose. God is he, who every where looks through the
soul of the Psalmist, knows the truth and uprightness of his
heart, as well as his secret griefs and necessities. This occa
sions him joy and grief, inspires him with confidence and hu
mility.

3. Thus his songs are the expression of the most inward
and individual language of the heart. What to us seems
boastful, when we repeat it coldly, and with but vague sym
pathy, was to him a feeling of reality in the particular circum
stances, in which he was placed, JJis enemies calumniated
and persecuted him, he on the contrary washed his hands in
innocency ; they were stained with no blood of his persecu
tors. This he represented to God in his songs.* If we
would deal justly with David, we should find the same
gentleness and heartfelt sincerity also, as characteristics
of his reign. His Joab was more harsh and violent than he ;
for even against his conquered foes he proceeded with all the
magnanimity, which the times permitted, and against his do
mestic foes he wished never to be obliged to use severity,
How was he afflicted at the death of Absalom! and how did
he spare Shimei ! Even Abner, the leader of the party oppo«
.sed to him, and who had been craftily murdered, be honoured
after his death with a song of lamentation for a virtuous
Jiero.t

» Ps. vii xxvi. <fec. t2 Sam. iii. 33,

250

And David laid to Joab, vf,
And to all the people with him,
•• Rend your garment*,
And gird you with sackcloth,
And mourn for Abner."
And the king himself followed the bier,
And when they burled Abner,
He lifted up his voice,
' And wept at Abner's grave,
And all the people with him.
The king lamented over Abner,
And said,

•• Abner died not as a coward dieth!
Thy hands were noi bound,
' Nor thy feet put in fetters.

As one fulleth before wicked men,

So fellest thou."

And all the people wept aloud.

The reign of the peaceful Solomon was in many respects
far more severe and despotick, than that of the warlike and
•conquering David.

'4, Asa necessary consequence, therefore, since he was
innocent and human, the persecution of his enemies was the
more trying ,to his [patience. The feelings, which it awaken
ed, corroded his heart with anguish, and, find an expression,
even where it should not be the case, in general Psalms of
praise or thanksgiving. Every one knows, how early misfor
tunes give a colouring to the objects, with which the feelings
of the soul are connected. Early mischances, faithless friends,
undeserved neglect at length render the heart cheerless, even
if they do not embitter it. Most of David's Psalms, to which
these remarks apply were composed in allliction, when his
heart sought consolation in his harp, and we all know how
freely the soul expresses itself under the first lively sense of
unjust suffering. Though, therefore, I could wish for myself,
and with reference to their present use, that the reference to
his enemies were removed from some of his Psalms, as tho

251

8th, 19th, 23d, 104th, and 139th, yet they belong properly to
the picture of David's feelings, and mode of thought. He
must have given an untrue expression of his soul, if he had
not placed it before God in this, as in its other traits. Yet
he does not by these expressions lay us under any obligation
to adopt his imprecations at unfit times or without occasion.
It must be admitted, that his imprecations upon his enemies,
are not always in the spirit of the Christian religion.

These same trying circumstances gave David occasion to
unfold the characters of the retribution, and righteous judgment
of God as the feeling of his heart prompted him, and more
fully than had been done in earlier times. In the conception
of Moses, God was a national God, who exercised retributive
justice over the whole nation in their general fortunes. Da
vid and his cotemporaries unfold still finer traits of the Divine
government over individual men and over the world. Asaph
does it as a teacher ; David as an experienced hero ; and ma
ny of their expressions are now, alter the lapse of three thou
sand years, the most suitable for giving a moral view of God
in his relation to the succession of events. In many of the
Psalms it might appear, as if Job had been their model ; but
every thing throughout flows from its own proper and natural
occasion.

5. It is a remarkable circumstance in regard to David,
that he so often promises his songs as offerings to God, and
considers them, instead of sacrifices and burnt offerings, of
the greatest worth, and as vows of the sanctuary, best pleasing
to God. These were the " calves of his lips," of which the
Prophets, also speak, and may be explained from the charac
ter of David, and the age in which he lived. In our lips the
words are often misapplied. With David the most appropri
ate and best offering, which he could make to God was his
songs of praise. They were the flower of his strength and
pertained to his highest glory. To offer bullocks from the
Stall would be far easier for a king, but he disdained to pre«

sent these cheaper offerings, and chose to honour God Wiffi
the finest effusions of his poetical powers. But to whom among
us will these passages of the Psalms be appropriated ? Calres,
bullocks, we should not offer to God, new and original songs
we cannot offer, as David did J and from whom, moreover,
does God require such poetical expressions of penitence?
Thus these words are for us lifeless and unmeaning.

G. David reigned in a state, where the government was
properly a theocracy, in which he stood in the place of God,
and was under the necessity of governing himself in accord
ance with its ancient economy, the established constitution of
the country. This gives to his songs throughout a spiritual
character, even where he speaks of mere secular laws and
regulations. He sat as a prince or vicegerent of God upon
Mount Zion : in righteousness and judgment his priest, in vic
tory his instrument, in the observance of the national laws
his servant, no less than the lowest of his people. When,
therefore, all the deeds and triumphs of David are ascribed to
God, when the king rejoices in his God, boasts of his power,
and swears new fidelity to his laws, all these expressions per
tain, in fact, to the peculiar national language and relations.
When he celebrates the wonders, i. e. the appropriate beauty
and excellence of the Mosaick laws, and so often binds himself
to rule in accordance with them, he was in so doing no indo
lent youth kneeling at his harp, as he is sometimes represent*
ed. Even in those Psalms, in which he speaks of his love to
the law of God, he speaks also of his diligence in business, of
his watchfulness of his own heart, that he might not become
arbitrary and unbridled, in short, of his reverence for the laws
and usages of his country. That he was bound to do so he
felt very distinctly, but most deeply, when he had transgressed,
and the chastisements of God were upon him. " I have sin*
ned against Jehovah, my nation's God, but what have these
sheep done ?"

These few traits may serve to show, with what a fiee and

253

liberal spirit the Psalms of David must be used, if they are to
be for us what they were for their author. Here, too, the
rule of Young may be applied, that we often approach most
nearly to the ancients, when we seem to be farthest removed
from them. The flowers of general instruction and ornament
may pass into our mind, and all the delicacies of language
and style may also, become ours, if our hearts sympathize
with the emotions, which they express. But all blind imita
tion is here, too, but a worshipping of Baal, and such expres
sions as cahes of the lips are but unmeaning words. — Only
then, do individual Psalms become favourites, when we find
them, in particular situations of life, beautiful, elevated, and
true, as the proper language of our own hearts, and learn to
love the ancient harp of David, as anticipating or echoing the
tones of sentiment in our own souls.

II. CHARACTER OF ABAPH AS A PSALMIST.

In didactick Psalms Asaph excels David. His soul was
less tender, but more calm and free from passion. The best
of his Psalms are formed on a beautiful plan, and his national
songs, also, are peculiarly excellent. In short, he merited the
name of a Prophet, i. e. of one divinely inspired upon the
harp. A single specimen of his didactick poetry must suffice.

A VINDICATION OF GOD IN REGARD TO THE HAPPINESS
OF THE WICKED.

THE 73d PSALM.

Yet, surely God is good to the upright,*
To such as cleave to him with pure heart.

My feet indeed were almost gone,
My steps were already slipping,
For I was envious at the foolish,
And jealous of the prosperity of the wicked.

* la many passages the word Israel is taken in a constrnctio pregnaus
and the notion of uprightness, contained in it is to be interpreted by itself.
22

254

No snare of death it spread for them,*

But they are strong and firm.

They know not the troubles of life,

The scourge of misfortune reacheth them not,

Like other men.

Therefore their pride adorneth them with chains,
Thtir violence decketh them with rich attire,t
Their eyes look out from amidst fatness, t
Their devices flow forth from their hearts.

They scoff, they speak evil of a friend, ||
They speak with arrogance.
They place their mouth, as Gods in the heavens,
And their tongue must be obeyed on earth. §

They satisfy their thirst from solid rocks,*
They press from them abundant water,
And say, how ? doth God know this ?
Hath the Most High knowledge of us?

These are the thoughts of the ungodly,

* Death is here represented as a hunter, lurking about the paths of
mortals. The persons spoken of here, have made a covenant with him,,
and a leage with the grave, so that he spreads no nets for them.

t It is not said merely they are rich and proud, but oppression has
given them the wealth ot others.

I If any choose to read the text here with the LXX. I have DO objec.
tion, but the other reading, also, gives an opposite image. Their eye
looks forth proudly, and its visions must be accomplished, so too, the de
vices of their hearts.

II See the other Psalms of Asaph. 1. 20.

$ Heavens and earth are h«re contrasted. They raise their heada
even to the heavens, and their word goes forth over the earth, and is ev
«ry where obeyed. Compare Ps. clxxviii. 15.

* Every one knows, that the two members of the common translations
do not correspond. The second is clear, the fault must, therefore, bo in
the first. I divide the words differently, and there is not only sense and
parallelism, but we see a paronomasia with the following worda. It i»
an image of the severest oppression, and happily introduces what follow*.
The Masoretic text, also, indicates a defect here.

255

And these arc they, that prosper in the world,*
And that increase in riches.

In vain, therefore, have I kept pure my heart,
And washed my hands in innocence,
For every day have I been scourged,
And every morning chastened with affliction.t

I said, I will declare, how it is with it.
44 Lot they are the generation of thy children.**
My word was false !—
I thought to understand it
But was in painful doubt,

Until I went into the councils of God,
And then I understood their end.
On slippery places hast thou set them,
And into deep abysses are they falling*
How are they desolate in a moment.
And utterly consumed with terrors !.t
As a dream when one awaketh, (

So, O Lord, hast thon awaked, \\
And put to flight their empty image,

How was my heart distressed,
My veins pierced through with pain,
That I, BO foolish, knew it not,
But was in judgment as a brute before thee.§

Now I cleave continually to thee.
For thou didst hold me by rny right hand.
Guide me always, even as thou wilt,

•The persons spoken of are those who live in abundance, the beati,
fortunate men.

t Fortune changes every morning, brings every day some new calamity
tThe words of the original present a very vivid image.

0 That the word means in awaking % not in the city appears from the
context.

$ The sequel shows clearly enough, what is meant her*. He was at first
in respect to the purpose of God, as a brute, i. e. he understood nothing
of his purpose, judged irrationally, and was disposed to break away from
him and violate his faith. (See Ps. xxxii. 8.) Now he judges differ,
ently of God, and cleaves to him as the following verse represents it with
4 repetition of the word.

256

And then receive me with honour.

For whom have I in heaven but thee,
And whom on earth do I desire beside thee ?
My flesh and heart are wasted away,
But thou art the strength of my heart,
Thou art my portion, O God, forever.

They that are far from thee shall perish.
Thou destroyest all, that fall away from thee,
But good for me is drawing near to God.
In God Jehovah have I put my trust,
Still will I sing of all thy works.

How beautiful are the sentiments of this Psalm! It begins
with a brief moral sentiment,* the result of many reflections,
with which it also closes. Soon and imperceptibly he comes
to his situation of trial, t describes how he fell into error, and,
when he has placed this picture in the clearest light, makes
another transition. J lie is brought into the counsels of Di
vine providence, and sees that in his former opinion he was
brutish. New vows of fidelity to God (having reference to his
former wavering) are uttered with the greatest fervour,!] till a
general moral sentiment again closes the Psalm. $ Both in
its sentiments and its arrangement it is a beautiful didactick
Psalm.

We must not extend his views beyond their proper bounds.
Asaph saw the prosperity of the wicked, and saw it vanish
away, while the happiness of the upright is true and abi
ding — this is the extent of his view. Neither future retribu
tion of the former, nor an exposition of the eternal blessings
of the latter, was the purpose of his ode.

If I mistake not, there is in several Psalms a noble compe
tition in the treatment of the subject presented in the above.
We have already contemplated one Psalm containing similar
views.^[ It treated the subject as a dark enigma, in a lyrick

• V. 1. f V. 2. 3. I V. 12— 1C.

I! V. 23—26. $ V. 27—28. * Vol. I. p. 180.

257

and beautiful style, like all the Psalms of the sons of Korah.
Here is the rival song of David on the same theme.

THE PROSPERITY OF THE WICKED.

THE 39ru PSALM.

I said, I will be watchful all my life,
That I may guard my tongue from sin.
I will restrain my mouth in silence,
While wicked men are present with me.
I kept silence, and ceased also from joy,*
My sorrow was excited in me,
My heart was glowing in my bosom,
While I was musing the fire burned.
And — then I spake with my tongue.

Jehovah, make me know mine end,
How short my life is,
That I may know how frail I am.
Behold, my life is but a hand-breadth,
And all my time as nothing before thee»
The life of man is but on empty shadow^
That thinks itself enduring.t

Yea, man goeth forth a shadowy .image*
Yea, he disquieteh himself in vain,
He gathereth and knoweth not for whom.

On what then do I place my hope ?
In thee, O Lord, is all my hope,
Deliver me from my transgressions,
And make me not the sport of fools.
So will I keep silence, and open not my mouth,
For thou wilt do all things well.t

Remove thy stroke away from me,
I faint from the blow of thine hand.
For when thou dost rebuke severely
Even the strong man for his iniquity,

' How refined and yet how true ! We cannot repress and break off
our anxious thoughts by concealing them. They must find vent j they
must be freely unfolded, or they corrode the heart still more bitterlj\

t The expression in the original is concise and beautiful.

tThoQ wilt acoo mplish it better than I can prescribe.

258

Hit beauty is consumed as by the moth,
Yea, man ia altogether vanity.

Hear then my prayer, Jehovah,
Give ear unto my supplication.
Be not silent, when I weep before thee.
I am here a stranger with thee,
A wanderer, as all rny fathers were.
O spare me, that I may recover strength,
Before I go hence, and be no more.

A song of tenderness, composed perhaps during sickness, and
wholly in David's style, abounding in fine personal feeling.
One, who is fond of this, will prefer the song of David, those,
who seek instruction, the psalm of Asaph, and those, who
delight in lyrical invention, the ode of the sons of Korah,
which, in depicting the fate of the wicked, ventures into
the realms of death, David has another instructive psalm (Ps.
37.) on the same subject. There are several similar lyrical
competitions in the psalms, especially in the national songs.
(Com. Ps. 4G and ?G. 80. 85. 44. 78. &c.) To compare them
together is a very pleasing task, which illustrates the charac
ters of the writers, as well as their peculiar styles of compo
sition.

III. SONGS OF THE SONS OF KORAH.

Were these songs written by David ? If so, why was not
his name attached to them? since to him, as well as to Asaph,
other songs are ascribed, which probably belong to later
times. Perhaps they may have been from one of Heman's
cnoir — and their author may not unjustly be esteemed the
most elevated and truly lyric poet of all in the collection.
His national songs are brief, full and animated. The 45th
Psalm is one of the most beautiful bridal songs, the 42d one
of the finest elegies—The latter is inserted here as an ex
ample.

259

LONGING AFTER JERUSAU1M.
THE 42. 43. PSALM.

As the hart panteth after fountain! of water,
Sopanteth my soul after thee, O God.
My soul thirsteth for God, the living God,»
When shall I come, and see the face of God !
My tears were long my meat day and night,
While day by day they suidto me,
Where now is God, thy helper.
I thought thereon ; (and poured forth my tears)
As I went with many to the house of God,
With joy and praise in a rejocing throng.

Why art thou cast down, O my foul,
And why art thou disquieted within me?
Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise Aim,
////«, my deliverer and my God,
\ And yet, O God, my soul is grieved.

Therefore will I remember thee,
Here amidst mountains and streams,
By Jordan, and the hills of Libanus.
As there wave rusheth upon wave,
They rush upon me like thy billows,
For all thy waves and rivers
Have gone over me.

And yet the goodness of Jehovah
x Upholdeth me by day,

And in the night his song is with me,
Even prayer to my God, the living God,

I sing to God my rock, ,

Wherefore dost thou forget me,
Wherefore go I mourning,
For the oppression of my enemies?

It pierceth through my bones,
When my enemies reproach me,
While day by day they say to me,
Where now is God, thy helper ?.

•The living God is contrasted with lifeless idols. Here too it ha* a
beautiful allusion to the living fountains above.

260

Wfty art thou catt down O my tout,
And why art thou ditquieted within me ?
Hope thou in God, for I ihall yet praife him,
Him, my deliverer and my God.

Judge me, O God, maintain my right,
Deliver me from a merciless nation,
From a deceitful and wicked man.

For thou art the God in whom I trust,
Why dost thou cast me off?
Wherefore go I mourning
For the oppression of my enemies ?

O send out thy light and thy truth,*
That they may load me and guide me,
That they may bring me to thy holy hill»
And to thy tubcrnacle.

Then will I go unto the altar of God,
To God, who is my joy and rejoicing.
With the harp will I sing praise to thee»
O God, my God,

Why art thou cast down O my soul,
And why art thou disquieted within me ?
Hope thou in God Jor I thall yet praist Aim,
Him, my deliverer, and my God,

I must not analyze this delightful picture, so full of lyric
pathos. For those, who do not of themselves feel the beauti
ful transitions, the gentle movement, and dream as it were of
these self quieting meditations, especially the picture of the
regions about Libunus and the Jordan, would not be taught
to feel them by the fullest exposition, As every one, who
seeks for consolation, seizes upon the first object for aid, so
the eye of the afllicted mourner here falls upon the rushing
billows of the rivers, which flow out from the lake Phiala.
They rush with a mournful sound, and bring before his mind
an image of the afiliction, which Jehovah had poured upon

*Thy Urim andThummim. The passage shows, why David referred
to them.

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» »

his soul ; till he reflects, that his harp still remains faithful,

and with it he again, full of confident hope, which already
becomes a present reality to his mind, transports himself to
the rejoicing choirs at Jerusalem.

IV. SONGS OF ANONYMOUS AUTHORS.

We have a considerable number of Psalms with no name
attached to them, of which many were probably from later
times, but which are not therefore the less valuable. In some
of them we discover more refined doctrines than belonged to
the age of David, and shall embellish our third part with sev
eral of the number. At present I can only say a word of the
so called ascending song* or songs of degrees.

Some consider the songs of degrees, as marching songs in
the return from Babylon, because Ezra 7. 9. calls this return
an ascent. The contents of most of them have little to con
firm this supposition. Many are at all events from late peri
ods, and the 137th distinctly sings of the captivity in Babylon
but very few of them seem to refer directly to the journey
toward Jerusalem. Does the word ascent mean nothing else
in Hebrew? Was it not the expression commonly used of
those who went up to Jerusalem, and especially to the nation
al festivals? Why may we not suppose then these songs of
degrees to be only the same sort of travelling festival and na
tional songs, as many others from David, Asaph, and the sons
of Korah. Such they plainly are, and with this enlarged
view of their character they are for the most part intelligible.

I begin with the l£0th Psalm, though unwillingly, as it has
very little to show the circumstances, in which it was com
posed, and is perhaps an entirely personal and individual lam
entation.

COMPLAINT OF UNFRIENDLY COMPANIONS,

TlIK 120th PftALM.

In my distress I cull upon Jehovah,
I cry unto him, and he hearoth me.

262

Deliver me, O Jehovah from slanderous lip*
And free me from a deceitful tongue.

What doth it to thee, the deceitful tongue ?
What doth it to thee ?

It pierceth as sharp arrows of the warrior;
It burneth like coals of pointed wood.
Alas that I dwell in robbers tents,*
And dwell as with Arabian savages.
Too long have I dwelt with men,
Who are enemies of peace.
I am for peace, but when I speak,
They are for war.

The speaker is a sojourner, who complains of the intolerable
disposition of his companions. He dwells in tents, and com
pares those around him to Arabian robbers. He wishes the
time, which he is to spend with them, were at an end, and
this is all we learn from the text of the Psalm.

Were these tents moving toward Jerusalem ? Did they en
camp without the city, as they often must do, during the na
tional festival. These questions are more easily asked than
answered.

The 121st Psalm explains itself more fully. There is no
thing in it of Babylon, but it exhibits a march towards Jeru
salem and the holy mountains.

A SONG OF GRATULATION IN GOING

TOWARD JERUSALEM

THE 121sT PSALM.
I lift my eyes, and look to the hills,
From which cometh my help.
My help cometh from Jehovah,

• The word means a skin, a rude tent covering, from which • wild
race, living intents perhaps, had their name. The complainer therefore
says "it is with him, as if he lived with wild savages*1 The Israelite*
were never captives in Meshek and Kedar, and these placet were far
asunder. They aie used here only figuratively, as the parallelism
•hows.

263

Who made th« heavens and the earth.

He will not suffer thy foot to slide,
He that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold he, that keepeth Israel,
Will neither slumber nor sleep,

Jehovah will be thy keeper,
Jehovah will be thy shade,
Who goeth (as a friend) at thy side,
That the sun smite thee not by day,
Nor the moon afflict thee by night.
The Lord preserve thee from evil,
The Lord preserve thy soul.
The Lord shall guard thy going out,
And thy coming in now, and forevermore.

Let us conceive a young Israelite, who like a new fledged
bird looks toward the mountains, in which his confidence is
placed, who eagerly desires to proceed upon the journey, and
to see Jerusalem, and whose aged father bestows these blessings
on him as he departs, and so it will be word for word explain
ed. It is no going up from Babylon, for who there should be
stow such blessings? It is the voice of a tender farewell,
which cannot find a last word, arid satisfy itself with the be-
stowment of blessings. The song might also be sung on the
way by individuals or in choirs. They congratulated each
other on their journey.

That the 122d Psalm expresses the desires of a young 1s-
fnelite, who has already been once at Jerusalem, and is now
rejoicing at the annunciation of another journey, has been
already remarked. The 123d, 125th, 134th plainly show, that
they belong also to the same class. The 124th, 129th are
Bongs of thanksgiving for the deliverance of Israel, such as
were sung at national festivals, and such as we find among
the songs of Asaph, and the sons of Korah.* The 126th is
of the same kind, probably composed during the captivity,
and afterwards retained as a national song, as a memorial of
confidence and joy. The 133d praises the unity of tribes

264

and families, the J28th the happiness of domestic life, the
127th the blessing of a numerous family, though their educa
tion requires toil and care — all of them the finest subjects for
an assembled people. Would that we had many such adapt
ed to our customs and modes of life, as pure, as concise, as
full of the spirit of song, as these were for the people of Is
rael. The 130th is a confession of sin, a preparation for re
ligious sacrifice, when one felt himself oppressed with a sense
of guilt. The 132d commends to God the family of the king,
Zion, the priests, and was thus destined for the same occa
sions. Finally these fifteen beautiful songs were followed by
songs of praise, which were obviously designed for the temple
and the publick festivals.*

If we look over the book of Psalms in this way, we may
easily arrange it for ourselves, especially if we take the Jew
ish division into five books to aid UH. The national psalms
stand, for the most part, between the others, not each by it
self, but in small collections. Here is a brief view ol the
arrangement.

Ps. 1. The preface or introduction to the book.

Ps. 2. A royal Psalm, the crown of the book.

Ps. 3-40 Mostly Psalms having personal reference to David.
These include the first book according to the Jewish division.

Ps. 41 — li). Songs of the sons of Korah, composed on a
variety of subjects. Most qf them are national songs, and
the 50th, the beautiful didactick psalm of Asaph, closes the
first collection of Korahite songs.

Ps. 51 — <>4. Songs having personal relation to David.

Ps. 65 — (H National psalms, perhaps also those that fol
low, till the 72d on the reign of Solomon closes the second
book.

Ps. 70 — 83. Songs of the Korahites and other writers, the

'The book of Psalms was probably composed of distinct smaller col.
lections, and these belonged to one, which had been called the book of
travelling songs, the songs of ascent.

265

greater part of them national. Here closes the third book,
which was wholly from poets connected with the temple mu«
sick, and probably was at a later period appended to the
Psalms of David, which closed with the second book.

Ps. 90. The song of Moses. Ps. 91—107 and to the end
of the book psalms of plain and general import; plainly a
contribution from the temple, and for the use of the national
festivals. The fifth book is the latest, and most miscellaneous
collection.

Ps. 108 — 110 Songs of David, or having reference to him.
Ps. Ill — 118 Psalms for the temple and festivals. The 119
a collection of moral precepts. Ps. 120 — 1:34 the songs of
degrees, which are closed with songs of praise, and Ps. 138 —
145 Psalms of David, which are also closed with songs of
praise. We see how they all fall into groups, and an editor,
who treated the Psalms merely as songs, could by arranging
them in this way aid the clearness of our view, and facilitate
the memory of jhcm.

V. OF THE MUSICK OF THE Pa ALMS

Notwithstanding the elaborate treatises we have on this
subject, we obtain few results from them in regard to the po
etry and economy of the Psalms. Nothing is so difficult to
fx> be transmitted from one age, and the customs of one period
and country to another, as language and musick. They float
upon the air, and are fleeting as the breeze. The ancient
and modern musick, the musick of the East and of the West,
are so different from each other, that, even if we knew more
of them there would be found but little, which our ears
would relish. I remark only briefly. •

1. The instruments, which are named in the Psalms, are
eitker ruling, or only accompanying instruments. The ac
companying are obviously the common ones, which therefore
do not occur in any of the inscriptions. They belong to the
23

266

full chorus of joyful exclamation and praise, and to the songs
of the temple. Since the people remained only in the outer
court, and the music sounded to them from the temple, or un
der the open sky, the multitude of singers and plain instruments
is readily accounted for. To this class belong the castanets,
the adufa, many kinds of trumpets and flutes. It was a
kind of military musick, because the God of Zion was a
Lord of Sabaoth i. e. of warlike hosts, and to this character
the sentiments of many psalms have an obvious reference.
When it is said, that Asaph struck the castanets, this is not
named as his only instrument, but with this he led the choir,
he beat the time. In some songs also he prophesied, i. e.
employed his inventive power, as a poet with the accompani
ment of his musick.

2. The softer musick, accompanying the language of poet
ry, was formed by single instruments; hence one song is re
ferred to the flute, one to the guitar and harp, another to the
horn, &c. It would seem, that the ancients, with whom po
etry and musick were intimately associated, attached more
importance, than the moderns, to giving every instrument its
peculiar effect, and even designating by it the character of
the poetry ; for it needs no proof to show, that each instru
ment with its peculiar tone has also, as it were, a peculiar
sphere of emotion, in which it is fitted to produce its effect.
Hence we have striking examples of what effects certain
tones on this or that instrument, which were the favourite
airs of an individual hearer, have produced on him. As all
the power of musick rests upon its simplicity, the artist
with the simple tones of his instrument has the heart of one,
with whom it is a favourite, in his power, and plays as it were
immediately upon it. In the mean time the harmonious up
roar of all instruments, the artificial swell of sound, that
reaches the clouds, may indeed enrapture the ear of a con
noisseur, but becomes a real Babel to the feelings of one,
who wishes only to have his feelings affected. Should the

267

sisters, who have been separated by art, musick and poetry,
once become again more intimately united, we should again
hear of" a song for the harp," and " a song for the flute," as in
the songs of Asaph and David. By the study of a single in
strument we learn the kind of passion, which it awakens, and
to distinguish more deeply the tone of feeling, which it excites
in the heart ; and he, that can happily express this in the lan
guage of lyric poetry, will accomplish more than can be done
by all the rules of the critical art.

3. Since antiquity and the East, even now, have known
nothing of our artificial harmony, since the poetry of the
Psalms has only a very free arrangement of metre, and little
or no regular scansion according to our method, all attempts
to model our language by that, or that by ours, are in vain.
Free and indeterminate metrical movements float in the air.
Melody and the controlling influence of feeling determine
their rythmical buiance only in a very general manner.
This is shown in the Psalms by the so frequently occurring
"Selah." If we compare the most decisive passages, they
are found to correspond neither with pauses, nor the da capo,
nor intermezzo, but must mean change of tone, which is ex
pressed either by increase of force, or by a transition into
another time and mode.* The subject of the song, or its
tone of emotion change, and since the melody was not very
definitely marked for the singer and tho musical composer, a
nota bene was attached to the most important passages in
the book of Psalms. Songs, which are impassioned in their
character, most commonly have it, especially where the sub
ject, is changed. In uniformly didactick Psalms and those of
loftier tone, which are still uniform, it does not occur. Where

* From all books of travels we know, that the Orientals are fond of a
very uniform, and, as it appears to the Europeans, a very doleful sort of
muuick, but that in certain places they suddenly change the time, and
pass imo a different melody. This it probably was, which in the Psalms
if designated by "Selah,"

it stands at the end, it may show, that they were acccustomed
to sing another continuously after it, as it is undeniable, that
they were fond of thus linking together and associating sev
eral different psalms.* The Greeks translate " Selah by
iut which Suidas and others explain by psltodtaf troJU
concentus mutatio. It shows therefore, that such
songs were set to musick throughout, only however after the
very simple method of the Orientals, which varied with the
change in the song which it accompanied. On the whole we
find that we have indeed the words of these ancient songs,
but that especially in our imitations the living spirit, which
depends upon the recital, is far from being attained.

A SONG OF PRAISE

TO GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUS PROVIDENCE.

THE 92o PSALM, t
A SONG FOR THE SABBATH DAY.

It is good to give thanks to Jehovah,

To sing praises to thy name, O Most High.

To show thy loving kindness in the morning,

Thy faithfulness every night,

Upon the ten.stringcd harp, and the lute,

The guitar of the sounding strings,

Thou, O Jehovah, hast rejoiced me with thy work,
I will triumph in the work of thy hands,
How great, O Lord, are thy works !
How unfathomable thy counsels!
The brutish man undcrstandeth it not,
Neither doth the fool comprehend it.

When ihe wicked spring up, as the grass,
And all the workers of iniquity flourish,

• 1 Chron. 16 is made up of parts from four different psalms, Ps. xxxii*
Exxiii. were probably also sung together, and so of others.

t Probably this Psalm, the author of which is unknown, was designed
to be sung by the Lovites on the Sabbath, and in the temple.

They yet shall perish at the last.
. But thou, O Jehovah, abidest
The Most High, forevermore.
Behold, O Jehovah, thine enemies,
Behold thine enemies shall perish,
All the evil-doers shall be scattered,
But my horn shall thou exalt,
As the horn of a wild bullock, *
And I shall be anointed with pure oil.

Mine eye looks with courage on my foea,
Mine eur receives the tidings of evil,
To the wicked, that rise up against me.
The righteous flourish like the palm tree.
And grow up like the cedar of Lebanon.
Those that are planted in the house of the Lord,
Flourish in the courts of our God.
They still shoot forth in old age,
They are full of sap, and their leaf green,
To show that Jehovah is upright,
And there is no unrighteousness in him.

• That is, thou dost raise my courage, and increase my strength. The
wild ox is superior to other animals, by the magnitude and elevation of
his horn. Hence, his horn is often mentioned, as the symbol of strength
and superiority of power. So Moses speaks of Joseph. Deut. xxxiii. 17.

23*

270

XI.

PSALMS RELATING TO THE KING.

The Psalms considered in certain national points of view. Of God as a
judge and national God in the temple. Intimations and expressions of
the Psalms on this point. Of songs of triumph over other nations in a
religious tone. Examples of this. Peaceful and religious scenes in
Psalms of a warlike character. Examples. Of the king as a reprc-
sentative of Jehovah in a theocratic government. The second Psalm
accompanied with remarks. Of the king as covenanted with Jehovah,
who dwelt near him. The 110th Psalm, with remarks. Of the pro.
mises respecting the lineage of David. Their influence on the Psalms.
The last Psalm of David. The times of Solomon, a Psalm. Celebra.
tion of Mount Zion in the Psalms and Prophets.

I am very well aware, that I have by no means exhausted
the internal character of the Psalms. But in order to do so an
extended investigation of the subject matter, of which they
treat, would be requisite, and for that, I have no room in the
present work. The finest sayings respecting God, his attri
butes and works, his government and retributive justice, the
protection, which he extends to the good, the worth of prayer,
and of uprightness in his sight, are so well known to us
through the Psalms and the applications made of them, that a
collection of them seems unnecessary, I venture, therefore,
only to indicate certain leading points of view, which exhibit
the subject matter of some of the Psalms, in its proper relation
to the age, in which they were composed.

1. Elevated and sublime, as are the expressions concerning
God, which occur in the Psalms, we must yet bear in mind,

271

that, especially in those of the age of David, Jehovah is still
represented peculiarly as a national God, who was worship
ped as the king and judge of the land in his temple. This
view of the subject gives as much of force to the songs in
general, as positive meaning to particular expressions. David
contemplated God as the private friend of his person, and his
individual fortunes ; but in the temple he approached with his
confessions and songs, as into the presence of his judge..
Hence we are to explain the account of his sins, as infirmities
or as transgressions, because both were matters to be spoken
of in the temple. Hence he ventured to speak with such con
fidence of his blamelessness in regard to his enemies, because
he was here standing before his judge. So in many of thr-
Psalms.*

Hear, O Jchovali, the righteous, attend to my cry,

Hoar my prayer, that goeth from pure lips,

Before thy presence I seek for my right,

Thine eyes behold the things, that are equal.

Thou provost my heart, sturdiest it by night,

Thou triest me, and fmdest no evil in me.

For I purposed, that my mouth should not transgre«»1

When I gave sentence in thy stead.

In nil things I guarded my lips

From uttering an injurious word.t

I called upon thec, and thou hearedst me, .

So now also incline thine ear and hear.

As for me in my innoeency
I shall behold the face of my judge.

* Ps. xvii.

t This seems to me, the sense of the words, "to the works of of men,
(my subjects) by the word of thy lips, (the judgments and ordinances,
which I gave as king in the name of God) I guarded myself from going
in tho way of violent men, (arbitrary, oppressive tyrants.)" The suppli
ant expects justice from God, since he has not knowingly said or done
evil to any<

272

My withes will be satisfied,
When thine image awakes.*

That is, 80 soon as he shows himself in the character of judge,
all these expressions and intimations are judicial. In the
East the judge was approached in plain terms, and with a loud
cry of complaint, and when he showed .himself, when his
" likeness" awoke publicly, or he appeared in publick for the
administration of justice, he was the helper of the oppressed.
Thus it is said,

Let thy face shino upon us,

And we shall be saved.

Thou saidst, Lord ; ye shall seek my face,

I seek it Lord, hide it not from me.

So many other forms of expression in these publick national
prayers and lamentations before their God.

2. When, therefore, in triumphal and national songs, also, Je
hovah is placed in opposition to the gods of other nations, it is
for the most part in this special, national sense. t

Not unto us, O Jehovah, not unto us,

To thy name alone be the glory,

For thy mercy and thy truths sake.

Let the nations say, " Where is now your God ?

Our God is in the heavens,

And doeth whatsoever he will.

But their idols, silver and gold,

Are the work of men's hands.

They have mouths, and speak not,

They have eyes, and see not,

They have ears, and hear not,

They have noses, and smell not,

They have hands, and handle not,

They have feet, and walk not,

* The context and parallelism require, that the "awaking of the like,
nest" be preferred to God, and correspond with " face."
t Ps, cxv,

273

Nor do they speak through their throat.

Like them are they that made them,
And every one, that trusteth in them.

O Israel, trust thou in Jehovah,
He is your help, and your shield,
O house of Aaron, trust in Jehovah,
He is your help, and your shield.
Ye, that fear Jehovah, trust in him,
He is your help, and your shield.

If we take from these. Psalms the peculiar national feeling,
which accompanied them, we deprive them of a great part of
their force, and of their original import.

In Judah God is known,*

His name is great in Israel,

In Salem is his tabernucle,

And his dwelling place in Zion. „

There brake ho the arrows of the bow,

The shield, and sword, and battle. (Change of tone.)

Glorious art thou, O mountain,
Mightier than the mountains of prey.
They stand despoiled of themselves,
Even the bravo ! they have slept their sleep,
And none of the men of might find their hands.
At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob,
The rider and horse are in a dead sleep.

How terrible urt thou !
Who can stand in thy sight,
Pefore the breath of thy fury ?
Thou didst thunder judgment from heaven,
The earth feared, and was silent.
When thou didst arise to judgment.
To save the oppressed of the earth. (Change of ton«.)

The wrath of man giveth thee but praise,
The remainder of it thou girdest to thee,
As the symbol of thy tuiumph.
Make thy vows, and bring triumphal gifts
To Jehovah your God,

* Ps. Ixxvi,

274

All ye border* of the land,

Bring your triumphal gifts

To him that is to be feared.

He bindeth the pride of heroes,

He is terrible to the kings of the earth.

We know not what event this triumphal song celebrates ; but
every trait is as strictly national, as Salem, Zion, and Jeho
vah were peculiar to the Hebrews. In our warlike and tri
umphal songs the most apposite expressions of this sort from
the Psalms are but withered laurels.

A MORNING SONG OF DAVID.
PSALM 108.

0 God, my heart is ready,
I will sing and give praise.
Awake, my soul, awake,
Psaltery and harp,

1 will awoke early,

I will praise thce, O Lord ;
I will sing praises to thee
Before the people and nation.

For thy goodness is great,
It reacheth above the heavens.*
Thy covenanted truth O Lord,
Reacheth above the clouds.

Fxalt thyself, O God, above the heavens,
That thy glory may cover the earth, t
Deliver thou thy beloved,
Save with thy right hand, and hear.

God heard, and spake in hit sanctuary, t
Therefore will I rejoice.
For already I divide Shechem as mine,

•In allusion to the mo;ning sky rising and freeing itself from clouds.

t An allusion to the morning light,

t A common expression of the favour of Jehovah. (See Ps. Ixxxv. 9.)
The following words are not spoken by God, but by David.

275

And measure out the vale of Sueooth.*

Gilead is mine, Manasaah is mine,
Ephraim my helmet, Judah the leader in war.
Moab is my wash-pot.t
Upon Edom I cast my shoe,
And treat the Philistines with scorn.

Who brought us into the strong city?
Who guided us into Edom ?
Was it not ihou, O God, who also didst cast us off,
And didst not go forth with our armies.

Help us again in our necessities,
For vain is the help of man.

Through God we yet shall do valiantly,
He treadeth the enemy under our feet.

I know no people, in whose war-songs were mingled thoughts
so gentle as we find here. The most feeling prayer and lam*
entation may be nearly connected with feelings of the great
est bravery and warlike sternness. It was obviously the re
fined moral regulations of Moses, which gave even to the
war-songs of so early an age this milder and gentler tone. The
severity found in them belongs to the age, the tenderness and
refinement is the effect of their religion.

3. Hence, we see, also, that passages of the greatest sensi
bility, relating to domestick happiness, are mingled with war
like descriptions, and frequently from the most heroick senti
ments there is a transition to the tone of elegy. The former
circumstance happens sometimes from the union of several
distinct Psalms, as in the 144th. The first eight verses are a
distinct Psalm, and with the 9th a new one begins, which

* These are not conquered countries, but the property of David as
king. He begins with a glad heart to enumerate the blessings of the
inheritance, which God had given him. He names first, Shechem, and
the ralley of Succoth, because these were the residence of Jacob, and
therefore the most ancient inheritance of the Jews, by right of the
patriarch.

t Here begins the enumeration of his conquests and victories.

276

again from speakieg of enemies turns suddenly to the pros-
perity of Judaea.

That our sons, like vigorous trees,

May grow up in the beauty of youth ;

And our daughters, as beautiful pillar*,

Polished like statues in the palace ;

That our garners may be full,

Yielding all manner of store,

Our sheep bring forth thousands,

Yea ten thousands in our valleys;

Our oxen be strong, and no lamentation,

No damage, or loss in our fields.

Happy the nation, that is thus,

Happy the nation, whose God is Jehovah.

In the 65th Psalm is a similar transition from war-like to rural
thoughts. How beautiful is the image, when the shepherd of
Israel, who is invoked for purposes of war, feeds his people as
a shepherd.

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,

TUat leadest Joseph like a flock.

Thou, that art throned above the cherubim,

Let the light of thy countenance shine.

Hefore Ephraim, and Benjamin, and Manassah,

Awake thy strength, and come and save us.

Rerice us again O God,

(jfause thy face to shine, and we shall lit sated,

Jehovah, God of Sabaoth,

How long art thou nngry amid the prayers of thy people !
Thou fecdcst them with the bread of tears,
And givest tears for drink in a full cup.
Thou has made us a reproach to our neighbours,
A scoffing to our enemies round about.
Recice us again, O God of Sabaoth,
Cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.

Thou broughtest a vine out of Egypt,
Thou didst cast out the nations and plant it,
Give it room and cause it to take root,

277

That it filled the land.

Its shadow covered the hills around,

And cedars of God were its boughs,

Thou sentest its branches to the sea,

Its runners even to the Euphrates.

Why then dost ihou break down its walls, ,

So that all, who pass by, despoil it ?

The boar from the wood doth waste it,

The wild beast doth devour it.

O God of Sabaoth, return to us again,

Look down from heaven and behold,

And visit again thy vine,

Which thy right hand hath planted

It is burned with fire, it is cut down,

It is withered at the breath of thine anger.

Let thy hand be upon our leader,

Thy right hand upon him, whom ihou hast made strong;
So shall we never revolt from thee,
Revive us, and we will rejoice in thoe.

Jehovah, God of Salaoth,

Revive U9 again,

Cause thy jace to thine, and vie shall be fated.

This beautiful elegy, with its recurring chorus, is wholly the-
ocratick. It rests on the history of the nation, and only to
ward the end (v. 18.) do we discover the continuous allegory
of the man and hero, who is now to act in the name of Jeho
vah.

4. As -Israel was a theocratic state, and every hero and ru
ler acted in the place of Jehovah, so the language, when
these are sjwken of, has a peculiar loftiness and solemn digni
ty. Even in the historical style it could be said, in the form
of expression which they admitted, that he was seated on the
throne of Jehovah* and in poetry, that he was a son of God,
that is, his representative on earth. Every one knows the va
rious uses of the word son in the Hebrew language. Th*

• 1 Chron. xxix, 23. His kingdom is called the kingdom of Jeho
vah. 1 Chron. xxviii. 5.
24

278

connexion of simp^ domestic relations with ancient govern
ment and cultivation rendered it a favourite expression. In
calling kings the sons of God* it employs a form of express
ion common to all ancient languages, and other Oriental na
tions have gone still farther in a thousand titles and names.!
In such passages as the following therefore the meaning is
plain.}:

I have found David my Servant,
I have anointed him with my holy oil.
With him shall my hand be mighty,
Him also shall mine arm strengthen,
That no enemy may terrify him.

I will beat down his foes before him,
And will smite those that hute him.
My truth and mercy shall be with him,
And in my name shall his horn be exalted,
That his hand maybe stretched to the sea,
His right hand to the river Euphrates.

II r shall nay to me, thou art my fattier,
My God and the rock of my milratiun.
I make him also my first born,
Exalted above ull the kiiiifs of the earth.

The last lines explain the expression son of Jehovah, Jirtt
born of Jthuvtth, so clearly, th.it I venture to add here the 2d
Psalm, as of the same character, and authentically elucidated
by this song of Heinan.

THE 2d PSALM.

What tumult reigns among the nations!

* The Jioyf *'f i£ of Homer are known to every one,

t Tlicy cull themselves sons of heaven, of the sun, the moon,

t Pa. Ixxxix. 20.

279

•Why do they clamour with empty noise 7*
The kings of the earth rise up,
The princes huiltl projects together*
Against Jehovah and his anointed.!
" Let us brake their bands asunder,
*' And cast away their fetters from us."

He, that is throned in heaven, shall laugh,
Jehovah holdeth (hem in derision.

He speakcth to them in his wrath,
And Bcattereth them in his fierce anger. [|
*' I have set my king upon my throne,
Upon my holy mountain Zion."§

I will also declare the divine decree,'
Jehovuh said unto me,
"Thou art my son,
•' So be it from this day forth."**
Ask of me,

And nations shall be thine inheritance,

•I adhere to the simplicity of the ancient versions, which translate
here " empty, vain," the usual sense of the word. The verb also cor.
responds well with this, and signifies the empty uproar of a multitude.
The poet has here in a single word imaged the import of the whole ode,
which only unfolds this lofty sentiment with which it begins.

tl have preserved the metaphor of the original, which is here indeed
only an incidental import of the word, because the idea of the whole
ode has a resemblance to the history in Gen. xi.

t Jehovnh and his earthly representative stand side by side, and as
one person throughout. The latter is here only in the name of the for*
mer, and has his dignity from him.

|| He speaks to them in the thunder, and with lightning disperses
them. The parallelism finely expresses the image, and the words of
the following verses an? the brief and sublime sentence of Jehovah, uU
tered in the thunder.

$1 follow the Hebrew text here in using the first instead of the third
person, and consider God as the speaker in the two last lines, as the
whole context and other parallel passages show to have been intended.

1 Properly the law of the realm, the new constitution of the govern*
ment. Henceforth God will reign through him, as his representative.

** These two lines are parallel, the sense of the latter the same as that
of the former. The same parallelism occurs Is. ix. 6. and in Acts xiii.
54. the passage is applied to a new king.

280

The uttermost part* of the earth thy possession.*
Thou shah smite them with an iron sceptre,
And dash them as a potters vessel.

Be wise now, therefore, Oye kings,
fie instructed, ye judges of the earth.
Obey Jehovah with fcar.t
And^ionour him with trembling.
Do homage to the son, lest he be angry,
And bring destruction on you by the way.t
For soon his wrath will be kindled,
' And happy they, who are faithful to him. (I

Every one may observe here the beautiful lyrical progress
of the Psalm. It begins boldly and abruptly with " a quo ? quo
Hcelesti ruitis?" and sketches in few words the whole picture
of their tumult, their conspiracy, their vain undertaking.
A glance from heaven, a smile of scorn from the king of hea
ven renders all their counsels vain. He speaks to them in
thunders, and one lightning flash drives them asunder. Tho
poet hears and interprets the voice. It was brief and majes-
tick, such as only he might utter, who is throned in heaven.
The king upon earth distinctly explains his ordinances. He
gives them counsel and instruction, but little time for deliber
ation, and closes with a sentiment addressed to the faithful of
the land.

* I leave to the Psalm here its loftiness of expression, the kings, the
boundaries, the judges of the earth, as belonging to the age. The
Psalmist did not consider geographically the relative magnitude of Ju
daea. It was to him simply the central point, where God reigned as
king.

1 1 take the expression literally as meaning circuire. The vassals of
Oriental kings stood in a circle around the throne, and going round the
altar was a common act of religious worship.

J As much as to say, you have no time to deliberate. The image is
taken from the caravans, which perish by the simoom.

il Trust, faith, in the Psalms often mean fidelity, as of subjects to
their sovereign.

281

But to whom does it relate ? For whom was a picture so
animated originally designed ? I know not, if we would judge
of it, uninfluenced by foreign impressions, for what other per
son it could have been originally composed, than for David.
Who dwelt upon Mount Zion at the time of its composition ?
Whom did God set as his son and representative upon this
mountain according to other Psalms of plain import? Who
had as many enemies as he, both in and out of Judcea ? And
who triumphed so gloriously over all these enemies ? Half
the Psalms are full of this subject, and yet, in regard to this,
we proceed as if we had read nothing of it. All the expres*
sions, which occur here, are elsewhere also applied to David,
and the whole view presented by the ode is obviously corres
pondent, both in place and time, to the purpose for which it
was composed. The nations marshal themselves for war.
They are terrified, and proclamation made to them, with brief
space allowed to deliberate — who does not see, that the bow
is drawn for aiming at a present object. Place the object
aimed at the distance of a thousand years, and the arrow flies
in vain. The finest lyrical construction of a most impressive
ode is lost, we deprive it of its local nation and origin, of its
peculiar purpose and meaning.

" But the Psalm is introduced in the New Testament."
Yes! as a Psalm fur the king, and with reference to JIimt
who sat and was forever to sit upon the throne of David.
Must we not, therefore, know how David was enthroned there?
And can we learn this otherwise than from the*circumstances
of his age, the representations of his own songs ? The appli*
cation of it in the New Testament so far from excluding, con^
firms rather its original meaning as descriptive of David.

5. As David, therefore, was enthroned upon the same holy
mountain with God, that is, upon a mount of kingly majesty
in his place, and on his throne t so expressions came into use,
which celebrate him, as the covenanted ally and friend of

282

God. He had brought Jehovah upon mount Zion, and sworn
allegiance to the mighty one of Jacob. *

I will not enter the tabernacle of my house,

Nor go up upon my bed of rest,

I will give no sleep to mine eyes,

Nor slumber to mine eyelids,

Till I find a resting place for Jehovah,

A habitation for the mighty one of Jacob.

Lo we heard of it in Ephrata,

We found it in the wild fields of Jaar ; ^

Let us enter I said into his tabernable,

Let us worship at his footstool.

Arise Jehovah, como to thy rest,

Thou, and the ark of thy heroism.

Thy priests shall be clothed with judgment.

Thy saints shall shout for joy.

David performed this vow, and we know how richly God
requited him. He gave him rest from his enemies, promised
him a perpetual lineage, and continued blessings. The king
places himself with humility btfore the face of God, and
renders his thanksgivings, while he sits crowned with victory,
in his house, upon the holy mount. All these expressions
belong to historical narrative,! and the original local import
of the following Psalm, therefore, would seem also to be
placed beyond question.

THE 110th PSALM.

Jehovah said to the king,
Sit thou upon my right hand.t
Till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
From Zion now Jehovah reaches forth

*Ps. cxxxii.

t2 Sam. vii. 1. 18. 1 Chron. xvii. 16.

I At the right hand means often at the side of God. (Ps. xci. 7. xvi.
8. 11. cix. 31. 121. 5. God gives him a place of rest and honour on
mount Zion, and beside his temple, till be has subdued for him all his
foes.

283

The iceptre of his power abroad,*
" Be thou king amidst thine enemiea.t

Freewill offerings are with thee,
In the day of thy triumph,
Upon ivy holy mountain.
From the bosom of the dawn, as the dew,
*' Have I produced thee for myself.t

Jehovah has sworn and rep-snteth not.U
*• Thou shall be my priest fowever,
I ordain thee my Melchisedek.$
Jehovah, at thy right hand,*
Shall crush the kings in the day of his wrath,

•The sceptre of the king. Jehovah now stretches it out in his name
and as hie ally upon mount Zion.

t Most of the enemies of David were still unconqu«red, when he
weat to Zion, and carried thither the ark of Jehovah.

I The author has a long note on this passage, which I venture chiefly
to omit, as 1 believe his conjectures have met with no favour among the
critics. His rendering is defended mainly by a conjectural alteration of
the text. TK.

|i The inviolable covenant, which God made with David, is in 2 Sam.
vii. where the words »• forever and ever," ore often repeated. David
himself regards it as a covenant obligation, 2 (Sam. vii. 19.) and so
speaks of it in his last words. (2 Sam. xxiii. 5.)

§ It is well known, that the word here rendered •• priest" designates one
who might approach near loGod, and it would stern, that the nearness of
David to God led to its use. But the parallelism king of righteoutnett,
ahows clearly enough its meaning. Such originally the priests were to
be,and when David brought the ark to Zion he sought to invest them again
with that character. (See Ps. cxxxix. 9. How far it was carried we
know not, it is enough, that 2 Sam. viii. 18. the sons of David were
priests, i.e. judges, and David taerefore the highest priest of righte.
ousness, here by a fine allusion called Melchisedek. In the very place,
where David resided, this venerable patriarch had once been a priest
of righteousness and king of peace.

But what is the expression " after the order" ? The parallelism
shows that it is the oath, by which the family of David was raised per.
petually to the regal and priestly dignity. It is the same with decree

in the 2d, P«ulm.

IT The expression here does not relate to rank and dignity, but it is
to be taken as in Ps. xvL 8. 11. Ps xci. 7. and means by the side.

284

Shall tit *• judge among the nati

Then shall the land be full of dead bodies,

And wounded heada lie far around.

He shall drink of the brook in the way,
And lift his head again with pride.*

A beautiful ode ! the plan of which need not bo hidden or
unintelligible to us. It says to David, in his triumphal entry
upon mount Zion, that he may now be at rest by the dwelling
place of Jehovah, and, though encompassed with enemies,
reign securely ; for God is now at his side, as his covenanted
ally, who will sit in judgment among the nations. Clothed
with new dignity, he now dwells near to God, who stretches
forth for him a sceptre, which all obey. He is now King of
righteousness, a priest of God in Salem. What the muses
are to Horace, the same are the holy oracles of God to the
Hebrew poet.

Vos Ca-sarem ahum, militia siuml
Fessa cohortes ubdidit oppidis
Finire quurcntcm lubores.

Pierio recreutis antro.
Vos lene consilium et datis et dato
Guudetis almic. — t

• As introduced in the New Testament, also, this Psalm ex
presses the sense, that a higher king, after toil and suffering,
is now to res/ at the right hand of his heavenly father, until
he shall sit in judgment among the nations, and bring all
things under his feet.

6. A promise was given to the offspring of David, that it
should abide forever, that God should establish it upon the
throne of David its father, and that its prosperity should be
still more widdy extended. We find this promise and the
occasion of it historically related,! and observe at the same

*The image is from the history of Samson.

tLib. 3. Ode 4. : 2. Sara. rii.

285

time in how eminent a sense David received this promise *
He looked upon it as a family league, as a compact after the
manner of men,t rendered thanks to God for it, and in his
last songj still celebrated it, as a covenant respecting his
kingdom confirmed by God. This fair and certain prospect,
is exhibited in the Psalms. God is often reminded of his
promise, David is congratulated in regard to this perpetual
covenant, and finally the future reign of his lineage is pic
tured with all the glowing colours of a golden age. Let us
look at a proof of this.

THE LAST SONG OF DAVID.
2 SAM. xziii. 1 — 7.

So spake David, the son of Jesse,
The man, whom God exalted,
The anointed of the God of Jacob,
And the sweet Psalmist of Israel.

The Spirit of God speaketh in me,
His word is on my tongue.
For thus spake Israel's God,
Thus said to me tiie Rock of Israel.
" A ruler of men, a just prince, ||
A king ruling in the fear of God,
Shall go forth us the morning dawn,
And as the rising sun.
It scattereth the clouds away,
And from the abundant dews
Green herbage springs from the earth."

My house stands therefore fast with God. §
He made with me a covenant forever,
Well ordered in all things and sure,
For he is all my salvation, and ail my desire.

But thus shall not the Belials take root,

*2. Sam. vii. 18. t2 Sam. .vii. 19. t2Sam. xxiii. 1.

fl See Briefe das Studium der Theologie betrefTend, Th. 1. S. 133.

§The word usually here read as a particle, is a noun or verb; recte
ergo disposite, facto confirmata stat domus mea. With God is David'a
frequent and favourite expression.

286

They Bhal! be as thorn* thrust away,

That cannot be taken by the hand.

The man, that will touch them,

Must arm his hand with sword and spear. ,.

The fire shall burn them and their dwelling.

Thus the aged king applied the divine declaration to the
rebels, and dissatisfied spirits of his kingdom, whom Solomon
also removed out of the way. But the reign of his offspring
was not to be wholly in the spirit of revenge. — It was rather
to diffuse new life and warmth, as represented in the 72d
Psalm, under the same image of the dew and morning sun,
which occurs in these last words.

THE TIMES OF SOLOMOX.
TUB 72d PSALM.

Give to the king thy judgments, O God,
And thy tribunal to the king's son.»
He will rule thy people righteously,
And protect the oppressed in judgment.

The mountains shall speak peace to the people,
The hills proclaim to them righteousness,!
That he m.iy aid the oppressed of the people,
That he may save the sons of the needy,
And break in pieces the oppressor.

So long as sun and moon endure,
Shall they fear thee through all generations.t

He shall come down,
As ram upon the mown grass,
A- showers, that water the earth,
In his reign shall the righteous flourish,
And happiness abound while the moon endureth.

•The parallelism shows, that it is intended to congratulate the first,
the king.

t Mountains and hills as Ps. ii. ex. The verb is not expressed in the
second line.

t This would seem to be another voice speaking. The picture pre.
sented is a paraphrase of the " forever and ever," that so often occurs in
2 Sam. vii.

287

From the river to the end of the earth*
The dwellers in the desert bow before him,t

And his enemies lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish and the isles
Bring presents to him.t
The kings of Sheba and of Seba,
Pay their homage with gifts.H
AH kings fall down before him,
And oil nations nerve him.

For he helpeth the poor that crieth,

And the oppressed, who hath no helper.

He spareth the weak and the needy,

He saveth the life of the distressed,

He delivercth it from deceit and violence,

For his blood is precious in his sight.

He shall live, and they shall bring him gold of Sheba,

They ahull pray for him continually,

And daily shall they bless him.

In heaps shall the earth produce its corn,

Its fruit shall rustle upon the mountains,

As the rustling trees of Libanus.

The cities shall flourish with people,

Like the grass-covered field.
His name shall endure forever,

It shall be continued as long as the sun.
Men shall bless themselves in his name,$

All nations shall bless him.

With this the first Psalms of David close, and they could
close with none hetter. In it the blessings of Abraham,
Judah, and David are brought together, and the ideal concep-

* The parallelism shows, that one sea is the Euphrates, and the other
the Mediterranean.

t Arabick and other tribes, whom David had subdued.
t Trading nations, not only islands, but the coasts of Europe.

II Probably Arabia and Ethiopia. The history of the queen of Sheba
is known.

$ That is, when they would speak of happy times, they should call
them the reign of Solomon.

288

lions of the Propheta respecting a future reign, like that of
Solomon, proceeded from these as their models. In the
Psalms, too, when quiet happiness is represented, the name
of Solomon characterizes it, and that golden epithalamium
in the 45th sings of a righteous sceptre, a peaceful reign, a
kindness to the oppressed, in the very style and language of
this promise.

Mount Zion also, the seat of the ever flourishing realm of
David, accompanied it in like manner to later times. Small
as it was, it was to become the chief of the nations ; dry and
parched as it was, from it were to flow living streams. From
Zion was to go forth the law, and the doctrine, which should
bless all nations. For the king of this mountain was to pre
serve for the earth tranquility, joy, light, and blessedness.

Its foundation is in the holy mountains,
Jehovah loveth the gates of Zion,
More than all the dwellings of Israel.

Glorious words are spoken of thee,

O thou city of God.* (Change of tone,) •

" Egypt and Babylon will be counted
To the nation, that acknowledged me.
Philistia, Ethiopia, and Tyre
Shall be as those born there.
To Zion it shall be said,
This and that man were born in her.

The Highest himself hath founded her,
Jehovah himself counts to her her people,
"This and that man was born there."

The princes as well as the least,
All rejoice in her.t

What praise is this, with which in lyric garlands, this city
of God, the royal city, is adorned! All shall come together
here, as to its proper home. In it are sacred songs and
jubilant dances, in which rich and poor form one responsive

• The oracle is here introduced, and hence the change of tone,
t The reading of the last lines ia doubtful.

chorus. We may call to mind many other Psalms, in which
Salem is represented, as the city of God, and of an everlas
ting kingdom, as the head of the nations of the earth, and
anticipate the rich development of the Prophets."

NOTK. The author inserts here a piece of poetry of several pagw, by
J.H. Schmid, a German, which I venture to omit. TR.

XII.

General view of the period under David and Solomon. What we have
still extant from the productions of that period. Influence of these on
the writings of the Prophets. By what causes the spirit of the Pro
phets was awakened and animated. Proofs in respect to Hosea and
Isaiah. The new lineage of David and Son of God. Images of roy
alty. Their origin, and development of their traits from ancient pro.
phecies and Psalms. How the fortunes of David wore applied by the
Prophets. How Jerusalem and Zion are employed in their figurative
language. Specimens. Principle on which they unfolded ancient pro.
mises and historical incidents. Difference between the higher and low.
er economy of God. Comparison of Moses with some other distin.
guished individuals of biblical history.

Under the reign of David and Solomon Judaea, considered
as a kingdom, was in the most flourishing condition, which it
ever attained. It extended from the Mediterranean to the
Euphrates, and from the desert in the South to Mount JL,iba-
nus. Its kings were respected, and the country enjoyed the
advantages of its beautiful situation, even in regard to com
merce. The natural consequence was, that the names of
these kings became classical in history and poetry for alJ suc
ceeding times. Their age was alone renowned, so long a*
kings continued to reign. For these it was now their highest
glory, that they eat upon the throne of David, and were priv
ileged to call themselves his sons and successors. Such they
were, but not in regard to his prosperity. For, Solomon alone
excepted, (and even his reign scarcely reached the expecta
tions, that were indulged, and by no means to the ideal of tho
72d Psalm) the kingdom of David, as a whole, soon went
down. It was divided after the death of Solomon, and the
smaller part only fell to the family of David. Both kingdoms

291

were the theatre of commotion and anarchy, and subject to
the frequent incursions of their neighbours, until all was lost
in the captivity. The species of poetry, therefore, which is
the daughter of victory, of tranquility, and prosperity, found
no longer an age so splendid and favourable for its produc
tion, as it enjoyed under David and Solomon.

It is matter of regret, too, that of the productions of that pe
riod nothing remains to us, but the songs of the temple, and
Huch as relate personally to the king and to the kingdom. For
it is plain, that the Psalms, and the writings of Solomon are
devoted to one or the other of these purposes. The bridal
song of the 45th Psalm has only been preserved to us, because
it celebrated the praises of a king, and the hopes of his king
dom, out 6f divine oracles, and was also valued as of a reli
gious character. The Song of Solomon and the Proverbs
would not have been preserved, had they not been adorned
with the name of Solomon, and had not the later age, when
tlu^c writings were collected, found in the former already a
favourite mystical sense, a description of a future pericd like
the reign of Solomon. As a bridal and love song of any other
poet, it would .never have been preserved. — We have, there
fore, from the most flourishing period of Hebrew poetry but a
rtcruity remnant, such as could be saved in the general wreck
of tho captivity, by reverence for the names of their ancient
kings, their religion, and the history of the kingdom. The
voice of the bridegroom and the bride,* those joyous songs of
the harvest and the vintage,! of which mention is so often
made, are no longer extant. The voice of the grinder at the
rnill,f and of other kinds of employment, is silent, and all the
daughters of musick are sleeping in the dust. As an emerald
set in gold, so is the melody of musick with festive wine,|| but
it is heard no more. The joy and mirth of their rural feasts
are swept away from their fields, and we hear no more the
* Jer. vii. 34. t Isa. ix. 3. Jer. xxv. 10.

J Eccl. zii. 4. I) Sirach xxvii, 5,

292

kfdad, the jubilant cry of the wine treader in his song.* How
unfair is it then, to compare the poetry of this people, as a
whole, with that of other nations, when we have but one or
two branches of the tree, the poetry connected with religion*
worship, and that relating to the king, or what was consider
ed as such. The remainder was not collected, or was lost.

But as the songs of Moses, so the Psalms, as illustrative of
these, had a great influence on later times. They were (pro
bably at first only to the 72d psuhn) the song book of the na
tion, or at least of the temple and of the Prophets. In look
ing at the individual characters of the latter, we shall see how
closely they adhered to the language of the sanctuary, and
how richly they paraphrased them in their animated appeals.
It will now be my purpose only to show in general the* influence
which the so called Messiah or royal psalms have had on the
voices of the Prophets; and I say in a word, that thtse, to
gether with the ancient prophecies, have not only awakcnid
tfc voice of the Prophets, but the rich and expanded views of
thusc latter are obviously the development of the former.

1. To the offspring of David were given by divine dcclaro-
tions great promises respecting an everlasting kingdom, a new
establishment of it, and a future period of great happiness and
prosperity. As then the kingdom, through the fault of Sol
omon, Rehoboam, and other kings, was sunk into a lo\v con
dition, W'IKIU (Grot! :tn liini£ihi oMv»kft: tiiinv <»inr? <i£ tint- Pronhcta-,,
what could they say to the people other thari "ye are fallen
and debased." What else could Hosea say to the kingdom of
Israel, but "turn again to the righteous Jehovah, for ye havo
gone astray. Instead of going to the calves, go into the des
erts of Judah, to the temple of him to whom ye belong, he
will meet you, and receive you graciously. "t

I will betroth thee unto me forever.t
• J«r. xlviii. 33. t HOB. ii. 14. xiv. ii. tHo«. ii. 19.

I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness,
In judgdment, in loving kindness, and mercy.
In faithfulens will I betroth thee,
And thou shall again acknowledge Jehovah,

It is the wish of the Prophet, that Israel and Judah should
again become one kingdom, and he represents the re-union
under the symbol of a marriage. This sentiment pervades his
whole Prophecy, and is of political import. lie allures them
with a voice of friendship back to the wilderness of Judah,
to the House of God, and the family of David,* that they too
may enjoy the blessings, which were promised that line of
kings. For all the more ancient blessings of Abraham, of
Judah, and Moses, were confirmed by the divine declarations
and the Psalms to the offspring of David. He foresees, also,
future times of happiness, in which

The erring children of Israel return,
Add seek Jehovah, their God, and David, their king,
And honour Jehovah, and his fatherly kindness,
In the latter days.

So spake a Prophet of Israel, and the sages in the kingdom
of Judah must still more clearly unfold their views concerning
these ancient blessings, and ordinances of the realm. When
Israel was often laid waste, and even now was on the point of
h«ini£ (innnmli :IW.:L\V cuytiv.'*-,, GoiL axvoka iiu tim ^irarcLv, mnrtt
happy Judah the voices of many Prophets at once, which the
spirit of Isaiah was probably instrumental, if not in originally
calling forth, at least in animating and encouraging. They
saw the fate of their sister kingdom, the greatest part of the na
tion, they felt their own misery, and turned themselves back for
encouragement to those Prophecies, which God had given con
cerning the race and lineage of David. The stock of David

flood contemned, small, and almost dried up ; but with strong
* Hosea ii. 11. vi. 1.

25*

294

faith in the inviolable word of God, and the oath, which he
had sworn to David, they saw a new shoot arise from its root,
and to that they applied all the blessings, which God had
pronounced in ancient times. This is the key to Isaiah's
first images.

THE NEW LINEAGE OF DAVID.*

Behold ! Jehovah, Jehovah Sabaoth,
Smites off tke branch with fearful crash,
The lofty trunks are hewn down,
The proudly exalted are humbled,
The thick forest is cut down with the axe,
The groves of Libanus by a mighty arm.

But a new brunch springs from the stem of Jess*,
A shoot shnll grow up from his roots,
And the spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him.
The spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
The spirit of prudence and of heroism,
The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovuh,
And cause him to breath in the fear of Jehovah.

He judgcth not by the sight of the eye,
Nordecideth by the hearing of the ear.
He givcth judgment to the poor uprightly,
Avengeth with equity the oppressed,
And smiteth the hind with his royal word,
With the breath of his lips he slayeth the wicked.
With righteousness he girdeth his loins,
And faithfulness is the girdle of his reins.—
And then shall the root of Jesse
Become as the banner of the (ancient) tribe,
For which the nations shall enquire,
And count it glorious to enjoy the rest it gives.

It would be strange, if every one, acquainted with the
ancient Prophecies respecting Judali and the lineage of David,
did not recognise in every trait the development of their ex-

* Isa. x. 33. xi. 1—10.

295

pressions and images. The staff of Judah is known from the
blessing of Jacob, and grew into the royal sceptre of David.
Now it is dried up to the root, and the Prophet sees a new
shoot spring forth, which becomes again a leader, and an
army banner, as Judah was once destined to be. The nations
enquire after it, and consider its protection, honor, safety, and
tranquility ; as formerly the nations were to depend on Judah
for support. All the attributes of the future monarch are from
the history of Solomon, and the blessings pronounced upon him.
He was renowned for his wisdom, and the future Solomon is to
excel him sevenfold in wisdom and divine gifts. The pic
tures of the righteousness of his reign are from the Psalms,
which relate to Solomon, as well as the beautiful picture of a
golden age under his dominion, which immediately follows
the above, and which I have not translated. Even the pecul
iar expression, " to breath or smell in the fear of Jehovah,"
seems to have; been occasioned by thn oracular language in
the last words of David.* The Prophet unfolded the ancient
oracles, and combined them into an image, that might awa
ken and confirm the faith of his people. I add here in like
manner r.nothcr passage, which has been misinterpreted, or
thought obscure, only perhaps because its relation to the an
cient Psalms and historical incidents was not observed.!

They pass distressed and hungry through the land,

And in their hunger fret themselves.

And curse their God and king.

They look toward heaven, and toward the earth,

But darkness and distress are over all,

* According to this a ruler was promised, who should rul« in the fear
of God. Isaiah who is fond of paranomasia has put together several
like words.

tlsa. viii. 21—ix. 7.

296

Thick darkness, and redoubled night.*

No dimness now, where late thick darkness reigntd,

Like those old times, when he in Zebulon

And Naphthali at first threw off the yoke.

He renders glorious in the latter days

The country by the sea beyond the Jordan,

The anarchy of nations,
i The people that were walking in darkness,

Behold a great light.

The dwellers in the land of blackest night,

On them hath light shone forth.

The people are increased, and great too is their joy.t

They joy before thee like the joy of harvest,

As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
For thou didst break their heavy yoke,

The rod which smote their shoulders,
, The sceptre of their oppressors,

As in the time of Midian.

The Prophet could not have sauj more distinctly, at what he
aimed in every thing, and from whence his images were
drawn. These were from the times of Midian, and therefore
from the victorious times of the Judges. At that period in
the North part of the country a great deliverance was wrought. J
Then in the obscure forests of Naphthali and Zebulon the
light of freedom went forth over all the land. So now also in
this Northern press of nations ; in the way along the sea of
Galilee, where now the hostile Syrians are exercising their
oppressions, the light of freedom is going forth, and there
shall be joy and jubilee, like that of the song of Deborah.

* It is the method of Isaiah to contrast the present and melancholy
with the future and happy condition, and these must be taken together
here, though in different chapters.

1 1 take the particle here for the interjection, expressing a wish, and a
feeling of joy, utinam, O si! as it often occurs.

t Jud. iv. 5. In Ilaroslieth i. e. the forest of nations, as now in
Galilee, in the heaped up, confused nations, which pressed upon them
fromaborc.

297

For all the weapons of tumultoms war.
And ah the warriors harness, dipped in blood,
Shall now be burned, as fuel for the flame—
For unto us a king is born,
And unto us a son is given.
The staff shall be upon his shoulder,
His name is called, the wonderful,
The counsellor, the mighty hero,
My father to eternity,
The prince of peace.

Could the Prophet indicate his purpose in any way more
distinctly ? He does not surely speak of a Hezekiah, or of
his son, as if he were writing a birth-day ode, but of a king,
who should bear all the names and blessings of the offspring
of David, and bring the promised golden age. He is called
therefore, .sow, and begotten, i. e. the begotten of God, an ex
pression already consecrated by the Psalms. The Sceptre,
which Judali bore before his feet, he lays upon his shoulder —
and thus in him revives Judah, the ancient prince of the
tribes. His name is called wonderful! and so David often
called himself, when as the stone, that was rejected, he had
now become the corner stone.* So the angel called himself,
who announced the birth of Sampson. t He is called coun
sellor and mighty hero, for Isaiah usually couples the two to
gether to intimate, that he is to be prudent in counsel, and
mighty in deeds, as was remarked in treating of the pre-
previous prophecy. My father henceforth forever lie calls
him also, and does not venture even *4o change the grammati
cal peculiarity of person, which often stands in the Psalms
and benedictions, " he shall call me, my father! and I will
establish his kingdom forever.";): Finally prince of peace, as
the name of Solomon imports, and as the Psalms explain it.
The Prophet compresses into the names all which he could

• Ps, cxviii, 22, 23, t Jnd. xiii, 18. t Ps. Ixxxix. 27. 2 Sam. ?ii 14.

293

bring together concerning the blessings and the glory of the
offspring of David.

And great shall his dominion be,
And endless peace shall reign
Upon the throne ot David in his kingdom,
That he may order and establish it,
With righteousness and judgment
From henceforth and forevermore.
The zeal of Jehovah Sabaoth
Will pciibrm this.

That is zeal for his own honour, for all these words were
promises of God respecting the lineage of David, which aro
here repeated.

I cannot indulge myself in a description of the golden age,
which the Prophets connect with the reign of this new king,
the general amount of the whole is however, thnt he was to be
•i shepherd like David, a peaceful prince like Solomon, a right-
HOUS judge, a mighty hero, and a restorer of the fear of Jeho
vah. The presence of Jehovah, his righteousness, goodness
and saving eflicacy were to be manifested in him, and he was
to be addressed with the acclamation, Jthovali our righteous*
Mf.s-.s-, Jr./wrah our helper. In treating of the Prophets we shall
enquire concerning the origin of these denominations, and it
will appear, that among them, before and during the captivity,
the name of a king, of a new David, was used. Afterwards,
when the government was divided between the prince and the
high-priest, Zechariah saw the two anointed ones stand before
the throne of Jehovah.* Now therefore the representation of
the shoot from the stock of David became also biform, though
varying according to the circumstances of the time. He was
to build the temple of the Lord like Solomon, and in the tem
ple to bear the magnificent apparel of the high priest. He
was to reign on the throne established by Jehovah, but also to

* Zech. 4. xiv.

299

be a priest upon his throne, and peace was to be between them.*
Finally Malachi returns to the most ancient economy, and
brings back Moses and Elias, the ancient messengers of God,
who has established the covenant in their purifying spirit. —
Thus the prophecy always clothed itself in the costume of the
age ; while there were kings, it adhered for the most part to
the promise in relation to a king, which is celebrated in the
>9tK Psalm.

I sing the mercies of Jehovah forever,
I will proclaim with my mouth
Thy faithfulness from age to age.

And say, for us shall grace be ever sure,
Thy words shall be established like the heavens.
" For I confirmed a covenant with my chosen,
I swore to David my servant,
Thy seed will I establish forever,
And build thy throne form ago to age."
The heavens bear witness to thy wondrous work,
The assembly of saints praise thy faithfulness.

This did the Prophets, they named the future king, the ser
vant of God, David.

2. Still farther, they develope in him the fortunes of David
and of the seed, which was promised him. David himself was
doomed to suffer much, before he could establish his extensive
kingdom, and the other was to be chastened with the rod of
inen.t though the favour of Jehovah his father should not
wholly depart from him, and both the suffering and triumph
were applied by the Prophets, amidst all the calamities, which
they witnessed, to the future king and his kingdom. — This is
the key to the remarkable and apparently contradictory repre
sentations of the Prophets. The 22d, and all the Psalms of
David, descriptive of his afflictions, were unfolded, and conso
lation given to oppressed and suffering Israel by the consider-

*2 Sam. vii. 14. tZech. vi. 12. 13.

300

at ion, that, as it was the fate of their glorious ancestor in this
way to attain his elevation, so it must be theirs, and that of
their future king, through oppression and suffering to be exal
ted to dignity and honour. We accordingly find in the Prophets
frequent applications of that class of David's Psalms mentioned
above.

I place here, as an appendix, the leading Psalm of this class
which the Prophets gradually unfolded more and more, and,
with which they sought to comfort their depressed people ;
the Psalrn, with the first expressions of which the most exalted
sufferer expressed his deep anguish upon the cross.

I. THE SUFFERER.

A LAMENTATION, Ps. XXII. 1 — 23.*

TO THE CHIEF MUSICIAN, AT THE DAWN OP MORNING,
A PSALM OF DAVID.

My God, my God ! wherefore dosl thou forsake me?

Why art thou far from helping me, and from my cry?

My God, hy day I call, but thou hearest not,

I cry by night, and find no time of rest !

And yet art thou the adoruble one,

Who is enthroned amid the praises of Israel.!

In thee our fathers trusted,

They trusted, and thou didst save them, .

They cried to thee, and were delivered,

Trusted in thee, and were not confounded.

But I urn but a worm, and no man,
Contemned of men, the people's scorn.
All they, that see me, scoff at me,

* By the sufferer here dcsciibcd, has been understood, sometime*
David, then Hezckiuh, the whole Jewish nation, then again, an unknown
king, or hero, unsuccessfully contending with barbarous foes, and final-
ly the Jewish Messiah. A minute description even of the last sufferings
of Christ have been sought for by some in the several traits in this Psalm.
This is not the place to go into a discussion of these various views. I
may do it, perhaps, on another occasion.

t In the sanctuary, where dongs of praise wer^ sung to Jehovah.

301

They pout the lips, and shake the head*
44 He calls upon Jehovah, let him save him,
Let him deliver him, since he delights in him."

Yet thou didst take me from my mother's womb.
And wast my hope upon my mother's breasts.
While 'laid upon the lap, I hung on thee,
And from my mother's womb thou wast my God !
Be therefore, even now, not far from me,
For trouble comes, and there is none to help !

Many bulls have compassed me about,
Strong bulls of Bushan have beset me round.*
They rushed with open mouth upon me,
Like ravening and roaring lions.
Like water am I poured out,
And all my bones are loosed.
My heart is melted like wax within me,t
My strength dried up like a potsherd.
My tongue too cleavethto the roof of my mouth,
And thou hast laid me in the dust of death
Dogs have encompassed me aroundj
And gangs of wicked men enclose me,
They pierce my hands and feet.
I might count over all my bones,
They see it, and with joy they gaze upon me.
They even now divide my garments,
And cast lots upon my vesture. ||

But be not thou, Jehovah, far from me,
My strong deliverer, haste and help me,

• The image of a powerful and enraged enemy. The bullocks of Ba-
shait were distinguished by their strength and wildness. In the opinion
of some commentators, there is an allusion here to the region, from
which the enemy came, who threatened the royal Psalmist.

t A vivid image of a relaxation and sinking of ail the energies.

t An image not unusual in the East ot swarming and piratical enemies.
Dogs running loose without masters are even more bloodthirsty than
wolves.

p They are so snre of my death, as already in thought to divide my
possessions,
26

302

Deliver my life from the aword,*
My soult from the power of the dog.
Rescue me from the lion's mouth,
And save me from the bullock's horn§,t
Among my brethren then will I extol thte,
And praise thce in the congregation.

II. THE SUFFERER DELIVERED.
PSALM XXH. 24— 32.||

Ye, that fear Jehovah, praise him !
All ye offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
And reverence him, ye seed of Israel,
For he contemneth not nor despiseth
The mournful cry of the afflicted,
Nor hath ho hid his face from him,
But when lie cried to him, ho heard.

My song shall praise thce in the congregation,
Before thy servants will I pay my vows.
Eat, and be satisfied, ye humble sufferers,
Ye, that seek him, praise Jehovah,
Your heart shall be revived forever,^
And all inhabitants of the earth,
Remembering shall turn to Jehovah,
And all the tribes of men worship him.
For to Jehovah doth the kingdom pertain,
And he is ruler among the nations. •, <

•The sufferer here is anxious to be assured of the interposition of Je
hovah, and does not yield himself to the death, that is threatened, so wil
lingly as the dying Saviour.

t My darling, my dearest part, my life, my soul.

t Literally the wild ox or buffalo, an imago of powerful and enraged
enemies.

(i This second part of the Psalm has a very different tone und charac
ter from the first, and is neither so powerful in language, nor rich in sen
timent. In the circumstances of the case we should naturally expect it
to be otherwise, and many commentators consider this u distinct Psalm,
designed to accompany the offering of sacrifice.

$ Rich and poor partook of the sacrificial feasts.

303

Let them that eat the fat of the earth, worship him,

And them, that are humble, bow before him,

Whose souls are vexed with care !*

The future generations shall revere him,

And shall be counted as his people.

They come to make his kindness known,

And what he hath performed, to future times ! —

3. Zion and Jerusalem also passed into the Prophets in
vested with the character, which had been given them in the
Psalms. The residence of the most renowned of the ancient
kings was ^o be the yet more magnificent seat of a future king,
still more glorious than David, who should reign in Zion, as
the peculiar representative of Jehovah.

Arise, be light ! for thy light Cometh!*
Jehovah's glory goeth forth upon thce.
Lo! darkness covereth the earth,
And deep obscurity the nations !

But upon thee Jehovah goeth forth,
His glory now is visible upon thee,
And all the nations come to thy light,
, And kings to the brightness, that riseth on thee.

Lift up thine eyes around and see,
They all assemble themselves, and come to thee.
Thy sons are come from far,
From far they bring to thee thy daughters.

Then shall thousee, and rejoice,
Thy heart shall leap, and be exalted,
When the tumultuous sea shall turn to thee,
, And nations bring to thee their wealth.

The caravans of camels cover thee,
The dromedaries of Midian andEphah.
All they from Sheba come,
They bring thee gold and incense,
And praise the glory of Jehovah.

The flocks of Kedar are assembled unto thee,
The rams of Nebaioth are made to serve thee,

* Rich and poor, joyous and sad, i. e. all men should honour Jehovah.
1 By the side, on the border, or distant, as the parallelism requires.

304

They come acceptably upon mine altar,
And I will glorify the house of my glory.
Who are these, that fly as clouds,
And as the dovea, that flock to their houses ?
For now the isles are waiting my command,
And ships of Tarshish are made ready,

To bring thy sons from distant lands.
Their silver and their gold with them,
Devoted to the glory of Jehovah,
The holy God of Israel, who glorifieth thee.

The sons of strangers build thy walls,
Their kings shall minister unto thec,
For in my wrath I smote thee,
Rut in rny favour have I mercy on thee.

Thy gates shall be continually open,
Nor day nor night shall they be closed,
To bring to thee the riches of the nations,
And that their kings too may be brought.

Let one read the 22<1, ?2d, 87th, 102d and other Psalms,
and compare them \vitb this passage, and he will at once per
ceive, that expressions in them respecting the coming of for
eigners to Jerusalem, worshipping there, and being accounted
as natives, are here merely unfolded, though with the greatest
richness and beauty. The nations and regions named by the
Prophet are the very same, too, which occur in the Psulrn
concerning Solomon.*

So i» is with Zion, the dwelling place of God, and the pe
culiar crown of the country. What the festival and national
Psalrns sung of present circumstances, the Prophets applied
to adorn their views of the future period of the reign of Jeho
vah. There, in that expected day, this little mountain was to
be exalted, its diminutive brook become a river, and water the
parched desert. — It is absurd to suppose, that the Prophets
meant all this to be taken in its literal and sensuous import, as
if Mount Zion was suddenly to swell to a giant range, and all

* Compare Isa. Ix. 6. 7. 13. with Ps. Uxii, 10. 15. 16,

305

the brass and iron of the temple become gold and silver. So
^oon as we know, whence they -derived these figurative repre
sentations, that they did not invent them themselves and to
please their own fancy, but pictured their conceptions, and
sketched their hopes in the ancient known language of na
tional songs and national hopes, we shall cease to think of
such sensuous interpretations, which to a great extent are
self-contradictory, and at the same time shall be as far removed
at least from their opposite, the obscure abyss of mysticism.
We shall see how they, as men of sound understanding, and
as the divine sages of their nation, did what all true philoso
phers do with the works of God in nature.

These observe, and analyze, study the laws, the course,
and ultimate tendency of the phenomena of nature, and in
like manner they fixed their attention on the rovrnant of Je
hovah, their ever true and faithful God, considered his dec
larations, unfolded the import of his words, studied ancient
customs and the character of individuals, accommodated the
incidents of more ancient times to their own age and saw in
both the germs of the future already beginning to unfold. The
Spirit of Jehovah was their guide, for] their visions were not
unmeaning raptures, but calm predictions, determinations and
prospective views, in accordance with a new series, ordained
in higher dignity.

This seems to me, to be the true link of connexion in the
writings of the Prophets, and the best key to their hidden
treasures. While we consider, whence they derived these
images, for what end they used them, to what period, and un
der what new form, each applied his own, we draw, as it
were, with them from the same consecrated fountains, and fly
as they did, like bees in all directions, and extract our sweets
from every flower of the ancient world. The rich garden of
ancient divino oracles, in history, in the benedictions and
Psalms, in our present position lie behind us, the collected
2Q*

300

and elaborated flowers of the Prophetick books before us, a
beautiful and instructive prospect.

And when we observe step by step, how always the thoughts
of God are higher, than the mere human conceptions of even
the. wisest favourites of heaven ; how all these saw only in
their own sphere, and, even in the light of Divine inspiration,'
could conceive of the future only according to the measure of
their own experience, while he, however, went on with his
own infinite designs, and from their words and views often
unfolded conceptions, which had probably never entered their
narrow minds; how clearly do we see the difference between
t!it higher ecu/win i/ and purposes of God, and that lower econ
omy, which fulls under our immediate observation !

It is undoubtedly true, as expressed in the eulogy upon
Moses attached to tiie close of his history, that " there arose
not a Prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord
knew face to face," for in the whole period, which we have
passed through we find none, who will bear a comparison with
him. Samuel had a ray of his light, but not his power; he
i-ould not raise up the fallen state, much less bring it back to
the unattained conceptions of Moses. David had sensibility
and delicacy, uprightness and heroism; but he was a king.
Instead of the pubiick good, the more limited good of his
own family occupied his mind. lie encircled the Mosaic
law with a iyrica] garland, but could not increase its perma
nent safeguards, and still less establish it upon a deeper found
ation. The wisdom of Solomon passed into luxurious refine-
menT, the splendour and pomp of a royal court, while the
economy of the state was in the mean time broken up. Of
those, who came at a later period, Elijah had an arm like
Mose$, but his age was too deeply sunk ; he purified like the
fire ami the wind, but he could not give stability and life.
Isaiah and other Prophets could speak like Moses; they were
animated by his spirit and his clearsightedness, but where is
the work which they accomplished \ the political edifice,

307

which they left behind them? Moses left it in a form dis
tinctly conceived and carried into effect with an arm that nev
er tired. His original plan, to build to God an altar of stone,
' and appoint the first born throughout the land to serve him,
was the most simple and sublime, that has been found in any
system of national worship; and this the Prophets with more
spiritual views picture forth only for a future age. When
Moses was con polled to yield to his sensuous and rebellious
people, who were throughout inclined to worship the golden
calf, how pure a conception did he produce in the tabernacle,
the tent of the divine lawgiver moving with the movements of
a wandering people! — The idea of the most holy place, with
its unapproachable mystery, containing only the tables of the
law, which it preserved beneath the wings of the mysterious
symbol, is so symply sublime, that nothing can be altered or
acliled without desecrating and debasing it. Its holy place
had nothing but the shew-bread, the symbol of the most an
cient family sacrifices, which were merely feasts. Here stood
the most simple feast before the eyes of Jehovah. In front of
it burnt the seven lamps, the symbol of his omniscience, and
before that again the golden altar sent up its clouds of in
cense, the symbol of prayer from the most ancient times.
That, which properly constituted the temple, contained no
thing more. The blood of expiation, and that offered as an
acknowledgment of tenure and allegiance, flowed only in
the outer court, and how wisely were all these rights adapted
to the welfare of the state? How well defined were his laws !
and how unweariedly did he labour to improve them ! and
notwithstanding all the hindrances, which might have dis
couraged the most resolute, never abandoned the purpose of
his life. Even at the last he collected the energies of his
spirit, re-ordained his system, and died as a lawgiver, who
knew his country, and skilfully adapted his institutions to it.
How wise and judicious too was the plan of his Exodous from
Egypt ! Even the sea formed a path lor him, which served at

308

the same time for a wall, through which his people could not
return. Finally what courage, and what a spirit must belong
to the man, who in a barren desert could control, cultivate,
and soften a rebellious multitude of 600,000 men ! Truly
tlicrc arose since no Prophet in Israel like Moses ; the arm of
the most powerful of them was but the finger cf Moses, and
the most enlightened of them only reflected the glory of his
countenance.

Before theeonly do I bow myself, thou heavenly form, more
exalted, than Moses, the more beautiful, as thou wast more be-»
nign ; the more powerful, as thou didst more conceal thy
power. With twelve poor, rude and unlearned disciples thou
didst accomplish more than Moses with his mighty host, and
found a kingdom of heaven, the only kingdom, that from its
nature can endure forever. For tho whole world it was es*
tablished by thee, but only with the smallest beginning. Tho
seed was planted in the earth, which still is growing, and
expanding to diffuse at length that reviving shade, to which
all the Prophets point their predictions, of the future. En
dued with heavenly powers, thou didst como down to tire
earth, and find the predictions of the Prophets meet in thee,
with courage to fulfil even those of severest import, by pover
ty, by suffering, and by the most shameful deuth, because in
this way only could they be fulfilled. Moses' and Elias, the di- '
vinest heroes of the ancient world, conversed with thee upon
the holy mount, with thee the third, the greatest, and most be
nign of all. Thou hast accomplished thine advent, hast ac
complished and wilt accomplish all the predictions of tlve
Prophets in that work, which, though iniisibly, is still and
ever progressive. It is the sole work of its kind ever accom
plished in the world, one which n6 sage, n<> mighty hero
could ever accomplish, and whose consequences reach beyond
the boundaries of time. Tho beautiful regions of the Pro
phets will conduct us on our way to that kingdom, which he
hath establishedj and towards which we ajre now advancing*

306
REMARK

OP THE FIRST EDITOR. \

The continuation of this work, greatly as the author de
lighted in the employment, and often as he anticipated its
prosecution, unhappily never appeared. He wished for a
season of leisure to be devoted to it, but it never came. Only
a few leaves of the commencement of the third part were found
among his papers, which however I would not willingly suffer
to be lost, especially as they contain a recapitulation of what
has been said in the previous parts, and a brief sketch
of the remainder, which was to be concluded in the third
part. The following is the fragment referred to.

We have now so far prepared the ground, that we may con
template to advantage the growth and expansion of that tree
of Israelitish hopes and prophetic anticipations, on which the
poetry of the Prophets put forth its flowers. From their pa
triarch Abraham downward, the nation indulged the prospect,
that through their race all the nations of the earth were to
receive some great and signal blessing. The shepherd race
went down to Egypt, tho patriarch of the twelve tribes turn
ed even his dying eyes to the land, where they were destined
to dwell, and arranged as it were a prophetic chart of their
dwelling places; but he died, and Joseph, the prince among
his brethren, also died. The people sunk into a state of bon
dage, and almost abandoned the hope even of their own de
liverance, much more of being instrumental in blessing all
other nations. Moses at length delivered them from bondage,
improved with great labour the rude character of the nation,
received an earnest of their future conquest, saw the land of
promise, and died. His painful labours had been limited
within a narrow circle. He was obliged to destroy a few in
considerable states, but tho world at large could not feel his

310

beneficial influence. Israel, after his death, but imperfectly
conquered the promised land, and for a long period was op
pressed and reduced to a condition of misery, now by this,
and now by that neigboring people, until a lion of the tribe of
Judah arose, and being satiated with the spoil of nations re
posed himself upon mount Zion, one of the fruits of his tri
umphs. A star went forth from Jacob, a sceptre was raised up
in Israel, which smote the heads of Moab, made conquest of
Edom, dispersed and overran the Amalekites, the Kcnites,
and similar tribes. So long as he lived, no one dared fully
to arouse the lion, though they ventured in some degree to
excite him. But he died, and his royal mind in the anticipa
tion of death was filled with care respecting the future inter
ests of his kingdom. Hence God gave him the promise,
not only that his son should sit upon his throne, and reign with
undisturbed sway but that a successive series of his descend
ants should bear the sceptre. This declaration of God eleva
ted his hopes, and animated his heart. li is not only cele
brated in several Psalms, as a divine oracle respecting the
future interests of the country and the royal family, but the
dying king even in his last song encircles his temples with this
unfading laurel.*

With hostile feelings he there reflected upon the malcon
tents of his kingdom, on whom he had tried every kindness in
vain, and whom he considered unfit and undeserving sub
jects of farther clemency. But with so much the greater joy
did he reflect on the covenant in relation to his own family,
which God had established with him, from which the figura
tive expressions in this last song are taken, and which is cel
ebrated also in the 72d, 89th and 122d, Psalms.

Such were the germs, from which the tree of prophetic po
etry grew up; the benedictions bestowed upon Abraham, Ju
dah, and David, and since the two former seemed also coin.*

* 2 Sam. xnii. 1. See above in the XJ section.

311

cident to this most victorious, prosperous, and at the same
time religious prince, since by his reign, his arrangement of
divine worship, but especiaily by his Psalms, he formed a
marked epoch, it was in the nature of things, that his age,
especially as delineated in his Psalms, should both for the
Prophets, who formed themselves according to the spirit of
these songs, and for the people, who sung them, and recalled
the events of that period with pride, become as it were the
ideal and model of that, which with more splendour they pic
tured as still future. The blessing of Abraham was only in ve
ry general terms ; too comprehensive, and too spiritual to ad
mit of particular representation. Moses was too far removed
from them, though they took from him for their use all the
miracles of the divine interposition, both in Egypt and in the
desert, together with the Shechinah. David presented to
them a character more glorious, and better known ; for the
people were now accustomed to notions of royalty. The mu
tual jealousies of the tribes had ceased, when most of the
Prophets wrote, the ten tribes were already in captivity, and a
small branch of Judah with the royal stock of David was all
that remained. To this therefore tended the current of pro
phecy, and here the streams flowed together. The views of
JLCob and Balaam, the victories, the reign, the piety of David,
expressed in his Psalms, the promise of an endless period of
peace and happiness under his posterity, who should succeed
him upon the r.hrone — all these circumstances were connect
ed with him, and associated him in their minds with their
glowing conceptions of the future. He is often styled in the
Psalms the son of Jehovah, the first born of God, and was
enthroned near the dwelling place of God upon his holy moun
tain. He brought nations into subjection, had a cultivated
taste for musick and poetry, and a regard for right, and spake
of himself in his relation to God with humility and self-abase
ment. His posterity were to enjoy a peaceful kingdom, and
his seed to reign so long as sun and moon should endure,

312

throughout all generations. Judah, therefore, David, Solo*
mon, and their perpetual successors, were represented in the
times of the future anointed. Human imagination and poetry
can operate in no other way. Even, higher divine intuitions
can be expressed by them only under known images and
signs, and thus the poetry of the Jews naturally employed in
its representations the treasures of imagery, which it had, and
especially from the most splendid era of the national history.

Let us look then at the course embraced in the third part,
on which we are now to enter. After inquiries respecting the
political productions ascribed to Solomon, comes the true and
characteristick spirit of Hebrew poetry in the writings of the
Prophets. We shall contemplate the individual characters of
the Prophets, their favourite conceptions and views, together
with the circumstances of the age, which served to product
them. The various and distinct colourings given to the im
precations and predictions relating to other nations will l>e
carefully considered. We shall then examine the change
produced in their conceptions by the captivity, the altered
character of ihe imagery and figurative language, which now
appeared — and so down to the apocryphal writings, in so far a:<
these, as for example the fourth book of Ezra, have the char
acters of poetry. Finally in the last book of the New Testa
ment as if by regeneration of all the conceptions and images of
the ancient Prophets, a new poetical shoot springs up; u.nd at
once expands into a tree, blooming with fresh and unfading
tlowers.

INDEX

or TUB PASSAGE* OP SCRIPTURE TRANSLATED AND EXPLAINED IN THIS
VOLUME.

GENESIS

EXOD.

is I. p. 7.

12. EXOD. XXXIV. 7 8 : p. 37.

II. 19 : p. 14.

NUM. IX. 15-23 : p. 75.

III. 1.5. 6: p. 14.

XII. 6: p. 50.

24: p. 17.

XXI. - 16: p. 171.

IV. 5 : p. 13.

" 14-30 : p. 179.

10 : p. 12.

XXII. 24: p. 171.

VIII. 21 : p. 13.

XXVII. 21 : p. 104.

XX. 7: p. 49.

DEUT. VI. 4.5: p. 92.

XXII. 2 : p. 13.

XI. 12-17: p. 127.

XLIX. p. 138.

141. XVIII. 15-20 : p, 50. 132.

III. 2. 4. 6: p. 3G.

XX. p. 119.140.

14: p. 87.

XXX. 11-14: p. 92.

VII. 1 : p. 49.

XXXII. 16.17: p. 20.

XIII. 2 : p. 130.

XXXIII. p. 132. 150. 155.

xrv. p. 75.

XXXIV. 10 : p. 50.

" 19.24: p. 36.

74. JOSH. VI. p. 182.

XV. 1—22: p. 26.

65, X. 11-14 : p. 180.

XVII. 14 : p. 179.

XIII. 6: p. 147.

XIX. 6: p. 93.

130. JUD. IV. 5: p. 169.

20 : p. 68.

V n fifi Ifl'i

XX. 5: p. 168.

IX. 7—15 : p. 200.

XXVIII. 30. 36: p. 101.

XIII— XVI. p. 181.209.

XXXII. 18 : p. 214.

XIV. p. 203.

29 : p. 131.

XV. p. 209.

34: p. 36.

1 SAM. II. 1—10: p. 120.212.

XXXIII. 9—23 : p. 37.

74. X. 10-13: p. 218.

314 INDEX.

1 SAM. XVII. 45 : p. 69.

Ps. XCIV. 8—9 : p. 91.

XIX. 23,24: p. 218.

XCV. p. 95.

2 SAM. I. 19-27 : p. 220.

XCIX. p. 100.

III. 31-34 : p. 250.

CII. 12, 13. 19—29. p. 90.

VII. 8 : p. 217.

CVIII. p. 274.

XXIII. 1—3 : p. 285.

CX. p. 282.

1 Kmos, XIX. 8—13: p. 39.

4 : p. 107.

XXII. 22,23: p. 50.

CX1II. 9 : p. 120.

2 KINGS, III. 15 : p. 50.

CXIV. p. 64.

JOB, XXX. 1—8: p. 139.

CXV. p. 272.

XXXIII. 23 : p. 20.

CXX. p. 261.

Ps. H. p. 278.

CXXI. p. 2G2.

VI. p. 212.

CXXII. p. 08.

XVII. p. 271.

CXXIV. p. 239.

XIX. p. 243.

CXXVI, p. 240.

XXII. 1—23 : p. 300.

CXXVII. p. 120.

" 24—32: p. 302

CXXVII1. p. 118.

XXIII. p. 232.

CXXIX. p. 239.

XXIV. p. 234.

CXXXII. p. 282.

XXXIX. p. 257.

9. 16: p. 105.

XL. 6—10: p. 110.

CXXXIII. p. 231.

XLII. p. 2.>9.

CXXXV.CA'A'A'V/: p. 61.

XLIIi; p. 260.

CXXXVII. p. 241.

XLV. p. 23G.

CXLIV. p. 276.

, L. p. 111.

CXLVII. p. 102.

LI. P. 109.

PROV. XXX. p. 203. 206.

LXVIII. p. 70.

XXXI. p. l.°t:

18 : p. 08.

ECCLE. XI. 5 : p. 207.

LXXII. p. 286.

IBAIAH, VI. 1— 1 : p. 40.

LXXIII. p. 253.

VIII. 21,22: p. 295.

LXXVI. p. 273.

IX. 1—7 : p. 296.

LXXX. p. 276.

X. 33, 34 : p. 294.

LXXXII. p. 101.

XL 1—10 : p. 294.

LXXXIV. p. 96.

XL. 16: p. 153.

LXXXVII. p. 283.

L. ,l_H: p. 52.

LXXXIX. 2— G: p. 299.

LV. 8—11 : p. 44.

XC. 1—11: p. 89.

LX. P. 303.

11-17: p. 133.

LXL 10—11 : p. 106.

XCI. - D. 244.

JSREM. /. 11, 12: p. 202.

XCII. p. 268.

IV. 19—24 : p. 45.

XCIV. p. 102.

V. 13: p. 50.

315

E«CH. IX. 3: p. 107.

-- '% '•"'.ig

«»- ''• "-

INDEX

TO THE CONTENTS OP THIS VOLUME.

Aaron as supreme judge, 131—in the blessing of Moses, 157.

Abraham as a Prophet, 50.

Agur's riddle, 200.

Alliteration, 213.

Alphabetical writings, origin and antiquity of, 33.

Angels, 20 — angel of Jehovah, 30— of his presence, 37— radi
ance personified, 08 — as priests, 107.

Appearai.ee of God to Moses, 30 — to the Elders, 39 — to Eli
jah, 39— to Isaiah, 40 — to Ezechiel, 41 — to Daniel, 41—
different traits in the mode of Divine manifestation in dif
ferent ages and tr» different persons, 42— on Mount Sinai,
74.

Asaph, Hemnn and Jeduthun, 223 — Asaph as a Psalmist, 253.

Balaam, history of, 172 — blessing upon Israel, 174 — prophe
cies concerning Moah and other nations, 175 — 178.

Barak, triumphal song of, 187.

Behemoth and Leviathan, 19.

Blessings of Jacob upon the tribes, 141 — 154 — of Moses,
154—103.

Book of the wars of Jehovah, 179 — 181.

Canaan indispensable to the Hebrews, 120— its influence up
on poetry, 12* — right of the Israelites to it, 140.

Circumcision as a national distinction, 94.

Choral songs and dances, 20 — their connexion, 192.

Daniel, vision of, 41

317

Inn I'NiiliiiM, 224— hi* luw<!nt/ifion OHT Jwifithfui, ifcWI— hiu
hiHtory IIH 11 1'HitliniNt, 222— character an ft 1'nnlmiHl, 247—
promises to his offspring, 203— MB Z>on and Jerusalem an
an ideal of the future, 288 and 303.

Deborah, her triumphal eong, 187,

Elijah, visions of, 39,

Fable, its origin and import, 14— -17— of Jot ham, 200— spirit
of Oriental, 202.

Families united in a tribe, 123.

Feast of tabernacles, 94.

God, analogy with man, 12 — the symbol of fire, 36— -face and
various manifestations of, 37 and 42-word of, 43-guidance
in the desert, GO — upon Sinai, 68 — Jehovah Sabaoth, 68 —
his triumphal progress, 70— in the pillars of fire, 74 — pure
ideas of the divinity, 87 — enthroned on the book of the laws
90— care of Canaan, 127 — theocracy, 128 — in the law* of
Moses, 135.

Gods of the heathen, 272,

Hnhakkuk's prayer, 77,

Hannah song of, 216,

Hebrews as herdsmen, 30 — their separation from other nations '
and their national pride, 31. .

Ileroick age of the book of Judges, 183.

High Priest, his office and apparel, 104, 131,

Jacob in Canaan, 138 — his benedictions, 141— "his hopes un»
accomplished, 154.

Jephtha's daughter, 197.

Jonathan, his friendship with David, 219.

Jothum's fable, 200.

Israelites in the desert, 139— -right to Canaan, 140-^sorcerer,
prohibited among them, 171 — under the Judges, 183.

Korahitcs, 258.

Language, Hebrew, its early formation, 32— of poetry concern*

318

ing the domcstick relations, 117, 118.
Law, the giving of it by Moses. Miracles attending it, 80 —

purpose, 93, 114 — offerings, 103.
Lebanon, 152.

Levi, ground of the choice of this tribe to the priesthood, 131.
Moses as a Prophet, 43, 57 — his history as a subject for cpick
poetry, CO — his song at the Red Sea, 05— his journeying,
70, 133 — his Psalm, 89, 13:3 — founder of the national festi
vals, 99 — his tabernacle, 129 — aimed not to form a com
mercial or warlike people, 123 — his expectation of another
Prophet like himself, 134 — why he represented his doings
as the work of God, 131 — necessity of making conquest of
Canaan, 140 — hi.s benedictions, 154— the hopes expressed
in thorn di.'lusivn, J<>2 — his plan respecting Mount Tabor,
103— prohibited sowry, 171 — comparison with other men,
3(M>.

Musick combined with dancing in tho national Kong*, 195 —
its effect upon Saul, 197 — musick of the Psalms, 205— mu
sick masters appointed by David, 223.
National festivals of the Hebrews, 94.
National God of the Hebrews, 99, 271.
National pride, 31,91.

National assemblies established by Moses, 95.
Offerngs as an acknowledgment of tenure, 108 — as expia
tion for sin, 109.

Paronomasia in the East, 202 — among the Hebrews, 209-215.
Passage of the lied Sea, 02, 05, 70.
Pillars of fire and of cloud, 74.

Poetry of the Hebrews, its origin, 0— its personifications and
fables, 11, 14 — keeps itself free from the. monstrous and ex
travagant, 20 — implies previous culture, 28 — influence of
outward circumstances in forming it, 30 — its pure ideas of
God and morals, 90 — its local character, 120.
Priests, servants of religion and of the state, 103, 130 — their

319

attire, 104.

Prophets, 85— word of God to thorn, 43— messengers of conso
lation and affliction, 44— their signs and symbols, 47— im
port of the name, 49 — seers or wise men, 50 — inspired poets,
50— peculiar to the Hebrews, 50 — zealous against luxury,
1 £4— their local spirit, 120 — difference between the Prophet
and soothsayer, 175 — influence of the Messiah — Psalms on
the Prophets, 290.

Psalms, their origin, 222 — purpose, 223— of David, 224— di
vision, 230, 2*J — of emotion, 241 — didactick, 243 — anony
mous, 201 — of degrees, 201— division into five books, 204 —
musick of, 205 — Itoyal Psalms, 270 — their influence on af
ter times, 292.

Kiddle* among Orientals und specimens of Hebrew, 202 — 20*.

Realm of death as a poetical representation, 21.

Rights of war, 110.

Sabbath, its influence' on poetry, 115.

Solomon, condition of Judiua under him, 290-his writings, 291.

S.imuel, his history, 42— his calling, 215— first Prophet after
Moses, 217— founder of the schools of the Prophets, 217.

Satan as conceived in early times, 20.

Saul under the influence of Musick, 190— interrogates the
dead, H)H.

Selah, its import, 207.

Samson, his character, 185 — riddles, 203— paronomasia, 209.

Sinai, 08, 74— influence OR Hebrew Poetry, «8.

Son of God, its import, 278.

Tabernacle, a symbolical representation, 99.

Tabor, 103—105.

Temple, 113.

Theocracy, 128—132.

Thunder, the voice of God, 20.

Tradition, 10.

Tree of knowledge, 19.

.«»«**

320

Triumph*/ nongs, 170— 181— of Deborah, 187.

Urim and Thunimim, 104, 132.

Wife, )mr relations, 4 IN — her virtues, \ 10— Lemuel's praise of

a virtuouH woman, 121.
Word ofGodtotho Prophotn, 4tt-influeneeon Hebrew Poetry,

40.
/ion, |f>7— in

8086

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