ninth certainly could not have been written by him, since it contains the name of the prophet Samuel, who was not born till nearly three hundred years after the death of Moses.

Twelve psalms, namely, Ps. 1. and lxxiii.-lxxxiii., are ascribed to ASAPH, a celebrated Levite, and chief of the choirs of Israel in the time of David (1 Chron. xvi. 4, 5). That he was a poet, and composed as well as sung, is evident from 2 Chron. xxix. 30: "Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer." But he could have been the author of but a small portion of these twelve psalms. Ps. lxxiv., lxxvii., lxxix., lxxx., indisputably belong to the times of the captivity; and several of the rest have with good reason been referred to the same period. They may, however, have been written by a later poet of the same name. Eichhorn, Rosenmüller, and De Wette are of opinion, that, of all the psalms ascribed to Asaph, the contemporary of David, only the fiftieth is decidedly his. This, however, is enough to place him in the number of poets of the very first order. It is marked by a deeper vein of thought and a loftier tone of sentiment than any of the compositions of David. In Asaph, the poet and the philosopher are combined. "He was," says Eichhorn, "one of those ancient wise men who felt the insufficiency of external religious usages, and urged the necessity of cultivating virtue and purity of mind." It may well be asserted of him, as of the scribe in the New Testament, who said that for a man to love God with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, was more than all the whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices, — that he was not far from the kingdom of God.

Eleven psalms, the forty-second and forty-third being supposed to be one psalm, — namely, Ps. xlii.-xlix., and lxxxiv., lxxxv., lxxxvii., and lxxxviii., are ascribed to the SONS OF KORAH, a Levitical family of singers (1 Chron. vi.). In consequence of the ambiguity of the Hebrew preposition, it has been doubted whether the inscription is intended to designate them as the authors of these psalms, or only as the musicians who were to perform them in the

temple. The preposition, however, is the same that denotes authorship in the case of those psalms which are ascribed to David. Heman the Ezrahite, whose name occurs in the title of one of these psalms, may have been one of the sons or descendants of Korah; or the mention of him in the inscription may have arisen from the amalgamation of contradictory titles. The titles were probably given them by some one who had learned from tradition, that they were the productions of the sons of Korah, but had not been informed of the names of their respective authors. It is probable that only a few of the most distinguished sons of Korah were concerned in their production. Whatever may be the true explanation of their inscriptions, it is almost universally conceded that the psalms in question were not written by David. In style they differ materially from his. Whoever was their author, they are not unworthy of Asaph. No psalms in the whole collection possess a more permanent interest. None indicate a richer imagination or a more powerful inspiration. None breathe a bolder, freer spirit of enthusiasm, or contain more sublime and affecting sentiments. Most of them, especially Ps. xlii., xlvi., and lxxxiv., belong to that order of compositions, which, having once passed through the mind, are never forgotten; and which are most remembered in seasons when much that passes for poetry, being weighed in the balance, is found lighter than vanity.

In the Hebrew titles, the eighty-eighth psalm is ascribed to HEMAN, and the eighty-ninth to ETHAN, both called Ezrahites. The persons intended were, probably, Levitical singers in the time of David, - mentioned in 1 Chron. vi. 33, 44. But there can be little doubt that the titles are wrong, and that these psalms belong to a later age than that of David.

TO SOLOMON only two of the psalms are inscribed, namely, the seventy-second and one hundred twenty-seventh. But these could scarcely have been written by him. It has been suggested, that his name was prefixed to the latter, merely because the first verse mentions the building of a house, which the author of the title supposed to refer to the temple. Of the seventy-second he seems to be the subject, rather than the author. It is not improbable,

however, that some of the psalms were written by Solomon, since, in 1 Kings iv. 32, he is said to have written one thousand and five songs.

The remaining fifty-one psalms have, in the Hebrew, no titles. indicating their authors. And, from what has been said of the Hebrew inscriptions, it follows that the authors of more than half of the psalms are unknown to us. As to the inscriptions which are added in the ancient versions, they are evidently the conjectures of editors and copyists. Modern interpreters, also, have exercised their sagacity in assigning authors to the anonymous psalms. Some suppose that many of them belong to the age of the Maccabees. I see no improbability in the supposition that some of them did. The book of Daniel was added to the canon after that time; and, in all ages, religious poets are impelled to express their feelings in hymns. But I have not thought it allowable to indulge in, or to follow, mere conjectures.

III. TITLES OF THE PSALMS.

Besides the names of the authors, some of the titles indicate the species of the composition; some, the occasion and subject of it; some refer to the leader of the choir of singers; some, to the musical instrument to be used; and some, to the tune to which the psalm was to be sung. Respecting the origin and antiquity of these titles, the opinion of Rosenmüller is as plausible as any that has been offered.

“I doubt not that all the psalms once had a title containing the name of the author, and in some instances the occasion of the composition, as was the custom of the Arabic, Syriac, and Hebrew poets. But those titles which relate to the air, or the instrument to which the psalm was to be sung, appear to have proceeded from those who, at various periods, made use of the psalms for public worship. Thus, in 2 Sam. xxii., which contains the eighteenth psalm, there is in the title no mention of the leader of the music. The use of the psalms in public worship affords a reason for the mutilation or loss of the more ancient in

scriptions, which mentioned the name of the author and the occasion and subject of the psalm. Those who collected the psalms at different periods undertook to supply the deficiency of titles from their own judgment or fancy, without a due regard to manuscripts, or to the tenor of the psalm. Not a few seem to have been added by commentators, copyists, and even readers. This is proved by the Greek, Syriac, Arabic, Latin, and even by some Hebrew manuscripts. In many cases, probably, a conjecture, placed by a reader in the margin of a manuscript, was in course of time introduced into the text. Hence it may be seen how it happens that many of the psalms are at variance with their titles, and could not have been written by the author to whom they are assigned. We conclude, therefore, that all the Hebrew titles are not to be rashly rejected, nor indiscriminately received. But, with the help of sound criticism and interpretation, we must distinguish those which were given by the poet from those which were added by a later hand."

To indicate the species of composition with respect to the sentiment, the metre, or the music to which it was adapted, the Hebrew terms Mismor, Shir, Shir-Mismor, Mismor-Shir, Maschil, Michtam, Shiggaion, and Shir-Hammachaloth are used.

With the exception of the last term, it is doubtful whether it can be ascertained in what respects these titles differ, and still more doubtful, whether there are words in English to express their difference. What is certain is, that they all denote a species of psalm, with respect to the sentiment, the measure, or the music. I have thought it better to translate all of them by the next generic term which is applicable to all of them, rather than to puzzle the English reader with the Hebrew terms Michtam and Maschil, or the barbarous English psalm-song or songpsalm.*

The title Maschil is very probably derived from the verb signifying to be wise, and hence translated by some critics a didactic psalm. It occurs as the title of thirteen psalms. But several of those to which it is prefixed have not the character commonly understood by didactic, and it is not prefixed to some that have

*See Dr. Geddes's Version.

that character. Thus it is prefixed to Ps. lv., lxxxviii., and cxlii., and not to the fiftieth.

Michtam is sometimes translated golden, but it is difficult to perceive any peculiar excellence in the six psalms-namely, Ps. xvi., lvi., lvii., lviii., lix., lx. to which it is prefixed, which should gain for them the distinguished epithet of golden. According to modern taste, there are many others far more deserving of this appellation. The same objection may be made to the supposition, that they derive their appellation from their being hung up in the temple in golden letters, like the Moallacat in the temple at Mecca. Besides that there is no evidence of such a Hebrew custom, what is there in these six psalms which should give them such a distinction above the rest? On the whole, there seems to be no more probable derivation of the word than that which makes it denote writing, that is, composition, psalm; n, by a change of the labials and being written for and being written for occurs in Isa. xxxviii. 9, in the title of a song. The hundred and forty-fifth is called Tehillah, "Praise ;" and so excellent was this psalm always accounted by the Jews, that the title of the whole book of Psalms, Sephir Tehillim, “The Book of Praises," was taken from it. The Jews used to say, "He cannot fail of being an inhabitant of the heavenly Canaan, who repeats this psalm three times a day."

, which

Some suppose Shiggaion to denote a song of lamentation. But this is very uncertain.

Fifteen psalms, cxx.-cxxxiv., are entitled Shir-Hammachaloth, literally, Song of steps or of ascents; in the common version, Song of degrees. By some they are termed Odes of ascension, or Pilgrim songs, and are supposed to have derived their name from the circumstance, that they were sung when the people went up to worship in Jerusalem, at the annual festivals. To go up to Jerusalem was a common expression with reference to journeys to the metropolis. Thus, our Saviour says, “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem." It is supposed that they travelled in the Oriental manner, not single, but in companies, and chanted these psalms by the way. Ps. cxx. and cxxiii., however, do not seem suitable for such an occasion.

Others suppose them to refer to the return from the captivity,