- My wounds:
- The soul being invisible, its distempers are also so; therefore the sacred writers describe them by the distempers of the body. (See the parallel texts on these verses.) On reading these and similar passages, say Bp. Lowth, some, who were but little acquainted with the genius of Hebrew poetry, have pretended to enquire into the nature of the disease with which the poet was afflicted; not less absurdly, in my opinion, than if they had perplexed themselves to discover in what river he was plunged, when he complains that "the deep waters had gone over his soul." "For¹ my loinsª are filledª° with a loathsomeª° [disease]: and [there is] no¹ soundnessª in my flesh.ª" {Psa 38:7} + "When¹ I kept silence,ª° my bonesª waxed oldª° through my roaringª all¹ the dayª long." {Psa 32:3} + "Why¹¹ should ye be strickenª° any more?¹ ye will revoltª more and more:ª° the whole¹ headª is sick,ª and the whole¹ heartª faint.ª ... From the soleª¹ of the footª even unto¹ the headª [there is] no¹ soundnessª in it; [but] wounds,ª and bruises,ª and putrifyingª sores:ª they have not¹ been closed,ª° neither¹ bound up,ª° neither¹ mollifiedª° with ointment.ª" {Isa 1:5-6} + "[Is there] no¹ balmª in Gilead;ª [is there] no¹ physicianª° there?¹ why¹ thenª is not¹ the healthª of the daughterª of my peopleª recovered?ª°" {Jer 8:22}
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