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THE

PSALMS

TRANSLATED AND EXPLAINED

BY

J. A. ALEXANDER

PROFESSOR IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY AT PRINCETON

VOLUME II

DIVINITY SCHOOL

LIBRARY.

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

NEW YORK

BAKER AND SCRIBNER 145 NASSAU STREET

1850

BS

1430
A3
1850
v. 2

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1850, by

JOSEPH ADDISON ALEXANDER,

In the Clerk's Office of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.

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THE PSALMS.

PSALM LI.

1, 2. To the Chief Musician. A Psalm. By David. When Nathan the Prophet came unto him, as he (i. e. David) had come unto Bathsheba. The first inscription was particularly necessary here, to show that the psalm was designed for permanent and public use, since it might otherwise have been regarded as expressive of mere personal emotions. It has reference to the one great crime of David's life, noted as such in the inspired history itself (1 Kings xv. 5), and involving the guilt of both adultery and murder. See 2 Sam. xi and xii. The significant repetition of the phrase came unto in v. 2 is lost in the English and most other versions. As is not a mere particle of time, simply equivalent to when, but suggests the ideas of analogy, proportion, and retaliation. The psalm consists of two parts, a prayer and a vow. In the first, he prays to be forgiven and restored to the divine favour, vs. 3—14 (1—12.) In the second, he shows how he means to testify his gratitude, vs. 15—21 (13—19.)

3 (1.) Be gracious to me, (oh) God, according to thy mercy; according to the abundance of thy compassions, blot out my transgressions. In this verse and the next, he presents the petition which constitutes the theme or burden of the psalm. The appeal

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