were so called because they were arranged to be sung on the occasion of the ascent of the people to Jerusalem to keep the yearly festivals.  For other explanations, the reader is referred to the commentaries.  The titles:  Prayer (Psa. 17, 90, 102, 142), and Praise (Psa. 145) need no explanation.  Besides these titles, there are several others left untranslated in our version, as:  Maschil, teaching, that is, a didactic psalm; Michtam (Psa. 16, 56-60) either a writing, that is, poem, or a golden psalm.

(3.) Titles relating to the musical performance.  Of these, the most common is the much disputed word Selah.  It is generally agreed that it signifies a rest, either in singing for the purpose of an instrumental interlude, or an entire rest in the performance.  As a general rule, this title closes a division of a psalm.  Of the titles supposed to indicate either musical instruments or modes of musical performance, the following are examples:  Neginath (Psa. 61), elsewhere Neginoth, stringed instruments; Nehiloth, probably flutes (Psa. 5); Gittith (Psa. 8, 81, 84), from the word Gath, which denotes a Philistine city, and also a wine-press.  Gittith has been accordingly interpreted to mean (1) a musical instrument or a melody brought from Gath; (2) a musical instrument in the form of a winepress, or a melody used in treading the wine-press; Shoshannim, lilies (Psa. 45, 69); Shushan-eduth, lily of the testimony (Psa. 60); Shoshannim-eduth, lilies of the testimony (Psa. 80), either a musical instrument so named from its shape, or a particular melody, or, as some think, an emblematic term referring to the contents of the psalm; Sheminith, the eighth, or octave, perhaps a musical key (Psa. 6, 12); Alamoth, virgins, probably denoting treble voices (Psa. 46); Al-taschith, destroy not (Psa. 57, 58, 59, 75), according to some, the name of an air taken from a well-known poem; according to others, an indication of the contents of the psalm.  For other titles, occurring but once or twice, the reader must be referred to the commentaries.

Whether the titles constitute a part of the psalms; that is, whether they were prefixed by the writers themselves, is a question that has been much debated, and answered differently by different writers.  That they are very ancient—­so ancient that the meaning of the terms employed had passed into oblivion when the Alexandrine version was made—­must be admitted.  But it would be too much to affirm that they are a part of the inspired word.  The correctness of some of them is doubtful.  If we admit their general correctness, reserving for critical investigation the question of the historical validity of particular titles, it is as far as we need go.

III.  THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON.