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consecration of David by Samuel, to that of his persecution by Saul, including seven years.

3rd. Psalms composed by David during the persecution of Saul, including seven years.

4th. Psalms composed by David from the death of Saul to the removal of the ark from Kirjath Jearim to Jerusalem, including ten years.

5th. Psalms composed by David for the ceremony of the translation of the ark.

6th. Psalms composed by David on occasion of his great wars against the heathen, his deep fall, and his repentance, including twenty-two years.

7th. Psalms composed by David during the revolt of Absalom. This revolt, according to St. Jerome, lasted six months; it might however be difficult at this distance of time to discover the grounds on which he founds this opinion.

*

8th. Psalms composed by David from the defeat of Absalom to the termination of his own life, including a period of nine years, or nine years and a half.

9th. Psalms composed by various prophets, from the death of David to the return from the Babylonish captivity.

The Port Royal commentators have not con

tented themselves with merely marking the general subject of each psalm, but have assiduously endeavoured to collect every trace of scripture evidence afforded to mark the precise occasion on which each psalm was composed. They terminate their Key to the Psalter by the observation, "We leave it to persons accustomed to this species of research, to judge how far this arduous task has been faithfully executed;" to which may we be permitted to add, that such persons only are competent fairly to form that judgment; and perhaps those who, like ourselves, have several times actually gone through the whole, referring each psalm to the chapters and verses pointed out, will best be able to appreciate the care and fidelity with which the research has been conducted.

We have only to add, that a fear lest a work so entirely on the literal sense of any portion of scripture, should unfortunately prove a means of tempting some to stop short of the living truth; induced us to terminate this small volume by adding to it a little Essay on the spiritual sense of the psalms, which has before appeared in Biblical Fragments.

TABULAR INDEX;

OR

LIST OF PSALMS,

CLASSED ACCORDING ΤΟ THEIR DATES; ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THE ORDER, AND REFERRED TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN.

N.B. The Arabic numeral, marks the number of the Psalm in its chronologic order; the Roman numeral, its order as arranged in the Book of Psalms. The Scripture reference, points out the circumstances under which it is supposed to have been composed.

B

TABULAR INDEX,

&c. &c.

CLASS I.

Psalms composed previously to the consecration of David; or before the year of the world 2934.*

Psalm XC. The title of this Psalm has induced many critics to accord with St. Jerome in the opinion that it was composed by Moses, the Man of God, on occasion of the denunciation on the rebellious Israelites; all of whom were to fall in the wilderness on account of their unbelief. See Num. xiv. 1–39. Moses is thought in the latter part, by the use of the plural pronoun, especially to refer to Caleb, Joshua, and himself, as exempted from this denunciation.

Observe, the Chronology of Duguet is retained.

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