Jeremiah, of which we have given a particular analysis, infra, Vol. IV. Part I. Chap. VI. Sect. II. 3. Didactic Poetry is defined by Bishop Lowth to be that which delivers moral precepts in elegant and pointed verses, often illustrated by a comparison expressed or implied, similar to the Ivwuai, or moral sentences, and adages, of the antient sages. Of this species of poetry the book of Proverbs is the principal instance. To this class may also be referred the book of Ecclesiastes. 4. Of Lyric Poetry, or that which is intended to be accompanied with music, the Old Testament abounds with numerous examples. Besides a great number of hymns and songs which are dispersed through the historical and prophetical books, such as the ode of Moses at the Red Sea (Exod. xv.), his prophetic ode (Deut. xxxii.), the triumphal ode of Deborah (Judg. v.), the prayer of Habakkuk (iii.), and many similar pieces, the entire book of Psalms is to be considered as a collection of sacred odes, possessing every variety of form, and supported with the highest spirit of lyric poetry; — sometimes sprightly, cheerful, and triumphant; sometimes solemn and magnificent; and sometimes tender, soft, and pathetic. 5. Of the Idyl, or short pastoral poem,' the historical psalms afford abundant instances. The seventy-eighth, hundred and fifth, hundred and sixth, hundred and thirty-sixth, and the hundred and thirtyninth psalms, may be adduced as singularly beautiful specimens of the sacred idyl to which may be added Isa. ix. 8.— x. 4. 6. Of Dramatic Poetry Bishop Lowth, adduces examples in the Song of Solomon and the book of Job, understanding the term in a more extended sense than that in which it is usually received. Some critics, however, are of opinion, that the Song of Solomon is a collection of sacred idyls: and M. Bauer is disposed to consider the former book as approximating nearest to the Mekama, that is, "the assemblies," moral discourses, or conversations of the celebrated Arabian poet Hariri.3 In another part of this work, some reasons are offered in confirmation of this conjecture. Many of the psalms, (and, according to Bishop Horsley, by far the greater part,) are a kind of dramatic ode, consisting of dialogues between persons sustaining certain characters. "In these dialoguepsalms, the persons are frequently the psalmist himself, or the chorus of priests and Levites, or the leader of the Levitical band, opening the ode with a proëm declarative of the subject, and very often closing the whole with a solemn admonition, drawn from what the other persons say."5 The dramatic or dialogue form, which thus pervades 1 Bishop Lowth defines an idyl to be a poem of moderate length, of a uniform middle style, chiefly distinguished for elegance and sweetness; regular and clear as to the plot, conduct, and arrangement. XV. 2 Lowth, Prelect. xviii.-xxxiv. 3 Bauer, Hermeneut. Sacr. p. 386. 4 Bishop Horsley's Book of Psalms translated from the Hebrew, Vol. i. Pref. p. 5 See Vol. IV. Part I. Chap. III. Sect. II. § II. the book of Psalms, admits of considerable variety. Its leading characteristic, however, is an alternate succession of parts, adapted to the purpose of alternate recitation by two semi-choruses in the Jewish worship. Bishop Jebb considers the sublime hymn of Zacharias (Luke i. 67—79.) as a dramatic ode of this description; and, in confirmation of his opinion, he remarks that Zacharias must have been familiar with this character of composition, both as a pious and literate Jew, much conversant with the devotional and lyric poetry of his country, and also as an officiating priest, accustomed to bear his part in the choral service of the temple. Dr. J. has accordingly printed that hymn in Greek and English, in the form of a dramatic ode: and by this mode of distribution has satisfactorily elucidated its true meaning and grammatical construction in many passages, which have hitherto in vain exercised the acumen of critics.1 To the preceding species of Hebrew poetry, we may add 7. The Acrostic or Alphabetical Poems. Bishop Lowth considered this form of poetry as one of the leading characteristics of the productions of the Hebrew muse: but this, we have seen,2 is not the fact. It may rather be viewed as a subordinate species, the form of which the bishop thus defines :- The acrostic or alphabetical poem consists of twenty-two lines, or of twenty-two systems of lines, or periods, or stanzas, according to the number of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet; and every line, or every stanza, begins with each letter in its order, as it stands in the alphabet; that is, the first line, or first stanza, begins with (aleph), the second with (beth), and so on. This was certainly intended for the assistance of the memory, and was chiefly employed in subjects of common use, as maxims of morality, and forms of devotion; which, being expressed in detached sentences, or aphorisms, (the form in which the sages of the most antient times delivered their instructions,) the inconvenience arising from the subject, the want of connection in the parts, and of a regular train of thought carried through the whole, was remedied by this artificial contrivance in the form. There are still extant in the books of the Old Testament twelve3 of these poems; three of them perfectly alphabetical, in which every line is marked by its initial letter; the other nine less perfectly alphabetical, in which every stanza only is so distinguished. Of the three former it is to be remarked, that not only every single line is distinguished by its initial letter; but that the whole poem is laid out into stanzas; two5 of these poems each into ten stanzas, all of two lines, except the two last stanzas in each, which are of three lines; in these the sense and the construction manifestly point out the division into stanzas, and mark the limit of every stanza. The third of these perfectly alphabetical poems consists of twenty-two stanzas of three lines: but in this the initial letter of every stanza is also the initial letter of every line of that stanza: so that 1 Sacred Literature, pp. 404-417. 2 See p. 448, 449. supra. Lam. i. ii. 3 Psal. xxv. xxxiv. xxxvii. cxi. cxii. cxix. cxlv. Prov. xxxi. 10—31. àii, iv. 4 Psal. cxi. cxii. Lament. iii. 5 Psal. cxi. cxii. Lament. iii. both the lines and the stanzas are infallibly limited. And in all the three poems the pauses of the sentences coincide with the pauses of the lines and stanzas. It is also further to be observed of these three poems, that the lines so determined by the initial letters in the same poem, are remarkably equal to one another in length, in the number of words nearly, and probably in the number of syllables; and that the lines of the same stanza have a remarkable congruity one with another, in the matter and the form, in the sense and the construction. Of the other nine poems less perfectly alphabetical, in which the stanzas only are marked with initial letters, six1 consist of stanzas of two lines, two of stanzas of three lines, and one of stanzas of four lines not taking into the account at present some irregularities, which in all probability are to be imputed to the mistakes of transcribers. And these stanzas likewise naturally divide themselves into their distinct lines, the sense and the construction plainly pointing out their limits and the lines have the same congruity one with another in matter and form, as was above observed in regard to the poems more perfectly alphabetical. Another thing to be observed of the three poems perfectly alphabetical is, that in two of them the lines are shorter than those of the third by about one third part, or almost half; and of the other nine poems, the stanzas only of which are alphabetical, that three consist of the longer lines, and the six others of the shorter. VII. We have already had occasion to remark, that the poetry of the Hebrews derives its chief excellence from its being dedicated to religion. Nothing can be conceived more elevated, more beautiful, or more elegant, than the composition of the Hebrew bards; in which the sublimity of the subject is fully equalled by the energy of the language and the dignity of the style. Compared with them, the most brilliant productions of the Greek and Roman muses, who often employed themselves on frivolous or very trifling themes, are infinitely inferior in the scale of excellence. The Hebrew poet, who worshipped Jehovah as the sovereign of his people who believed all the laws, whether sacred or civil, which he was bound to obey, to be of divine enactment — and who was taught that man was dependent upon God for every thing,-meditated upon nothing but Jehovah; to Him he devoutly referred all things, and placed his supreme delight in celebrating the divine attributes and perfections. If, how ever, we would enter fully into the beauties of the sacred poets, there are two general observations, which it will be necessary to keep in mind whenever we analyse or examine the Songs of Sion. 1. The first is that we carefully investigate their nature and genius. For, as the Hebrew poems, though various in their kinds, are each marked by a character peculiar to itself, and by which they are distinguished from each other, we shall be enabled to enter more fully into their elegance and beauty, if we have a correct view of their form and arrangement. For instance, if we wish critically to expound the Psalms, we ought to investigate the nature and proper 1 Psal. xxv. xxxiv. cxix. cxlv. Prov. xxxi. 3 Psal. xxxvii. 4 Psal. exi. cxii. Lam. iv. 5 Lament. iii. 2 Lam. i. ii. ties of the Hebrew ode, as well as the form and structure of the Hebrew elegies, &c., and ascertain in what respects they differ from the odes, elegies, &c. of the Greek poets. In like manner, when studying the Proverbs of Solomon, we should recollect that the most antient kind of instruction was by means of moral sentences, in which the first principles of antient philosophy were contained; and, from a comparison of the Hebrew, Greek, and other gnomic sentences, we should investigate the principal characters of a proverb. In the book of Job are to be observed the unity of action, delineation of manners, the external form and construction of the poem, &c.1 2. Further, in interpreting the compositions of the Hebrew bards, it ought not to be forgotten, that the objects of our attention are the productions of poets, and of oriental poets in particular. It is therefore necessary that we should be acquainted with the country in which the poet lived, its situation and peculiarities, and also with the manners of the inhabitants, and the idiom of the language. Oriental poetry abounds with strong expressions, bold metaphors, glowing sentiments and animated descriptions, portrayed in the most lively colours. Hence the words of the Hebrew poets are nei ther to be understood in too lax a sense, nor to be interpreted too literally. In the comparisons introduced by them, the point of resemblance between the object of comparison, and the thing with which it is compared, should be examined, but not strained too far: and the force of the personifications, allegories, or other figures that may be introduced, should be fully considered. Above all, it should be recollected, that, as the sacred poets lived in the East, their ideas and manners were totally different from ours, and consequently are not to be considered according to our modes of thinking. From inattention to this circumstance the productions of the Hebrew muse have neither been correctly understood, nor their beauties duly felt and appreciated. 1 The reader will find some hints for the special study of the Book of Psalms, in Vol. IV. Part I. Chap. III. Sect. II. § IX., and also a copious analysis of the Book of Job, with observations for the better understanding of it, in Part I. Chap. III. Sect. I. IX. X. of the same volume. 60 VOL. II. CHAPTER XI. ON HARMONIES OF SCRIPTURE. I. Occasion and Design of Harmonies of the Scriptures. — II. Works reconciling alleged or seeming Contradictions in the Sacred Writings. III. Harmonies of the Old Testament.-IV. Harmonies of the Four Gospels.-V. 1. Harmonies of particular parts of the Gospels.-2. Harmonies of the Acts of the Apostles and of the Apostolical Epistles. --VI. Observations on the different Schemes of Harmonisers, and on the Duration of the Public Ministry of Jesus Christ. I. THE several books of the Holy Scriptures, having been written at different times and on different occasions, necessarily treat on a great variety of subjects, historical, doctrinal, moral, and prophetic. The sacred authors also, writing with different designs, have not aways related the same events in the same order: some are introduced by anticipation; and others again are related first which should have been placed last. Hence seeming contradictions have arisen, which have been eagerly seized by the adversaries of Christianity, in order to perplex the minds and shake the faith of those who are not able to cope with their sophistries: though, as we have seen in the preceding volume of this work, there is no foundation whatever for charging real contradictions on the Scriptures. how The manifest importance and advantage of comparing the sacred writers with each other, and of reconciling apparent contradictions, have induced many learned men to undertake the compilation of works, which, being designed to show the perfect agreement of all parts of the sacred writings, are commonly termed Harmonies. A multitude of works of this description, has at different times been issued from the press; the execution of which has varied according to the different designs of their respective authors. They may, ever, be referred to four classes; viz. -Works which have for their object the reconciling of apparent contradictions in the Sacred Writings;- Harmonies of the Old Testament, which exhibit a combined account of the various narratives therein contained; — similar Harmonies of the New Testament; and Harmonies of particular books. Walchius, Fabricius, and other bibliographers have given accounts of very numerous works of this description: it is proposed in this chapter to notice only a few of those which are most deserving of attention. II. Among those harmonies, which have for their object the reconciling of apparent contradictions in the sacred writings generally, the following publications are the best known. 1. Michaelis Waltheri Harmonia Biblica; sive brevis et plana Conciliatio locorum Veteris et Novi Testamenti, adparenter sibi contradicentium. Noribergæ, 1696, folio. This work first appeared at Strasburg (Argentorati) in 1626, and has been repeatedly printed in Germany: the edition of 1696 is reputed to be the best and |