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buter of nourishment to all the members of the body, very properly and consistently invested with that office here. Set about with lilies- rejoicings,' passive, 'rejoicers,' active, about the precious board that presents the feast of joy. It certainly cannot escape the attentive reader, how frequently and studiously, as it were, our inspired bard entertains us with these shoshannim, lilies,' not as emblems of purity and perfection,' which the flower does not eminently possess, nor the name signify, nor the humble soul pretend to, but as expressive of that spiritual, that only real joy, which mutually subsists between Christ and his faithful church; he rejoicing over her to do her good', and she rejoicing in him, and deriving all her joy from him*. The Poet's order of the two parts of our spiritual nourishment, like that of the Psalmist 3, will create no difficulty to the christian who remembers St Paul's ' cup of blessing which we bless-the bread which we break 4. Before I part with this verse, I shall, to silence, if not satisfy, the profane scoffer, observe, that I think I see in these three last parts of the description, thighs, navel, belly, with the high comparisons both of ornament and utility severally assigned to them, something that seems at least to correspond with St Paul's account of the matter, Those members of the body which we think to be less honourable, upon them 2 P 2. Isaiah lxii. 5. lxv.

19.

2 St John xvi. 22. 24.

3 Psalm civ. 15.

4 1 Cor. x. 16.

' we

'we bestow more abundant honour, and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness'.'

VER. 3.-Thy two breasts are like two young roes that

are twins.

VER. 4.-Thy neck is as a tower of ivory. [These have been sufficiently explained already.] Thine eyes like the fish-pools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim; thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon, looking towards Damascus.

The fair one's eyes have hitherto been compared to dove's eyes. Here we have a most strange, and almost inexplicable contexture. Yet a minute attention to, and analysis of, the several words, may give some assistance. The great stumbling-block is from the fish-pools. A beautiful woman's eyes to be likened to, or called fish-pools, has an odd sound, and will never pass for a compliment. The Hebrew word is, barkuth, from 13, barak, to 'bless.' There are indeed some two or three places where the context leads to pools of water;' but why specifically fish-pools, is altogether unaccountable. In the book of Joshua, we meet with an historical anecdote, which, though seemingly of no great moment, may be of some use here Caleb

said to his daughter, What wouldst thou? And she said, Give me a blessing' (Heb. barkeh, • LXX. čvλoylav, Jerom, benedictionem); for thou

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• hast

› Cor. xii. 23.

2 Josh. xv. 19.

hast given me a south land, give me also springs of water (galth mim). And he gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.' Here we see that both Caleb and his daughter looked upon springs of water as a blessing; as in these early times, springs and wells of water were of high, indeed, of sacred estimation. And it is after this, perhaps from this original, that we find the word barkuth used, as I said, now and then to signify

pools,' sometimes by itself, sometimes with the addition of mim, 'water '' But where the context does not, by some local circumstance, determine the sense that way, it were better to retain the radical idea of blessing.' Of this we have a notable instance in the 84th Psalm, which we read, Who passing through the valley of Baca3, make it a well, the rain also filleth, barkuth, the pools;' which Pagninus makes piscinas, fish'pools.' The LXX. have it, aryag evλoyias dwσH "O VOpoɛTwv, and Jerom, to the same sense, ' etenim bene'dictiones dabit legislator, the lawgiver will give blessings;' Arias Montanus has it benedictionibus operietur docens, the teacher will be covered with blessings;' differing indeed as to the verb, but agreeing in the sense of blessing,' which every one will acknowledge is more consonant to, and expressive of, the design of this beautiful Psalm,

As in Eccles. ii. 6. Nahum ii. 9.

2 Ver. 8.

3 The Prayer Book has it 'misery."

Psalm, than the word pools: And had the term benedictiones, blessings,' been retained here, it would have made the comparison fully as intelligible as the fish-pools in Heshbon.' These, like the chariots of Amminadib, may, in the literal acceptation, afford room for ingenious conjecture, but point to no useful meaning. Heshbon, I know, is the name of a city, where Sihon, one of the devoted heathen kings dwelt', and is often exhibited by the prophets, as an object of wrath and punishment, therefore not likely to furnish our poet with a proper emblem of either praise or instruction, whether it had fine fish-pools or not. We must therefore deal with it, as we did with Tirzah, take it out of its local character, and examine it in its derivative one. Its root is un, hashb, which, in all the places where it occurs, and it occurs in a great many, always conveys the sense of cogitare, deliberare, ratiocinari, reputare, thinking, contriving, ' reckoning.' It is the word used through the whole book of Exodus, to express both the workmen and work of the tabernacle, which we read cunning.' It is used to signify self-examination 3, I thought upon hashbti, my ways,' &c, Imputation of something 4, Counted to him, hashb, for righteousness.' It is applied to either good or bad designs, Ye thought, hashbtem, evil a

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'gainst me, but God, hashbt, meant it for good.' The Rabbins, in their writings, use it, hashbon, to denote what they call philosophy.' So extensive is its application, but all with the same radical idea and to the same meaning. There is however an addition here, by way of topographical description of the situation of these fish-pools-by the gate of Bathrabbim, which we are told, from a passage in Jeremiah', but without any authority, was the name of a gate in the city of Heshbon, leading to Rabbath. The old versions have translated this word, Bathrabbim, which our's retains as a proper name. The LXX. make it Juyare ToλλWY, Jerom, filiæ multitudinis, daughter of the many,' or multitude;' Arias Montanus and Marius Calasio have it, 'filiæ magnatum, daughter of the 'great ones.' This last rendering has some shew of propriety, which the other has not, as the rabbim (plural from rab, great one,' taken notice of above) may lead the mind to an idea of high import in christianity, to the rabbim, or rubbim, exhibited in vision to the prophet Ezekiel, under figures which, he says, he knew to be the che-rubim; and afterwards to the apocalypt St John, under the same figures, and to the same purpose 3. In this view, which could be confirmed and fully illustrated, if it were necessary, or this a proper place,

Chap. xlix. 3.

2 Chap. x. 20.

3 Rev. iv. 7.-E istle for Trinity Sunday.