before us. They first of all apply to David, and it is quite possible that he intended nothing further; if so, unwittingly to himself, he was borne along to utter words whose fulness of meaning could only be disclosed by the Iucarnation, hy David's Son, who had eternally been David's Lord j and, as such, the doctrines they contain are truly sublime. There is a somewhat difficult matter, which may be indicated by the questions : (1) How came the phrase, "Mine ears bast thou opened," to be rendered by the LXX., "A body hast thou prepared me"? and (2) whether of the two readings is to be accepted? Dean Alford (see his Commentary, in loc.) prefers to leave the difficulties unsolved. Dr. J. Pye Smith (' Script. Test.,' vol. i. p. 208), Dr. Booth- royd,1 and others, with liLtle hesitation, express their conviction that the original and correct phrase is that adopted by the LXX. Calmet 2 suggests, "On lit dans l'hebreu aures, peut-etre pour corpus autem." Archdeacon Farrar 3 says, in his notes on Heb. x. 5-7, "Finding the rendering in the LXX., believing it to represent the true sense of the original (as it does), and also seeing it to be eminently illustrative of his subject, the writer naturally adopts it." On the whole, then, the variation presents an interesting point in textual criticism, rather than any doctrinal difficulty. Since, in either case, the substantial meaning is, "My bodily frame has been marked out and sealed for the performance of thy will." By the very frequent quotation from the LXX. rather than from the Hebrew, even when they vary, the sacred writers show how much more important in their view was the main thought than the precise form of expres- sion.• Having, then, in two separate homilies, dealt with this psalm in its application to David, we will now luxuriate in these verses as finding their highest and noblest application in Christ, and in him alone. In so doing, eight lines of thought require to be laid down. J. 'fHEBE IS A MOMENTOUS PRINCIPLE UNDERLYING BOTH THE HEBREW AND THE CHRISTIAN ECONOMIES. It is this-that sin has disturbed the relations between man and God, so that nothing is right with man till these relations are readjusted and harmony is restored. The whole of the Mosaic economy was an education in the evil of sin. "By Law is the knowledge of sin" (Rom. iii. 20); "The Law was our child- guide unto Christ" (Ga.I. iii. 24). II. UNDER THE LAW, THE PEOPLE WERE TAUGHT THAT SIN MUST BE POT AWAY BY BACRIFIOE. "Without shedding of blood is no remission" ( Heh. ix. 22). But there will ever remain this wide, this in.finite, difference between Jewish and pagan sacrifice .. -the pagan sacrifices started from man, and expressed his desire to propitiate God; the Jewish sacrifices were appointed by God himself, as by One pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin, who would cancel guilt only as sin had been coudemned. Ill. 'l'HE V ABIED SA0BIFI0ES UNDER THE LAW WERE BUT A "FIGURE FOR THE TIME TllEN PRESENT." The doctrine of tho insufficiency of fleshly sacrifices is found not only in the Epistle to the Hebrews, but also in the Old Testament (see 1 Sam. xv. 22, 23; Pss. Ii. 16; x.l. 6-8; Isa. i. 11-17; J er. vii. 22, 23; Micah vi. 6-8). The more dis- cerning and spiritually minded of the Hebrew saiuts saw and felt how ineffective were all the varied offerings 5 to ensure peace with God; and, because ineffective, they were necessarily typical. Hence- IV. 'fl!E OLD TESTAMENT DISPENSATION WAS IN ITS ENTIRETY BUT PROPHETIC OF ONE wuu SHOULD COME. (Cf. Luke xxiv. 44; Acts xvii. 2, 3; xxviii. 23; Dan. ix. 24-27. 6) The entire argument in Heb. ix. and x. shows this. From the time when ho who saw Messiah's day from afar said," God will provide himself a lamb for a. burnt offering," the outlook of the Church of God was towards One" who should come iuto the world." 1 In the notes to his English Version and to hie Hobre1v Bible. Dodclridge'e nolo hereon is worth notice. • 'Sainte Bible,' tome dixieme, p. 287. So, also, Dengel, in loo. 1 'Early Days of Christianity,' vol. i. p. 443.
• See Archdeacon Farrur, ut supra, "The sucred writers never aim at verbal acouraoy in thoir quote.tio:is. . . . They hoh.l it suffioiont to give the general sense." • See Goikie, 'Hours with the Bible,' vol. iii. p. 277. On the ve.ried saoriJloes, see Oehler and Kurtz. • "The great principle of e. typical predictivenoss in all Jewish history is the most satis- factory principle of interpretation in this and all similar cnses" (Perowne, Introduction to Pa. xl.). To the sarne effect Dr. J. Pye Smith. 318 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. [PB, XL, 1-17,