Hammond. And the Lxx, inftead of fuppofing the word "a fon," to refer to "vine," and fo fignify a "branch," which, in the Hebrew ftyle, is "a fon "of the vine," have rendered the paffage, agrov," on the fon of man ;" an expreffion, acανθρώπου, tually used by the Pfalmift, two verfes below. To

επι ύιον

the advent of this fon of man, Ifrael was ever accustomed to look forward, in time of affliction; on his fecond and glorious advent the Chriftian church must fix her eye, in the day of her calamities.

16. It is burnt with fire: it is cut down, or, dug up: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.

The fad estate of the vineyard is yet again fet forth, to excite the compaffion of heaven. As to the latter clause of this verfe, if it be rendered, as our tranflators have rendered it, in the prefent time, it feems to relate to the Ifraelites, and the destruction made amongst them by the wrath of God. If it have a future rendering," they fhall perifh at the "rebuke of thy countenance," it may be fuppofed to predict the fate of the adverfaries, when God should deliver his people out of their hands.

17. Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the fon of man, whom thou madeft frong for thyself.

Thefe phrafes, "the man of thy right hand," and "the fon of man," if at all applicable, in a lower and fubordinate fenfe, to a temporal king of Ifrael, confidered as a reprefentative of Meffiah, are most certainly, in their full and prophetical acceptation,

intended

intended to denote King Meffiah himfelf*. Affured of his coming, the church prayeth, that the "hand," the protection, and the power of Jehovah might be

upon" him, over him, and with him in his great undertaking, finally to deliver her out of all her troubles, and to "lead her captivity captive."

18. So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.

The end of our redemption is, that we fhould ferve him who hath redeemed us, and "go back" no more to our old fins. That foul which hath been "quickened" and made alive by Chrift, fhould live to his honour and glory; that mouth which hath been opened by him, can do no lefs than fhew forth his praife, and "call upon his" faving "name."

19. Turn us again, O LORD God of hofts: caufe thy face to fhine, and we shall be faved. See verse 3.

‹‹ Virum dexteræ tuæ:" Davidem a te defignatum et confirmatum Regem, et in ejus figurâ Chriftum. BossUET.

PSALM LXXXI.
SALM

ARGUMENT.

This Pfalm, whenfoever, or by whomfoever compofed, was, probably, intended to be fung at the feaft of trumpets, as alfo at any other feaft time. It contains 1-3. an exhortation duly to obferve the festivals of the church, 4, 5. as God had appointed, who

is

is introduced expoftulating with his people, on account 6-10. of his mercies, and 11, 12. their ingratitude, and 13-16. under the form of a most affectionate wifh, renewing his promifes, on condition of their obedience.

1. Sing aloud unto God our ftrength: make a joyful noife unto the God of Jacob.2. Take a Pfalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the pfaltery.

If Ifraelites were thus exhorted to keep their feast days, with joy and gladness of heart; to exalt their voices, and join together all their sweetest instruments of mufic, in honour of him who had refcued thei from the Egyptian bondage, and given them a law from Sinai; in what exulting ftrains ought we to celebrate the feftivals of the Chriftian church? With what triumph of foul, and harmony of affections, are we bound to " fing aloud to God our ftrength,' who hath redeemed us from death, and published the Gospel from Sion? Since, as the Apoftle faith,

holy days, new moons, and fabbath days," of old, "were" only "a fhadow of things to come; but "the body is of Chrift." Col. ii. 16.

3. Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed on our folemn feaft day.

In the Jewish church, notice was given of feasts, jubilees, &c. by found of trumpet. All the new moons, or beginnings of months, were obferved in this manner; fee Numb. x. 1. but on the September new moon, or first day of the feventh month, was

kept

kept a great feftival, called "the feast of trumpets;" Levit. xxiii. 24. Numb. xxix. I. which, probably, is here intended. This September new moon had a particular regard paid to it, because, according to the old calculation, before Ifrael came out of Egypt, it was the first new moon in the year, which began upon this day, the first of the (afterwards) seventh month. The tenth of the fame month was the great day of atonement; and on the fifteenth was celebrated the feast of tabernacles. See Levit. xxiii. 27, and 34. Our Pfalm therefore feems to have been defigned for the purpose of awakening and stirring up the devotion of the people upon the folemn entrance of a month, in which they were to commemorate fo many paft bleffings, prefigurative of much greater bleffings to come. We have now our feast days, our Christmas, Easter, Whitsuntide, &c. On these, and all other folemn occafions, let the evangelical trumpet give a found of victory, of liberty, of joy and rejoicing; of victory over death, of liberty from fin, of joy and rejoicing in Chrift Jefus our Saviour.

4. For this was a ftatute for Ifrael, and a law of the God of Jacob. 5. This he ordained in Joseph, for a teftimony, when he went out through, or, against the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.

The meaning is, that the observation of feasts, with blowing of trumpets, was a ftatute, law, or teftimony, ordained in Jofeph, or Ifrael, by God himself, after he had deftroyed the Egyptians, and brought his people into the wildernefs, where the

law was given. Concerning the words, "I heard a language that I understood not," it is difficult to account for the change of perfon; but the sense feems to be, that the children of Ifrael received the law, when they had been in bondage under a people of strange and barbarous language, or dialect. The paffage is exactly parallel to that in Pf. cxiv. 1. "When Ifrael went out of Egypt, and the house of Jacob from a people of ftrange language ;" &c.— The new law, with it's facraments and ordinances, was promulged after the fpiritual redemption by Chrift, as the old law, with it's rites and ceremonies, was published, after the temporal deliverance by Moses.

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6. I removed his fhoulder from the burthen: his hands were delivered from the pots.

From this verse to the end, it is plain, that God is the fpeaker. He reminds Ifrael of their redemption, by his mercy, and power, from the burthens. and the drudgery impofed on them in Egypt. Moses describeth their then state of fervitude, by faying, "The Egyptians made their lives bitter with hard

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bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field;" Exod. i. 14. that is, probably, in making veffels of clay, as this verse seems to imply. Let us remember, that we have been eased of far heavier burthens, delivered from feverer task-masters, and freed from a bafer drudgery; the intolerable load of fin, the cruel tyranny of Satan, the vile service and bitter bondage of concupiscence.

7. Thou calledft in trouble, and I delivered thee: I anfwered