The name _Shir Hammachaloth_, "Song of Ascents," prefixed to these fifteen Psalms, has given rise to much controversy. The different opinions as to the import of this title may be thus stated: 1. The ancients understood it to relate to the steps of the temple: of this supposition I shall speak hereafter. 2. Luther, whom Tholuck is inclined to follow, renders it a song in the higher choir: intimating that they should be sung from an elevated position, or, as Patrick says, "in an elevated voice." 3. Junius and Tremellius would translate it "Song of Excellences," or "Excellent Song." 4. Gesenius with De Wette, considers that this name refers to a particular rhythm, in which the sense ascends in a rhythming gradation; but as this barely appears in one Psalm (cxxi.), the facts will scarcely support the hypothesis. 5. The more modern opinion is, that (notwithstanding four of them being composed by David, and one _by_ Solomon) it signifies "Song of the Ascents" [Greek: anabasis] or "Pilgrims' Song," being composed for or sung by the people during their journeys to Jerusalem, whether on their return from the Babylonian captivity, or as they statedly repaired to their national solemnities. The first of these hypotheses, though in least repute, I am inclined to prefer. The title in Chaldee is "A Song sung upon the Steps of the Abyss;" the Septuagint superscription "[Greek: Ode ton anabathmon];" and the Vulgate, _carmen graduum_, "Song of the Steps." In accordance with which the Jewish writers state, that these Psalms were sung on fifteen steps leading from the Atrium Israelis to the court of the women. In the apocryphal book of the "Birth of Mary," translated by Archbishop Wake, which is to be found in the works of St. Jerome, and which is attributed to St. Matthew, there is an account of a miracle in the early history of the Virgin Mary, in which it is said (ch. iv.): "2. And there were about the temple, according to the fifteen Psalms of Degrees, fifteen stairs to ascend. "3. For the temple being built in a mountain, the altar of burnt-offering, which was without, could not be come near but by stairs." It goes on to state how the infant Mary miraculously walked up these stairs. In the account of the same miracle, in the _Protevangelion_, ascribed to St. James, it is related (ch. vii.) how the priest-- "5. ... placed her (the infant) upon the third _step of the altar_." From this comparison it would appear, that the "stairs about the temple" were synonymous with the "steps of the altar." I would therefore suggest, for the consideration of those better acquainted with the subject, that these Psalms were adapted to be sung (not _on_ the steps, as some think, but) as a kind of introit while the priests ascended the steps of the altar. To show their adaptation for this purpose, it may be worth remarking, that they are all, except cxxxii., introits in the first Prayer Book of Edward VI. J. R. G. Dublin.