d _psalm_, where the rendering should be: _a psalm_, _a song_;
or, _a song_, _a psalm_. All the psalms thus designated except two (Psa.
83, 88) are of a joyous character, that is, songs of praise; _Song of
degrees_, a title the meaning of which is disputed. Many render: _A song
of ascents_, and suppose that the fifteen psalms which bear this title
(120-134) 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.