m^: 
 
LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Theological Seminary, 
 
 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
 c«N^, Division. ;:2>sj:4:Ss 
 
 ^'lelf. Section..^ j:i.g..JLS..... 
 J^ook, No,_,, l.:S.S^..^ 
 
 . "wua^rC'Ea*.- 
 
,..r^'yi^ 
 
 if 
 
A 
 
 COMMENTARY 
 
 THE BOOK OF PSALMS; 
 
 IN WHICH THEIR 
 
 LITERAL AND HISTORICAL SENSE, 
 
 AS THEY RELATE TO KING DAVID AND THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL, 
 IS ILLUSTRATED; 
 
 AND 
 
 THEIR APPLICATION TO MESSIAH, TO THE CHURCH, AND TO 
 INDIVIDUALS AS MEMBERS THEREOF, 
 
 IS POINTED OUT ; 
 
 WITH A VIEW TO RENDER THE USE OF THE PSALTER PLEASING AND PROFITABLE 
 TO ALL ORDERS AND DEGREES OF CHRISTIANS. 
 
 }hy*t^ 
 
 BY GEORGE, LORD BISHOP OF NORWICH, 
 
 AND PRESIDENT OF MAGDALEN COLLEGE, OXFORD. 
 
 All things must bo fulfilled, which were written in the Psalms CDncerniiiK me.—lMke xxiv. 44. 
 I will sing with the spirit, and I will sini; with the understanding also. — 1 Cor. xiv. 15. 
 They sing the song of Moses, and the song of the Lamb. — Rev. xv. 3. 
 
 TO WHICH IS PREFIXED, 
 
 A MEMOIR OF THE LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. 
 
 SECOND PHILADELPHIA EDITION. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 J. WHETHAM, 22 SOUTH FOURTH STREET. 
 
 1833 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 What the royal moralist observes of seasonable counsels, that 
 " they are like apples of gold in pictures of silver," may, with the 
 greatest propriety, be applied to the Book of Psalms, as illustrated by 
 the inestimable Commentary of the venerable Bishop Home. Here 
 learning is, what it always should be, the handmaid to devotion ; and 
 the most refined taste is brought to the service of piety. The Chris- 
 tian professor is here continually reminded of his Saviour, and of the 
 riches of redemption which are laid up in him who made more use of 
 the Psalms than any other, portion of the sacred writings, not only 
 because they spake of his humiliation and sufferings, his resurrection 
 and ascension, but particularly because these divine compositions are 
 adapted to all the purposes for which he came into the world, of 
 " purifying unto himself a people zealous of good works." 
 
 To the same end, and in imitation of her great head and exemplar, 
 the Church has appointed these inspired hymns to be used in a regu- 
 lar order in her daily offices ; but it is to be feared that too many of 
 her members lose the benefit intended, for want of having the veil 
 lifted up which covers, under typical characters and figurative repre- 
 sentations, the sublime mysteries of the kingdom of God. 
 
 To animate Christians in public worship, and to edify them in their 
 private studies, the excellent author of this work has employed many 
 years of his valuable life in elucidating that book, which the great 
 Luther emphatically and justly termed, " The Little Bible." 
 
MEMOIR 
 
 OF THE 
 
 RIGHT REVEREND GEORGE HORNE, D. D. 
 
 LORD BISHOP OF NORWICH. 
 
 This exemplary prelate was tlie son of the reverend Samuel Ilorne, M. A. rector 
 of Brede, in Sussex, and of Otham, in Kent, in the last of which livings he was 
 succeeded, in 1768, by his son William Home, M. A. formerly demy of Magdalen 
 College, Oxford. The bishop was born at Otham, and baptized in the parish church 
 tliere, November 1, 1730. His early education was conducted by his worthy fatlier, 
 and next by the reverend Deodatus Bye, master of Maidstone grammar school, who 
 observed, at his admission, that " he was fitter to go from school than to come to 
 it." In March 1745-6, he was admitted at University College, Oxford, having been 
 previously chosen to a scholarship from Maidstone school ; and, in October 1749, 
 he took his degree of bachelor of arts. The year following, he was elected to the 
 fellowship of Magdalen College, which is appropriated to a native of the county of 
 Kent. He was a very laborious student, and he had an elegant taste in Greek, 
 Latin, and English poetry, of which he gave man}' admirable specimens, while he 
 was no more than undergraduate in the university. His constant aim, however, 
 was to render the acquisition of polite literature subservient to the study of theology 
 and the illustration of the sacred writings. In the language of the early companion 
 of his literary pmsuits, and who became his chaplain and biographer, " he raised 
 liis thoughts from the poets and orators of Greece and Rome, to the contemplation 
 of the great Creator's wisdom, in his word and in his works."* While at Univer- 
 sity College he became enamoured of the Hebrew language, which he studied with 
 close application, and this brought him acquainted with the writings of the learned 
 Jolm Hutchinson, whose whole life was devoted to the great object of deducing from 
 the Mosaic scriptures the principles of true philosophy. 
 
 In 1751, Mr. Home manifested his attachment to this system, which was at that 
 time exceedingly unpopular in our seats of learning, by publishing without his 
 name, a tract entitled, " The Tlieology and Philosophy in Cicero's Somnium Sci- 
 pionis explained; or a brief attempt to demonstrate, that the Newtonian system is 
 perfectly agreeable to the notions of the wisest ancients; and that mathematical 
 principles are the only sure ones." The chief merit of this pamphlet lies in its wit, 
 the aim of it being to expose the received philosophy as no other than a revival of 
 what was maintained ages ago by Cicero and the Stoics. 
 
 In June 1752, Mr. Home took his degree of master of arts, and about the same 
 time he engaged in a controversy, through the medium of the Gentleman's Maga- 
 zine, on the subject of the Cherubim, which he, in common with tlic followers of 
 Hutchinson, held to be symbolical of the Trinity. The letters of our author were 
 
 * Dedication to the Rev. William Jones's Sermon " on the Natural History ofthe Earth and 
 its Minerals." 8vo. 1787. 
 
 1* 
 
6 MEMOIR OF 
 
 siofiied Ingenius ; but the publisher of the magazine, after suffering the discussion 
 to commence in that work, put a stop to it, by decHning to insert the reply which 
 Mr. Home drew up in defence of tlie doctrine he espoused, thus exercising an un- 
 warrantable disposition over tlie privilege of inquiry, and the freedom of the press. 
 The year following, Mr. Home published a masterly pamplilet, witli this title, 
 " A fair, candid, and impartial state of the case between Sir Isaac Newton and Mr. 
 Hutcliinson : In which is shown, how far a system of physics is capable of mathe- 
 matical demonstration": how far Sir Isaac's, as such a system, has tliat demonstra- 
 tion; and, consequently, what regard Mr. Hutchinson's claim may deserve to have 
 paid to it." Of this luminous and closely reasoned production, which was never 
 answered, a new edition appeared in 1795. In the year 1754, our author gave to 
 the world, though anonymously, an ironical piece with this curious title, 
 "Spicilegium Shuckfordianum, or a nosegay for the critics; being some choice 
 flowers of modern theology and criticism, gathered out of Dr. Shuckford's* supple- 
 mental discourse on tlie creation and fall of man, not forgetting Dr. Garnet'st 
 Vatikra." 
 
 But religious controversy and philosophical pursuits were far from narrowing 
 the mind and abating the cheerfulness of this amiable man ; for at this period we 
 find liim corresponding with ]\Ir. Berkeley, son of the excellent bishop of Cloyne, 
 in a strain of playful humour and fervent piety, of which the following letter is an 
 admirable specimen. 
 
 Mag. Coll. Oxon. May 10, 1755, 
 My dearest George, 
 
 It was with the greatest pleasure that I set my eyes on your hand- writing, and 
 with no less do I now take up the pen to have some conversation with you upon 
 paper, which is very sweet and comfortable when we are prevented from having it 
 face to face. Without this, the hurry about us, and constant succession of fresh 
 cdyects, insensibly deface the image of absent friends in our hearts, (such is our 
 weakness and frailty) in spite of all our endeavours to the contrary. How lament- 
 ably would this be the case with regard to our best friend, our absent Lord and 
 Master, were it not for those letters full of love, the Holy Scriptmes, which come 
 directed to every soul, though so few take the trouble to open tlie seals and read 
 tliem. As he has been pleased (blessed be his holy name for it) to lead us to a know- 
 ledge of them, we should be taking all opportunities of comforting and encouraging 
 one £Lnother in this our pilgrimage through the land of the dead, to the land of the 
 living. When we cannot do it by talking, we must do it by writing. And those 
 can never want a subject to write upon, who have an interest in him, and are con- 
 cerned in the increase of his kingdom ; who, as members of the same body, have 
 an intimate fellow-feeUng, and all suffer or rejoice for tlie loss or recovery of a 
 limb. 
 
 Archdeacon Hamilton I know well, and am happy in calling him my old friend 
 and companion. He is a Christian in head and heart, the one enliglitened with 
 knowledge, the other warm with love ; equally removed from a dead profession and 
 a groundless enthusiasm, tlie two baneful plagues of this (I am afraid I must say 
 failing) church. The news of his recovery, since attested by a kind and most ex- 
 cellent letter from himself, we received with great joy. He comes fortli like gold 
 tried and brightened in the furnace of sorrows and adversity, to enrich many with 
 tlie riches of grace, the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, hid in Christ, and 
 manifested by tlic preaching of the Gospel of God. I rejoice to hear you have other 
 faithful labourers on that side of tlie water, which confirms to us the trutli of that 
 divine maxim, that God will never leave himself without a witness. There is always 
 a call, if men had but ears to hear, which nothing but grace can furnish tliem with, 
 — " The hearing car and tlie seeing eye, tlie Lord hath made both of tliem." — I 
 
 * Samufil Shuckforrt, D. D. author of the " Connexions of Sacred and Trofane History," and 
 other works of great learning. He was prepenriary of Canterbury, and died in 17.)4. 
 
 t John Garnet, I). D. who, by going to Ireland with tlie Duke of Dorset, in 1751. obtained the 
 bislwpric of Leighlin and Ferns, from whence he was translated to Clogher. He died in 17?^. 
 Bishop Garnet was the author of a very ponilerous treatise on the Book of Job, to which, like 
 Warbuftoa, he assigns a date posterior to the captivity. 
 
BISHOP HORNE. 7 
 
 shall be glad to hear how Dr. Ellis* goes on, and whether he builds up as well as 
 he pulls down. You surprise me much witli the account of bishop Brownt buing 
 an admirer of Hutchinson. Let us know a little of your confab togctlier, and how 
 tliat matter stands. When you see J'^oung Mrs. Brown, present my compliments to 
 her, and likewise to the other sister, good Mrs, Breviter, a near relation of Mrs. 
 Quickly of facetious memory. You mention nothing of Mr. Auchmuty, an old 
 friend of mine at Edmund Hall, son, I think, of the late dean of Armagh. If he 
 be in Dublin's own self, touch liim up. He knows tlie truth, but, I am afraid, 
 slecpeth. Give liim a jog or so. 
 
 Now for a dash at Oxford news. The plantation at Christ Church thrives and 
 flourishes. Little Charles by going to a play, (the Conscious Lovers, I think) and 
 scampering from hence again upon our friend Pie-ball, to dance upon his brother's 
 birth-night, has pretty well got over the imputation of mcthodism, and things are 
 quiet. I intend to exist with him often in a paradisaical way, in the ncighbourliood 
 of the Wheat Sheaf, the prettiest retirement from the noise and hurry of the world 
 tliat I know. That most excellent youth ille nostcr, is much better in mind and 
 body, having taken our advice concerning the nature, use and advantages, of an 
 able-bodied servitor, to assist in the education of the Mr. L.'s men, more famous 
 than they are likely to be useful in their generations. 
 
 I have spent two or tliree evenings with Dr. Patten,}: in whose manner and 
 conversation the spirit of Christianity breathes as strong as ever I saw it. He ia 
 quite a spiritual man, and has imbibed Law's piety without his whims.§ We have 
 had a pretty translation of Psalm cvii. from Ben Wheeler,|| of Trinity, occasioned 
 by reading Romaine,1T so that you see we are putting on i^tS''? JIOX.** 
 
 Going last Sunday evening to call upon Glasse,tt I found him and Charles Poy ntz,{t 
 instead of flaunting in our carnival walks, sitting together over the cordial bishop 
 Hall. How acceptable to God are such young converts ! It brought to my mind 
 a sweet passage in the Song ; " I went down into the garden, to see the fruits of 
 tlie valley, to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranate budded." 
 
 And now, my dear friend, what shall I say more ? It has pleased God to bring 
 you up to an early piety, under the best of fathers, an ornament and honour to the 
 Christian church, to keep you steady in the comnmnion, doctrine, and discipline of 
 tliat church, committed to the saints by Jesus Christ, the glorious head of it; to 
 lead you to those living fountains of waters, the Holy Scriptures, which to so many 
 are indeed " a fountain sealed," and not to be opened but by the keys of David, so 
 graciously put into our hands; to give you a noble courage, undaunted perseverance 
 
 * Dr. John Ellis, formerly of Brasennose College, Oxford, afterwards beneficed at Chester, 
 and, lastly, in Dublin. He was the author of a very valuable treatise which cuts up infidelity 
 by the roots. This work, entitled, "The Knowledge of Divine Things from Revelation, not 
 from Reason or Nature," appeared first in one volume octavo, in 1743, and has since been re- 
 printed three times. 
 
 t Dr. Peter Brown, bishop of Cork, and the author of " The Procedure of Human Under- 
 standing ;" " Things Divine and Supernatural conceived by Analogy ;" " Sermons," 2 vols. &c. 
 
 X Tliomas Patten, D. D. then fellow of Corpus Christi College, and afterwards rector of 
 Childrey in Berkshire. He was the author of some excellent Sermons, and died in 17'.J0. 
 
 § William Law, A. M. He was a nonjuringdivine, or one who refused to take the oaths to 
 the reigning family. He was domesticated as chaplain in the family of Mr. Gibbon, the histo- 
 rian, who spsaks highly of his piety and genius. It is however to be lamented that the author 
 of "the Serious Call to a devout and holy life," should have fallen into the very dregs of mysti- 
 cism. He died in 1761. 
 
 II Benjamin Wheeler, of Trinity College, and afterwards fellow of Magdalen College, took his 
 doctor's degree in 1770, and died July 21^1783. He was professor of poetry in the University; 
 and of whom Dr. Johnson, in a letter to a young clergyman, relates the following anecdote ;— 
 " My learned friend, Dr. Wheeler of Oxford, when he was a young man, had the care of a 
 neighbouring parish, for which he was never paid; but he counted it a convenience, that it 
 compelled him to make a sermon weekly. One woman he could not bring to the communion ; 
 and when he reproved or exhorted her, she only answered, that she was no scholar. He was 
 advised to set some good woman or man of the parish, a little wiser than herself, to talk to her 
 in language level to her mind." 
 
 TT The late celebrated William Romaine,M. A. rectorof St. Anne, Blackfriars, who had just 
 before published his Discourse on the 107th Psalm. 
 
 ** The covering of truth. 
 
 tt Samuel Glasse, then a student of Christ Church, D. D. in 17G0, and afterwards chaplain in 
 ordinary to his majesty, and rector of Wanstead. Between this excellent divine and bishop 
 Home the closest intimacy subsisted during life. 
 
 XX Charles Poyntz, was'M. A. of Christ Church, in 1759, and D. D. in 1769. 
 
8 MEMOIR OF 
 
 of mind, and great readiness of speech ; and thus furnished, to throw you into a 
 large acquaintance amongst the heads and rulers of our disordered affairs. Gird 
 close, therefore, the armour of God, pray earnestly for the wisdom of the Spirit to 
 direct ; and his almighty power to strengthen you ; thus go forth in the name of 
 Jesus Christ, the conqueror of sin, death, and hell, and — " the Lord prosper you, I 
 wish you good luck in the name of the Lord." And oh! in your prayers to the 
 throne of grace, remember one, whose ardent desire it is, by giving you any assist- 
 ance in his power, to prove liimself, your sincere and affectionate brotlier in tlie 
 faith of Christ, 
 
 G. HORNE. 
 
 Love to the Archdeacon who shall hear soon from me. I am just told there is 
 an apology come out for the clergy against Romaine. If we can once make tlaem 
 talk we shall do. " The dumb spake, and the people wondered I" 
 
 To George Berkeley, Esq. Mary-street, Dublin. 
 
 About this time our author published two sermons ; one preached in Magdalen 
 College Chapel, on the anniversary of St. John the Baptist; and the other, entitled, 
 "Christ the Light of the World." It is very extraordinary, that neither of these 
 valuable discourses should have found a place in the collection of his works ; which 
 unaccountable omission leads us to express our regret that a correct and uniform edi- 
 tion of the productions of this sound divine and elegant writer, lias not hitherto made 
 its appearance. The publication of tlie sermon preached in the university pulpit, 
 brought the autlior into a controversy, in which he distinguished liimself not more 
 by his zeal for truth, than by Christian meekness. In 1756, appeared a pamphlet 
 with this title, " A Word to the Hutchinsonians ; or. Remarks on three extraordi- 
 nary Sermons, lately preached before the University of Oxford, by the Rev. Dr. 
 Patten, the Rev. Mr. Wetherell,* and the Rev. Mr. Home." About the same time 
 was published, another tract to the same purpose, but to which the autlidr had the 
 candour of prefixing his name. This last piece bears the title of " The Us" of 
 Reason, asserted in matters of Religion ; or, Natural Religion the foimdation of 
 Revealed. In answer to a Sermon preached before the University of Oxford, on 
 Whit-Sunday, July 13, 1755 ; and lately published at the request of the Vice-Chan- 
 cellor, and other heads of houses, by T. Patten, D. D. Fellow of Corpus College ; 
 by Ralph Heatlicote, M. A. of Jesus College, Cambridge, and assistant preacher at 
 Lincoln's Inn." To these violent attacks upon a set of respectable scholars, wlio 
 had no otherwise rendered themselves the object of censure, than by exerting them- 
 selves with peculiar energy in the revival of Hebrew literature ; our author replied 
 in " An Apology for certain Gentlemen in the University of Oxford, aspersed in a 
 late anonymous pamphlet ; with a postcript concerning another pamphlet lately 
 published by the Rev. Mr. Heathcote." The last of these adversaries liad prudence 
 enough to witlidraw from a contest into which he had obtruded out of vanity, and 
 to ingratiate himself into the favour of his friend, the redoubtable Dr. Warburton ; 
 but the anonymous writer who had provoked the warfare, continued it, though with 
 a feeble hand, in a tract entitled, " True Censure no Aspersion ; or a vindication of 
 a late seasonable admonition, called a Word to the Hutchinsonians, in a letter to 
 tlic Rev. Mr. Home." It is now well known that this piece, and the one which it 
 defends, came from the pen of Mr. Kennicott, the celebrated collator of Hebrew 
 manuscripts, whose learning lay contracted within very narrow limits, but who 
 compensated the want of genius and judgment by the most indefatigable industry. 
 The illiberality with which this divine treated some of his contemporaries, who 
 were by much his superiors, not only in general knowledge, but even in that branch 
 of study upon which he prided himself tiie most, very naturally excited their jea- 
 lousy, when they saw him embark in a concern of such apparent hazard, as that 
 of publishing an improved edition of the Old Testament. Estimating his abilities 
 by what they knew of liim, and of his spirit, by these intemperate publications, the 
 persons who were stigmatized as a sect, by the name of Hutchinsonians, regarded 
 
 * Nathan Wetherell, of University College, took his Master's Decree in 1750, and those of B. 
 and D. D. in 1764. lie became Master of his college, Prebendary of Westminster, and Dean of 
 Hereford. 
 
BISHOP HORNE. 9 
 
 the project of Kennicott in the Hght of a speculation pregnant with miscliief to the 
 cause of revelation. Among others, who took alarm on this occasion, was Mr. 
 Home, wliose apprehensions, instead of being removed by tlie publication of the 
 plan, were increased by the petulance of its language, the confidence of the author, 
 and the freedom of his censures. This work drew from Mr. Home one of the 
 keenest of liis performances, under the title of " A View of Mr. Kennicott's metliod 
 of correcting the Hebrew Text, with three queries formed thereupon, and twenty 
 submitted to the consideration of the learned and Christian world." It is but jus- 
 tice, however, to these two eminent men, to observe in this place, that as the work 
 whicii was the subject of animadversion in this tract proceeded, the opposition to 
 it abated, in consequence of the circumspection adopted by the collator, who had the 
 discretion to turn the hints of his opponents to the advantage of his literary labours. 
 Thus controversy, when properly managed and duly improved, tends to put the 
 one party upon his guard, and to direct liim in a better course, while it acts as a 
 stimulant to the other in detecting errors, and suggesting practical improvements. 
 The province of science has been extended by those disputes, in which the world 
 at large finds little interest, and of which superficial minds arc apt to entertain an 
 unfavourable judgment, as though it were nothing more than a waste of words 
 and the ebullition of passion excited by the difference of opinion. But it should 
 be considered, that truth is not elicited without inquiry, and tliat on subjects of 
 importance, when men of ability contend, they of necessity bring forward their 
 strongest reasons, and examine e\'ery argument and testimony with a rigid and 
 scrupulous severity. It is, however, happy when theological contests are conducted 
 in the spirit which distinguished that great ornament of our church, the judicious 
 Hooker, whose sharpest language to a captious disputant was this, " Your next 
 argument consists of railing and of reasons ; to your railing I say nothing ; to your 
 reasons, I say what follows." Such was the temper in which our autlior defended 
 tlie principles he espoused : and it is pleasing to remark, that though he had re- 
 ceived rather coarse treatment from Kennicott, and thought very little of his great 
 scheme, a perfect friendship afterwards subsisted between them, which was not in 
 the least disturbed till the death of the collator, in 1783. 
 
 In 1758, Mr. Home discharged the office of junior proctor of the University; 
 and the next year, he took his degree of Bachelor in Divinity. At this time he was 
 a liberal correspondent of Dr. Dodd, who had then undertaken the management of 
 the Christian Magazine, for Newberry. Some of the most valuable papers in that 
 useful miscellany came from tlie pen of our author, imder the signature of Aca- 
 demicus. 
 
 In 1764, he took the degree of Doctor in Divinity ; but it is remarkable that he 
 never had any benefice, or preferment, till, by the deatli of Dr. Jenner, President 
 of Magdalen College, in 17G8, he was elected to succeed him in tliat important 
 station. This year he also entered into the marriage state, with the daughter ot 
 Philip Burton, Esq. of Hatton-street, in London, and of Eltham, in Kent. By tliis 
 lady he had three daughters. The year following he testified his regard for the 
 Junior members of his college, by publishing, with a view to their edification, 
 " Considerations on the Life and Death of St. John the Baptist." This inesti- 
 mable little work was the substance of several sermons, which were delivered 
 by the author, before the University, in Magdalen Chapel, according to annual 
 custom. 
 
 In 1771 he was appointed Chaplain in Ordinary to his Majesty ; and in 1772, 
 when an association was formed by those divines who inchned to the Arian or 
 Socinian tenets, for the purpose of abolishing subscription to the Thirty-nine 
 Articles, Dr. Home printed a letter, addressed to Lord North, "On the projected 
 Reformation of the Church of England ;" in which he showed clearly, that the pro- 
 jected scheme, instead of promoting unity, and advancing the cause of Clu-istianity, 
 would be the occasion of discord, and the source of infidelity. 
 
 In 1776 appeared that great work which had for many years been his favourite 
 employment, and to the perfection of which he brought all the stores of his multi- 
 farious studies, and the fruits of his retired meditations. This was his "Commen- 
 tary on the Psahns," in two volumes, quarto; and when Mr. Prince tlie publisher, 
 was cai-rying the first set to the college, some person who met him asked what he 
 had got there. " It is," said the bookseller, " a new work of the President of 
 
10 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Magdalen, whose former productions have given him a name, but this will render 
 his name immortal." Of this Commentary it may be truly said, that it is equally 
 adapted to edify the profound scholar and the unlearned Christian ; that it tlirows 
 light upon dark passages, and clears up difficulties without the parade of criticism; 
 while in every elucidation, practical improvement is consulted, and the reader of 
 every description is enabled to draw spiritual instruction even from the dry subject 
 of philological discussion. 
 
 This year Dr. Home was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University, in which 
 important station he continued till the close of 1780 ; and it may be truly said, that 
 no person ever held that office with greater dignity and popularity. On the death 
 of David Hume, liis zealous admirer, Adam Smith, published an extravagant pane- 
 gyric upon the philosopher ; in which he was not contented with praising liis 
 friend for his meritorious qualites, as a moral character, and his splendid talents 
 as a writer, but he coloured the picture in such a manner as to give his hero every 
 virtue that could adorn human nature, and that obviously for the purpose of un- 
 dervaluing the principles of revealed religion, and of depreciating the motives of 
 its professors. As an antidote to this pernicious apology for the poison of infi- 
 delity, the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford published " A Letter to Dr. Smith, on the 
 Life, Death, and Philosophy of his Friend, David Hume, Esq. by one of tlie People 
 called Christians." In this little piece, which happily blends the closest reasoning 
 with the keenest wit, the character of Hume is faitlifully delineated, and the ma- 
 lignant conduct of his panegyrist completely exposed. In 1779, Dr. Home favoured 
 the world with two volumes of admirable Sermons, in which line of composition it 
 may safely be affirmed that he has been equalled by few and excelled by none ; for 
 his style is remarkably vigorous, and yet so perfectly simple, that the plainest im- 
 derstanding cannot avoid being immediately convinced by the arguments, and af- 
 fected by the exhortations. 
 
 On the advancement of Dr. Cornwallis to the bishopric of Lichfield, in 1781, the 
 President of Magdalen was appointed to succeed him in the deanery of Canter- 
 bury, from which period, till his elevation to a higher station in the church, he 
 divided his time in a regular course between the duties of the College and the 
 Cathedral, to the equal satisfaction of all who had the happiness of living under 
 his government. During his residence at Canterbury, he was ever ready to exert 
 his services in the pulpit on public occasions. The opening of a new organ in the 
 Cathedral, the institution of Sunday Schools, the anniversary of the gentlemen edu- 
 cated in the King's School, and the visitation of the Archbishop, afibrdcd him op- 
 portunities of displaying in that city with what taste and feeling he could describe 
 the power of music ; with what zeal he could plead for the indigent ; with what 
 energy he could point out the means of obtaining true wisdom ; and with what 
 strength he could " contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints." 
 
 While on these occasions he gratified the public as a preacher, his talents were 
 also employed as a writer, in exposing the vain pretensions of " Science, falsely so 
 called." In 1784 appeared, but without his name, a small volume entitled, " Letters 
 on Infidelity;" in which the system of Hume is held up to just contempt, and the 
 sophistry of that sceptic laid open in all its native deformity. With the same 
 anxious concern for the cause of Christianity, our author next encountered the 
 great champion of Socinianism, in "A Letter to the Rev. Dr. Priestley, by an Un- 
 dergraduate." For while, in the judgment of the Dean, infidelity had a necessary 
 tendency to destroy morality, by depriving it of the only sanction that can give it 
 force for the regulation of human actions, he also looked upon that which is called 
 the Unitarian doctrine, especially as taught in the modern schools, in the light of 
 an auxiliary, or rather guide to that enemy of God's image in the soul of man. 
 
 At length, though too late for the benefit of the church, the great merit of Dr. 
 Home was rewarded with the mitre, by his consecration to the bishopric of Nor- 
 wich, June 7th, 1790; the sermon on which occasion being preached by his old 
 and constant friend Dr. Berkeley, Prebendary of Canterbury. Soon after this event, 
 he resigned his station in Magdalen College; but, though he repaired to his epis- 
 copal palace, he found it difficult to go up and down the steps, owing to his in- 
 creasing infirmities, for the alleviation of which he was constrained to reside at 
 Bath, where the use of the waters gave him temporary relief At this time hiss 
 eldest daughter was married to tlie reverend Mr. Selby Hele, rector of Colesworth, 
 
BISHOP HORNE. n 
 
 in Bedfordshire, and chaplain to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. On 
 this occasion, the Bishop wrote tlie following letter to Dr. Berkeley, which evinces 
 tlie same fervent piety and innocent gaiety that distinguished the accomplished 
 writer throughout life. 
 
 Bath, May 21, 1791. 
 Mv Dear Friend. 
 
 In negotiations of the matrimonial kind, multa cederunt inter, &c. and there- 
 fore I think it better to say nothing of the matter till tlie newspapers tell it every 
 body at once that the thing is done, and there's an end of it. I always desired my 
 girls to secure three points in a husband — good temper, good sense, and good prin- 
 ciples : if they meet with a good person and a good fortune, they might be thrown 
 in, and no harm. For the present instance, as far as I can judge, we are well off 
 tliroughout, and all parties pleased, and so God bless them. To see a little of the 
 world before they settle, they arc gone for three or four months upon the Conti- 
 nent ; as to cake, we must therefore wait, I believe, for a slice of right national, for 
 tliey set off on the evening of the wedding-day ; and the trusty Betty, on her return 
 to Eltham, deposed she had seen 'em under sail for the coast of France. Best 
 tlianks to Mrs. Berkeley, for her very kind letter, which has found its way hither. 
 My wife is passing a few days at Otham, after the hurry and heat of Sackville 
 street. 
 
 I bless God the waters and weather here carry me on charmingly. I write, you 
 see, nearly as well as ever I did ; and as to utterance, hope to be a match for Nor- 
 wich Cathedral by the end of July, when I am engaged there for the infirmary. 
 Once a year, by God's blessing, I propose to refresh nature at Bath, and keep things 
 going. 
 
 I hope, when we get rid of these cold winds, for such they are, notwithstanding 
 the sun Uiis day, Mr. Berkeley's gout will melt away like ice in the fair weather. 
 The doctors want me to have a fit ; but I wish to leave that matter to God's good- 
 ness. I soothe my mind, and settle my temper every night with a page or two of 
 Bozzy (i. e. Boswell's Life of Dr. Johnson,) and always meet with something to 
 tlie purpose. My sleep is sweet after it. God bless you all. So prayeth, my dear 
 friend, 
 
 Your ^.flfectionate friend and servant, 
 
 G. NORWICH. 
 
 This year the good prelate published the " Charge to the Clergy of his Diocess ;" 
 which, on account of the declining state of his health, he had been prevented from 
 delivering personally, but which he now sent to them from the press, as he says in 
 tlie preliminary advertisement, " that so, whenever he should be called hence, he 
 might leave some testimony of his regard for them, and attention to their con- 
 cerns." This was the completion of all his public customs ; and the close was 
 marked by the same liveliness of sentiment, perspicuity of illustratiori, and zeal 
 for evangelical truth, which distinguished him in every stage of his ministry. In 
 this farewell discourse, he treats with a vigour of reasoning almost peculiar to 
 himself, " the nature of God ; the nature of man ; the saving principle of faith ; the 
 importance and use of the church; the obedience due to civil government; and the 
 necessity of a pure life and holy conversation." 
 
 The complication of disorders with which this excellent man was afflicted, com- 
 pelled him to return to Bath ; but, on the road, he was attacked by a paralytic 
 stroke, which, though it did not weaken his mental powers, deprived him of arti- 
 culate utterance ; and it was but by slow degrees that he so far recovered his 
 speech as to be tmderstood by his attendants. Not long before his departure " to 
 that rest which remaineth for the people of God," he signified a strong wish to 
 have the sacrament of the Lord's Supper administered to him ; and when tlie so- 
 lemn ordinance was over, he clasped his liands with an emotion of rapturous de- 
 votion, and exclaimed, " Now am I blessed indeed!" He languished on, from this 
 time till January 17th, 1792, and then breathed his last, without a groan. " Mark 
 the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace." 
 
 The mortal remains of the bishop were interred in the family vault, belonging 
 to Ins father-in-law, Philip Burton, Esq. at Eltham, in Kent ; in the church-yard 
 of wliich parish is a monument, with the following inscription, a copy of which, 
 
12 MEMOIR OF BISHOP HORNE. 
 
 with some slight alteration, is also placed on a tablet to his memory, in the Cathe- 
 dral of Norwich : 
 
 Here lie interred ' 
 
 The earthly Remains of 
 
 The right reverend GEORGE HORNE, D. D. 
 
 Many years president of Magdalen College, in Osford, 
 
 Dean of Canterbury, 
 
 And late Bishop of Norwich. 
 
 In whose Character, 
 
 Depth of Learning, brightness of Imagination, 
 
 Sanctity of Manners, and sweetness of Temper, 
 
 Were united beyond the usual lot of Mortality. 
 
 With his discourses from the Pnlpit, his hearers, 
 
 Whether of the University, the City, 
 
 Or the Country Parish, 
 
 Were edified and delighted. 
 
 His Commentary on the Psalms will continue to be 
 
 A Companion to the Closet, 
 
 Till the Devotion of Earth shall end in the Hallelujahs 
 
 of Heaven. 
 
 Having patiently suffered under such infirmities 
 
 As seerned not due to liis years. 
 
 His Soul took its flight from this Vale of Misery, 
 
 To the unspeakable loss of the Church of England, 
 
 And his surviving Friends and Admirers, 
 
 Jan. 17th, 1702, in the 62d Year of his Age. 
 
 Tlie style of Bisliop Home is nervous, and frequently epigrammatic, particularly 
 on subjects of a controversial nature, and where serious argument would have 
 been thrown away upon those who either wanted sense or honesty to feel its force, 
 and to treat it with reverence. But though this Christian advocate sometimes in- 
 dulged in a sportive humour, when he condescended to enter the list with writers 
 whose talents he conceived to be dangerously employed, he never disgraced his 
 powers by acrimony, nor weakened the effect of them by abuse. " ^\' it," said he, 
 ♦' if used at all, sliould be tempered with good liumour, so as not to exasperate the 
 person who is the object of it ; and then we are sure there is no mischief done. 
 The disputant ought to be at once firm and calm ; his head cool, and liis heart 
 warm." 
 
 The conduct of the bishop corresponded with the picture of his heart exhibited 
 in his literary productions. He was distinguished by tlie suavity of his manners, 
 no less than by the firmness of his faith and the ardour of his zeal. He was not 
 only a " burning, but a sliining light," exhibiting in every relation the practical 
 influence of tliose principles which he thought it his duty to defend against all 
 gainsayers. 
 
 He was a most agreeable as well as instructive companion ; and, as he abounded 
 in anecdote, which he alwa^'s introduced in season, liis conversation never failed to 
 afford deliglitfiil entertainment to tliose who had a taste for moral and intellectual 
 pleasure. That he niiglit never forget the solemn obligations by w^iieh he liad 
 bound himself, it was his prescribed custom to read over the service for tlie ordina- 
 tion of priests, on the first day of every month, which practice being accompanied 
 by devout meditation, was well calculated to increase liis liumihty, to strengthen 
 his faith, and to animate his resolution in the discharge of his duty. 
 
 Besides the publications which have been already noticed, he WTote the " Pre- 
 face to Dodd's Translation of Callimachus ;" a Tract " On the Repeal of the Test 
 Act;" the "Miscellany by Nathaniel Frecbody," in the St. James's Chronicle for 
 1767; several papers signed Z. in tlie 011a Podrida, published in 1787 ; some others 
 printed by the late Rev. William Jones, his Chaplain, in the " Scholar Armed," 2 
 vols. 8vo. ; and, since his death, three volumes of his Sermons have been printed, 
 together with liis " Miscellaneous Works and Essays ;" and " Considerations on 
 the Life and Death of Abel," «&c. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The Psalms are an epitome of the Bible, adapted to the purposes of de- 
 votion. They treat occasionally of the creation and formation of the world ; 
 the dispensations of Providence, and the economy of grace; the transac- 
 tions of the patriarchs; the exodus of the children of Israel; their journey 
 through the wilderness, and settlement in Canaan; their law, priesthood, 
 and ritual; the exploits of their great men, wrought through faith; their 
 sins and captivities; their repentances and restorations ; the sufferings and 
 victories of David; the peaceful and happy reign of Solomon; the advent 
 of Messiah, with its effects and consequences ; his incarnation, birth, life, 
 passion, death, resurrection, ascension, kingdom, and priesthood ; the effu- 
 sion of the Spirit; the conversion of the nations; the rejection of the Jews; 
 the establishment, increase, and perpetuity of the Christian church ; the 
 end of the world; the general judgment; the condemnation of the wicked, and 
 the final triumph of the righteous with their Lord and King. These are 
 the subjects here presented to our meditations. We are instructed how to 
 conceive of them aright, and to express the different affections, which, 
 when so conceived of, they must excite in our minds. They are, for this 
 purpose, adorned with the figures, and set off with all the graces of poetry; 
 and poetry itself is designed yet farther to be recommended by the charms 
 of music, thus consecrated to the service of God ; that so delight may pre- 
 pare the way for improvement, and pleasure become the handmaid of wis- 
 dom, while every turbulent passion is calmed by sacred melody, and the 
 evil spirit is still dispossessed by the Harp of the Son of Jesse. This lit- 
 tle volume, like the paradise of Eden, affords us in perfection, though in 
 miniature, everything that groweth elsewhere, " every tree that is pleasant 
 to the sight, and good for food :" and above all, what was there lost, but 
 is here restored, the tree of life in the midst of the garden. That 
 which we read, as matter of speculation, in the other Scriptures, is reduced 
 to practice, when we recite it in the Psalms; in those, repentance and faith 
 are described, but in these they are acted; by a perusal of the former, we 
 learn how others served God, but, by using the latter, we serve him our- 
 selves. " What is there necessary for man to know," says the pious and 
 judicious Hooker, " which the Psalms are not able to teach? They are to 
 beginners an easy and familiar introduction, a mighty augmentation of all 
 virtue and knowledge in such as are entered before, a strong confirmation 
 of the most perfect among others. Heroical magnanimity, exquisite justice, 
 grave moderation, exact wisdom, repentance unfeigned, unwearied patience, 
 the mysteries of God, the sufferings of Christ, the terrors of wrath, the 
 comforts of grace, the works of Providence over this world, and the pro- 
 mised joys of that world which is to come, all good necessarily to be either 
 known, or done, or had, this one celestial fountain yieldeth. Let there be 
 any grief or disease incident unto the soul of man, any wound or sickness 
 named, for which there is not, in this treasure-house, a present comfortable 
 remedy at all times ready to be found."* In the language of this divine 
 
 ♦ Hooker's Ecclesiast. Pol. B. v. Sect. 37. 
 2 
 
14 PREFACE. 
 
 book, therefore, the prayers and praises of the church have been offered up 
 to the throne of grace, from age to age. And it appears to have been the 
 Manual of the Son of God in the days of his flesh; who, at the conclusion 
 of his last supper, is generally supposed, and that upon good grounds, to 
 have sung a hymn taken from it;* who pronounced on the cross the begin- 
 ning of the xxiid Psalm ; " My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me 1" 
 And expired with a part of the xxxist Psalm in his mouth ; " Into thy hands 
 I commend my spirit." Thus He, who had not the spirit by measure, in 
 whom were hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and who 
 spake as never man spake, yet chose to conclude his life, to solace himself 
 in his greatest agony, and at last to breathe out his soul, in the Psalmist's 
 form of words, rather than his own. No tongue of man or angel, as Dr. 
 Hammond justly observes, can convey a higher idea of any book, and of 
 their felicity who use it aright. 
 
 Proportionable to the excellency of the Psalms, hath been the number of 
 their expositors. The ancients were chiefly taken up in making spiritual 
 or evangelical applications of them ; in adapting their discourses on them 
 to the general exigencies of the Christian church, or to the particular neces- 
 sities of the age in which they wrote. The moderns have set themselves to 
 investigate with diligence, and to ascertain with accuracy, their literal scope 
 and meaning. Piety and devotion characterize the writings of the ancients ; 
 the commentaries of the moderns display more learning and judgment. 
 The ancients have taught us how to rear a goodly superstructure; but the 
 moderns have laid the surest foundation. To bring them in some measure 
 together, is the design of the following work; in which the author has not 
 laboured to point out what seemed wrong in either, but to extract what he 
 judged to be right from both ; to make the annotations of the latter a ground- 
 work for improvements, like those of the former; and thus to construct an 
 edifice, solid, as well as specious. Materials, and good ones, he cannot be 
 said to have wanted; so that if the building should give way, the cement 
 must have been faulty, or the workman unskilful. 
 
 The right of the Psalter to a place in the sacred canon hath never been 
 disputed ; and it is often cited by our Lord and his apostles in the New 
 Testament, as the work of the Holy Spirit. Whether David, therefore, or 
 any other prophet, were employed as the instrument of communicating to 
 the church such or such a particular Psalm, is a question, which, if it can- 
 not always be satisfactorily answered, needs not disquiet our minds. When 
 we discern, in an epistle, the well-known hand of a friend, we are not soli- 
 citous about the pen with which it was written. 
 
 The number of Psalms is the same in the original, and in the version of 
 the LXX; only these last have, by some mistake, thrown the ninth and 
 tenth into one, as also the hundred and fourteenth and the hundred and fif- 
 teenth, and have divided the hundred and sixteenth into two, as also the 
 hundred and forty-seventh. The Hebrews have distributed them into five 
 books; but for what reason, or upon what authority, we know not. This 
 is certain, that the apostles quote from " the book of Psalms, "f and that 
 they quote the " second" Psalm of that book, in the order in which it now 
 stands.:}^ That division, which our own church hath made of them, into 
 thirty portions, assigning one to each day of the month, it hath been thought 
 expedient to set down in the margin; as persons may often choose to turn 
 to the commentary on those Psalms, which occur in their daily course of 
 reading. 
 
 In the titles, prefixed to some of the Psalms, there is so much obscurity, 
 
 * St. Matthew informs us, Chap. xxvi. 30. that he and his apostles " sun;; an hj'mn;" and the 
 hymn usually suns by the Jews, upon that occasion, was what they call the "great Hallel,"' 
 consisting of the Psalms from the cxiiith to the cxviiith inclusive. 
 
 t Acts, i. 2U. t Acts, xiii. 33. 
 
PREFACE. 15 
 
 and in the conjectures which have been made concerning them, both in a 
 literal and spiritual way, so great a variety and uncertainty, that the author, 
 finding himself, after all his searches, unable to offer anything which he 
 thought could content the learned, or edify the unlearned, at length deter- 
 mined to omit them; as the sight of them, unexplained, only distracts the 
 eye and attention of the reader. The omission of the word selah must be 
 apologized for in the same manner. The information obtained from the 
 historical titles will be found in the argument placed at the head of each 
 Psalm; though even that is not always to be relied on. 
 
 Where this information failed, the occasion and drift of the Psalm were 
 to be collected from the internal evidence contained in itself, by a diligent 
 perusal of it, with a view to the sacred history; the light of which, when 
 held to the Psalms, often dissipates the darkness that must otherwise for 
 ever envelope allusions to particular events and circumstances: sometimes, 
 indeed, the descriptions are couched in terms more general ; and then, the 
 want of such information is less perceived. If it appear, for instance, that 
 David at the time of composing any Psalm, was under persecution, or had 
 been lately delivered from it, it may not be of any great consequence, if we 
 cannot determine with precision, whether his persecution by Saul and Doeg, 
 or that by Absalom and Ahitophel, be intended and referred to. The ex- 
 pressions either of his sorrow or his joy, his strains whether plaintive or 
 jubilant, may be nearl)^ the same, in both cases respectively. This obser- 
 vation may be extended to many other instances of calamities bewailed, or 
 deliverances celebrated in the Psalms, sometimes by the prince, sometimes 
 by the community, and frequently by both together. Upon the whole, it is 
 hoped, that the design of each Psalm hath been sufficiently discovered, to 
 explain and apply it for the instruction and comfort of believers. 
 
 The result of such critical inquiries as were found necessary to be made, 
 is given in as few words as possible; often only by inserting into a verse, 
 or subjoining to it, that sense of a word, or phrase, which seemed upon nia- 
 ture deliberation, to be the best; as it was deemed improper to clog, with 
 prolix disquisitions of this land, a work intended for general use. The 
 reader will, however, reap the benefit of many such, which have been care- 
 fully consulted for him. And he will not, it is presumed, have reason to 
 complain, that any verse is passed over, without a tolerably consistent in- 
 terpretation, and some useful improvement. Where the literal sense was 
 plain, it is noticed only so far as was necessary to make an application, or 
 form a reflection. Where there appeared any obscurity, or difficulty, re- 
 course was had to the best critics, and that solution which seemed the most 
 satisfactory, given in the concisest manner. Much labour hath here been 
 bestowed, where little appears. The plan of every Psalm hath been atten- 
 tively studied, with the connexion and dependence of its parts, which it is 
 the design of the Argument to exhibit at one view, and of the Commentary 
 to pursue and explain, from beginning to end.* 
 
 No person is more thoroughly sensible, than the author is, of the respect 
 and gratitude due from all lovers of the sacred writings, to those who hare 
 laboured in the field of literal criticism. Great and illustrious characters, 
 whose names will be had by the church in everlasting remembrance! All 
 who desire to understand the Scriptures, must enter into their labours, and 
 make the proper advantage of them, as he himself hath endeavoured to do. 
 But let us also bear in mind, that all is not done when this is done. A 
 work of the utmost importance still remains, which it is the business of 
 
 *Nos Lectoris piuni hunc laborem adiuvandmn suscepimus: dum constitutis argumentis 
 acopum atteiitioni figimus : dum scrutamiir literam, el ex sacra historia quantum pnssumus, 
 omnia repetimus; duin annotamus qua; pielatera inflamment: alio eo exemplo quiErenda in- 
 dicamus. Bessuet Disstrtat. in Psal.Cap. vii. 
 
16 PREFACE. 
 
 Theolog'y* to undertake and execute ; since, with respect to the Old Testa- 
 ment, and the Psalter more especially, a person may attain a critical and 
 grammatical knowledge of them, and yet continue a Jew, with a veil upon 
 his heart ; an utter stranger to that sense of the holy books, evidently in- 
 tended, in such a variety of instances, to bear testimony to the Saviour of 
 the world ; that sense, which is styled, by the divines, the prophetical, 
 EVANGELICAL, MYSTICAL, or SPIRITUAL seuso. As it is One great design of 
 the following work to investigate that sense in many of the Psalms, this is 
 the proper place to lay before the reader those grounds and reasons, upon 
 which such investigation has been made. 
 
 That the spiritual interpretation of the Scripture, like all other good 
 things, is liable to abuse, and that it hath been actually abused, both in 
 ancient and modern days, cannot be denied. He who shall go about to 
 apply, in this way, any passage,, jefore he hath attained its literal meaning, 
 may say what in itself is pious aid true, but foreign to the text from which 
 he endeavourelh to deduce it. St. Jerome, it is well known, when growa 
 older and wiser, lamented that, in the fervours of a youthful fancy, he had 
 spiritualized the prophecy of Obadiah, before he understood it. And it must 
 be allowed, that a due attention to the occasion and scope of the Psalms 
 would have pared off many unseemly excrescences, which now deform the 
 commentaries of St. Augustine, and other Fathers, upon them. But these 
 and other concessions of the same kind being made, as they are made very 
 freely, "men of sense will consider, that a principle is not therefore to be 
 rejected, because it has been abused ;"| since human errors can never inva- 
 lidate the truths of God. 
 
 It may not be amiss, therefore, to run through the Psalter, and point out 
 some of the more remarkable passages, which are cited from thence by our 
 Lord and his apostles, and applied to matters evangelical. 
 
 No sooner have we opened the book, but the second Psalm presenteth 
 itself, to all appearance, as an inauguration-hymn, composed by David, the 
 Anointed of Jehovah, when by him crowned with victory, and placed tri- 
 umphant on the sacred hill of Sion. But let us turn to Acts iv. 25. and 
 there we find the apostles, with one voice, declaring the Psalm to be de- 
 scriptive of the exaltation of Jesus Christ, and of the opposition raised 
 against his Gospel, both by Jew and Gentile. 
 
 In the eighth Psalm we imagine the writer to be setting forth the pre- 
 eminence of man in general, above the rest of the creation ; but by Heb. ii. 
 6. we are informed, that the supremacy conferred on the second Adam, the 
 man Christ Jesus, over all things in heaven and earth, is the subject there 
 treated of. 
 
 St. Peter stands up. Acts ii. 25. and preaches the resurrection of Jesus 
 from the latter part of the sixteenth Psalm; and, lo, three thousand souls 
 are converted by the sermon. 
 
 Of the eighteenth Psalm we are told, in the course of the sacred history, 
 2 Sam. xxii. that " David spake before the Lord the words of that song, in 
 the day that the Lord delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and 
 out of the hand of Saul." Yet in Rom. xv. 9. the 50th verse of that Psalm 
 is adduced as a proof, that " the Gentiles should glorify God for his mercy 
 in Jesus Christ, as it is written. For this cause will I confess to thee among 
 the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name." 
 
 In the nineteenth Psalm, David seems to be speaking of the material hea- 
 vens and their operations only, when he says, "Their sound is gone out 
 into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world." But St. 
 
 * TheologiaB insignis hie usus est, ut, verborum sensu exposito, rem intelligas. Eisner. 
 Prirfat. ad Ohservat. Sacr. 
 t Bishop Hurd's IiUruduction to the study of the Propliecies, p. C4. 
 
PREFACE. 17 
 
 Paul, Rom. x. 18. quotes the passage to show, that the Gospel has been 
 universally published by the apostles. 
 
 The twenty-second Psalm Christ appropriated to himself, by beginning 
 it in the midst of his sufferings on tlie cross; "My God, my God," &c. 
 Three other verses of it are in the New Testament applied to him ; and the 
 words of the 8th verse were actually used by the chief priests, when they 
 reviled him ; " He trusted in God," &c. Matt, xxvii. 43. 
 
 When David saitli, in the fortieth Psalm, "Sacrifice and offering thou 
 didst not desire — Lo I come to do thy will :" we might suppose him only 
 to declare, in his own person, that obedience is better than sacrifice. But 
 from Heb. x. 5. we learn, that Messiah, in that place, speaketh of his advent 
 in the flesh, to abolish the legal sacrifices, and to do away sin, by the obla- 
 tion of himself once for all. 
 
 That tender and pathetic complaint, in the fortj-'-first Psalm, " Mine own 
 familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted 
 up his heel against me," undoubtedly might be, and probably was, origi- 
 nally uttered by David, upon the revolt of his old friend and counsellor, 
 Ahitophel, to the party of his rebellious son, Absalom. But we are certain, 
 from John xiii. 18. that this Scripture was fulfilled, when Christ was be- 
 trayed by his apostate disciple — " I speak not of you all ; I know whom I 
 have chosen; but that the Scriptures may be fulfilled. He that eateth bread 
 with me, hath lifted up his heel against me." 
 
 The forty -fourth Psalm we must suppose to have been written on occasion 
 of a persecution, under which the church at that time laboured; but a verse 
 of it is cited, Rom. viii. 36. as expressive of what Christians were to suffer 
 on their blessed Master's account; " as it is written, For thy sake are we 
 killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep appointed to be slain." 
 
 A quotation from the forty-fifth Psalm, in Heb. i. 8. certifies )is, that the 
 whole is addressed to the Son of God, and therefore celebrates his spiritual 
 union with the church, and the happy fruits of it. 
 
 The sixty-eighth Psalm, though apparently conversant about Tsraelitish 
 victories, the translation of the ark to Sion, and the services of the taber- 
 nacle, yet does, under those figures, treat of Christ's resurrection, his going 
 up on high, leading captivity captive, pouring out the gifts of his Spirit, 
 erecting his church in the world, and enlarging it by the accession of the 
 nations to the faith; as will be evident to any one who considers the force 
 and consequence of the apostle's citation from it, Eph. iv. 7, 8. " Unto 
 every one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the gift of 
 Christ. Wherefore he saith. When he ascended up on high, he led capti- 
 vity captive, and gave gifts unto men." 
 
 The sixty-ninth Psalm is five times referred to in the gospels, as being 
 uttered by the prophet, in the person of Messiah. The imprecations, or 
 rather predictions, at the latter end of it, are applied, Rom. xi. 9, 10, to the 
 Jews ; and to Judas, Acts i. 20. where the hundred and ninth Psalm is also 
 cited, as prophetical of the sore judgments which should befall that arch- 
 traitor, and the wretched nation of which he was an epitome. 
 
 St. Matthew, informing us, chap. xiii. 34. that Jesus spake to the multi- 
 tudes in parables, gives it as one reason why he did so, " that it might be 
 fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet ; Psalm Ixxviii. 2. I will open 
 my mouth in a parable ; I will utter things which have been kept secret 
 from the foundation of the world." 
 
 The ninety-first Psalm was applied by the tempter to Messiah : nor did 
 our Lord object to the application, but only to the false inference which his 
 adversary suggested from it, Matt. iv. 6, 7. 
 
 The ninety-fifth Psalm is explained at large in Heb. iii. and iv. as relative 
 to the state and trial of Christians in the world, and to their attainment of 
 the heavenly rest. 
 
 2* 
 
18 PREFACE. 
 
 The hundred and tenth Psalm is cited by Christ himself, Mat. xxii. 44. 
 as treating of his exaltation, kingdom, and priesthood. 
 
 The hundred and seventeenth Psalm, consisting only of two verses, is 
 employed, Rom. xv. 11. to prove, that the Gentiles were one day to praise 
 God for the mercies of redemption. 
 
 The 22d verse of the hundred and eighteenth Psalm, " The stone which 
 the builders refused," &c. is quoted six different times as spoken of our 
 Saviour. 
 
 And, lastly, "the fruit of David's body," which God is said in the hun- 
 dred and thirty-second Psalm to have promised that he would " place upon 
 his throne," is asserted. Acts ii. 30. to be Jesus Christ. 
 
 These citations, lying dispersed through the Scriptures of the New Tes- 
 tament, are often suffered by common readers to pass unnoticed. And many 
 others content themselves with saying, that they are made in a sense of 
 aceoflimodation, as passages may be quoted from poems or histories merely 
 human, for the illustration of truths, of which their authors never thought. 
 " And this (as a learned critic observes) is no fault, but rather a beauty in 
 writing. A passage applied justly, and in a new sense, is ever pleasing to 
 an ingenious reader, who loves to be agreeably surprised, and to see a like- 
 ness and pertinency where he expected none. He has that surprise which 
 the Latin poet so poetically gives to the tree ; 
 
 ' Miraturque novas frondes, et non sua poma.' " 
 
 The readers, who have been accustomed to consider the New Testa- 
 ment citations in this view of accommodation only, must perceive the 
 necessity of such accommodation, at least, to adapt the use of Psalms, as a 
 part of divine service, to the times and circumstances of the gospel ; and 
 cannot therefore reasonably object, upon their own principles, to the appli- 
 cations made in the following sheets for that purpose. But not to inquire, 
 at present, whether passages are not sometimes cited in this manner, surely 
 no one can attentively review the above made collection of New Testament 
 citations from the book of Psalms, as they have been placed together before 
 him, without perceiving that the Psalms are written upon a divine, precon- 
 certed, prophetical plan, and contain much more than, at first sight, they 
 appear to do. They are beautiful without, but all-glorious within, like 
 "apples of gold in pictures, or net-work cases, of silver." Pro v. xxv. 11. 
 The brightness of the casket attracts our attention, till, through it, upon a 
 nearer approach, we discover its contents. And then indeed, it may be 
 said to liave "no glory, by reason of the glory that so far excelleth."* 
 Very delightful and profitable they are, in their literal and historical sense, 
 which well repayeth all the pains taken to come at it. But that once 
 obtained, a farther scene begins to open upon us, and all the blessings of 
 the gospel present themselves to the eye of faith. So that the expositor is 
 as a traveller ascending an eminence neither unfruitful nor unpleasant ; at 
 the top of which when he is arrived, he beholds, like Moses from the sum- 
 mit of mount Nebo, a more lovely and extensive prospect lying beyond it, 
 and stretching away to the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills. He 
 sees valleys covered over with corn, blooming gardens, and verdant mea^ 
 dows, with flocks and herds feeding by rivers of water ; till ravished MUth 
 the sight, he cries out as St. Peter did, at the view of his Master's glory, 
 "It is good to be here !" 
 
 It would be unreasonable to suppose, that no parts of the Psalms may by 
 us be spiritually applied, but such as are already expressly applied for us 
 by the inspired writers. Let any man consider attentively a New Testa- 
 ment citation ; then let him as carefully read over, with a view to it, the 
 
 *2Cor, iii. 10. 
 
PREFACE. 19 
 
 Psalm from v?hich it is taken, and see if it will not serve him as a key, 
 wherewith to unlock the treasures of eternal wisdom ; if it will not " open 
 his eyes," and show him "wonderful thinrrs" in God's law. When we 
 are taught to consider one verse of a Psalm as spoken by Messiah, and 
 there is no change of person, what can we conclude, but that he is speaker 
 through the whole *? In that case, the Psalm becomes at once as much 
 transfigured, as the blessed person, supposed to be the subject of it, was on 
 mount Tabor. And if Messiah be the speaker of one Psalm, what should 
 hinder, but that another Psalm, where the same kind of scene is evidently 
 described, and the same expressions are used, may be expounded in the 
 same manner? 
 
 It is very justly observed by Dr. Allix, that " although the sense of near 
 fifty Psalms be fixed and settled by divine authors, yet Christ and his apos- 
 tles did not undertake to quote all the Psalms they could quote, but only to 
 give a key to their hearers, by which they might apply to the same subjects 
 the Psalms of the same composure and expression."* The citations in the 
 New Testament were made incidentally, and as occasion was given. But 
 can we imagine, that the church was not farther instructed in the manner 
 of applying the Psalms to her Redeemer, and to herself? Did she stop 
 at the applications thus incidentally and occasionally made by the inspired 
 writers ? Did she stop, because they had directed her how to proceed 1 We 
 know she did not. The primitive Fathers, it is true, for want of critical 
 learning, and particularly a competent knowledge of the original Hebrew, 
 often wandered in their expositions; but they are unexceptionable wit- 
 nesses to us of this matter of fact, that such a method of expounding the 
 Psalms, built upon the practice of the apostles in their writings and preach- 
 ings, did universally prevail in the church from the beginning. They, who 
 have ever looked into St. Augustine, know, that he pursues this plan inva- 
 riably, treating of the Psalms, as proceeding from the mouth of Christ, oi 
 of the church, or of both, considered as one mystical person. The same is 
 true of Jerome, Ambrose, Arnobius, Cassidore, Hilary, and Prosper. Chry- 
 sostom studies to make the Psalter useful to believers under the gospel. 
 Theodore attends both to the literal and prophetic sense. But what is very 
 observable, Tertullian, who flourished at the beginning of the third century, 
 mentions it, as if it were then an allowed point in the church, that "almost 
 all the Psalms are spoken in the person of Christ, being addressed by the 
 Son to the Father, that is, by Christ to God."f In this channel flows the 
 stream of the earliest Christian expositors. Nor did they depart in this 
 point from the doctrine held in the church of the ancient Jews, who were 
 always taught to regard Messiah as the capital object of the Psalter. And 
 though, when the time came, that people would not receive Jesus of Naza- 
 reth as their Messiah, it does not appear that they ever objected to the pro- 
 priety of the citations made by our Lord and his apostles, or thought such 
 passages applicable to David only, and his concerns. Nay, the most learned 
 of their Rabbles, who have written since the commencement of the Chris- 
 tian era, still agree with us in referring many of the Psalms to Messiah and 
 his kingdom ; differing only about the person of the one, and the nature of 
 the other. 
 
 When learning arose, as it were, from the dead, in the sixteenth century, 
 and the study of primitive theology by that means revived, the spiritual 
 interpretation of the Scriptures revived with it. It was adopted, at that 
 time, by one admirably qualified to do it justice, and to recommend it again 
 to the world by every charm of genius, and every ornament of language. 
 
 * Preface to hig Book of Psalms, p. 0. .,./-«-. a 
 
 t Omnes penii Psalmi Christi personam eustinent,— Filium ad Fatrem, id est Cliristura aa 
 Deum verba facienlera reprssentaut. 
 
20 PREFACE. 
 
 I mean the accomplished Erasmus, who omitteth no opportunity of insist- 
 ing on the usefulness, and even the necessity of it, for the rijjht understand- 
 ing of the scriptures ; for the attainment of that wisdom which they teach, 
 and that holiness which they prescribe ; seeming to think himself never 
 better employed, than when he is removing the earth and rubbish with 
 which those Philistines, the monks, had stopped up the wells of salvation, 
 opened by the apostles, and first fathers of the church, for the benefit of 
 mankind.* This great man was much importuned by his learned friends, 
 as he informeth us in an epistle to Cardinal Sadolet, to write a com- 
 mentary on the Psalms. j" Such a work, executed by him, had been one of 
 the richest gifts that were ever cast into the Christian treasury; as we may 
 judge from the specimen which he hath left us, in his discourses on eleven 
 of them. Some of these were drawn up with a view to enlarge upon the 
 transactions of the times ; and in all of them he is more diff'use and luxu- 
 riant, than, it is to be presumed, he would have been in a general exposition. 
 But the}'' abound with a rich variety of sacred learning, communicated in a 
 manner ever pleasing, and ever instructive. If at any time he takes us out 
 of the road, it is to show us a fine country, and we are still in company 
 with Erasmus. He considers .a Psalm, as it may relate to Christ, either 
 suffering, or triumphant ; as it may concern the church, whether consisting 
 of Jews or Gentiles, whether in adversity or prosperity, through the several 
 stages and periods of its existence ; and as it may be applicable to the 
 different states and circumstances of individuals, during the trials and 
 temptations which they meet with, in the course of their Christian pil- 
 grimage and warfare here below, till having overcome their last enemy, 
 they shall sit down with the Lord in his kingdom ; when the scheme of 
 prophecy shall receive its final accomplishment, and "the mystery of God 
 be FINISHED.":!^ 
 
 It is obvious, that every part of the Psalter, when explicated according to 
 this scriptural and primitive method, is rendered universally "profitable for 
 doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness ;" and 
 the propriety immediately appears of its having always been used in the 
 devotional way, both by the Jewish and the Christian church. With 
 regard to the Jews, Bishop Chandler very pertinently remarks, that "they 
 must have understood David their prince to have been a figure of Messiah. 
 They would not otherwise have made his Psalms part of their daily worship, 
 nor would David have delivered them to the church, to be so employed, were 
 it not to instruct and support them in the knowledge and belief of this fun- 
 damental article. Was the Messias not concerned in the Psalms, it were 
 absurd to celebrate, twice a day, in their public devotions, the events of one 
 man's life, who was deceased so long ago as to have no relation now to the 
 Jews, and the circumstances of theilr affairs ; or to transcribe M^hole pas- 
 sages from them into their prayers for the coming of the Messiah. "§ Upon 
 tlie same principle, it is easily seen, that the objections, which may seem 
 to lie against the use of Jewish services in Christian congregations, cease 
 at once. Thus, it may be said, Are we concerned with the affairs of David 
 and of Israel 1 Have we anything to do with the ark and the temple 1 They 
 are no more. Are we to go up to Jerusalem, and to worship on Sion? They 
 are desolated, and trodden under foot by the Turks. Are we to sacrifice 
 young bullocks, according to the law 1 The law is abolished, never to be 
 
 * Enchirid. Mil. Christ, in Prsfat. Canon. 5. et passim. 
 
 t Lib. XXV. Epist. 11. Edit. Froben. 1085. Edit. Cler. Non semel rogatus sura quum ab aliis, 
 torn ab Angloruni Rege, ut in oinnes Psalmos ederem Commentarios ; sed deterrebant me 
 quum alia niulta, tuni ilia duo potissimum, quod viderum hoc arguraentera vii posse pro digni- 
 tate tractari, nisi quis calleat Hebraeorum literas, atque etiain antiquitates; partim quod vere- 
 bar ne turba Comraentariorum obscuraretur SermoPiopheticus, citius quam illustraretur. 
 t Rev. X. 7. { Defence of Christianity, First Part, p. 241. 
 
PREFACE. 21 
 
 observed again. Do we pray for victory over Moab, Edom, and Philistia; 
 or for deliverance from Babylon 1 There are no such nations, no such ])lacea 
 in the world. What then do we mean, when, takincr such expressions into 
 our mouths, we utter them in our own persons, as parts of our devotions, 
 before God? Assuredly we must mean a spiritual Jerusalem and Sion; 
 a spiritual ark and temple; a spiritual law; spiritual sacrifices; and 
 spiritual victories; spiritual enemies; all described under the old names, 
 which are still retained, though "old things are passed away, and all 
 things are to become new."* By substituting Messiah for David, the gos- 
 pel for the law, the church Christian for that of Israel, and the enemies of 
 the one for those of the other, the Psalms are made our own. Nay, they 
 are with more fulness and propriety applied now to the substance, than they 
 were of old to the "shadow of good things then to come."| And therefore, 
 ever since the commencement of the Christian era, the church hath chosen 
 to celebrate the gospel mysteries in the words of these ancient hymns, 
 rather than to compose for that purpose new ones of her own. For let it not 
 pass unobserved, that when, upon the first publication of the Gospel, the 
 apostles had occasion to utter their transports of joy, on their being counted 
 worthy to suffer for the name of their dear Lord and Master, which was 
 then opposed by Jew and Gentile, they broke forth into an application of 
 tlie second Psalm to the transactions then before their eyes. See Acts iv. 25. 
 The primitive Christians constantly followed this method in their devo- 
 tions ; and, particularly when, delivered out of the hands of persecuting 
 tyrants by the victories of Constantino, they praised God for his goodness, 
 and the glorious success and establishment of Christ's religion, no words 
 ■were found so exquisitely adapted to the purpose, as those of David, in the 
 xcvi. xcviii. and other Psalms — "Sing unto the Lord a new song: sing 
 unto the Lord, all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, and praise his name; be 
 telling of his salvation from day to day. Declare his honour unto the 
 heathens, his worship unto all people," — &c. &c. &c. In these, and the 
 like Psalms, we continue to praise God, for all his spiritual mercies in 
 Christ, to this day. 
 
 The Psalms, thus applied, have advantages, which no fresh compositions, 
 however finely executed, can possibly have ; since, besides their incompa- 
 rable fitness to express our sentiments, they are, at the same time, memorials 
 of, and appeals to, former mercies and deliverances; they are acknowledg- 
 ments of prophecies accomplished ; they point out the connexion between 
 tlie old and new dispensations, thereby teaching us to admire and adore 
 the wisdom of God displayed in both, and furnishing, while we read or 
 sing them, an inexhaustible variety of the noblest matter that can engage 
 the contemplations of man. 
 
 Why is the mind more than ordinarily affected, and either melted into 
 sorrow, or transported with joy, when on the days set apart for the comme- 
 moration of our Saviour's birth, passion, resurrection, &c. the proper Psalms 
 are read, which the church hath appointed, following herein the directions 
 of the evangelists and apostles, and the usage of the early ages? Why, 
 but because, by such appointment, we are necessarily put upon transferring 
 our ideas from the complaints or exultations of David and Israel, to those 
 af a suffering or glorified Messiah, of whose sufferings or glories we par- 
 ticipate, as members of his mystical body] And how much more intense 
 would be the effect, if, in the sermons preached on such occasions, such 
 
 * 2 Cor. V. 17. Ergo airige aures, Christiane Lector, et ubi talia in Davide legeris, tu mihi 
 fac cogitas, noa Arcam, fragile lignum, aut Tabernaculum conlectum pcllibus, non iirbein lapi- 
 dibus compositam: non Templum ilivina; Majestati aiigustum ; sed Cliristi (;t ecclesiffi Sacra- 
 menta, set! vivos lapides, Cliristo angularilapidi coaptatcs; seil ipsam Eucliaristiani pra;sentis 
 Dei testem ; denique caeleste regnum et a;teriiam felicitatem. Bonnet DUsertal. de Psat. Cap. i. 
 adjin. 
 
 t Heb. X. 1. 
 
22 PREFACE. 
 
 proper Psalms were expounded to the people, and their propriety evinced, 
 as it might easily be 1 Discourses of this kind would make the hearts of 
 the auditors to " burn within them," and men would cease to wonder, that 
 * three thousand Jews were converted to the faith, by St. Peter's animated 
 discourse on part of the sixteenth Psalm. Were believers once brought 
 well acquainted with these proper Psalms, they would be better enabled to 
 study and apply the rest, which might likewise be explained to them at 
 different times, and certainly afford the finest subjects on which a Christian 
 orator can employ his eloquence. That this was done in the primitive 
 church, we learn from the exposition of the Psalms left us by St. Chrysos- 
 tom in the east, and St. Augustine in the west, those expositions still sub- 
 sisting in the form of homilies, as delivered to their respective congregations. 
 Is it not to be feared, that, for want of such instructions, the repetition of 
 the Psalms, as performed by multitudes, is but one degree above mecha- 
 nism'? And is it not a melancholy reflection, to be made at the close of a 
 long life, that, after reciting them at proper seasons, through the greatest 
 part of it,.no more should be known of their true meaning and application, 
 than when the Psalter was first taken in hand at school ! 
 
 Many sensible and well-disposed persons, therefore, who, when they read 
 or sing the Psalms, desire to read and to sing " with the spirit and the 
 understanding," have long called for a commentary which might enable 
 them to do so; which might not only explain the literal sense of these di- 
 vine compositions, and show how they may be accommodated to our tem- 
 poral affairs, as members of civil society;* but might also unfold the mys- 
 teries of the kingdom of God, which are involved in them, and teach their 
 application to us, as members of that spiritual and heavenly society, of 
 which Christ Jesus is the head, and for whose use, in every age, they were 
 intended by their' omniscient Author. A work of this kind, though often 
 desired, has never yet been executed, upon any regular and consistent plan. 
 The survey of a province in Theology, hitherto almost unoccupied among 
 the moderns, which promised a great deal of pleasing as well as profitable 
 employment, gave birth to the attempt which hath been made to cultivate 
 it, in the ensuing commentary; in which the author has only endeavoured 
 to evince, by an induction of particulars, the truth of what so many learned 
 and good men have asserted in general, concerning the prophetical, or evan- 
 gelical import of the Psalter. Dr. Hammond, in the preface of his Anno- 
 tations, tells us, he chose to leave every man to make applications of this 
 kind for himself, finding he had work enough upon his hands in the literal 
 way. But so much having been done by him, and other able critics in that 
 way, it seems to be now time that something should be done in the other, 
 and some directions given, in a case where directions cannot but be greatly 
 wanted. 
 
 Very few of the Psalms, comparatively, appear to be simply prophetical, 
 and to belong only to Messiah, without the intervention of any other per- 
 son. Most of them, it is apprehended, have a double sense, which stands 
 upon this ground and foundation that the ancient patriarchs, prophets, priests, 
 and kings, were typical characters, in their several offices, and in the more 
 remarkable passages of their lives, their extraordinary depressions, and 
 miraculous exaltations, foreshowing Him who was to arise, as the Head of 
 the holy family, the great Prophet, the true Priest, the everlasting King. 
 The Israelitish polity, and the law of Moses, were purposely framed after 
 
 * A concern for the present peace and prosperity of the world, and of that kingdom to which 
 we belong, ought ever to be entertained and cherished by the most exaUed Christian. And if 
 this part of ttie subject should at any lime, in the following work, appear to be but slightly 
 touched upon, the reason is, because it lies obvious upon llie surface, and has been so fre- 
 quently inculcated by other expositors. Nor are mankind indeed so liable to forget the relation 
 they bear to the world, as they are to overlook that which subsists between them and their 
 Creator and Redeemer. 
 
PREFACE. 23 
 
 the example and shadow of things spiritual and heavenly : and the events 
 which happened to the ancient people of God, were designed to shadow 
 out parallel occurrences, which should afterwards take place in the accom- 
 plishment of man's redemption, and the rise and progress of the Christian 
 church. For this reason, the Psalms composed for the use of Israel, and 
 Israel's monarch, and by them accordingly used at the time, do admit of 
 an application to us, who are now " the Israel of God,"* and to our Re- 
 deemer, who is the King of this Israel.")" 
 
 Nor will this seem strange to us, if we reflect, that the same divine per- 
 son, who inspired the Psalms, did also foreknow and predispose all events, 
 of which he intended them to treat. And hence it is evident, that the spi- 
 ritual sense is, and must be peculiar to the Scriptures; because, of those 
 persons and transactions only, which are there mentioned and recorded, can 
 it be affirmed for certain that they were designed to be figurative. And 
 should any one attempt to apply the narrative of Alexander's expedition by 
 Quiutus Curtius, or the commentaries of Ceesar, as the New Testament 
 writers have done, and taught us to do the histories of the Old, he would 
 find himself unable to proceed three steps with consistency and propriety. 
 The argument therefore, which would infer the absurdity of supposing the 
 Scriptures to have a spiritual sense, from the acknowledged absurdity of 
 supposing histories or poems merely human to have it, is inconclusive; 
 the sacred writings differing in this respect, from all other writings in the 
 world, as much as the nature of the transactions which they relate differs 
 from that of all other transactions, and the author who relates them differs 
 from all other authors. 
 
 " This double, or secondary sense of prophecy, was so far from giving 
 offence to Lord Bacon, that he speaks of it with admiration, as one striking 
 argument of its divinity. la sorting the prophecies of Scripture tvith their, 
 events, tee must allow, says he, for that latitude, vjhich is agreeable and fami- 
 liar unto divine prophecies, being of his nature, tvith ivhom a thousand years 
 are but as one day; and therefore they are not fulfilled punctually at once, but 
 have springing and germinant accontplishrnent through many ages, though the 
 height, or fulness of them, may refer to some one age. 
 
 " But, that we may not mistake or pervert this fine observation of our 
 great philosopher, it may be proper to take notice, that the reason of it holds 
 in such prophecies only as respect the several successive parts of one sys- 
 tem: which being intimately connected together, may be supposed to come 
 within the view and contemplation of the same prophecy; whereas it would 
 be endless, and one sees not on what grounds of reason we are authorized 
 to look out for the accomplishment of prophecy, in any casual unrelated 
 events of general history. The Scripture speaks of prophecy, as respect- 
 ing Jesus, that is, as being one connected scheme of providence, of which 
 the Jewish dispensation makes a part: so that here we are led to expect 
 that springing and germinant accomplishment which is mentioned. But, had 
 the Jewish law been complete in itself, and totally unrelated to the Chris- 
 tian, the general principle — that a thousand years are with God but as one 
 day — would no more justify us in extending a Jewish prophecy to Christian 
 events, because perhaps it was eminently fulfilled in them, than it would 
 justify us in extending it to any other signally corresponding events what- 
 soever. It is only when the prophet hath one uniform connected design be- 
 fore him that we are authorized to use this latitude of interpretation. For 
 then the prophetic Spirit naturally runs along the several parts of such de- 
 
 * Gal. vi. 16. 
 
 t That expressions and descriptions in human writings are often so framed as to admit of a 
 double sense, without any impropriety or coiifiisicin, is shown by the very loarneii Mr. .Mer- 
 rick, in his e.xcellent Oliservations on Dr. Benson's Essay concerning tlie Unity of Sense, &,c. 
 subjoined to his Annotations on the Psalms. 
 
24 PREFACE. 
 
 si^, and unites the remotest events with the nearest: the style oi" the pro» 
 phet, in the mean time, so adapting itself to this double prospect, as to 
 paint the near and subordinate event in terms that emjo7ia//ca//y represent the 
 distant and more considerable. So that, with this explanation, nothing can 
 be more just or philosophical, than the idea which Lord Bacon suggests, of 
 divine prophecy. 
 
 " The great scheme of redemption, we are now considering, being the 
 only scheme in the plan of Providence, which, as far as we know, hath 
 been prepared and dignified by a continued system of prophecy, at least 
 this being the only scheme to which we have seen a prophetic system ap- 
 plied, men do not so readily apprehend the doctrine of double sense in pro 
 phecy, as they would do, if they saw it exemplified in other cases. But 
 what the history of mankind does not supply we may represent to ourselves 
 by many obvious suppositions ; which cannot justify, indeed, such a scheme 
 of things, but may facilitate the conception of it."* 
 
 In allegories framed by man, the ground-work is generally fiction, j" be- 
 cause of the difficulty of finding one true series of facts, which shall exactly 
 represent another. But the great disposer of events, " known unto whom 
 are all his works," from the beginning to the end of time, was able to effect 
 this; and the scripture allegories are therefore equally true, in the letter and 
 in the spirit of them. The events signifying, no less than those signified, 
 really happened, as they are said to have done.:}: Why the allegories of 
 the most perfect form, with which the book of God abounds, and which 
 are all pregnant with truths of the highest import, should be treated with 
 neglect and contempt, while the imperfect allegories of man's devising are 
 universally sought after and admired, as the most pleasing and most effica- 
 cious method of conveying instruction, it is not easy to say. Why should 
 it not afford a believer as much delight, to contemplate the lineaments of 
 his Saviour, portrayed in one of the patriarchs, as to be informed, that ths 
 character of lapis was designed by Virgil to adumbrate that of Antoniua 
 Musa, physician to Augustus! Or why should not a discourse upon the 
 redemption of the church, as foreshadowed by the exodus of Israel, have 
 as many admirers among Christians, as a dissertation, however ingeniously 
 composed, on the descent of ^Eneas to the infernal regions, considered as 
 typical of an initiation into the Eleusinian mysteries'? 
 
 A learned, judicious, and most elegant writer of the present age hath 
 stated and illustrated the subject we are now upon, with a felicity of thought 
 and expression peculiar to himself. I shall endeavour to gratify the En- 
 glish reader with a view of his sentiments. The beauties of his language 
 are not to be translated. 
 
 " It would be an arduous and adventurous undertaking to attempt to lay 
 down the rules observed in the conduct of the Mystic Allegory ; so diverse 
 are the modes in which the Holy Spirit has thought proper to communicate 
 his counsels to different persons upon different occasions, inspiring and di- 
 recting the minds of the prophets according to his good pleasure ; at one 
 time vouchsafing more full and free discoveries of future events: while, at 
 another, he is more obscure and sparing in his intimations. From hence, 
 of course, ariseth a great variety in the scripture usage of this kind of al- 
 legory, as to the manner in which the spiritual sense is couched under the 
 
 * Bishop Hurd's excellent Introduction to the Study of the Prophecies, Serm. iii. 
 
 t I say " generally,' since, as the above cited Mr. Merrick justly observes, " It is possible 
 (for evample) in a complimental address to a modern statesman, or general, to relate the ac- 
 tions of some ancient patriot of the same character, in such a manner, tliat the parallel in- 
 tended to be drawn between them, shall be readily known, and the praises expressly bestowed 
 ontbe one, be transferred, by the reader's own application, to the other." 
 
 J Neque proptcrea ab historico, sive literali atijue immediatio, ut aiunt, sensu aberrare nos 
 oportet; quin eo erit clarior et fundatior secretioris illius inlelligentise sensus, quo typum 
 ipaum, hoc est, historiara ac literam figemus certius. Bossuct Dissertat. in fsal. adjlncm. 
 
PREFACE. 25 
 
 other. Sometimes it can hardly break forth and show itself at intervals 
 through the literal, which meets the eye as the ruling sense, and seems to 
 have taken entire possession of the words and phrases. On the contrary, 
 it is much oftener the capital figure in the piece, and stands confessed at 
 once by such splendour of language, that the letter, in its turn, is thrown 
 into shades, and almost totally disappears. Sometimes it shines with a 
 constant equable light; and sometimes it darts upon us on a sudden, like a 
 flash of lightning from the clouds. But a composition is never more truly 
 elegant and beautiful, than when the two senses, alike conspicuous, run 
 parallel together through the whole poem, mutually corresponding with, 
 and illustrating each other. I will produce an undoubted instance or two 
 of this kind, which will show my meaning, and confirm what has hitherto 
 been advanced on the subject of the mystic allegory. 
 
 " The establishment of David upon his throne, notwithstanding the op- 
 position made to it by his enemies, is the subject of the second Psalm. 
 David sustains it in a two-fold character, literal and allegorical. If we 
 read over the Psalm first with an eye to the literal David, the meaning is 
 obvious, and put out of all dispute by the sacred history. There is indeed an 
 uncommon glow in the expression, and sublimity in the figures, and the 
 diction is now and then exaggerated as it were on purpose to intimate, and 
 lead us to the contemplation of higher and more important matters concealed 
 within. In compliance with this admonition, if we take another survey of 
 the Psalm, as relative to the person and concerns of the spiritual David, a 
 nobler series of events instantly rises to view, and the meaning becomes 
 more evident, as well as exalted. The colouring, which may perhaps seem 
 too bold and glaring for the king of Israel, will no longer appear so, when 
 laid upon his great antitype. After we have thus attentively considered the 
 subjects apart, let us look at them together, and we shall behold the full 
 beauty and majesty of this most charming poem. We shall perceive the 
 two senses very distinct from each other, yet conspiring in perfect harmony, 
 and bearing a wonderful resemblance in every feature and lineament, while 
 the analogy between them is so exactly preserved, that either may pass for 
 the original from whence the other was copied. New light is continually 
 cast upon the phraseology, fresh weight and dignity are added to the senti- 
 ment, till gradually ascending from things below to things above, from hu- 
 man affairs to those which are divine, they bear the great important theme 
 upwards with them, and at length place it in the height and brightness of 
 heaven. 
 
 " What hath been observed with regard to this Psalm, may also be ap- 
 plied to the seventy-second ; the subject of which is of the same kind, and 
 treated in the same manner. Its title might be, The Inauguration of Solo- 
 mon. The scheme of the allegory is alike in both ; but a diversity of matter 
 occasions an alteration in the diction. For whereas one is employed in 
 celebrating the magnificent triuraphs of victory, it is the design of the other 
 to draw a pleasing picture of peace, and of that felicity which is her inse- 
 parable attendant. The style is therefore of a more even and temperate 
 sort, and more richly ornamented. It aboundeth not- with those sudden 
 changes of the person speaking, which dazzle and astonish; but the ima- 
 gery is borrowed from the delightful scenes with which creation cheers the 
 sight, and the pencil of the divine artist is dipped in the softest colours of 
 nature. And here we may take notice how peculiarly adapted to the genius 
 of this kind of allegory the parabolical style is, on account of that great 
 variety of natural images to be found in it. For as these images are capa- 
 ble of being employed in the illustration of things divine and human, be- 
 tween which there is a certain analogy maintained, so they easily afford that 
 ambiguity which is necessary in this species of composition, where the 
 language is applicable to each sense, and obscure in neither; it comprehends 
 
 3 
 
26 PREFACE. 
 
 both parts of the allegory, and may be clearly and distinctly referred to one 
 or the other."* 
 
 The scheme of exposition so beautifully delineated, and illustrated in two 
 instances by this truly valuable author, has been extended, in theory, by 
 another learned writer, to a great part of the Psalter; and that upon a prin- 
 ciple deduced from the attributes of God, and the nature and design of the 
 divine dispensations; though his own labours, like those of Dr. Hammond, 
 were employed chiefly in literal criticism. His reasoning is as follows — 
 
 " In this point (namely, the application of the Psalms to the mysteries 
 of the gospel) I am very clear. The Jews only, as a nation, acknowledged 
 the one supreme God, under the name of Jehovah ; they must be therefore 
 his peculiar people. There is nothing capricious in this ; they are correlates, 
 and of necessity answer reciprocally to each other. Hence that singular 
 int6"rcourse between God and them. Hence, among other instances of his 
 favour, his communication of himself to them by supernatural ways of 
 oracle, inspiration, &c. When theacknowledgment of the one God branched 
 itself, from this Jewish flock, over the face of the earth, and by that means 
 he was become the God of all mankind, they must all, for the same reason, 
 become his people. As God is ever the same, and his doings uniform, his 
 conduct towards mankind must exactly be proportioned to his conduct to- 
 wards the Jewish nation. Let us therefore place God in common over them 
 both ; and there will be — on one side, the .Jewish nation ; and on the other, 
 mankind : on one side Canaan, and a national prosperity ; on the other, 
 heaven, and human happiness : on one side, a redemption from Egyptian 
 servitude, and national evils; on the other, a redemption of the whole human 
 race from absolute evil : on one side, national crimes atoned by national 
 ceremonies, sacrifices, priests ; on the other, sins expiated by the one uni- 
 versal sacrifice of Jesus Christ: on one side, national and temporary 
 saviours, kings, prophets, &c. ; on the other, all this universal and eternal : 
 on one side the law, and every branch of it, adapted to a favourite nation ; 
 on the other, the everlasting gospel, suited to all mankind. It is impossi- 
 ble, therefore, that God can say anything to David, under the quality of 
 kino- of this chosen nation, which he does not speak at the same time to 
 Jesus Christ, as king of all the elect: and that in a truer and nobler sense. 
 To each of them he speaks in a sense adapted to the nature of their respec- 
 tive kingdoms. Nor is this latter a bare accommodation of words, but the 
 first and highest meaning of them, and which only, absolutely speaking, can 
 be the true sense of God ; the other being this sense, confined to a particular 
 circumstance ; in other words, an absolute truth, made history, and matter 
 of fact. This is a principle, which shows, that, far from denying the Chris- 
 tian application, I consider the literal and historical sense only as a kind of 
 vehicle for it.")- 
 
 Upon this plan it is, that many of the Psalms are interpreted in the fol- 
 lowing sheets. 
 
 In such of them as were written by David, and treat of his affairs, that 
 extraordinary person is considered as an illustrious representative of Messiah, 
 who, is more than once foretold under the name of David, and to whom are 
 applied, in the New Testament, Psalms which do undoubtedly, in the letter 
 of them, relate to David, and were composed on occasion of particular oc- 
 currences which befell him ; a circumstance in theology, to be accounted 
 for upon no other principle. 
 
 When therefore he describeth himself as one hated and persecuted without 
 a cause ; as one accused of crimes which he never committed, and suffering 
 
 * Bishop Lowth on the Hebrew poetry, Lcct. xi. „ , - „ , v u 
 
 t Preface to An Essay towards a New English Version of the Book of Psalms, by the 
 Rev. Mr. Mudge. 
 
PREFACE. 27 
 
 for sins, the very thoughts of which he abhorred : as one whose life was 
 imbittered by affliction, and his soul overwhelmed with sorrows ; yet, withal, 
 as one whom no troubles could induce to renounce his trust and confidence 
 in the promises of God concerning him, when he repeateth his resolutions 
 of adhering- to the divine law, setting forth its various excellencies, and the 
 comforts which it afforded him in the days of adversity ; when he complaineth 
 of that implacable malice, and unrelenting fury, with which he was pursued 
 by Saul and his attendants, by Doeg the Edomite, by rebellious Absalom, 
 traitorous Ahitophel, &;c. and when, contrary to all appearances, he pre- 
 dicteth their destruction, with his own final exaltation; in expounding the 
 Psalms of this cast and complexion, it hath been my endeavour to direct the 
 reader's tlioughts to parallel circumstances, which present themselves in the 
 history of the true David ; his sorrows and sufferings; his resignation under 
 them all ; his obedience to the will of his Father; the temper and behaviour 
 of his betrayers and murderers; the prophecies of judgments to be inflicted 
 upon them, and of glory to be conferred upon him. As the Psalter was the 
 liturgy of the Jewish church, of which our Lord was a member, and to 
 which he therefore entirely conformed, during his abode and humiliation 
 upon earth, he might pour forth his complaints and " offer up his prayers 
 and supplications, with strong crying and tears,"* in the very words which 
 liis progenitor David had before used under his own troubles, but which 
 were given by inspiration, with a view to the case of that blessed person, 
 whom, in those troubles, he had the honour to prefigure. 
 
 Other Psalms there are, which disclose far different scenes. In them, the 
 sorrows of David are at an end, and the day of his deliverance hath already 
 dawned. The heavens are opened, and Jehovah appeareth in the cause of 
 his afflicted servant. He descendeth from above, encompassed with clouds 
 and darkness, preceded by fire and hail, proclaimed by thunder and earth- 
 quake, and attended by lightnings and whirlwinds. The mountains smoke, 
 and the rocks melt before him; the foundations of the globe are uncovered, 
 and the deep from beneath is moved at his presence. The adversary is 
 dismayed and confounded ; opposition, in the height of its career, feels the 
 blast through all its powers, and instantly withers away. The anointed of 
 God, according to his original designation, is at length elevated to the 
 throne; his sceptre is extended over the nations; the temple is planned by 
 him, and erected by his son; the services of religion are appointed in per- 
 fect order and beauty: Jerusalem becometh a praise in all the earth; and 
 the kingdom is established in honour, peace, and felicity. If in Psalms of 
 the former kind, the holy Jesus might behold those persecutions and suffer- 
 ings under which he was to be humbled, and to mourn, during his pilgrim- 
 age here below ; in Psalms of this latter sort he might strengthen and con- 
 sole himself, as a man " touched with the feelings of our infirmities, and 
 tempted in all points like as we are," by viewing "the glory that should 
 follow ;" by contemplating the manifestation of the Father in favour of his 
 beloved Son; his own joyful resurrection, triumphant ascension, and mag- 
 nificent inauguration ; the conversion of the world, and the establishment of 
 the church ; events, whicii were foreshadowed by those above-mentioned ; and 
 to which, when the strongest expressions made use of by the divine Psalmist 
 are applied, they will no longer appear hyperbolical ; especially if we bear 
 in mind, that these prophetic descriptions wait for their full and final ac- 
 complishment at that day, when the mystical "body of Christ," having 
 " filled up that which is behind of his afflictions,"] shall also, amidst the 
 pangs and convulsions of departing nature, arise from the dead, and ascend 
 into heaven ; where all the members of that body, which have been afflicted, 
 
 * Heb. V. 7. t Col. i, 24. 
 
28 PREFACE. 
 
 and have mourned with their Lord and Master, shall be comforted and 
 glorified together with him.* 
 
 In some of the Psalms, David appears as one suffering for his sins. When 
 man speaks of sin, he speaks of what is his own; and therefore, every 
 Psalm, where sin is confessed to be the cause of sorrow, belongs originally 
 and properly to us, as fallen sons of Adam, like David, and all other men. 
 This is the case of the fifty-first, and the rest of those which are styled 
 Penitential Psalms, and have always been used in the church as such. 
 Sometimes, indeed, it happens, that we meet with heavy complaints of the 
 number and burthen of sins, in Psalms, from which passages are quoted in 
 the New Testament as uttered by our Redeemer, in which there seems to 
 be no change of person from beginning to end. We are assured, for instance, 
 by the apostle, Heb. x. 5. and the sixth, seventh, and eighth verses of the 
 fortieth Psalm, "Sacrifice'and offering thou didst not desire," &c. are spoken 
 by Messiah, coming to abolish the legal sacrifices, by the oblation of him- 
 self once for all. The same person, to appearance, continues speaking, and, 
 only three verses after, complains in the following terms; "Innumerable 
 ev^ils have compassed me about, mine iniquities have taken hold of me, so 
 that I am not able to look up ; they are more than the hairs of my head, 
 therefore my heart faileth me." So again, there are no less than five quota- 
 tions from different parts of the sixty-ninth Psalm, all concurring to inform 
 us, that Christ is the speaker through that whole Psalm. Yet the fifth 
 verse of it runs thus ; " O God, thou knowest my foolishness and my lDWH 
 guiltiness is not hid from thee." The solution of this difficulty given, and 
 continually insisted on, in the writings of the Fathers, is this; that Christ 
 in the day of his passion, standing charged with the sin and guilt of his 
 people, speaks of such their sin and guilt, as if they were his own, appro- 
 priating to himself those debts, for which, in the capacity of a surety, he 
 had made himself responsible. The lamb, which, under the law, was 
 offered for sin, took the name CJ^a "guilt," because the guilt contracted by 
 the offerer, was transferred to that innocent creature, and typicall)"^ expiated 
 by its blood. "t" Was not this exactly the case, in truth and reality, with 
 the Lamb of God ] " He did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth ; 
 but he bare our sins in his own body on the tree.:^: He was made sin for 
 us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in 
 him."§ Christ and the church compose one mystical person, of which he 
 is the head, and the church the body : and as the body speaks by the head, 
 and the head for the body, he speaks of her sin, and she of his righteous- 
 ness ; which consideration is at the same time a key to any claims of righ- 
 teousness made in the Psalms by her, and to any confession of sin made by 
 him. This seems to be a satisfactory account of the matter. Such at least, 
 appears to have been the idea generally adopted and received, in the first 
 ages of the Christian church ; a circumstance, which it is presumed, will 
 be deemed a sufficient apology for the author, if in the explication of such 
 passages, he hath ventured to proceed accordingly. Nay, and even in re- 
 citing the Penitential Psalms, when the unhappy sufferer is ready to sink 
 down under that weight of wo which sin hath laid upon him, if he will ex- 
 tend his thoughts, as he is sometimes directed to do, to that holy and most 
 
 * Neque prEctermittendum illud Augustini passim; tunc Psalmos videri suavissimos, ac 
 divinissinia luce perfusos, ciiin in his caput et membra. Christum et Ecclesiam, sive aperte 
 propalatos, sive latentor designates intelligimus. Qiiare iteriim atque iterumerigamusanimos; 
 atque ubi atque Daviilem Solomonem ; ubi Davidis hostes, Saiilem, Achitophelem, aiios; ubi 
 bellaet pacem, captivitatem libertatem, ac c;etera, ejusmodi audimus; turn animoinfigamus 
 Christum, Eccelesiam laboribus periculisque exercitam. atque inter adversa et prospera pere- 
 grinantem; turn sanctorum persecutores, non modo visibiles, sed etiam in visibilesillas atquo 
 aereas potestates, pugnasque in liac vita perpetes, ac secuturan postea pacem senipileraam, 
 Bossuet. Disscrtat. in Psalm, ad Fin. 
 
 t See Lev. v. 6. t 1 Pet. ii. 22. § 2 Cor. v. 21. 
 
PREFACE. 29 
 
 innocent person, who felt and sorrowed so much for us all, he will thereby 
 furnish himself with the best argument for patience, and an inexhaustible 
 source of comfort. Nor can it, indeed, well be imagined, that our blessed 
 Lord, as a member of the Jewish church, and an attendant on the service of 
 the synagogue, though conscious to himself of no sin, did not frequently 
 join with his " brethren according to the flesh," in the repetition of the 
 Penitential as well as the other Psalms, on the days of humiliation and 
 expiation, when the use of them might be prescribed. If from his circurn- 
 sion to his crucifixion he "bare our sins in his own body ;" why should it 
 be thought strange, that he should confess them, on our behalf, with his 
 own mouth ] 
 
 The offence taken at the supposed uncharitable and vindicative spirit of 
 the imprecations which occur in some of the Psalms, ceases immediately, if 
 we change the imperative for the future, and read, not "let them be con- 
 founded," &c. but, "THEY SHALL BE coufounded," &c. of which the He- 
 brew is equally capable. Such passages will then have no more difficulty 
 in them, than the other frequent predictions of divine vengeance in the 
 writings of the prophets, or denunciations of it in the gospels, intended to 
 warn, to alarm, and to lead sinners to repentance, that they may fly from 
 the wrath to come. This is Dr. Hammond's observation ; who very pro- 
 perly remarks, at the same time, that in many places of this sort, as parti- 
 cularly in Psalm cix. (and the same may be said of Psalm Ixix.) it is 
 reasonable to resolve, that Christ himself speaketh in the prophet; as being 
 the person there principally concerned, and the completion most signal in 
 many circumstances there mentioned ; the succession, especially of Matthias, 
 to the apostleship of Judas. It is true, that in the citation made by St. 
 Peter from Psalm cix. in Acts i. 20. as also in that made by St. Paul from 
 Psalm Ixix. in Rom. xi. 9. the imperative form is preserved ; " let his 
 habitation be void," &c. " let their table be made a snare," &c. But it 
 may be considered, that the apostles generally cited from the Greek of the 
 LXX. version; and took it as they found it, making no alteration, when the 
 passage, as it there stood, was sufficient to prove the main point which it 
 >vas adduced to prove. If the imprecatory form be still contended for, all 
 that can be meant by it, whether uttered by the prophet, by Messiah, or by 
 ourselves, must be a solemn ratification of the just judgments of the Al- 
 mighty against his impenitent enemies, like what we find ascribed to the 
 blessed spirits in heaven, when such judgments were executed. Rev. xi. 17, 
 18. xvi. 5, 6, 7. See Merrick's Annotations on Psalm cix. and Witsii 
 Miscellan. Sacr. Lib. I. Cap. xviii. Sect. 24. But by the future rendering 
 of the verbs, every possible objection is precluded at once. This method 
 has therefore been adopted in the ensuing commentary. 
 
 Of the Psalms which relate to Israel, some are employed in celebrating 
 the mercies vouchsafed them, from their going forth out of Egypt to their 
 complete settlement in Canaan. These were the constant_^standing subjects 
 of praise and thanksgiving in the Israelitish church. But we are taught by 
 the writers of the New Testament, to consider this part of their history as 
 one continued figure, or allegory. \Ve are told, that there is another spiritual 
 Israel of God ; other children of Abraham, and heirs of the promise ; another 
 circumcision, another Egypt, from the bondage of which they are redeemed ; 
 another wilderness, through which they journey ; other dangers and difficul- 
 ties, which there await them ; other bread from heaven, for their support ; and 
 another rock to supply them with living water ; other enemies to overcome ; 
 another land of Canaan, and another Jerusalem, which they are to obtain and 
 possess for ever. In the same light are to he viewed the various provocations 
 and punishments, captivities and restorations of old Israel afterwards, con- 
 cerning which it is likewise true, that they " happened unto them for ensam- 
 
 3* 
 
30 PREFACE. 
 
 pies,"* types, or figures, " and were written for our admonition."! G<>^G has 
 therefore been taken, to open and apply, for that salutary purpose, the 
 Psalms which treat of the above-mentioned particulars. 
 
 What is said in the Psalms occasionally of the law and its ceremonies, 
 sacrifices, ablutions, and purifications ; of the tabernacle and temple, with 
 the services therein performed ; and of the Aaronical priesthood ; all this 
 Christians transfer to the new law ; to the oblation of Christ; to justification 
 by his blood, and sanctification by his Spirit ; to the true tabernacle or 
 temple, not made with hands ; and to what was therein done for the salva- 
 tion of the world, by Him who was, in one respect, a sacrifice ; in another, 
 a temple ; and in a third, a high priest for ever, after the order of Melchi- 
 sedek. That such was the intention of these legal figures, is declared at 
 large in the Epistle to the Hebrews ; and they are of great assistance to us 
 now, in forming our ideas of the realities to which they correspond. " Under 
 the Jewish economy," says the excellent Mr. Pascal, " truth appeared but 
 in figure ; in heaven it is open, and without a veil ; in the church militant 
 it is so veiled, as to be yet discerned by its correspondence to the figure. 
 As the figure was first built upon the truth, so the truth is now distinguish- 
 able by the figure." The variety of strong expressions used by David, in 
 the nineteenth, and the hundred and nineteenth Psalms, to extol the en- 
 livening, saving, healing, comforting efficacy of a law, which, in the letter 
 of it, whether ceremonial or moral, without pardon and grace, could minister 
 nothing but condemnation, do sufficiently prove, that David understood the 
 spirit of it, which was the gospel itself.:|: And if any who recited tliose 
 Psalms, had not the same idea, it was not the fault of tlie law, or of the 
 Psalms, of Moses, or of David, or of him who inspired both, but it was 
 their own ; as it is that of the Jews at this hour, though their prophecies 
 have now been fulfilled, and their types realized. " He that takes his 
 estimate of the Jewish religion from the grossnessof the Jewish multitude," 
 as the last cited author observes, " cannot fail of making a very wrong 
 judgment. It is to be sought for in the sacred writings of the prophets, 
 who have given us sufficient assurance, that they understood the law not 
 according to the letter. Our religion, in like manner, is true and divine in 
 the gospels, and in the preaching of the apostles ; but it appears utterly 
 disfigured in those who maim or corrupt it." 
 
 Besides the figures supplied by the children of Israel, and by the law, 
 there is another set of images often employed in the Psahns, to describe the 
 blessings of redemption. These are borrowed from the natural world, the 
 manner of its original production, and operations continually carried on in 
 it. The visible works of God are formed to lead us, under the direction of 
 his word, to a knowledge of those which are invisible ; they give us ideas, 
 by analogy, of a new creation rising gradually, like the old one, out of 
 darkness and deformity, until at length it arrives at the perfection of glory 
 
 *Gr. flCor. X. 11. 
 
 t HsBC inter, veri et spirituales Judmi, hoc est, ante Christum Christi discipuli, altiora cogi- 
 tabant, et rerum cfelestiura Sacranienta veiierati, novam Jerusalem, novum Templum, novam 
 arcam intuebantur. Bossuet Dissertat. in Psal. Cap. i.— Le.\, juxta Spiritum accepta, ipsum 
 erat Evangelium, sub veteribus liguris delitescens, et ceremoniarum velis obtectum, ab ipso 
 quidem Mose (imprimis in Deuteronomio) alitiuatenus et pro temporuni ratione e.\plicatura, a 
 Prophetis vero succedentibus(ut visum est Divinte Sapientiac] dilucidius ostensam, denium a 
 Christo et Apostolis plenissime et luce ipso Sole clariori patefactum. Bulti Opera per Orabe, 
 p. 614. — If the Jews, as our Saviour tells them, " thought they had eternal life in their scrip- 
 tures," they must needs have understood them in a spiritual sense : and I know not what 
 other spiritual sense, that should lead them to the e.vpectation of eternal life, they could put on 
 their scriptures, but that prophetic or typical sense, which respected the Messiah. Jesus ex- 
 pressly asserts, at the same time, that their " scriptures testified of him." How generally they 
 do so, he explained at large, in that remarkable conversation with two of his disciples after his 
 resurrection ; when " beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all 
 the scriptures the things concerning himself." Kurd's Introd. to the Study of the Prophecies, 
 Berm. ii. 
 
PREFACE. 31 
 
 and beauty ; so that while we praise the Lord for all the wonders of his 
 power, wisdom, and love, displayed in a system which is to wax old and 
 perish, we may therein contemplate, as in a glass, those new heavens, and 
 that new earth, of whose duration there shall be no end.* The sun, that 
 fountain of life, and heart of the world, that bright leader of the armies of 
 heaven, enthroned in glorious majesty ; the moon shining with a lustre 
 borrowed from his beams ; ihe stars glittering by night in the clear firma- 
 ment : the air giving breath to all things that live and move; the interchanges 
 of light and darkness; the course of the year, and the sweet vicissitude of 
 seasons; the rain and the dew descending from above, and the fruitfulness 
 of the earth caused by them; the bow bent by the hands of the Most Hiirh, 
 which compasseth the heaven about with a glorious circle ; the awful voice 
 of thunder, and the piercing power of lightning; the instincts of animals,-)- 
 and the qualities of vegetables and minerals ; the great and wide sea, with 
 its unnumbered inhabitants ; all these are ready to instruct us in the mysteries 
 of faith, and the duties of morality. 
 
 They speak their Maker as they can, 
 
 But want and ask the tongue of man. Parnell. 
 
 The advantages of Messiah's reign are represented in some of the Psalms 
 under images of this kind. We behold a renovation of all things, and the 
 world, as it were, new created, breaks forth into singing. The earth is 
 crowned with sudden verdure and fertility ; the field is joyful, and all that 
 is in it; the woods rejoice before the Lord; the floods clap their hands in 
 concert, and ocean fills up the mighty chorus, to celebrate the advent of the 
 great King. 
 
 Similar to these, are the representations of spiritual mercies by temporal 
 deliverances from sickness, prison, danger of perishing in storms at sea, 
 and from the sundry kinds of calamity and death to which the body of man 
 is subject; as also by scenes of domestic felicity, and by the flourishing 
 state of well-ordered communities, especially that of Israel in Canaan, 
 which, while the benediction of Jehovah rested upon it, was a picture of 
 heaven itself. — The foregoing, and every other species of the sacred im- 
 agery, if there be any other not hitherto included, it hath been the author's 
 main endeavour to illustrate. And a view of what is done in this way, will, 
 it is humbly hoped, afford some reason to think there may not be that neces- 
 sary connection, which a late noble writer has been pleased to suppose, 
 between devotion and dulness. 
 
 The Psalms which remain, are such as treat in plain terms, without figures 
 or examples, of wisdom and folly, righteousness and sin; the happiness 
 produced by one, and the misery caused by the other; of particular virtues 
 
 * Read nature : nature is a friend to truth ; 
 Nature is Christian, preaches to mankind ; 
 And bids dead matter aid us in our creed. Yoong. 
 
 t " I believe a good natural philosopher might show, with great reason and probability, that 
 there is scarce a beast, bird, reptile, or insect, that does not, in each particular climate, instruct 
 and admonish mankind of some necessary truth, for their happiness either in body or mind." 
 Dr. Cheyne's Philosophical Conjectures on the preference of Vegetable Food, p. 73. That which a 
 celebrated writer has often observed concerning a poet, may perhaps be equally applicable to a 
 divine— "To him nothing can be useless. Whatever is beautiful, and whatever is dreadful, 
 should be familiar to his imagination : he should be conversant with all that is awfully vast 
 or elegantly little. The plants of the garden, the animals of the wood, the minerals of the 
 earth, and meteors of the sky, should all concur to store his mind with i nexhaustible variety ; for 
 every idea is useful for the enforcement or decoration of moral or religious truth; and he who 
 knows most, will have most power of diversifying his scenes, and of gratifying his reader with 
 remote allusions, and une.vpected instruction, iiy him, therefore, no kind of knowledge sliould be 
 overlooked. He should range mountains and deserts for images and resemblances, and picture 
 upon his mind every tree of the forest, and flower of the valley; the crags of the rock, and the 
 mazes of the stream." R.\ssEi,As,Chap. a. The reader may see this e.\emplified in some"Dis- 
 quisitions on Select Subjects of Scripture," by my worthy friend, the Rev. Mr. Jones, whoae 
 labours make it evident, that true Philosophy will ever be the handmaid of true divinity. 
 
32 PREFACE. 
 
 and vices ; of the vanity of human life ; of the attributes of God ; of that 
 patience with which the faithful should learn to bear the sight of wicked- 
 ness triumphant, in this world, looking forward to the day of final retribu- 
 tion; and subjects of the like nature. As Psalms of this kind call for little 
 in the expository way, the general doctrines or precepts implied in them, 
 or suggested by them, are drawn forth in short reflections, attempted after 
 the manner of those made by father Quesnel, on each verse of the new 
 Testament. The opportunity of doing this, where nothing else seemed to 
 be required, and indeed of doing, upon every occasion, what did seem to be 
 required in any way, was the reason for throwing the work into its present 
 form, rather than that of a paraphrase, or any other. Some repetitions, in 
 a performance of this sort, are unavoidable. But a commentary on the 
 book of Psalms is not to be read all at once ;* and it was thought better to 
 give the exposition of each Psalm complete in itself, than to refer the reader 
 elsewhere ; which, therefore, is only done, when passages of a considerable 
 length occur in two Psalms, without any material difterence. 
 
 Such is the method the author has taken, such the authorities upon which 
 he has proceeded, and such the rules by which he has directed himself. If 
 consistency and uniformity in the comment have been the result, they will 
 afford, it is hoped, no contemptible argument on its behalf; since it is scarce 
 possible to expound uniformly, on an erroneous plan, so great a variety of 
 figurative language as is to be found in the book of Psalms. f 
 
 Let us stop, for a moment, to contemplate the true character of these 
 sacred hymns. 
 
 Greatness confers no exemption from the cares and sorrows of life. Its 
 share of them frequently bears a liielancholy proportion to its exaltation. 
 This the israelitish monarch experienced. He sought in piety that peace 
 which he could not find in empire, and alleviated the disquietudes of state 
 with the exercises of devotion. 
 
 His invaluable Psalms convey those comforts to others which they aflTorded 
 to himself. Composed upon particular occasions, yet designed for general 
 use; delivered out as services for Israelites under the law, yet no less 
 adapted to the circumstances of Christians under the gospel ; they present 
 religion to us in the most engaging dress; communicating truths which 
 philosophy could never investigate, in a style which poetry can never equal ; 
 while history is made the vehicle of prophecy, and creation lends all its 
 charms to paint the glories of redemption. Calculated alike to profit 
 and to please, they inform the understanding, elevate the affections, and 
 entertain the imagination. Indited under the influence of Him, to whom 
 all hearts are known, and all events foreknown, they suit mankind in all 
 situations, grateful as the manna which descended from above, and con-- 
 formed itself to every palate. The fairest productions of human wit, after 
 a few perusals, like gathered flowers, wither in our hands, and lose their 
 
 * The most profitable wayof reading it, perhaps, would be, by small portions, often reviewing 
 the text and the comment, and comparing them carefully together: at times when the mind is 
 nioft free, vacant, and calm ; in the morning, more especially, to prepare and fortify it fur the 
 business of the day ; and in the evening, to recompose, and set it in order, for the api)roacliing 
 season of rest. 
 
 t The student in Theology, who is desirous for farther information upon a subject so curious, 
 so entertaining, and so interesting, as that of the figurative language of Scripture, the prin- 
 ciples on which it is founded, and the best rule to be observed in the sober and rational inter- 
 pretation of it, may find satisfaction by consulting the following authors— 
 
 Lowth's Preface to his Commentary on the Prophets. 
 
 Lowth PriBlect. de Sacr. Poes. Ileb. Prielect. iv.— xii. 
 
 Pascal's Thoughts, Sect. .\.— .\iv. 
 
 Kurd's Inlrod. to the study of the Prophecies, Serm. ii. iii. iv. 
 
 Vitringa Observat, Sacr. Lib. vi.Cap. .x.\. et Lib. vii. 
 
 . Pra>fat. ad Comment, in Jesaiam. 
 
 Glassii Philologia Sacr. Lib. ii. 
 
 Witsii Miscellan. Sacra. Tom. L Lib. iii. Cap. iii. Lib. ii. Dissert, i. ii. CEconom. Feed. Lib. 
 iv. Cap. vi. —X. 
 
 Waterland's General Preface to Scripture Vindicated. 
 
PREFACE. 33 
 
 fragrancy : but these unfading plants of paradise become, as we are accus- 
 tomed to them, still more and more beautiful ; their bloom appears to be 
 daily heiojhtened; fresh odours are emitted, and new sweets extracted from 
 them. He who hath once tasted their excellencies, will desire to taste them 
 again ; and he who tastes them oftenest, will relish them best. 
 
 And now could the author flatter himself, that any one would take half 
 the pleasure in reading- the following exposition, which he hath taken in 
 writing it, he would not fear the loss of his labour. The employment d'- 
 tached him from the bustle and hurry of life, the din of politics, and ^e 
 noise of folly; vanity and vexation flew away for a season, care and dis- 
 quietude came not near his dwelling. He arose, fresh as the morning to 
 his task ; the silence of the night invited him to pursue it ; and he can truly 
 say, that food and rest were not preferred before it. Every Psalm improved 
 infinitely upon his acquaintance with it, and no one gave him uneasiness 
 but the last ; for then he grieved that his work was done. Happier hours 
 than those which have been spent on these meditations upon the Songs of 
 Sion, he never expects to see in this world. Very pleasantly did they pass, 
 and moved smoothly and swiftly along: for, when thus engaged, he counted 
 no time. They are gone, but have left a relish and a fragrance upon the 
 mind, and the remembrance of them is sweet. 
 
 But, alas, these are the fond eifusions of parental tenderness. Others 
 will view the production with very different eyes, and the harsh voice of 
 inexorable criticism will too soon awaken him from his pleasing dream. 
 He is not insensible, that many learned and good men, whom he does not 
 therefore value and respect the less, have conceived strong prejudices against 
 the scheme of interpretation here pursued ; and he knows how little the 
 generality of modern Christians have been accustomed to speculations of 
 this kind; which it may likewise, perhaps, be said, will give occasion to 
 the scoffs of our adversaries, the Jews and the Deists. Yet, if in the pre- 
 ceding pages it hath been made to appear, that the application of the Psalms 
 to evangelical subjects, times, and circumstances, stands upon firm ground; 
 that it may be prosecuted upon a regular and consistent plan ; and that it is 
 not only expedient, but even necessarjr, to render the use of them in our de- 
 votions rational and profitable; will it be presumption in him to hope, that 
 upon a calm and dispassionate review of the matter, prejudices may subside 
 and be done awayl If men, in these days, have not been accustomed to 
 such contemplations, is it not high time they should become sol Can they 
 begin too soon to study and make themselves masters of a science, which 
 promises to its votaries so much entertainment as well as improvement ; which 
 recommends the scriptures to persons of true taste and genius, as books in- 
 tended equally for our delight and instruction ; which demonstrates the ways 
 of celestial wisdom to be ways of pleasantness, and all her paths to be 
 peace indeed ! From the most sober, deliberate, and attentive survey of the 
 sentiment which prevailed, upon this point, in the first ages of the church, 
 when the apostolical method of citing and expounding the Psalms was fresh 
 upon the minds of their followers, the author cannot but be confident, that 
 his commentary, if it had then made its appearance, would have been uni- 
 versally received and approved, as to the general design of it, by the whole 
 Christian world. And however the Jews, in their present state of aliena- 
 tion and unbelief, may reject and set at nought such applications of their 
 scriptures to our Messiah, and his chosen people, as they certainly will do; 
 he is not less confident, that, whenever the happy and glorious day of their 
 conversion shall come, and the veil shall be taken from their hearts, they 
 will behold the Psalter in that lisrht in which he has endeavoured to place 
 it.* As to the Deists, they, while they continue such, can have neither 
 
 * " If this appear to be the case in so many of the Psalms (namely, tliat they are predictive 
 of Messiah), how strongly does it justify the Lord's appeal to them, as treating of Him? And 
 
34 PREFACE. 
 
 lot nor part in this matter ; for giving no credit to the scripture account of 
 things, either in the Old Testament or the New, to discourse with them 
 concerning a connection and analogy subsisting between the one and the 
 other, is to reason about a fifth sense with a man who has only four. For 
 the conviction both of the Jews and Deists, other arguments are to be 
 urged ; arguments from undeniable miracles openly wrought, and plain pro- 
 phecies literally fulfilled. Such proofs are "for them that believe not." 
 And such have been repeatedly urged, in their full force, by many able 
 champions, who have stood forth (success evermore attend their labours !) 
 in defence of the Evidences of Christianity. Expositions and meditations, 
 like those in the subsequent pages, serve not, nor are intended to serve, 
 " for them who believe not, but for them who believe ;"* who will exer- 
 cise their faculties in discerning and contemplating the mysteries of the 
 kingdom of heaven, and who are going on unto perfection ; to increase their 
 faith, and inflame their charity: to delight them in prosperity, to comfort 
 them in adversity, and to edify them at all times. Such effects, the author 
 doubts not, will be experienced by believers, who will read his book with 
 an honest and good heart, with seriousness and attention ; for though he 
 humbly trusts it will not be deemed altogether unworthy a place in the 
 libraries of the learned, he builds chiefl}'^ on that approbation which he is 
 solicitous it should receive in the closets of the devout ; as considering, 
 that it is LOVE, heavenly love, which " never faileth ; but whether there be 
 prophecies, they shall fail ; whether there be tongues, they shall cease ; 
 whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, 
 and we prophecy in part ; but when that which is perfect is come, then that 
 which is in part shall be done away."f They who find not the wished-for 
 satisfaction in one proportion, will find it in another; they who disapprove 
 of an interpretation at the first reading, may perhaps approve of it at the 
 second ; and they who still continue to disapprove of some particulars, will 
 not therefore disdain to accept the benefit of the rest. He has written to 
 gratify no sect or party, but for the common service of all who call on the 
 name of Jesus, wheresoever dispersed, and however distressed upon the 
 earth. When he views the innumerable unhappy differences among Chris- 
 tians, all of whom are equally oppressed with the cares and calamities of 
 life, he often calls to mind those beautiful and affecting words, which Mil- 
 ton represents Adam as addressing to Eve, after they had wearied them- 
 selves with mutual complaints and accusations of each other : — 
 
 But rise; let us no more contend, nor blame 
 
 Each otlier, blam'd enous;h elsewhere; but strive 
 
 In offices of love, how we may lighten 
 
 Each other's burden in our share of wo. B. x. V. 958. 
 
 Enough has been given to the arts of controversy. Let something be 
 given to the studies of piety and a holy life. If we can once unite in these, 
 our tempers may be better disposed to unite in doctrine. When we shall 
 be duly prepared to receive it, " God may reveal even this unto us." To 
 increase the number of disputes among us, is, therefore by no means the 
 
 what a noble argument may hence arise for the conviction and conversion of that extraordi- 
 nary people, to wliom they were originally communicated, when once the veil that is on their 
 hearts shall be taken awaij, as by the same spirit of prophecy we are assured it shall!" The 
 Bishop of Carlisle's Theory of Religion, p. 176, (ith edit. — With what transports of zeal and de- 
 votion, of faith and love, will they recite these holy hymns, in the day when the whole body of 
 the Jews, returning to the Lord their God, shall acknowledge their unparalleled crime in the 
 murder of their King, and their penitential sorrow for the same, perhaps, as his Lordship inti- 
 mates, in the words of the fifty. first Psalm; "deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou 
 God of my salvation ; and my tongue shall sine aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou 
 my lips, and my month shall show forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice, else would 
 I give it; thou delightest not in burnt-otrering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit ; a 
 broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. O do good in thy good pleasure to 
 Zion : build ihou the walls of Jerusalem !" 
 » 1 Cor. iiv.'Sa. 1 1 Cor. siii. 7. 
 
PREFACE. n~ 
 
 intent of this publication. The author having, for many years, accustomed 
 himself to consider and apply the Psalms, while he recited them according 
 to the method now laid down, has never failed to experience the unspeaka- 
 ble benefit of it, both in public and in private; and would wish, if it so 
 pleased God, that death might find him employed in meditations of this 
 kind.* He has likewise frequently taken occasion, in the course of his 
 ministry, to explain a Psalm upon the same plan, from the pulpit; and 
 whenever he has done so, whether the audience were learned or unlearned, 
 polite or rustic, he has g-enerally had the happiness to find the discourse, in 
 an especial manner, noticed and remembered. But still, many may be of a 
 different opinion, who may conscientiously believe the doctrines, and prac- 
 tise the duties of the gospel, whether they see them shadowed out in 
 the Psalms or not. Such will enjoy their own liberty, and permit their 
 brethren to do the same. Or, if they shall think it necessary to take up 
 the polemical pen, he desires only to receive that treatment which he has 
 himself shown to every writer, cited, or referred to by him.f Instead of 
 engaging in a tedious, and, perhaps, unprofitable altercation upon the sub- 
 ject, he feels himself, at present, much rather inclined, in such a case, to 
 follow, at his proper distance, the amiable example of his greatly respected 
 Diocesan, who reprinted in England the objections made by a foreign Pro- 
 fessor to some parts of his Lectures on the Hebrew poetry, and left the 
 public to form its own judgment between them.:j: From that public, the 
 author of the following work is now to expect the determination of his fate. 
 Should its sentence be in his disfavour, nothing farther remains to be said, 
 than that he has honestly and faithfully endeavoured to serve it, to the 
 utmost of his power, in the way in which he thought himself best able ; 
 and to give the world some account of that time, and those opportunities, 
 which, by the Providence of a gracious God, and the munificence of a pious 
 Founder, he has long enjoyed in the happy retirement of a college. 
 
 * " Iliave losta world of time," said the learned Salmasius, on his death-bed; " if I had one 
 year more, I would spend it in reading David's Psalms, and Taul's Epistles." 
 
 t Deter is^itur erralis meis venia : Ipse demum e.xemplo meo milii prosim, qui neminem 
 eorum, a quibus dissenserim, contumeliis affeci : qui non, vitio Criticorum, in diverse senten- 
 tia; propugnatores acriter invectus sum ; qui denique earn veniam antecessoribus meis libens 
 tribui, quam ab iis, qui hsc in manus sumturi sint, velimimpetrare. Pearce in Prsfat. ad edit. 
 Cic. dc Oratore. 
 
 I '■ In his si qufe sunt quoB mihi minus persuasit Vir Clarissimus, ea malui hoc modo libero 
 Lectorum nostrorum judicio peruiittere, quam in disceptationem et controversiam, injucun- 
 dam, et fortasse infructunsam vocare." Lowth, i7i Pra-fat. ad edit, idavi Pi'irlect. dc .Sacra Pocsi 
 Hebraorum. — " Authors should avoid, as much as they can," says another very learned critic, 
 " replies and rejoinders, the usual consequences of which are, loss of time, and loss of temper. 
 Happy ishe who is engaged in controversy with his own passiojis, and conies offsuperior; who 
 makes it his endeavour, that his lollies and weaknesses may die before liira, and who daily 
 meditates on mortality and immortality." JortiiVs Preface to his Remarks on Ecclesiastical 
 History, p. xxxiv. 
 
36 
 
 That the reader may the more easily turn to such Psalms as will best suit 
 the present state of his mind, according to the different circumstances, 
 whether external or internal, into which by the changes and chances of 
 life, or the variations of temper and disposition, he may, at any time, be 
 thrown, the common Table of Psalms, classed under their several sub- 
 jects, is here subjoined. 
 
 Prayers. 
 
 I. Prayers for Pardon of Sin. Psalm 
 6, 25, 38, 51, 130. Psalms, styled 
 Penitential, 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 
 143. 
 
 II. Prayers composed when tlie Psahn- 
 ist was deprived of an opportunity of 
 tlie public exercise of religion. Psalm 
 42, 43, 63, 84. 
 
 III. Prayers wherein the Psalmist seems 
 extremely dejected, thougli not totally 
 deprived of consolation under his af- 
 flictions. Psalm 13, 22, 69, 77, 88, 
 143. 
 
 IV. Prayers wherein the" Psalmist ask- 
 eth help of God, in consideration of 
 his own integrity, and the upright- 
 ness of his cause. Psalm 7, 17, 26, 
 35. 
 
 V. Prayers expressing the firmest trust 
 and confidence in God under afflic- 
 tions. Psalm 3, 16, 27, 31, 54, 56, 
 57, 61, 62, 71, 86. 
 
 VI. Prayers composed when the people 
 of God were under affliction or per- 
 secution. Psalm 44, 60, 74, 79, 80 
 83, 89, 94, 102, 123, 137. 
 
 VII. The following are likewise Prayers 
 in time of trouble and affliction. 
 Psalm 4, 5, 11, 28, 41, 55, 59, 64, 70, 
 109, 120, 140, 141, 142. 
 
 VIII. Prayers of intercession. Psalm 
 20, 67, 122, 132, 144. 
 
 Psalms of Thanksgiving. 
 
 I. Thanksgivings for Mercies vouch- 
 safed to particular persons. Psalm 
 9, 18, 22, 30, 34, 40, 75, 103, 108, 116, 
 118, 138, 144. 
 
 II. Thanksgivings for mercies vouch- 
 safed to the Israelites in general, 
 
 Psalm 45, 48, 65, 66, 68, 76, 81, 84, 
 98, 105, 124, 126, 129, 135, 136, 149, 
 
 Psalms of Praise and Adoration, dis- 
 playing the Attributes of God. 
 
 I. General acluiowledgment of God's 
 Goodness and Mercy, and particularly 
 his care and protection of good men. 
 Psalm 23, 34, 36, 91, 100, 103, 107, 
 117, 121, 145, 146. 
 
 II. Psalms displaying the Power, Ma- 
 jesty, Glory, and other attributes of 
 the Divine Being. Psalm 8, 19, 24, 
 29, 33, 47, 50. 65, 66, 76, 77, 93, 95, 
 96, 97, 99, 104, 111, 113, 114, 115, 
 134, 139, 147, 148, 150. 
 
 Instructive Psalms. 
 
 I. The different characters of good and 
 bad men; the happiness of the one, 
 and the miseries of the other, are re- 
 presented in tlie following. Psalm 1, 
 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 24, 25, 
 32, 34, 36, 37, 50, 52, 53, 58, 73, 75, 
 84, 91, 92, 94, 112, 119, 121, 125, 127, 
 128, 133. 
 
 II. The excellence of God's Law, Psalm 
 19, 119. 
 
 III. The vanity of hmnan life. Psalm 
 39, 49, 90. 
 
 IV. Advice to magistrates. Psalm 82, 
 101, 
 
 V. The virtue of humiUty. Psalm 131. 
 
 Psalms more eminently and directly 
 
 prophetical. 
 Psalm 2, 16, 22, 40, 45, 68, 72, 87, 101, 
 H8. 
 
 Historical Psalms, 
 Psalm 78, 105, 106. 
 
COMMENTARY 
 
 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. 
 
 FIRST DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM I. 
 
 ARGUMEKT. 
 
 This Psalm, which is g-enerally looked upon by expositors as a preflice, or intro- 
 duction to the rest, describes the blessedness of the righteous, consisting', 
 ver. 1. negatively, in their abstaining from sin ; 2. positively, in holy medita- 
 tion on the scriptures, productive of continual growth in grace, which 3. is 
 beautifully represented under an image borrowed from vegetation ; as 4. is 
 tlie opposite state of the unbeheving and ungodly, by a comparison taken 
 from the threshing-floor. The two last foretell the final issue of things, with 
 respect to both good and bad men, at the great day. 
 
 Ver. " 1. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the un- 
 godly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the 
 scornful." 
 
 The Psalter, like the sermon on the mount, openeth with a "beatitude," 
 for our comfort and encouragement, directing us immediately to that happi- 
 ness, which all mankind, in different ways, are seeking and inquiring after. 
 All would secure themselves from the incursions of misery ; but all do not 
 consider, that misery is the offspring of sin, from which it is therefore ne- 
 cessary to be delivered and preserved, in order to become happy, or 
 " blessed." The variety of expressions here used by David, intimateth to 
 us that there is a gradation in wickedness : and that he who would not per- 
 sist in evil courses, or commence a scoffer at the mystery of godliness, 
 must have no fellowship with bad men : since it is impossible for any 
 one who forsakes the right path, to say whither he shall wander ; and few, 
 when they begin to "walk in the counsel of the ungodly," propose finally to 
 sit down in the "seat of the scornful." O thou second Adam, who alone, 
 since the transgression of the first, hast attained a sinless perfection, make 
 thy servants "blessed," by making them righteous, through thy merits 
 and grace ! 
 
 "2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he 
 meditate day and night." 
 
 He who hath once brought himself to " deligljt" in the scriptures, will 
 find no temptation to exchange that pleasure for any which the world or the 
 flesh can offer him. Such a one will make the lively oracles of Gorl his 
 companions by day and by night. He will have recourse to them for di- 
 rection, in the bright and cheerful hours of prosperity ; to them he will 
 
 4 
 
38 A COMMENTARY Psalm I. 
 
 apply for comfort, in the dark and dreary seasons oi adversity. The ene- 
 my, when advancing to the assault, will always find him well employed, 
 and will be received with — " Get thee behind me, Satan !" When the law 
 of God is the object of our studies and meditations, we are conformed to the 
 example of our Redeemer himself, who, as a man, while he " increased in 
 stature," increased likewise " in wisdom," and grew powerful in the 
 knowledge of the law which he was to fulfil, and of those prophecies which 
 he was to accomplish ; so that, at twelve years of age he appeared to 
 " have more understanding than all his teachers : for the divine testimo- 
 nies had been his meditation," Psalm cxix. 99. 
 
 " 3. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that 
 bringeth forth his fruit in his season ; his leaf also shall not wither, and 
 whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." 
 
 By continual meditation in the sacred writings, a man as naturally 
 improves and advances in holiness, as a " tree" thrives and flourishes in a 
 kindly and well watered soil. All the " fruits" of righteousness show them- 
 selves at their proper " season," as opportunity calls for them ; and his 
 words, which are to his actions what the "leaves" are to the fruit, fall not 
 to the ground, but are profitable, as well as ornamental. Everything in 
 him and about him serves the purpose for which it was intended ; his brethren 
 are benefited by him, and his Maker is glorified. How eminently is 
 this the case with that tree of life, which Jehovah planted in the midst 
 of his new paradise, by the waters of comfort; a tree which sprung out 
 of the earth, but its height reached to heaven, and its breadth to the ends 
 of the world ; its shadow is for the protection, its fruit for the support, 
 and its leaves for the healing of the nations. It flourishes in immortal 
 youth, and blooms for ever in unfading beauty. See Rev. xxii. 2. 
 
 " 4. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff, which the wind driveth 
 away." 
 
 In the foregoing description of the righteous, all appeared verdant and 
 fruitful, lovely and enduring ; but here, by way of contrast, we are pre- 
 sented with nothing but what is withered and worthless, without form or 
 stability, blown about by every wind, and at length finally dispersed from 
 the face of the earth, by the breath of God's displeasure, and driven into the 
 fire prepared for it. Such is the state, such the lot of the " ungodly ;" and 
 so justly are they compared to "chaff," 
 
 " 5. Therefore the ungodly shall iiot.£land in the judgment, nor sinners in 
 the congregation of the righteous." 
 
 A day is coming, when the Divine Husbandman shall appear with his 
 " fan in his hand," and shall " thoroughly purge his floor." The wheat, 
 which shall stand the winnowing of that day, will be gathered into the ce- 
 lestial granary ; while the chaff, for ever separated from it, shall be hurried 
 out of the floor, and carried, by a mighty whirlwind, to its own place. Then 
 shall there be a " congregation of the righteous," in which " sinners 
 shall not stand." At present wheat and chaff lie in one floor; wheat and 
 tares grow in one field ; good and bad fishes are comprehended in one 
 net ; good and bad men are contained in the visible church. Let us wait 
 with patience God's time of separation. 
 
 " 6. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous ; but the way of the 
 ungodly shall perish." 
 
 In the present scene of confusion, we may be, and often are, deceived in 
 the judgment we form of men. But it cannot be so with the Omniscient. 
 "The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal. The Lord knoweth 
 them that are his," 2 Tim. ii. 19. Their good deeds are not unobserved, 
 nor will they be forgotten by him. His eye seeth them in secret, and his 
 hand will reward them openly, in the day of final retribution ; when crowns 
 of glory shall sparkle on the heads of the righteous, but shame and torment 
 shall be the portion of the wicked; "the way of the ungodly shall perish." 
 
Day I, M. p. ON THE PSALMS. 39 
 
 PSALM 11. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 David, seated upon the throne of Israel, notwithstanding' the opposition made 
 ag'ainst him, and now about to cany his victorious arms amongst the neigh- 
 bouring heathen nations, may be supposed to have penned this, as a kind of 
 inauguration Psahn. But that a " greater than David is here," appears not 
 only from the strength of the expressions, wiiicli are more properly applica- 
 ble to Messiah tiian to David himself ; but also from the citations made in the 
 New Testament: the appointment of the Psalm by the church to be read on 
 Easter day; and the confessions of the Jewish Rabbies. It treats therefore, 
 1 — 3. of the opposition raised, both by Jew and Gentile, against the kingdom 
 of Jesus Christ : 4 — 6. of his victory, and the confusion of his enemies; 7 — 9. 
 after his resurrection, he preaches the gospel, and 10 — 12. calls the kings 
 of tlie earth to accept it ; denouncing vengeance against those who shall not 
 do so, and pronouncing a blessing on those who shall. 
 
 " 1. Why do the heathen rag-e, and the people imagine a vain thing? 
 2. The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel 
 together against the Lord, and against his Anointed, saying,^'' 
 
 The true David is introduced, like his ancestor of old, expostulating 
 with the nations, for their vain attempts to frustrate the divine decree in his 
 favour. These two verses are cited, Acts iv. 25. and thus expounded — 
 "Lord — of a truth against the holy child Jesue, whom thou hast anointed, 
 both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, 
 were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel de- 
 termined before to be done." Persecution may be carried on by the people, 
 but it is raised and fomented by kings and rulers. After the ascension of 
 Christ, and the effusion of the Spirit, the whole power of the Roman empire 
 was employed in the same cause, by those who, from time to time, swayed 
 the sceptre of the world. But still, they who intended to extirpate the 
 faith, and destroy the church, how many and how mighty soever they might 
 be, were found only to " imagine a vain thing." And equally vain will 
 ever}' imagination be, that exalteth itself against the counsels of God for 
 the salvation of his people. 
 
 "3. Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from 
 us." 
 
 These words, supposed to be spoken by the powers in arms against Mes- 
 siah, discover to us the true ground of opposition, namely, the unwilling- 
 ness of rebellious nature to submit to the obligations of divine laws, which 
 cross the interests, and lay a restraint upon the desire of men. Corrupt 
 affections are the most inveterate enemies of Christ ; and their language is, 
 "We will not have this man to reign over us." Doctrines would be 
 readily believed, if they involved in them no precepts ; and the church may 
 be tolerated by the world, if she will only give up her discipline. 
 
 "4. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have 
 them in derision." 
 
 By these and such like expressions, which frequently occur in the scrip- 
 ture, we are taught, in a language which we understand, because borrowed 
 from ourselves, and our manner of showing contempt, how the sciiemes of 
 worldly politicians appear to him, who, sitting upon his heavenly throne, 
 surveys at a glance whatever men are doing, or contriving to do, upon the 
 earth. This is the idea intended to be conveyed ; and from it we are to 
 separate all notions of levity, or whatever else may offend when applied to 
 the Godhead, though adhering to the phrases, as in use among the sons of 
 Adam. The same is to be said with regard to words which seem to attri^ 
 
40 A COMMENTARY Psalm H. 
 
 bute many other hnrflan passions and affections to the Deity : as for 
 instance, these which follow : — 
 
 " 5. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his 
 sore displeasure. G. Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion." 
 
 The meaning is, that by pouring out his indignation upon the adversaries 
 of Messiah, as formerly upon those of David, God would no less evidently 
 convict and reprove their folly and impiety, than if he had actually thus 
 spoken to them from his eternal throne above ; " Yet, notwithstanding all 
 your rage against him have I raised from the dead, and exalted, as the 
 head of the church, my appointed King Messiah ; in like manner as I once 
 set his victorious representative David upon my holy hill Zion in the earthly 
 Jerusalem, out of the reach of his numerous and implacable enemies." Let 
 us reflect, for our comfort, that He who raised up his Son Jesus, has pro- 
 mised to raise up us also who believe in him ; and that the world can no 
 more prevent the exaltation of the members, than it could prevent that of 
 the Head. 
 
 " 7. I will declare the decree : The Lord hath said unto me. Thou art 
 my Son, this day have I begotten thee." 
 
 Jesus, for the suffering of death, crowned with honour and immortality, 
 upon the holy hill of Zion, in the new Jerusalem, now " declares the 
 decree," or preaches the gospel of the everlasting covenant. His part in 
 the covenant was performed by keeping the law, and dying for the sins of 
 men. Nothing therefore remained, but the accomplishment of the promise 
 made to him by the Father, upon those conditions. One part of this pro- 
 mise was fulfilled, saith St. Paul, " in that he raised up Jesus again ; as it 
 is written in the second Psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten, 
 thee," Acts xiii. 33. Another part was fulfilled at the ascension of Christ, 
 and his inauguration to an eternal kingdom, and an unchangeable priesthood, 
 as the true Melchizedek, King of Righteousness, King of Peace, and the 
 Priest of the Most High God. The next article in the covenant on the 
 Father's side, was the enlargement of Messiah's spiritual kingdom, by the 
 accession of the nations to the church. And accordingly, this was the next 
 thing which " Jehovah said unto him," after having proclaimed his Son- 
 ship and pre-eminence ; as we find by the following verse. 
 
 " 8. Apk of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, 
 and the uttermost parts of the earth /(v/- thy possession." '''''• 
 
 Christ was to enter upon the exercise of the intercessorial branch of his 
 priestly office, with a request to the Father, that the " heathen world might 
 be given for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his pos- 
 session," in return for the labours he had undergone', and the pains he had 
 endured ; as also to supply the place of the .Jews, who were his original 
 " inheritance and possession," but were cast off, because of unbelief. That 
 such request was made by Christ, and granted by the Father, the person 
 who writfs this, and he who reads it, in a once pagan, b.ut now Christian 
 island, are both witnesses. -'<":■ 
 
 "9. Thou shall break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in 
 pieces like a potter's vessel." 
 
 The irresistible power and inflexible justice of Christ's kingdom are sig- 
 nified by his " ruling with a rod of iron ;" the impotence -of those who 
 presume to oppose him, is compared to that of " a potter's vessel," which 
 must fly in pieces at the first stroke of the iron rod. The power of Christ 
 will be manifested in all, by the destruction either of sin or the sinner. The 
 hearts which now yield to the impressions of his Spirit, are broken only in 
 order to be formed anew, and to become vessels of honour, fitted for the 
 Master's use. Those which continue stubborn and hardened, must be 
 dashed in pieces by the stroke of eternal vengeance. 
 
 " 10. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings ; be instructed, ye judges of the 
 earth. 11. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling." 
 
Day I. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 
 
 41 
 
 The decree of the Father, concerning the kingdom of the Son,bein(T thus 
 promulgated by the latter, an exhortation is made to the kings of the'earth, 
 that they would learn true wisdom, and suffer themselves to be instructed 
 unto salvation ; that they would bow their sceptres to the cross of Jesus, 
 and cast their crowns before his throne ; esteeming it a far greater honour, 
 as well as a more exalted pleasure, to serve Him, than to find themselves 
 at the head of victorious armies, surrounded by applauding nations. 
 
 " 12. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish /row the way, when 
 his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed art all they that put their trust ia 
 him." 
 
 Christ beseeches kings, no less than their subjects, to be reconciled to 
 him, and by him to the Father : since a day is at hand, when mighty men 
 shall have no distinction, but that of being mightily tormented. And then 
 will be seen the " blessedness" of those who " put their trust in" the 
 Lord Jesus. For when the glory of man shall fade away as the short-lived 
 flower of the field, and when all that is called great and honourable in 
 princes shall be laid low in the dust, he shall give unto his faithful servants 
 a crown without cares, and a kingdom which cannot be moved. 
 
 psal:\i III. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm is said to have been composed by David, when he fied from his son 
 Absalom. Thus circumstanced, he expresses himself in terms well adapted 
 to the parallel case of the Son of David, persecuted by rebellious Israel; as 
 also to that of his church, suffering tribulation in the world. 1, 2. He com- 
 plains, in much anguish, of. the multitude of his enemies, and of the re- 
 proaches cast upon him, as one forsaken by God ; but, 3. declares, notwith- 
 standing, his sure trust in the Di^"ine promises ; 4, 5. he relates the success 
 of his prayers, 6 — 8. derides the impotent maUce of his enemies, and ascribes 
 salvation to Jehovah. 
 
 " 1. Lord, how are they increased that trouble me ? I\Iany are they that 
 rise up agfainst me." 
 
 David is astonished to find that "the hearts of the men of Israel are after 
 Absalom;" 2 Sam. xv. 13., that his counsellors are revolted, and his 
 friends falling off continually; and that the king of Israel is forced to leave 
 his capital mourning and weeping. Thus, led forth out of Jerusalem by his 
 own children in arms against him, the holy Jesus went, forsaken and sor- 
 rowing, to the cross, in the day of trouble. Thus is the church oftentimes 
 opposed and betrayed by her sons, and the Christian by his passions and 
 affections. So true it is that " A man's foes are they of his own house- 
 hold." But he, who by prayer engages the assistance of Jehovah, will rise 
 superior to them all. 
 
 '• 2. INIany there he which say of my soul, There is no help for him in 
 God." 
 
 Affliction and desertion are two very different things, but often confounded 
 by the world. Shimei reviled David, as reprobated by Heaven ; and ihe 
 language of the Shimeis afterward, concerning the Son of David, was, 
 " He trusted in God ; let him deliver him now, if he will have him." See 
 2 Sam. xvi. 8. Matt, xxvii. 43. The fearful imaginations of our own 
 desponding hearts, and the suggestions of our crafty adversary, frequently 
 join to help forward this most dangerous temptation, in the hour of sorrow. 
 What therefore hath faith to offer f We shall hear — 
 
 " 3. But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up 
 of my head." 
 
 Such is the answer of David, and of all the saints, but above all, of the 
 
 4* 
 
42 A COMMENTARY Psalm III, 
 
 King of saints, to the temptation before mentioned. Jehovah is a "shield" 
 against this, and all other fiery darts, shot by Satan and his associates : he 
 is the " glory" of Christ and the church, with which they will one day be 
 seen invested, though for a season it appear not to the world, any more than 
 did the royalty of David, when, weeping and barefoot, he went up mount 
 Olivet : 2 Sam. xv. 30. the same Jehovah is " the lifter up of our heads," 
 by the gift of holy confidence, and the hope of a resurrection through that 
 of Jesus Christ, prefigured by the triumphant and happy return of David to 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 " 4. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his 
 holy hill." 
 
 David, driven from Jerusalem, still looked and prayed towards the "holy 
 hill " of Zion. Christ, when a stranger on the earth, " made supplication, 
 with strong crying," to his Father in heaven. Christ was heard for his 
 own sake ; David was heard, and we shall be heard, through him. 
 
 " 5. I laid me down and slept; I awaked, for the Lord sustained me." 
 
 Behold David, in the midst of danger, sleeping without fear ; secure 
 through the Divine protection, of awaking to engage and vanquish his ene- 
 mies. Behold the Son of David composing himself to his rest upon the 
 cross, that bed of sorrows ; and commending his spirit into the Father's 
 hands, in full confidence of a joyful resurrection, according to the promise 
 at the time appointed. Behold this, O Christian, and let faith teach thee 
 how to sleep, and how to die ; while it assures thee, that as sleep is a short 
 death, so death is a longer sleep : and that the same God watches over thee, 
 in thy bed and in thy grave. 
 
 " 6. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set them- 
 selves against me round about." 
 
 Faith, revived and invigorated by prayer, and fixed on God alone, is a 
 stranger to fear in the worst of times. The irinumerable examples of saints 
 rescued from tribulation, and above all, the resurrection of the Son of God 
 from the dead, render the believer bold as a lion, although the name of his 
 adversary be " legion." 
 
 " 7. Arise, O Lord ; save me, O my God ; for thou hast smitten all mine 
 enemies upon the cheek-bone ; thou has broken the teeth of the ungodly." 
 
 The church, through Christ, prayeth in these words of David, that Jeho- 
 vah w^ould arise, as of old time, in the power of his might ; that he would 
 finally break the power of Satan and his adherents ; pluck the spoil out of 
 the jaws of those beasts of prey ; and work that glorious deliverance for the 
 members, which is already wrought for the Head of the body mystical. 
 
 " 8. Salvation belongeth, or, be ascribed unto the Lord ; thy blessing is, 
 or, be upon the people." 
 
 The Psalm ends with an acknowledgment, which ought always to fill the 
 heart, and upon every proper occasion, to flov.- from the mouth of a Chris- 
 tian ; namely, that " salvation " is not to be had from man, from the kings 
 of the earth, or the gods of the heathen, from saints or angels, but from 
 Jehovah alone ; to whom alone, therefore, the glory should be ascribed. If 
 He will save, none can destroy ; if He will destroy, none can save. Let 
 Balak, then, curse Israel, or hire Balaam to curse them for him ; be but 
 "thy blessing," Lord, upon thy people, and it sufhceth. 
 
DAT I. M. p. ON THE PSALMS. 43 
 
 PSALM IV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The person speaking in this Psalm, 1. prayeth to be heard b}' God; 2. con- 
 vincedi the world of sin; 3. declareth the righteous to be under the Divine 
 protection; 4, 5. prescribctli solitude and meditation, as the proper means 
 to lead men to repentance and faith ; 6. showeth, that in God alone peace 
 and comfort are to be found, and 7. how superior the joys of tlie Spirit are 
 to those of sense ; 8. reposeth himself, in full assurance of faith, on the 
 loving-kindness of the Lord. 
 
 " 1. Hear me when I call, God of my righteousness: thou hast en- 
 larged me when I was in distress ; have mercy upon me, and hear my 
 prayer." 
 
 The church, like David, " calls" aloud, as one in great affliction, for 
 God's assistance ; she addresses him as the " God of her righteousness," 
 as the fountain of pardon and grace ; she reminds him of that spiritual 
 liberty, and "enlargement" from bondage, which he had purchased for 
 her, and oftentimes wrought in her ; and conscious of her demerits, makes 
 her prayer for " mercy." 
 
 *' 2. O ye sons of men, how long luill ye turn my glory into shame 1 how 
 long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing, oi- falsehood V 
 
 If the Israelitish monarch conceived he had just cause to expostulate with 
 his enemies, for despising the royal majesty with which Jehovah had in- 
 vested his Anointed ; of how much severer reproof shall they be thought 
 worthy, who blaspheme the essential " glory" of King Messiah, which 
 shines forth by his Gospel in the church 1 Thou O Christ, art everlasting 
 truth ; all is " vanity and falsehood," transient and fallacious, but the love 
 of thee ! 
 
 " 3. But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for him- 
 self : the Lord will hear when I call unto him." 
 
 Be the opinions, or the practices of men what they will, the counsel of 
 the Lord shall stand. Is David "set apart" for the kingdom of Israel? 
 Saul shall not be able to detain, nor Absalom to wrest it from him. Is 
 Messiah ordained to be King of the Israel of God? Death and hell shall 
 not prevent it. Are his disciples appointed to reign with him 1 Infallibly 
 they shall. Our Intercessor is already on high; and for his sake, "the 
 Lord will hear us when we call upon him." What, then, can be said for 
 us, if we neglect to call upon him? 
 
 " 4. Stand in awe, Heb, tremble and sin not ; commune with your own 
 heart upon your bed, and be still." 
 
 The enemies of Christ, as well as those of David, are here called to 
 repentance, and the process of conversion is described. The above men- 
 tioned consideration of the Divine counsel, and the certainty of its being 
 carried into execution, by the salvation of the righteous, and the confusion 
 of their enemies, makes the wicked " tremble." "The fear of the Lord is 
 the beginning of wisdom :" it arrests the sinner in his course, and he " sins 
 not ;" he goes no farther in the way of sin, but stops, and reflects upon 
 what he has been doing; he " communes with his own heart upon his bed, 
 and is still ;" his conscience suffers him not to rest in the night, but takes 
 the advantage of solitude and silence, to set before him his transgressions, 
 with all the terrors of death and judgment ; stirring him up to confess the 
 former, and deprecate the latter, with unfeigned compunction and sorrow of 
 heart? to turn unto the Lord and do works meet for repentance : to learn to 
 do good, as well as to cease from doing evil. 
 
 "5. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the 
 Lord." 
 The Jews are no longer to offer the shadowy sacrifices of their law, since 
 
44 A COMMENTARY Psalm V. 
 
 He, who is the substance of them all, is come into the world. The Gen- 
 tiles are no more to offer their idolatrous sacrifices, since their idols have 
 fallen before the Cross. But returning- sinners, whether Jews or Gentiles, 
 are to offer the same "sacrifices of" evangelical "righteousness;" not 
 "putting their trust" in them, but "in the Lord" Jesus, through whose 
 Spirit they are enabled to offer, and through whose blood their offerings are 
 acceptable unto God. Faith, hope, and charity, mutually strengthen each 
 other, and compose " a threefold cord," which "is not easily broken." 
 
 " G. There be many that say. Who will show us any good 1 Lord, lift 
 thou up the light of thy countenance upon us." 
 
 The two former verses were addressed to rebellious sinners, inviting 
 them to repentance and reformation. This seems to relate to the righteous, 
 who, in times of calamity and persecution, like the friends of distressed 
 David, are tempted to despond, on seeing no end of their troubles. The 
 Psalmist therefore prescribes prayer to all such, as an antidote against the 
 temptation ; he directs them, in the darkest night, to look towards heaven, 
 nor doubt the return of day, when the rising sun shall diffuse light and sal- 
 vation, and sorrow and sighing shall fly away. How many are continually 
 asking the question in this verse ? How few applying to Him who alone 
 can give an answer of peace and comfort. 
 
 " 7. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more thali in the time that their 
 corn and their wine increased." 
 
 No sooner is the prayer preferred, but the answer is given ; and the 
 devout soul declares herself to experience a joy in the midst of tribulation, 
 far superior to the joy with which men rejoice in the time of harvest, or that 
 of vintage : a joy, bright and pure, as the regions from whence it descends. 
 Such is the difference between the bread of earth, and that of heaven; 
 between the juice of the grape, and the cup of salvation. Teach us, O Lord, 
 to discern this difference, and to choose aright. 
 
 " 8. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep : for thou, Lord, only 
 raakest me to dwell in safety." 
 
 This conclusion afl^ords ample matter for profitable and delightful medi- 
 tation, if it be considered, first, as spoken by David, or any other believer, 
 when lying down to rest, full of the joys of a good conscience, and faith 
 unfeigned ; secondly, as pronounced by the true David, when composing 
 himself to his rest, in certain hope of a resurrection. And happy the Chris- 
 tian, who having nightly, with this verse, committed himself to his bed, as 
 to his grave, shall at last, with the same words, resign himself to his grave 
 as to his bed, from which he expects in due time to arise, and sing a morn- 
 ing hymn with the children of the resurrection, 
 
 PSALM V. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The Psalmist in affliction, 1 — 3, contimies, and resolves to continue, instant in 
 prayer ; 4 — 6. declares the irreconcilable hatred wliich God bears to sin, and 
 7. his own confidence of being accepted ; 8. he petitions for grace to direct 
 and preserve him in the way ; 9. sets forth the wickedness of his enemies ; 
 10. foretells theu- punishment, and 11, 12. the salvation of tlie faithful. 
 
 "1. Give ear to my words, Lord; consider my meditation, or, my 
 dove-like mournings." 
 
 Although nothing can really hinder or divert the Divine attention, yet 
 God is represented as " not hearing," when either the person is unaccepta- 
 ble, or the petition improper, or when he would thoroughly prove the faith 
 and patience of the petitioner. Christ, the church, and the believing soul, 
 are all in scripture styled " doves," from their possessing the amiable pro- 
 
DAT I. M. p. ON THE PSALMS. 45 
 
 perties of that bird of meekness and innocence, purity and love. The 
 " mournings" of such are always heard and attended to in heaven. 
 
 " 2. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King and my God: for unto 
 thee will I pray." 
 
 The voice of the suppliant's cry will be in proportion to the sense which 
 he hath of his sin. Whom should a subject solicit, but his King"? to whom 
 should a sinner pray, but to his God? Let us often think upon the strong 
 cryings of him who suffered for the sins of the world, and upon that inter- 
 cession, by which the pardon of those sins were procured. 
 
 "3. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning 
 will I direct my prayer, Hch. dispose, or set myself in order, unto, or for 
 thee, and will look up." 
 
 He who is in good earnest, and hath his heart fully bent upon the work 
 of salvation, like other skilful and diligent artificers, will be " early" in his 
 application to it ; he will get the start of the world, and take the advantage 
 of the " sweet hour of prime," to "dispose," and " set himself in order," 
 for the day. What is a slothful sinner to think of himself, when he reads, 
 concerning the holy Jesus, that " in the morning, rising up a great while 
 before day, he went out and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed !" 
 Mark i. 35. 
 
 " 4. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness ; neither shall 
 evil dwell with thee." 
 
 The Psalmist was encouraged to make his early prayers to God in the 
 day of trouble, upon this consideration, that his righteous cause must finally 
 prosper, and the Divine counsels be accomplished in his exaltation, and the 
 depression of his enemies, who were likewise the enemies of God. The 
 same was the case and the confidence of a suffering Messiah; and such is 
 that of his church and people in the world, where " wickedness" may 
 prosper, and " evil" not only live, but reign. Nevertheless, we know that 
 " God hath no pleasure" in them, nor shall they « dwell with him," as we 
 hope to do. 
 
 "5. The foolish, Heb. mad, shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all 
 workers of iniquity. C. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing, or 
 falsehood; the Lord doth abhor the bloodthirsty and deceitful man." 
 
 No objects of the senses can be so nauseous to them, as the various kinds 
 of sin are in the sight of God. O could we but think, as he does, con- 
 cerning these, we should rather choose "madness" than transgression, and 
 as soon fall in love with a plague-sore, as a temptation. " Falsehood, 
 blood-thirstiness, and deccitfulness," are marked out as characteristical of 
 the enemies of David, of Christ, and the church; and the history evinces 
 them so to have been. Let us never go within the infection of such pesti- 
 lential crimes. 
 
 " 7. But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy 
 mercy : and in thy fear will I worship towards thy holy temple." 
 
 W' isdom, righteousness, truth, mercy, and sincerity, form a character the 
 reverse of that drawn in the preceding verses, and such an one as God 
 will accept, when appearing before him in his house, and offering with hu- 
 mility and reverence the sacrifices of the new law, as David did those of 
 the old, through faith in him who alone filled up the character, and procured 
 acceptance for believers and their oblations. 
 
 " 8. Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness, because of mine enemies; 
 make thy way straight before my face." 
 
 The child of God, admitted into his holy temple, there prefers this peti- 
 tion, praying to be led by the Divine Spirit in a course of holy obedience, 
 all impediments being removed out of the way, which otherwise might ob- 
 struct the progress, or cause the fall of one beginning to walk in the path 
 of life; of one who had many " enemies" ready to contrive, to take advan- 
 age of, to rejoice and triumph, in his ruin. Thus a man's enemies, while 
 
46 A COMMENTARY Psalm V. 
 
 they oblige him to pray more fervently, and to watch more narrowly over 
 his conduct, oftentimes become his best friends. 
 
 " 9. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth, their inward part is very 
 wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their 
 tongue." 
 
 A part of this verse is> cited, Rom. iii. 13, together with several other 
 passages from^the Psalms and prophets, to evince the depravity of mankind, 
 whether Jews or Gentiles, till justified by faith, and renewed by grace. It 
 is plain, therefore, that the description was designed for others, besides the 
 enemies of the literal David, and is of more general import, reaching to the 
 world of the ungodly, and to the enemies of all righteousness, as manifested 
 in the person of Messiah, and in his church. The charge brought against 
 these is, that "truth" and " fidelity" were not to be found in their dealings 
 with God or each other; that their "inward parts" were very wickedness; 
 their first thoughts and imaginations were defiled, and the stream was 
 poisoned at the fountain; that their " throat was an open sepulchre," conti- 
 nually emitting, in obscene and impious language, the noisome and infec- 
 tious exhalations of a putrid heart, entombed in a body of sin; and that if 
 ever they put on the appearance of goodness, they " flattered with their 
 tongue," in order the more effectually to deceive and destroy. So low is 
 human nature fallen ! "0 thou Adam, what hast thou done? For though 
 it was thou that sinned, thou art not fallen alone, but we all that come of 
 tliee." 2 Esd. vii. 48. 
 
 " 10. Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels: 
 cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled 
 against thee." 
 
 Concerning passages of this imprecatory kind in the book of Psalms, it 
 is to be observed, that they are not spoken of private and personal enemies, 
 but of the opposers of God and his Anointed ; nor of any among these, 
 but the irreclaimable and finally impenitent; and this by way of prediction 
 rather than imprecation; which would appear, if the original verbs were 
 translated uniformly in the future tense, as they might be, and indeed, to 
 cut off all occasion from them which desire it, should be, translated. The 
 verse before us would then run thus, " Thou wilt destroy them, O God ; 
 they shall perish by their own counsels; thou wilt cast them out in the 
 multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against thee." 
 The words, when rendered in this form, contain a prophecy of the infatuar 
 tion, rejection, and destruction of such as should obstinately persevere in 
 their opposition to the counsels of heaven, whether relating to David, to 
 Christ, or to the church. The fate of Ahitophel and Absalom, of Judas and 
 the Jews, should warn others not to offend after the same example. 
 
 "11. But let all those that trust in thee rejoice; let them ever shout for 
 joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joy- 
 ful in thee. Heb. All they that trust in thee shall rejoice," &c. 
 
 As the last verse foretold the perdition of the ungodly, this describes the 
 felicity of the saints; who, trusting in God, rejoice evermore, and sing 
 aloud in the church the praises of their Saviour and mighty defender; the 
 love of whose name fills their hearts with joy unspeakable, while they 
 experience the comforts of grace, and expect the rewards of glory. 
 
 " 12. For thou. Lord, will bless the righteous ; with favour wilt thou com- 
 pass him as loith a shield." 
 
 The " blessing" of God descends upon us through Jesus Christ " the 
 righteous" or "just one," as of old it did upon Israel through David, whom, 
 for the benefit of his chosen, God protected, delivered, and placed upon 
 the throne. Thou, O Christ, art the righteous Saviour, thou art the King 
 of Israel, thou art the blessed of Jehovah, the fountain of blessing to all 
 believers, and thy " favour" is the defence and protection of the church 
 militant. 
 
Dax I. E P. ON THE PSALMS. 47 
 
 FIRST DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM VI. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This is the first of those Psalms wliich are styled Penitential. It contains, 
 1. deprecation of eternal vengeance, and 2, 3. a petition for pardon; wliicli 
 is enforced from a consideration of the penitent's suflf'ering's; 4. from that of 
 tlie Divine mercy; 5. from that of the praise and g-lory wliich God would 
 fail to receive, if man were destroyed; 6, 7, from that of the penitent's hu- 
 miliation and contrition. 8 — 10. The strain changes into one of joy and tri- 
 umph, upon the success and return of the prayer. 
 
 " 1. O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot 
 displeasure." 
 
 Let us suppose a sinner awakened to a true sense of his condition, and 
 coking round him for help. Above is an angry God preparing to taks 
 vengeance; beneath, the fiery gulph ready to receive him; without him, a 
 world in flames; within the gnawing worm. Thus situated, he begins, in 
 extreme agony of spirit, " O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither 
 chasten me in thy hot displeasure." He expects that God will "rebuke" 
 him, but only prays that it may not he in "anger," finally to destroy him; 
 he desires to be chastened, but chastened in fatherly love, not in the " hot 
 displeasure" of an inexorable judge. As often as we are led thus to ex- 
 press our sense of sin, and dread of punishment, let us reflect on Hira 
 whose righteous soul, endued with a sensibility peculiar to itself, sustained 
 the sins of the world, and the displeasure of the Father. 
 
 " 2. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak : O Lord, heal me ; for 
 my bones are vexed, Heb. shaken or made to tremble." 
 
 The penitent entreats for mercy, first, by representing his pitiable case, 
 under the image of sickness. He describes his soul as deprived of all its 
 health and vigour, as languishing and fainting, by reason of sin, which had 
 eat out the vitals, and shaken all the powers and supporters of the spiritual 
 frame, so that the breath of life seemed to be departing. Enough, however, 
 was left, to supplicate the healing aid of the God of mercy and comfort; 
 to petition for oil and wine at the hands of the Physician of spirits. Hovsr 
 happy is it for us, that we have a Phj'sician, who cannot but be touched 
 with the feeling of our infirmities, seeing that he himself once took them 
 upon him, and suffered for them even unto the death of the cross, under 
 which he " fainted," and on which " his bones were vexed." 
 
 " 3. My soul is also sore vexed : but thou, O Lord, how longV 
 
 Another argument is drawn from the sense which the penitent hath of this 
 his woful condition, and the consternation and anxiety produced thereby in 
 his troubled mind. These cause him to fly for refuge to the hope set before 
 him. " Hope deferred maketh the heart sick;" he is therefore beautifully 
 represented as crying out, with a fond and longing Impatience, " but thou, 
 O Lord, how longT" His strength is supposed to fail him, and the sen- 
 tence is left imperfect. What, blessed Jesus, were thy "troubles," when 
 to thy companions thou saidst, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto 
 death !" By those thy sorrows we beseech thee to hear the voice of thine 
 afflicted church, crying to thee from the earth, " My soul also is sore trou- 
 bled ; but thou, O Lord, how long?" 
 
 "4. Return, O Lord, deliver my soul; O save me for thy mercies' sake." 
 
 A third argument is formed upon the consideration of God's "mercy;" 
 for the sake of which, as it is promised to penitents, he is requested to 
 "return," or to turn himself towards the suppliant; to lift up his counte- 
 nance on the desponding heart; to "deliver" it from darkness and thesha- 
 
48 A COMMENTARY Psalit VU. 
 
 dow of death, and to diffuse around it light and life, salvation, joy, and glad- 
 ness, like the sun in the morning, when he revisits a benighted vi^orld, and 
 calls up the creation to bless the maker of so glorious a luminary, so bright 
 a representative of redeeming love. 
 
 " 5. For in death there is no remembrance of thee ; in the grave who shall 
 give thee thanks'?" 
 
 The fourth argument proceeds upon a supposition that God created man 
 for his own glory, which, therefore, would be so far diminished, if man were 
 permitted finally to perish. The body could not glorify God, unless raised 
 from the dead : nor could the soul, if left in hell. The voice of thanks- 
 giving is not heard in the grave, and no hallelujahs are sung in the pit of 
 destruction. This plea, now urged by the church, was urged for her without 
 all doubt, by her Saviour in his devotions, and prevailed in his mouth, as 
 through him, it will do in hers. 
 
 "6. I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to 
 swim ; I water my couch with my tears." 
 
 The ])enitent is supplied with a fifth argument, by the signs and fruits of 
 a sincere repentance, whicii put themselves forth in him. Such was his sor- 
 row, and such revenge did he take upon himself, that for every idle word 
 he now poured forth a groan, like him that is in anguish through extremity 
 of bodily pain, until he was " weary," but yet continued groaning; while 
 the sad remembrance of each wanton folly drew a tear from the fountains of 
 grief. The all-righteous Saviour himself wept over sinners : sinners read 
 the story, and yet return again to their sins ! 
 
 " 7. Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all 
 mine enemies." 
 
 Grief exhausts the animal spirits, dims the eyes, and brings on old age 
 before its time. Thus it is said concerning the man of sorrows, that " many 
 were astonished at him, his visage was marred more than any man, and his 
 form was more than the sons of men," Isaiah lii. 14. How long in these 
 times, might youth and beauty last, were godly sorrow their only enemy ■? 
 
 "8. Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity, for the Lord hath heard 
 the voice of my weeping. 9. The Lord hath heard my supplication ; the 
 Lord will hear, or hath heard, my prayer." 
 
 Repentance having performed her task, having taught her votary to for- 
 sake sin, and to renounce all communication with sinners, now gives place 
 to faith, which appears with the glad tidings of pardon and acceptance, 
 causing the penitent to rejoice in God his Saviour, with joy unspeakable; 
 and inspiring his heart with vigour and resolution to run his course in the 
 way of righteousness. Risen to newness in life, he defies the malice, and 
 predicts the final overthrow of his spiritual adversaries. 
 
 "10. Let all mine enemies, or, all mine enemies shall be ashamed, and 
 sore vexed ; let them, or, they shall return, and be ashamed suddenly." 
 
 Many of the mournful Psalms end in this manner, to instruct the believer, 
 that he is continually to look forward, and solace himself with beholding 
 that day, when his warfare shall be accomplished ; when sin and sorrow 
 shall be no more; when sudden and everlasting confusion shall cover the 
 enemies of righteousness ; when the sackcloth of the penitent shall be ex- 
 changed for a robe of glory, and every tear become a sparkling gem in his 
 crown ; when to sighs and groans shall succeed the songs of heaven set to 
 angelic harps, and faith shall be resolved into the vision of the Almighty. 
 
 PSALM vn. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 David is said to have composed this Psalm concerning the words or the matter 
 of Cush the Benjamite. AVhether Saul, or Shimei, or any one else, be in- 
 
Day I. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 
 
 49 
 
 tended under tliis name, it is sufficiently clear, that David had been mali- 
 ciously aspersed and calumniated by such a person ; that the Psalm was writ- 
 ten to vindicate himself from tlie imputation, wliatever was the nature of it ; 
 and consequently may be considered as the appeal of the true David and his 
 disciples against the grand accuser and his associates. The person speaking-, 
 1, 2. declares his trust to be in God; 3 — 5. protests his innocence ; 6 — 8. de- 
 sires that judgment may be given in the cause; 9, 10. prays for the abolition 
 of sin, and the full establislmient of rigliteousness ; 11 — 13. sets forth the Di- 
 vine judgments against sinners ; 14 — 16. describes the beginning, progress, 
 and end of sin, with, 17. the joy and triumph of the faithful. 
 
 "1. O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust; save me from all them 
 that persecute me, and deliver me." 
 
 To a tender and ingenuous spirit, the " persecution" of the tongue is 
 worse than that of the sword, and with more difficulty submitted to; as in- 
 deed a good name is more precious than bodily life. Believers in every age 
 have been persecuted in this way; and the King of saints often mentions it 
 as one of the bitterest ingredients in his cup of sorrows. Faith and prayer 
 are the arms with which this formidable temptation must be encountered, 
 and may be overcome. The former assures us, that God can " save and 
 deliver" us from it; the latter induces him so to do. 
 
 " 2. Lest he tear my soul like a lion rending it in pieces, while there is 
 none to deliver." 
 
 The " lion," of whom David stood in fear, was probably Saul, roused, by 
 a false accusation, to destroy him. The rage of tyrants is often in the same 
 manner excited against the church. And we all have reason to dread the 
 fury of one, who is " the roaring lion," as well as the " accuser of the 
 brethren." From him none can deliver us, but God only. 
 
 " 3. O Lord my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my 
 hands;" 
 
 David makes a solemn appeal to God, the searcher of hearts, as judge of 
 his innocence, with regard to the particular crime laid to his charge. Any 
 person, when slandered, may do the same. But Christ only could call upon 
 Heaven to attest his universal uprightness. In his "hands" there was 
 " no iniquity ;" all his works were wrought in perfect righteousness ; and 
 when the prince of this world came to try and explore him, he found no- 
 thing whereof justl 3'- to accuse him. The vessel was thoroughly shaken, but 
 the liquor in it continued pure. 
 
 "4. If 1 have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; yea, I 
 have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy." 
 
 David probably alludes to the life of Saul, which was twice preserved by 
 him, when he had been pressed by his attendants to embrace the opportu- 
 nity of taking it away. See 1 Sam. xxiv. xxvi. Of the Son of David St. 
 Paul says, " in this he commended his love to us, that when we were sin- 
 ners, he died for us'," Rom. v. 8. In so exalted a sense did he " deliver 
 him that without cause was his enemy." Wretched they who persecute 
 their benefactor ; happy he who can reflect, that he has been a benefactor to 
 his persecutors. 
 
 "5. Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; yea, let him tread 
 down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honour in the dust." 
 
 These are the evils which David imprecates on himself, if he were such 
 as his adversaries represented him; persecution, apprehension, death, and 
 disgrace. Christ, for our sakes submitting to the imputation of guilt, suf- 
 fered all these; but being innocent in himself, he triumphed over them all; 
 he was raised and released, glorified and adored; he pursued and overtook 
 his enemies, he conquered the conquerors, and trampled them under his 
 feet; and he enablcth us, through grace, to do the same. 
 
 " 6. Arise, O Lord, in thine anger, lift up thyself because of the rage of 
 
 5 
 
50 A COMMENTARY Psalm VII. 
 
 mine enemies: and awake for me to the judgment that thou hast com- 
 manded." 
 
 To a protestation of innocence succeeds a prayer for jud^ent upon the 
 case, which is formed on these two considerations ; first, the unreasonable 
 and unrelenting fury of the persecutors; secondly, the justice which God 
 has " commanded" others to execute, and which therefore he himself will 
 doubtless execute upon such occasions. How did he " awake," and 
 "arise," and "lift up himself to judgment," on the behalf of his Anointed, 
 in the day of the resurrection of Jesus, and the subsequent confusion of his- 
 enemies ? And let injured innocence ever comfort itself with the remem- 
 brance of another day to come, when, every earth-born cloud being removed, ' 
 it shall dazzle its oppressors with a lustre far superior to that of a noon-day 
 eun. 
 
 "7. So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about; for 
 their sakes, therefore, return thou on high." 
 
 The meaning is, that a visible display of God's righteous judgment would 
 induce multitudes who should behold, or hear of it, to adore and glorify 
 him. For their sakes, therefore, as well as that of the sufierer, he is 
 entreated to reascend the tribunal, as formerly, and pronounce the wished- 
 for sentence. Thus the determination of the cause between Jesus and his 
 adversaries, by his resurrection, and " return on high," brought " the con- 
 gregation of the nations" around him, and effected the conversion of the 
 world. Nor, in human affairs, does anything more advance the reputation 
 of a people among their neighbours, than an equitable sentence in the mouth 
 of him who sitteth in judgment. 
 
 "8. The Lord shall judge the people : judge me, Lord, according to 
 my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me." 
 
 Conscious of his "righteousness and integrity," as to the matter in ques- 
 tion, David desires to be judged by him, who is to judge the world at the 
 last day. How few, among Christians, have seriously and deliberately 
 considered, whether the sentence of that day is likely to be in their favour ! 
 Yet, how many, with the utmost composure and self-complacency, repeat 
 continually the words of this Psalm, as well as those in the Te Deum, 
 "We believe that thou shalt come to be our judge!" Legal, or perfect 
 righteousness and integrity are peculiar to the Redeemer; but evangelical 
 righteousness and integrity all must have, who would be saved. 
 
 "9. O let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end ; but establish 
 the just: or, the wickedness of the wicked shall, &c.: for the righteous 
 God trieth the hearts and reins. 10. My defence is of God, who saveth the 
 upright in heart." 
 
 It is predicted that wickedness will, in the end, be abolished, and the 
 just immoveably established, by him who knoweth intimately the very 
 thoughts and desires of both good and bad men, and will give to each their 
 due reward. How can we doubt of this, when it has pleased God to afford 
 so many examples and preludes to it, in his dispensations of old time % 
 The righteous cause hath already triumphed in Christ ; let us not doubt, but 
 that it will do so in the church. Happy the man, whose hope is therefore 
 in God, because "he saveth the upright in heart." 
 
 "II. God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every 
 day." 
 
 The sense seems to be, that there are daily instances in the world of 
 God's favour towards his people ; as also of his displeasure against the 
 ungodly, who are frequently visited by sore judgments, and taken away in 
 their sins. In this light we should consider and regard all history, Avhether 
 that of our own age and nation, or of any other. 
 
 " 12. If he turn not, he will whet his sword ; he hath bent his bow, and 
 made it ready. 13. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of 
 death ; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors." 
 
Dat I. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 
 
 51 
 
 The sinner, who is not converted by the vengeance inflicted on others, will 
 himself at length be made an example of. The wrath of God may be slow, 
 but it is always sure. In thoughtless security man wantons and whiles away 
 the precious hours ; he knows not that every transgression sets a fresh edore 
 on the sword, which is thus continually whetting for his destruction ; nor 
 considers, that he is the mark of an archer who never errs, and who, at this 
 very instant, perhaps, has fitted to the string that arrow which is to pierce 
 his soul with everlasting anguish. 
 
 "14. Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, 
 zind brought forth falsehood." 
 
 This is not to be understood as if "travail" were previous to "con- 
 ception." The first is a general expression ; " Behold, he travaileth with 
 iniquity;" the latter part of the verse is more particular; as if it had been 
 said, " and having conceived mischief, he bringeth forth falsehood." When 
 an evil thought is instilled into the heart of a man, then the seed of the 
 wicked one is sown ; by admitting, retaining, and cherishing the diabolical 
 suggestion in his mind, he " conceiveth" a purpose of "mischief;" when 
 that purpose is gradually formed and matured for the birth, he " travaileth 
 with iniquity ;" at length by carrying it into action, " he bringeth forth 
 falsehood." The purity of the soul, like that of the body, from whence 
 the image is borrowed, must be preserved by keeping out of the way of 
 temptation. 
 
 " 15. He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he 
 made. 16. His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent 
 dealing shall come down upon his own pate." 
 
 All the world agrees to acknowledge the equity of that sentence which 
 inflicts upon the guilty the punishment intended by them for the innocent. 
 No one pities the fate of a man buried in that pit which he had dug to 
 receive his neighbour ; or of him who owes his death-wound to the return 
 of an arrow shot against Heaven. Saul was overthrown by those Philistines 
 whom he would have made the instruments of cutting off David. Haman 
 was hanged on his own gallows. The Jews who excited the Romans to 
 crucify Christ, were themselves, by the Romans, crucified in crowds. 
 Striking instances these of the vengeance to be one day executed on all 
 tempters and persecutors of others; when men and angels shall lift up their 
 voices, and cry out together " Righteous art thou, O Lord, and just are thy 
 judgments." 
 
 "17. I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness ; and will sing 
 praise to the name of the Lord most high." 
 
 Whatever doubts may at present arise concerning the ways of God, let 
 us rest assured that they will all receive a solution ; and that the "right- 
 eousness" of the great Judge, manifested in his final determinations, will 
 be the subject of everlasting hallelujahs. 
 
 PSALM vin. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This is the first of those Psalms which the church has appointed to be read on 
 Ascension-day. It treats, as appears from Heb. ii. 6, &c. of the wonderful 
 love of God, shown by the exaltation of our nature in Messiah, or the second 
 Adam, to the right hand of the Majesty on high, and by the subjection of all 
 creatures to the word of his power. 
 
 " I. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth ! who 
 hast set thy glory above the heavens." 
 
 The prophet beholds in spirit the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that 
 should follow ; like St. Stephen afterwards, he sees heaven opened, and 
 
52 A COMMENTARY Psalm VIII. 
 
 Jesus standing at the right hand of God ; the sight fills his heart with won- 
 der, love, and devotion, which break forth in this address to "Jehovah," as 
 " our Lord ;" for such he is by the twofold right of creation and redemption, 
 having made us, and purchased us. On both accounts, " how excellent," 
 how full of beauty and honour is his name, diffused by the gospel through 
 " all the earth !" But more especially do men and angels admire and adore 
 him for the exaltation of his "glory," the glory of the only begotten, high 
 "above the heavens," and all created nature, to the throne prepared for him 
 before the foundation of the world. 
 
 "2. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained, Heb, 
 founded, or constituted, strength, because of thine enemies, that thou 
 mightest still the enemy and avenger." 
 
 This verse is cited by our Lord, Matt. xxi. 16. and applied to little chil- 
 dren in the temple, crying, " Hosannah to the Son of David !" which vexed 
 and confounded his malignant adversaries. 
 
 The import of the words, therefore, plainly is, that the praises of Messiah, 
 celebrated in the church by his cliildren, have in them a strength and power 
 which nothing can withstand ; they can abash infidelity, when at its greatest 
 height, and strike hell itself dumb. Li the citation made by our Lord, which 
 the evangelist gives from the Greek of the LXX. we read, "thou hast per- 
 fected praise," which seems to be rather a paraphrase than a translation 
 of the Hebrew, literally rendered by our translators, "thou hast ordained 
 strength." 
 
 " 3. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and 
 the stars, which thou hast ordained : 4. What is man, that thou art mindful 
 of himl and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" 
 
 At the time of inditing this Psalm, David is evidently supposed to have 
 had before his eyes the heavens, as they appear by night. He is struck 
 with the awful magnificence of the wide extended firmament, adorned by 
 the moon walking in brightness, and rendered brilliant by the vivid lustre 
 of a multitude of shining orbs, differing from each other in magnitude and 
 splendour. And when, from surveying the beauty of heaven, with its glo- 
 rious show, he turns to take a view of the creature man, he is still more 
 affected by the mercy, than he had before been by the majesty of the Lord : 
 since far less wonderful it is, that God should make such a world as 
 this, than that He, who made such a world as this, should be "mindful of 
 man," in his fallen estate, and should "visit" human nature with his 
 salvation. 
 
 "5. For thou hast made him a little, or for a little while, lower than the 
 angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. 6. Thou roadest him 
 to have dominion over the works of thy hands : thou hast put all things 
 under his feet." 
 
 On these two verses, with that preceding, St. Paul has left us the 
 following comment. " One in a certain place testified, saying. What is 
 man, that thou art mindful of him 1 or the son of man that thou visitest 
 him'? Thou madest him a little lower than [^marg. a little while inferior 
 to] the angels ; thou crownest him with glory and honour, and didst set him 
 over the works of thy hands ; thou hast put all things in subjection under 
 his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is 
 not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. 
 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the 
 suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour." Heb. ii. 6, &c. See 
 also 1 Cor. xv. 27. 
 
 " 7. All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field ; 8. The fowl 
 of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths 
 of the seas." 
 
 Adam, upon his creation, was invested with sovereign dominion over the 
 creatures, in words of the same import with these; Gen. i. 28. which are 
 
Day IL M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 53 
 
 therefore here used, and the creatures particularized, to inform us, that what 
 the first Adam lost by transgression, the second Adam regained by ol)e- 
 dience. That " glory" which was " set above the heavens," could not but 
 be over all things on "the earth." And accordingly, we hear our Lord say- 
 ing, after his resurrection, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in 
 earth," Matth. xxviii. 18. Nor is it a speculation unpleasing, or unprofi- 
 table, to consider, that he who rules over the material world, is Lord also of 
 the intellectual, or spiritual creation, represented thereby. The souls of 
 the faithful, lowly and harmless, are the sheep of his pasture ; those who, 
 like oxen, are strong to labour in the church, and who, by expounding the 
 word of life, tread out the corn for the nourishment of the people, own him 
 for their kind and beneficent master ; nay, tempers fierce and untractable as 
 the wild beasts of the desert, are yet subject to his will ; spirits of the 
 angelic kind, that, like the birds of the air, traverse freely the superior re- 
 gion, move at his command ; and those evil ones, whose habitation is in 
 the deep abyss, even to the great Leviathan himself; all, are put under the 
 feet of King Messiah: who "because he humbled himself, and became 
 obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, was therefore highly ex- 
 alted, and had a name given him above every name, that at the name of 
 Jesus every knee should bow, whether of things in heaven, or things on 
 earth, or things under the earth ; and that every tongue should confess that 
 Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Phil. ii. 8, &c. 
 
 " 9. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thylname in all the earth !" 
 Let therefore the universal chorus of men and angels join their voices 
 together, and make their sound to be heard as one, in honour of the Re- 
 deemer, evermore praising him, and saying, Lord, our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 King of Righteousness, Peace and Glory, King of kings, and Lord of lords, 
 how excellent, how precious, how lovely, how great and glorious is thy 
 Name, diffused over all the earth, for the salvation of thy chosen. Bless- 
 ing, and honour, and glory, and power be unto him that sittelh upon the 
 throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever. And let heaven and earth 
 say, Amen. 
 
 SECOND DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM TX. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm consists of two parts, a thanksgiving, 1—12 ; and a prayer. 13— 20- 
 Upon what particular occasion it was composed, is not known ; probably, to 
 celebrate the victories gained by David over the neighbouring nations, after 
 God had exalted him to be King in Sion. See ver. 11. But most certainly 
 the Psalm was intended for the use of the Christian church ; and slip con- 
 tinually, by using it, 1, 2. declares her resolution to celebrate the praises of 
 her God ; since 3, 4. her enemies were vanquished, and her cause was car- 
 ried ; 5, 6. the empire of Satan was subverted, and 7. 8. the kingdom of 
 Christ established ; 9, 10. affording to believers refuge and salvation, for all 
 these blessings. 11. Christians are excited to praise their Redeemer, who 
 12, forgets nothing that is done or suffered for his sake. 13, 14. the church 
 petitions for final deliverance from the world, and the evil thereof; 15, 16. 
 building her hope on the mercies already received ; 17, 18. she fortells the 
 destruction of the wicked; and 19, 20. prays for the manifestation of God. 
 
 " 1. 1 will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth 
 all thy marvellous works." , . , • i. 
 
 In this animated and exalted hymn, the church begms with declaring her 
 
 resolution, to " praise Jehovah," as the author of her salvation ; and that, 
 
 5* 
 
54 A COMMENTARY Psalm IX. 
 
 neither coldly, as if the salvation were little worth, nor partially, reserv- 
 ing a share of the glory of it to herself; but with the " whole heart," with 
 an affection pure and flaming, like the holy fire upon the altar. She is de- 
 termined to "show forth" to the world, for its conviction and conversion, 
 " all his marvellous works," the most " marvellous" of which are those 
 wrought for, and in the souls of men. Outward miracles strike more for- 
 cibly upon the senses ; but they are introductory only to those internal 
 operations, which they are intended to represent. 
 
 " 2. I will be glad and rejoice in thee : I will sing praise to thy name, O 
 thou most High." 
 
 Christians are taught to "be glad and rejoice," not in abundance of 
 wealth, or plenitude of power, not in the pleasures of^aense or the praise of 
 men, but in God their Saviour; and their joy is as far superior to the joy of 
 the worldly, as the object of one is to that of the other. He who, with the 
 spirit and the understanding, as well as with the voice, " sings praise to 
 thy name, O Most High," is employed as the angels are, and experiences 
 a foretaste of the delight they feel. 
 
 " 3. When mine enemies are driven back, they shall fall, or^ they stumble, 
 or, fall ; and perish at thy presence." 
 
 The church begins to explain the subject of her joy, which is a victory 
 over her "enemies ;" a victory not gained by herself, but by the "presence 
 of God" in the midst of her. The grand enemy of our salvation was first 
 vanquished by Christ in the wilderness, and " driven back," with the 
 words " Get thee behind me, Satan." The same blessed person afterwards 
 completely triumphed over him upon the cross, when the " prince of this 
 world was cast out." This is that great victory, which we celebrate in 
 psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, from generation to generation ; 
 and, through faith in him who achieved it, we are likewise enabled to fight, 
 and to overcome. 
 
 " 4. For thou hast maintained my right and my cause ; thou satest in the 
 throne judging right." 
 
 The same important transaction is here described in forensic, as before 
 it was in military terms. Satan having gotten possession of mankind, 
 might have pleaded his right to keep it, since by transgression they had 
 left God, and sold themselves to him. But Christ, as the church's repre- 
 sentative and advocate, made the satisfaction required, paid down the price 
 of redemption, " took the prey from the mighty, and delivered the lawful 
 captive," Isa. xlix. 24. Thus was our " right and our cause maintained;" 
 thus we were rescued from the oppressor, and he who "sat on the throne 
 judged righteous judgment." Something of this sort may be supposed to 
 pass concerning each individual, between the Accuser of the brethren and 
 the eternal Intercessor in the court of heaven. 
 
 " 5. Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou 
 hast put out their name for ever and ever." 
 
 To the victory of Christ succeeded the overthrow of Satan's empire in the 
 pagan world. "The heathen were rebuked," when, through the power of 
 the Spirit in those who preached the 'gospel, men were convinced of sin, 
 and of righteousness, and of judgment; " The wicked were destroyed, and 
 their name put out for ever," when the Roman power became Christian, 
 and the ancient idolatry sunk, to rise no more. A day is coming when all 
 iniquity shall perish, and be forgotten in like manner. 
 
 " 6. O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end : or, the de- 
 structions of the enemy are completed to the utmost : and thou, God, hast 
 destroyed their cities, their memorial is perished with them !"* 
 
 The Christian church when repeating these words, may be supposed to 
 
 * Bishop Lowth renders this verse to tlie same etTi?ct. " Desolations have consumed the 
 enemy for ever: and as to the cities which thou, God, hast destroyed, their memory is pe- 
 rished with litem." See Merrick's Annotations on the Psalms, p. 9. 
 
DAT. II. M. p. ON THE PSALMS. 55 
 
 take a retrospective view of the successive fall of those empires, with 
 their capital " cities," ia which the " enemy" had from time to time fixed 
 his residence, and which had vexed and persecuted the people of God in 
 difTerent ages. Such were the Assyriauj^or Babylonian, the Persian and the 
 Grecian monarchies. All these vanished away, and came to nothing. Nay, 
 tlie very " memorial" of the stupendous Nineveh and Babylon is so " pe- 
 rished with them," that the place where they once stood is now no more to 
 be found. The Roman empire was the last of the pagan persecuting 
 powers ; and when the church saw " that" under her feet, well might she 
 cry out, "The destructions of the enemy are completed to the utmost!" 
 How lovely will this song be in the day when the last enemy shall be de- 
 stroyed, and the world itself shall become what Babylon is at present. 
 Next to the glory and triumph of that day, is the jubilee which the Chris- 
 tian celebrates, upon his conquest over the body of sin. 
 
 "7. But the Lord shall endure for ever; he hath prepared his throne for 
 judgment. 8. And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall 
 minister judgment to the people in uprightness." 
 
 In opposition to the transient nature of the earthly kingdoms, the eternal 
 duration of Messiah's kingdom is asserted ; as also its universality, ex- 
 tending over the whole " world ;" together with the consummate rectitude of 
 its administration. To him, as Supreme Judge in an unerring court of 
 equity, lies an appeal from the unjust determinations here below : and by 
 him in person shall every cause be reheard, when that court shall sit, and 
 all nations shall be summoned to appear beforo it. 
 
 " 9. The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in time of 
 trouble." 
 
 In the mean time, and until he returneth to judgment, the- poor in spirit, 
 the meek and lowly penitent, however "oppressed in times of trouble," by 
 worldly and ungodly men, and by the frequent assaults of the wicked one, 
 still finding a refuge in Jesus : who renews his strength by fresh supplies 
 of grace, arms him with faith and patience, and animates him with the hope 
 of glory. 
 
 " 10. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee ; for thou, 
 Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee." 
 
 Therefore, they who " know God's name," that is, who are acquainted 
 with, and have experienced his merciful nature and disposition, expressed 
 in that name, will take no unlawful methods to escape afiliction, nor " put 
 their trust" in any but him for deliverance; since a most undoubted truth 
 (and O, what a comfortable truth) it is, that "thou Lord Jesus, hast not 
 forsaken," nor ever wilt finally " forsake them that" sincerely and diligently, 
 with their whole heart " seek" to " thee" for help ; as a child, upon appre- 
 hension of danger, flies to the arms of its tender and indulgent parent. 
 
 " 11. Sing praises to the Lord, which dwelleth in Zion; declare among 
 the people his doings." 
 
 The church, having celebrated the power and the goodness of her Lord, ex- 
 horteth all her children to lift up their voices and sing together in full chorus, 
 the praises of him whose tabernacle is in " Zion," who resides with men 
 upon the mountain of his holiness, and saith, " Behold, I am with you al- 
 ways, even to the end of the world." And thus, not only "among the 
 people," but also to principalities and powers in heavenly places, will be 
 "declared" and made known by the voice of thanksgiving in the church, 
 tlie manifold wisdom and mercy of God, in his "doings" towards man. 
 See Eph. iii. 10. 
 
 " 1-2. When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them : he 
 forgetteth not the cry of the humble." 
 
 An objection might be started to the so much extolled loving-kindness of 
 God, namely, that in this world his faithful people are often atllicted and 
 persecuted; nay, sometimes suffered to be killed all the day long, as sheep 
 appointed to the slaughter. But this is obviated by the consideration, that all 
 
56 A COMMENTARY Psalm IX. 
 
 is not over, as wicked men may suppose, at death ; that a strict " inquisi- 
 tion" will be appointed hereafter, when the " blood" of martyrs, and the 
 sufferings of confessors shall not be " forgotten." He remerabereth theji, 
 that is, those who seek him, mentioned verse 10; so that the exhortation to 
 " sing praises," &c. ver. 11, seems parenthetic. 
 
 "13. Have mercy upon me, O Lord; consider the trouble which I 
 suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death." 
 
 We are now come to the second part of this Psalm. The church, after 
 having, in a former part, strengthened her faith by commemoration of the 
 mighty works God had wrought for her, proceeds, in this, to pour forth a 
 prayer for farther and final deliverance. She speaks, as still militant upon' 
 earth, still in an enemy's country, surrounded by them that hate her, and 
 suffering much frcm them. To whom therefore should she address herself, 
 but to him, whose high prerogative it is, literally to "raise from the gates 
 of death;" to him who is, in every possible sense, " the resurrection and the 
 life r' 
 
 " 14. That I may show forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of 
 Zion; I will rejoice in thy salvation." 
 
 The members of the church militant despair of being able to " show forth 
 all God's praise," till they become members of the church triumphant. 
 There is a beautiful contrast between " the gates of death," in the preceding 
 verse, and " the gates of the daughter of Zion," or the heavenly Jerusalem, 
 in this : The one lead down to the pit, the other up to the mount of God ; 
 the one open into perpetual darkness, the other into light eternal ; from the 
 one proceeds nothing but what is evil, from the other nothing but what is 
 good; infernal spirits watch at the one, the other are unbarred by the hands 
 of angels. What a blessing then is it, to be snatched from the former, and 
 transported to the latter ! Who but must " rejoice" in such " salvation !" 
 
 " 15. The heathen are sunk, or sink, down in the pit that they made; in 
 the net which they hid is their own foot taken. 16. The Lord is known by 
 the judgment which he executeth; the wicked is snared in the work of his 
 own hands." 
 
 Faith beholds, as already executed, that righteous judgment, whereby 
 wicked men and evil spirits will fall into the perdition which they had pre- 
 pared for others, either openly by persecution, or more covertly by tempta- 
 tion. See Psalm vii. 15, 16. 
 
 "17. The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that for- 
 get God." 
 
 All wickedness came originally with the wicked one from hell, thither it 
 will be again remitted, and they who hold on its side must accompany it on 
 its return to that place of torment, there to be shut up for ever. The true 
 state both of " nations," and the individuals of which they are composed, is 
 to be estimated from one single circumstance, namely, whether in their 
 doings they remember, or "forget God." Remembrance of Him is the 
 well-spring of virtue; forgetfulness of Him, the fountain of vice. 
 
 " 18. For the needy shall not alway be forgotten : the expectation of the 
 poor shall not perish for ever." 
 
 They who remember God shall infallibly be remembered by Him, and 
 let this be their anchor in the most tempestuous seasons. The bodyjof 
 a martyr is buried in the earth ; and so is the root of the fairest flower ; but 
 neither of them " perisheth for ever." Let but the winter pass, and the 
 spring return, and lo, the faded and withered flower blooms ; the body sown 
 in corruption, dishonour, and weakness, rises in incorruption, glory, and 
 power. 
 
 " 19. Arise, Lord, let not man prevail; let the heathen be judged in 
 thy sight." 
 
 And now, the Spirit and the Bride say, Come ; Arise, Lord Jesus, from 
 thy throne of glory, and come quickly; "let not" the " man" of sin "pre- 
 
Day II. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 
 
 57 
 
 vail" against thy church ; but let the loner dependinfr cause between her 
 and her adversaries, " be judg-ed" and finally determined "in thy si(j-ht." 
 
 " 20. Put them in fear, O Lord, that the nations may know themselves 
 to be but men." 
 
 Strange, that man, dust in his original, sinful by his fall, and continually 
 reminded of both, by everything in him and about him, should yet stand in 
 need of some sharp affliction, some severe visitation from God, to bri no- him 
 to the knowledge of himself, and make him feel who, and what he is.'' But 
 this is frequently the case ; and when it is, as there are wounds which can- 
 not be healed without a previous application of caustics, mercy is necessi- 
 tated to bring her work with an infliction of judgment. 
 
 PSALM X. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm Is, in the LXX, joined to the preceding-, but in the Hebrew divided 
 from it. The church under persecution from the spirit of Antichrist in the 
 world, after 1. an humble expostulation with her Lord, setteth down the 
 marks whereby that spirit may be known'; such as 2. h.itrcd of the faithful; 
 3. self-willedness and worldly-mindedness; 4. infidelity; 5, 6. profligacy and 
 pride; 7. profaneness and perjury; 8 — 10. subtlety and treachery employed 
 against the people of God; 11. security and presumption. From the perse- 
 cutions of such a spirit the cluirch, 12 — 15. prayeth earnestly to be delivered; 
 and, 16 — 18. through faith, rejoiceth in tribulation. 
 
 " 1. Why standest thou afar off, Lord? Why hidest thou thyself in 
 times of trouble?" 
 
 During the conflict between the church and her adversaries, God is re- 
 presented as one withdrawing to a distance, instead of aff'ording succour; 
 nay, as one concealing himself, so as not to be found by those who peti- 
 tioned for aid and counsel. To behold the righteous cause oppressed, and 
 good men seemingly deserted by Heaven, at a time when they most need 
 its assistance, is apt to offend the weak, and oftentimes stagger those who 
 are strong. It is indeed a sore trial, but intended to make us perfect in the 
 practice of three most important duties, humility, resignation, and faith. 
 That we may not faint under the severity of this discipline, let us ever bear 
 in mind that the beloved Son of the Father, the Son in whom he was well 
 pleased, had occasion to utter these words, " My God, my God, why hast 
 thou forsaken me ?" 
 
 " 2. The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor ; let them, or they 
 shall, be taken in the devices that they have imagined." 
 
 Inconceivable is that malignant fury, with which a conceited infidel per- 
 secutes an humble believer, though that believer hath no otherwise offended 
 him than by being such. And what wonder? Since it is a copy of the 
 hatred which Satan bears to Christ. But the devices of the adversaries, 
 like those of their leader, will end in their own eternal confusion. 
 
 " 3. For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the cove- 
 tous, whom the Lord abhorreth." 
 
 The first part of this verse points out that alarming symptom of a repro- 
 bate mind, a disposition to exult and glory in those lusts, which are the 
 shame and disgrace of human nature, whether the world or the flesh be 
 tlieir object. The latter clause is differently rendered, as implying either 
 that "the wicked blesseth the covetous whom God abhorreth," or that " the 
 ■wicked, being covetous, or oppressive, blesseth himself and abhorreth God." 
 Either way, an oppressing, griping, worldly spirit, is characterized with its 
 direct opposition to the Spirit of God, which teaches, that sin is to be con- 
 
58 A COMMENTARY Psalm X. 
 
 fessed with shame and sorrow; that in God alone man is to make his 
 boast ; and that it is more blessed to give than to receive. 
 
 "4. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek a/Zer 
 God ; God is not in all his thoughts ; or, all his imaginations are, there is 
 no God." 
 
 The counsels of heaven are not known by the wicked, because they are 
 not sought after ; and they are not sought after, because of a diabolical self- 
 sufficiency, which having taken possession of the heart, displays itself in 
 the countenance, and reigns throughout the man. He wants no Prophet to 
 teach him, no Priest to atone for him, no King to conduct him; he needs 
 neither a Christ to redeem, nor a Spirit to sanctify him ; he believes no 
 Providence, adores no Creator, and fears no Judge. Thus he lives a 
 " stranger from the covenants of promise, and without God in the world," 
 Eph. ii. 12. O that this character now existed only in the Psalmist's de- 
 scription. 
 
 "5. His ways are always grievous, or, corrupt; thy judgments are far 
 above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them." 
 
 As are a man's principles, such will be his practices ; and if he hath not 
 God in his thoughts, his course of life will be corrupt and abominable, his 
 end, his means, and his motives, being all wrong, and polluted with concu- 
 piscence. There would have been some chance of holding him by fear, but 
 that is gone with his faith ; for no man can tremble at judgments in which 
 he does not believe. 
 
 " 6. He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved ; for I shall never be 
 in adversity." 
 
 Prosperity begets presumption, and he who has been long accustomed to 
 see his designs succeed, begins to think it impossible they should ever do 
 otherwise. The long-suffering of God instead of leading such an one to 
 repentance, only hardens him in his iniquity. Because sentence against an 
 evil work is not executed speedily, he thinks it will not be executed at all. 
 He vaunteth himself, therefore, like the proud Chaldean monarch, in the 
 Babylon which he hath erected, and fondly pronounceth it to be immortal. 
 Such, it is too evident, are often the vain imaginations of triumphant wick- 
 edness. 
 
 " His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and fraud : under his tongue is 
 mischief and vanity." 
 
 From the thoughts of the sinner's "heart," mentioned in the preceding 
 verse, David goes on to describe the words of his "mouth." And here we 
 may illustrate the character of the antichrist, by setting that of Christ in 
 opposition to it. The mouth of one poureth forth a torrent of curses and 
 lies ; from that of the other flowed a clear and copious stream of benedic- 
 tion and truth. Under the serpentine tongue of the former is a bag of mis- 
 chief and vanity; but honey and milk were under the tongue of the latter, 
 so pleasant and so nourishing to the spirits of men were all his communica- 
 tions. 
 
 " 8. He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages ; in the secret places 
 doth he murder the innocent : his eyes are privily set against the poor." 
 
 From " words," the description proceeds to " actions." And with re- 
 gard to these, as the Son of God went publicly preaching through cities 
 and villages to save men's lives, so this child of Satan lieth in ambush to 
 destroy them, privily bringing into the church, and diffusing among the 
 people, pestilent errors, and damnable heresies, for that purpose. 
 
 " 9. He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den ; he lieth in wait to 
 catch the poor; he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net." 
 The disciples of Jesus, like their blessed Master, are ever vigilant to 
 catch men in the evangelical net, in order to draw them from the world to 
 God : the partizans of Satan, in imitation of their leader, are employed in 
 watching, from their lurking-places, the footsteps of the Christian pilgrim, 
 
DaxII. MP. ON THE PSALMS. 
 
 59 
 
 that they may spring' upon him in an unguarded moment, and draw him 
 from God to the world, and from thence to the devil. 
 
 " 10. He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his 
 strong ones." 
 
 Our Lord, who is styled "the Lion of the tribe of .Tudah," became a 
 " Lamb," for the salvation of mankind ; but when his adversary at any time 
 " humbleth" himself, when the wolf appears in sheep's clothing, let the"flock 
 beware ; it is for their more effectual destruction. And if, allured by an 
 outward show of moderation and benevolence, the simple ones shall venture 
 themselves within his reach, they will soon find that his nature is disguised, 
 but not altered. 
 
 "11. He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten ; he hideth his face ; 
 he will never see it." 
 
 For the chastisement of his people, God often suffers the enemy to pre- 
 vail and prosper, who then ridicules the faith and hope of the church, and 
 solaces himself in the conceit, that if there be a God, he either knows not, 
 or cares not, what is done upon earth. These Epicurean notions, however 
 absurd and unworthy of the Deity they may seem, do yet in some measure 
 take possession of every man's mind at the instant of his committing a sin; 
 since it is most certain, that with a due impression of the Divine omni- 
 science upon his soul at the time, he would not commit it for all that the 
 tempter could offer him. But faith is apt to sleep, and then sin awakes. 
 
 " 12. Arise, O Lord ; God, lift up thine hand : forget not the humble. 
 13. Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God 1 He hath said in his heart. 
 Thou wilt not require it." 
 
 The church now prays, that Jehovah, in vindication of his own honour 
 and attributes, would arise to judgment, and make bare his glorious arm for 
 the defence of his elect, who cry day and night unto him. Thus would the 
 insolence cf the wicked one and his agents, founded on the Divine forbear- 
 ance, be repressed, and all the world would see, that God had not forgotten, 
 but still, as ever, remembered and regarded the low estate of his handmaid. 
 " 14. Thou hast seen it, for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite 
 it with thy hand : the poor committeth himself unto thee ; thou art the 
 helper of the fatherless." 
 
 "The wicked" above " saith in his heart, Thou wilt not require it." 
 But the faithful are taught other things by the promises in Scripture, and 
 the experience of unnumbered histories. They know assuredly, that God 
 beholds all that travail and vexation which some inflict, and others sustain, 
 upon the earth ; and that he will infallibly recompense to the former their 
 deeds, to the latter their sufferings. Destitute should we be of every earthly 
 help, in the state of beggars and orphans, yet in him will we trust, who, as 
 the Father and protector of all such, saith unto every one of us, " I will 
 never leave thee, nor forsake thee." 
 
 " 15. Break thou the arm of the wicked and evil man .- seek out his wick- 
 edness till thou find none." 
 
 This may be either a prayer or a prediction, implying that the time will 
 come, when the power of Jehovah will dash in pieces that of t'he enemy, by 
 the demolition either of sin or the sinner, until wickedness become utterly 
 to an end, and righteousness be established forever in the kingdom of Mes- 
 siah. And lo, 
 
 " 16. The Lord is King for ever and ever : the heathen are perished out 
 of his land." 
 
 Faith beholds the Lord Jesus, as already manifested in his glorious ma- 
 jesty, the kingdoms of this world become his, and the Canaanite no more in 
 the land of promise. Each individual experiences in himself a happy pre- 
 lude to this manifestation, when Christ rules in his heart by the Spirit, and 
 every appetite and affection is obedient to the sceptre of his kingdom. 
 « 17. Lord, thou hast heard, or, hearest, the desire of the humble : thou 
 
60 
 
 A COMMENTARY Psalm XI. 
 
 wilt prepare, or, thou preparest, their heart ; thou wilt cause, or, thou causest, 
 thine ear to hear." 
 
 How many important and comforting truths have we here, in a few words? 
 As, that the " humble" and lowly, whatever they may suffer in the worhi, 
 are the favourites of Jehovah : that he attends to the very " desires" of 
 their hearts : that such hearts " prepared" to prayer, are so many instru- 
 ments struno- and tuned by the hand of Heaven : and that their prayer is as 
 music, to which the Almighty himself listens with pleasure. 
 
 " 18. To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth 
 may no more oppress." 
 
 For the sake of the elect, and their prayers, the days of persecution and • 
 tribulation will be shortened ; the insolence of the earth-born oppressor, the 
 man of sin, will be chastised ; the cause of the church will be heard at the 
 tribunal of God, and victory, triumph, and glory, will be given unto her. In 
 the foregoing exposition, regard has been chiefly had to the case of the 
 church, and to her sufferings from the spirit of antichrist, in whomsoever 
 existing and acting, from time to time in the world; this being judged the 
 most o-enerally useful application, which Christians, as such, can make of 
 the Psalm. Particular accommodations of it to the various oppressions of 
 innocent poverty by iniquitous opulence, will meet the eye, and offer them- 
 selves at once to persons so circumstanced, for their support and comfort 
 under their respective afflictions; which will be also not a little alleviated 
 by the consideration, that the whole church of God groaneth with them, and 
 travaileth in pain, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of the 
 body. Then, and not till then, tears shall cease to run down the cheeks of 
 misery ; and sorrow and sighing shall fly away to return no more for ever. 
 
 PSALM XI. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The Psalmist, under persecution, 1 — 3. declareth himself resolved to trust in 
 God alone, at a time when he was advised to fly to some place of refuge ; 4. 
 he expresses his faith in the omniscience and overruling power of Jehovah ; 
 
 5, assigns the reason why good men are afflicted ; who, after that the wicked, 
 
 6. sliail be destroyed, wilf appear to have been all along, 7. the favoured of 
 God. 
 
 "1. In the Lord put I my trust ; how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird 
 to your mountain V 
 
 The Christian, like David, in perilous times, should make God his for- 
 tress, and continue doing his duty in his station; he should not, at the in- 
 stigation of those about him, like a poor, silly, timorous, inconstant bird, 
 either fly for refuge to the devices of worldly wisdom, or desert his post, 
 and retire into solitude, while he can serve the cause in which he is engaged- 
 Nor indeed is there any "mountain" on earth out of the reach of care and 
 trouble. Temptations are everywhere; and so is the grace of God. 
 
 " 2. For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon 
 tie string, that they may prjvily shoot at the upright in heart." 
 
 These seem to be still the words of David's friends, representing to him, 
 as a motive for his flight, the extreme danger he was in from the " arrows" 
 of the enemy, already, as it were, fitted to the " string" and pointed at him 
 " in secret," so that not knowing from whence they were to come, he could 
 not guard against them. The Christian's danger, from the darts of the in- 
 fernal archers, lying in wait for his soul, is full as great as that of David. 
 But " the shield of faith" sufflceth in both cases. 
 
 "3. If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous dol" 
 
 This likewise seems to be spoken by the same persons, discouraging Da- 
 
Day II. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 
 
 (]l 
 
 vid from makinfj any farther resistance, by the consideration, that all was 
 over; the "foundations" of religion and law were subverted; and what 
 could a man, engaged in the most "righteous" designs, hope to "do," 
 when that was tlie case T Such arguments are often urged by the timid, in 
 similar circumstances; but they are fallacious; since all is not over, while 
 tliere is a man left to reprove error, and bear testimony to the truth. And a 
 man who does it with becoming spirit, may stop a prince, or senate, when 
 in full career, and recover the day. But let us hear David's farther reply 
 to his advisers. 
 
 " 4. The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven ; his 
 eyes behold, his eyelids try the children of men." 
 
 In the first verse, the Psalmist had declared his trust to be in Jehovah. 
 After reciting the reasonings of his friends, he now proceeds to evince the 
 fitness and propriety of such trust, notwithstanding the seemingly desperate 
 situation of affairs. " Jehovah is in his holy temple ;" into which, there- 
 fore, unholy men, however triumphant in this world, can never enter ; 
 " Jehovah's throne is in heaven ; and consequently superior to all power 
 upon earth, which may be controlled and overruled by him in a moment; 
 " his eyes behold, his eyelids try the children of men;" so that no secret 
 wickedness can escape his knowledge, who scrutinizeth the hearts as well 
 as the lives of all the sons of Adam. Why, then, should the man despair, 
 who hath on his side holiness, omnipotence, and omniscience 1 
 
 " 5. The Lord trieth the righteous; but the wicked, and him that loveth 
 violence, his soul hateth." 
 
 As to the afflictions which persons may suffer, who are embarked in a 
 righteous cause, they are intended to purge away the dross, and to refine 
 them for the Master's use. " Gold," saith the son of Sirach, " is tried in 
 the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity," Eccles. ii. 5. 
 Li the mean time, God's displeasure against the wicked is ever the same, 
 and their prosperity, instead of benefiting, will in the end destroy them. 
 The cases of David and Saul, Christ and the Jews, the martyrs and their 
 persecutors, are all cases in point, and should be often in our thoughts, to 
 teach us patience, and guard us against despair, in seasons of calamity, 
 pain, or disgrace. 
 
 " 6. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, or, burning coals, fire and 
 brimstone, and an horrible tempest; this shall be the portion of their cup." 
 
 St. Jude, ver. 7. tells us, that the cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, &c., for 
 their abominable sins, " y/joxs/vra; iiiy/j^u, are set forth for an example, or 
 specimen, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." And here we see the 
 images are plainly taken from the dreadful judgment inflicted en those 
 cities, and transferred to the vengeance of the last day. Then the sons of 
 faithful Abraham shall behold a prospect, like that which once presented 
 itself to the eyes of their father; when rising early in the morning, and 
 looking towards Sodom and Gomorrah, and towards all the land of the 
 plain, he " beheld, and lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke 
 of a furnace !" Gen. xix. 28. Such must be the " portion of their cup," 
 who have dashed from them the cup of salvation. He, therefore, who 
 would enjoy the prosperity of the wicked here, must take with it their tor- 
 ment hereafter; as he who is ambitious of wearing the crown of righteous- 
 ness in heaven, must be content to endure tribulation upon earth. 
 
 "7. For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth 
 behold the upright." 
 
 He who is in himself essential righteousness, cannot but love his own 
 resemblance, wrought in the faithful by his good Spirit ; with a counte- 
 nance full of paternal affection, he beholds, and speaks peace and comfort 
 lo them in the midst of their sorrows ; until, admitted through mercy to the 
 glory from which justice excludes tiie wicked, and beholding that counte- 
 nance which has always beheld them, they shall enter upon a life of bound- 
 less and everlasting felicity. 
 
62 A COMMENTARY Psalm XII. 
 
 SECOND DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM XII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The church, through David, 1, 2. laments tlie decrease of God's faithful ser- 
 vants, and the universal corruption among men, but, 3 — 5. rests upon the 
 Divine promises, the truth and certainty of which, 6, 7. she celebrates, and 
 comforts herself therewith, while in the world, where oftentimes, 8. the 
 wicked walk uncontrolled. 
 
 " 1. Help, {Heb. save,) Lord, for the godly man ceaseth ; for the faithful 
 fail from among the children of men." 
 
 Our Lord foretells, that in the latter days, " because iniquity shall abound, 
 the love of many shall wax cold ;" and seems to question whether, " when 
 the Son of Man cometh, he shall find faith upon the earth." The universal 
 depravity of Jew and Gentile caused the church of old to pray earnestly for 
 the first advent of Christ; and the like depravity among those who call 
 themselves Christians, may induce her to pray no less earnestly for his 
 appearance the second time unto salvation. It is frequently a benefit to be 
 destitute of help from man, both as it puts us upon seeking it from God, 
 and inclines him to grant it when we do seek. 
 
 " 2. They speak vanity, or, a lie, every one with his neighbour : ivith 
 flattering lips, and with a double heart do they speak." 
 
 When men cease to be faithful to their God, he who expects to find them 
 so to each other will be much disappointed. The primitive sincerity will 
 accompany the primitive piety in her flight from the earth ; and then inte- 
 rest will succeed conscience in the regulation of human conduct, till one 
 man cannot trust another farther than he holds him by that tie. Hence, by 
 the way, it is, that although many are infidels themselves, yet few choose 
 to have their families and dependents such; as judging, and rightly judg- 
 ing, that true Christians are the only persons to be depended on, for the 
 exact discharge of social duties. 
 
 " 3. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh 
 proud things : 4. Who have said. With our tongue will we prevail ; our 
 lips are our own : who is Lord over us V 
 
 They who take pleasure in deceiving others will, at the last, find them- 
 selves most of all deceived, when the Sun of Truth, by the brightness of 
 his rising, shall at once detect and consume hypocrisy. And as to men of 
 another stamp, who speak great swelling words of vanity ; who vaunt 
 themselves in the arm of flesh, thinking to prevail by human wit or human 
 power; equally deplorable will be their case, when the Lord God " omni- 
 potent" reigneth. 
 
 « 5. For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now 
 will I arise, saith the Lord ; I will set him in safety from him that puffelh 
 at him." 
 
 For the consolation of the afflicted and poor in spirit, Jehovah is here 
 introduced promising, out of compassion to their sufferings, to "arise, and 
 set them in safety," or place them in a state of " salvation." Such all 
 along has been his promise to the church, who by looking back to the deli- 
 verances wrought of old for the servants of God, and above all, to that 
 wrought for the Son of God, is now encouraged to look forward, and expect 
 her final redemption from the scorn and insolence of infidelity. 
 
 " 6. The words of the Lord are pure words ; as silver tried in a furnace, 
 or crucible of earth, purified seven times." 
 
 The church rejoices in the promises of God her Saviour, because they 
 
Day II. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 
 
 63 
 
 are such as she can confide in. His words are not like those of deceitful 
 boasting man, but true and righteous altogether. Often have they been put 
 to the test, in the trials of the faithful, like silver committed to the furnace, 
 in an earthen crucible ; but like silver in its most refined and exalted purity, 
 found to contain no dross of imperfection, no alloy of fallibility in them. 
 The words of Jehovah are holy in his precepts, just in his laws, gracious 
 in his promises, significant in his institutions, true in his narrations, and 
 infallible in his predictions. What are the thousands of gold and silver, 
 compared to the treasures of the sacred page 1 
 
 " 7. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this 
 generation for ever." 
 
 As if it had been said, Yes, blessed Lord, what thou hast promised shall 
 surely be performed, since there is with thee no variableness, nor shadow 
 of turning : thou wilt keep thy poor and lowly servants, as thou hast pro- 
 mised, from being circumvented by treachery, or crushed by power: thou 
 wilt preserve them undefiled amidst an evil and adulterous generation ; 
 thou wilt be with thy church to the end of the world, and then admit her to 
 be with thee for ever. 
 
 " S. The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted." 
 
 While the faithful repose, as they aught to do, an unlimited confidence 
 in God's promises, they have, in the mean time, but too much reason to 
 mourn the prevalence of wickedness, stalking like its author, to and fro, 
 and up and down in the eanh, uncontrolled by those who bear the sword, 
 but who either blunt its edge, or turn it the wrong way. Such is often the 
 state of things here below; and a reflection, made upon the subject by our 
 Lord, when his enemies drew near to apprehend him, may satisfy us how 
 it comes to be so; "It is your hour, and the power of darkness." But 
 that hour will quickly pass v/ith us, as it did with him, and the power 
 of darkness will be overthrown ; the Lord will be our everlasting light, and 
 the days of our mourning shall be ended. 
 
 PSALM xm. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm contains, 1, 2. a complaint of desertion ; 3, 4. a prayer for the 
 Divine assistance ; 5, 6. an act of faith and thanksgiving. 
 
 " I. How long will thou forget me, O Lord ? for ever 1 How long wilt 
 thou hide thy face from mel" 
 
 While God permits his servants to continue under affliction, he is said, 
 after the manner of men, to have " forgotten, and hid his face from them." 
 For the use, therefore, of persons in such circumstances, is this Psalm in- 
 tended ; and consequently, it suits the different cases of the church universal, 
 languishing for the advent of her Lord, to deliver her from this evil world ; of 
 anj^ particular church, in time of persecution ; and of each individual when 
 harassed by temptations, or broken by sickness, pain, and sorrow. He who 
 bore our sins, and carried our sorrows, may likewise be presumed to have 
 made it a part of his devotions in the day of trouble. 
 
 " 2. How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my 
 heart daily 1 How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me V 
 
 To excite compassions, and prevail for help from above, the petitioner 
 mentions three aggravating circumstances of his misery ; the perplexity of 
 his soul, not knowing which way to turn, or what course to take; his heart- 
 felt sorrow, uttering itself in sighs and groanings; and the mortifying 
 reflection, that his enemies were exulting in their conquest over him. All 
 this will happen, and be particularly painful, to him who has yielded to 
 temptation, and committed sin. 
 
64 A COMMENTARY Psalm XIV. 
 
 "3. Consider and hear me, O Lord my God; lighten mine eyes, lest I 
 sleep the sleep of death." 
 
 On the preceding consideration is founded a prayer to Jehovah, that he 
 would no longer hide his face, but " consider," or, more literally, " have 
 respect to, favourably behold" his servant ; that he would " hear, attend to, 
 be mindful of," his supplication in distress. The deliverance requested is 
 expressed figuratively, " Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death." 
 In time of sickness and grief, the "eyes" are dull and heavy; and they 
 grow more and more so as death approaches, which closes them in darkness. 
 On the other hand, health and joy render the organs of vision bright and 
 sparkling, seeming, as it were, to impart "light" to them from within. 
 The words, therefore, may be fitly applied to a recovery of the body natural, 
 and thence of the body politic, from their respective maladies. Nor do 
 they less significantly describe the restoration of the soul to a state of spiritual 
 health and holy joy, which will manifest themselves, in like manner, 
 by " the eyes of the understanding being enlightened;" and in this case, 
 the soul is saved from the sleep of sin, as the body is, in the other, from the 
 sleep of death. 
 
 " 4. Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him ; and those that 
 trouble me rejoice when 1 am moved." 
 
 This argument we often find urged in prayer to God that he would be 
 pleased to work salvation for his people, lest his and their enemies should 
 seem to triumph over him, as well as them ; which would indeed have been 
 the case, had Satan either seduced the true David to sin, or confined him in 
 the grave. And certainly, it should be a powerful motive to restrain us 
 from transgression, when we consider, that as the conversion of a sinner 
 brings glory to God, and causes joy among the angels of heaven ; so 
 the fall of a believer disgraces the gospel of Jesus, opens the mouths of 
 the adversaries, and would produce joy, if such a thing could be, in hell 
 itself. 
 
 " 5. But I have trusted, or, I trust, in thy mercy ; my heart shall rejoice, 
 or, rejoices, in thy salvation. G. I will sing unto the Lord, because he 
 hath dealt, or, deals bountifully with me." 
 
 The heart, which " trusteth in God's mercy," shall alone " rejoice in his 
 salvation," and celebrate by the tongue, in songs of praise, the loving-kind- 
 ness of the Lord. It is observable, that this, and many other Psalms, with 
 a mournful beginning, have a triumphant ending; to show us the prevailing 
 power of devotion, and to convince us of the certain return of prayer, sooner 
 or later, bringing with it the comforts of heaven, to revive and enrich our 
 weary and barren spirits in the gloom}' seasons of sorrow and temptation, 
 like the dew descending by night upon the withered summit of an eastern 
 mountain. 
 
 PSALM XIV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 Tliis Psalm is in a manner the same with the Lllld. It sets forth, 1 — 3. the 
 corruption of the world ; 4^-6. its enmity against the people of God ; 7. the 
 prophet longs and prays for salvation. 
 
 " 1. The fool hath said in his heart. There is no God ; they are corrupt, 
 they have done abominable works, there is none that doeih good." 
 
 It does not appear upon what occasion David composed this Psalm. The 
 revolt of Israel in Absalom's rebellion is by most writers pitched upon as 
 the subject of it. But be this as it may, the expressions are general, and 
 evidently designed to extend beyond a private interpretation. And accord- 
 ingly, the Apostle, Rom. iii. 10, &c. produces some passages from it, to 
 
Day II. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 
 
 65 
 
 evince the apostacy of both Jews and Gentiles from their King and their 
 God, and to prove thein to be all under sin. In this light therefore we are 
 to consider it, as characterizing' the principles and practices of those who 
 oppose the Gospel of Christ in all ages. " The fool hath said in his heart 
 There is no God." Infidelity is the beginning of sin, folly the foundation 
 of infidelity, and the heart the seat of both. " Their foolish heart (says St. 
 Paul of the heathen, Rom. i. 21.) was darkened." The sad consequence 
 of defection in principle is corruption in practice. "They are corrupt, 
 they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good." On 
 these words the reader may see a full comment, Rom. i. 28 — 32. 
 
 " 2. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see 
 if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 3. They are all gone 
 aside, they are all together become filthy, or, putrified : there is none that 
 doeth good, no, not one." 
 
 Like a watchman on the top of some lofty tower, God is represented as 
 surveying from his heavenly throne the sons of Adam, and their proceedino-s 
 upon earth : he scrutinizes them, and as it were, searches diligently, to find 
 among them a man of true wisdom, one whose heart was turned toward 
 the Lord his God, one who was inquiring the way to salvation and glory, 
 that he might walk therein. But as the result of this extensive and accu- 
 rate survey, God informs his prophet, and commissions him to inform the 
 world, that all had declined from the paths of wisdom and righteousness ; 
 that the mass of human nature was become putrid, requiring to be cleansed, 
 and the vessels made of it to be formed anew. Such is the Scripture account 
 of man, not having received grace, or having fallen from it; of man without 
 Christ, or in arms against him. See Rom. iii. 11, 12. 
 
 " * 4. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge 1 who eat up ray 
 people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord." 
 
 The " workers of iniquity," work for the wages of death ; they fitrht 
 against God and their own souls ; they barter eternity for time, and part 
 with happiness for misery, both in possession and reversion. Well there- 
 fore may it be asked, "Have they no knowledge'?" For common sense, 
 after all, is what they want. They who, with an appetite keen as that to 
 their food, prey upon the poor, and devour the people of God, will them- 
 selves be preyed upon and devoured by that roaring lion, whose agents 
 for the present they are ; and such as now " call not on the name of the 
 Lord" Jesus for pardon and salvation, shall hereafter call in vain upon 
 the rocks and mountains, to shelter them from his power and vengeance. 
 
 "5. There were they in great fear; for God is in the generation of the 
 righteous." 
 
 In the parallel place, Psalm liii. 5. after the words, " There were they in 
 great fear," are added these, "where no fear was," which certainly connect 
 better with what follows, "For God is in the generation of the righteous." 
 David is supposed to be speaking primarily of Israel's defection from him to 
 Absalom, and here to be assigning the motive of that defection in many, 
 namely, fear of the rebel's growing power, and distrust of his ability to 
 protect them ; which fear, he observes, was groundless, because his cause 
 was the cause of God, who would not fail to appear in its support and vin- 
 dication. The subjects of Christ, in times of persecution, are often tempted 
 to renounce their allegiance, upon the same principle of fear; although of 
 them it may more emphatically be said, that they "fear where no fear is, 
 since God is in the generation of the righteous ;" and they who are engaged 
 on the side of the Messiah, will, in the end, most assuredly be triumphant. 
 
 * Between the preceding verse and this are three others inserted in our common translation, 
 which though taken by St. Paul from otlier parts of Scripture, yet because (Uoni. iii. Ki.) tliey 
 followed the words cited from this Psalm, were prol)ab!y added thereunto in tliis place by son/e 
 transcribers of the copies of the LXX. For in other copies of the LXX. tliey exist not, any 
 mors than in the Hebrew, Chaldee, or Syriac. 
 
 6* 
 
66 A COMMENTARY Psalm XV. 
 
 The latter clause of this verse, in Psalm liii. runs thus, "For God hath 
 scattered, or, shall scatter the bones of him that encampeth against thee ; 
 thou hast, or shalt put them to shame, because God hath despised them :" 
 the sense of which is evidently the same with — " God is in the generation 
 of the righteous :" he will defend them, and overthrow their enemies ; 
 therefore let them not fear, neither let their hearts be troubled. If this in- 
 terpretation be disapproved, the words, "There were they in great fear," must 
 be understood of the enemy, and the clause, " where no fear was," must be 
 rendered interrogatively thus, " and was there not cause for them to fear ? 
 since God is in the generation of the righteous, or, will scatter the bones of 
 him that encampeth against thee," &c. 
 
 "6. Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is his 
 refuge." 
 
 This is plainly addressed to the adversaries, and charges them with 
 reproaching and scoffing at that confidence in the Lord, expressed by the 
 afflicted righteous in the preceding verse. 
 
 " 7. O that the salvation of Israel loere come out of Sion ! When the 
 Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and 
 Israel shall be glad." 
 
 The consideration of the apostacy and corruption of mankind, described 
 in this Psalm, makes the prophet express a longing desire for the salvation 
 of Israel, which was to go forth out of Zion, and to bring back the people 
 of God from that most dreadful of all captivities, the captivity under sin and 
 death ; a salvation, at which Jacob would indeed rejoice, and Israel be glad. 
 And how doth the whole church, at this time, languish for the consumma- 
 tion of her felicity, looking, even until her eyes fail, for that glorious day of 
 ftnal redemption, when every believing heart shall exult, and all the sons 
 of God shout aloud for joy ! 
 
 THIRD DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM XV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This is one of the Psalms appointed to be used on ascension-day. The 
 Prophet, 1. inquires concerning the person who should ascend into the hill, 
 and dwell in the temple of Jehovah ; 2 — 5. he receives, in answer to his 
 question, a character of such person. 
 
 " 1. Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle ? Who shall dwell in thy 
 holy hill r' 
 
 The prophet alludes to the hill of Sion in the earthly Jerusalem, to the 
 tabernacle of God which was thereon, and the character of the priest, who 
 should offic-iate in that tabernacle. But all these were figures of a celestial 
 Jerusalem, a spiritual Sion, a true tabernacle, and an eternal priest. To the 
 great originals therefore we must transfer our ideas, and consider the in- 
 quiry as made after Him who should fix his resting-place on the heavenly 
 mount, and exercise his unchangeable priesthood in the temple not made 
 with hands. And since the disciples of this new and great High Priest 
 become righteous in him, and are by the Spirit conformed to his image, the 
 character which essentially and inherently belongs only to him, will deri- 
 vatively belong to them also, who must follow his steps below, if they 
 would reign with him above. 
 
 "2. He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, andspeaketh 
 the truth in his heart." 
 
 The man, therefore, who would be a citizen of Zion, and there enter into 
 
Day III. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 57 
 
 the rest and joy of his Lord, must set that Lord always before him. Re- 
 newed through grace, endued with a lively faith, and an operative charity, 
 he must consider and imitate the life of the blessed Person, who walked 
 amongst men, without partaking of their corruptions ; who conversed un- 
 blameably with sinners ; who could give this challenge to his inveterate 
 enemies, " Which of you convinced me of sin V in whom the grand ac- 
 cuser, when he came, "found nothing;" who, being himself " the truth," 
 thought and spake of nothing else ; making many promises, and perform- 
 ing them all. 
 
 "3. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doth evil to his'neighbour, 
 nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour." 
 
 Who, knowing the sins, follies, and infirmities of all mankind, made his 
 tongue an instrument, not of disclosing and exasperating, but of covering 
 and healing these sores in human nature ; who esteeming every son of Adam 
 as his neighbour, went about doing good, and then laid down his life, and 
 resigned his breath in prayer for his murderers; who, instead of taking up 
 a reproach, and listening to the calumniator, cast him out and silenced him, 
 erasing the hand-writing that was against us, and nailing the cancelled in- 
 dictment to the cross. 
 
 " 4. In whose eye a vile person is contemned ; but he honoureth them that 
 fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not." 
 
 Who rejected the wicked, however rich and honourable; and chose the 
 well-inclined, however poor and contemptible in the world ; who, having, 
 by covenant with the Father, engaged to keep the law, and to taste death 
 for every man, went willingly and steadily through this work, and sur- 
 mounted every obstacle which could be thrown in his way, until he de- 
 dared concerning the task appointed him, " It is finished." 
 
 " 5. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against 
 the innocent." 
 
 Who was so far from desiring to amass the earthly mammon that he 
 would touch none of it : and received the true riches only that he might 
 bestow them upon others; who, instead of taking a reward against the in- 
 nocent, died for the guilty ; and whose sentence, when he shall sit on the 
 throne of judgment, will be equally impartial and immutable. 
 " 6. He that doeth these things shall never be moved." 
 In the above comment, it was thought most adviseable to open and dis- 
 play the full intent of what was both enjoined and forbidden, by exempli- 
 fying each particular, as receiving its utmost completion in the character 
 and conduct of our blessed Lord. And whoever shall survey and copy 
 these virtues and graces, as they present themselves in his life, will, it is 
 humbly apprehended, take the best and shortest way to the heavenly Zion, 
 and make that use of the fifteenth Psalm, which the church may be sup- 
 posed to have had in view, when she appointed it as one of the proper 
 Psalms for Ascension-day. 
 
 PSALM XVL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 Upon whatever occasion, or in whatever distress David might compose tJiis 
 Psalm, we are taught by St. Peter and St. Paul, Acts ii. 25, and xiii. 35, 
 to consider him as speaking in the person of our Lord Christ, of whom 
 alone the latter part of the Psalm is true. The contents are, 1, a prayer 
 for support; 2, 3, a declaration of love to the saints; 4, a protestation against 
 idolaters; 5—8, acts of love, joy, and confidence in Jehovah; and 9—11, 
 one of hope in an approaching i-esurrection and glorification. 
 
 " 1. Preserve me, O God : for in thee do I put my trust." 
 
 These words are evidently spoken by one in great distress, who addresses 
 
68 A COMMENTARY Psalm XVI. 
 
 himself to heaven for support under his sufferings, pleading his confidence 
 in God, still unshaken by all the storms that had set themselves against it. 
 This might be the case of David, and may be that of any believer. But 
 since the Psalm is a continued speech without change of person, we may 
 consider the whole as uttered by Him, who could only utter the concluding 
 verses, and who in this first verse makes his supplication to the Father, for 
 the promised and expected deliverance. 
 
 " 2. my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou ai-i my Lord : my 
 goodness extendeth not to thee ; 3. But to the saints that are in the earth, 
 and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight." 
 
 In the Chaldee and Syriac, the latter clause of the former of these two 
 verses is rendered — " My goodness is from thee." An ingenious writer 
 thinks the Hebrew will bear this sense, in the elliptical way, thus — " My 
 goodness! shall I mention that? By no means; it is all to be ascribed to 
 thee." The goodness of man is all derived from God, and should be ex- 
 tended to his brethren. That of Messiah owed its original to his union 
 with the Divinity; and promoted the salvation of those to whom it was 
 communicated, that is to say, of those who thereby became " the saints 
 and excellent ones in the earth." For their sakes obedience was performed, 
 and propitiation made, by the Son of God, because he loved them with an 
 everlasting love, and placed " all his delight" in making them happy. He 
 "rejoiced in the habitable parts of the earth, and his delights were with 
 the sons of men," Prov. viii. 31. 
 
 " 4. Their sorrow shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their 
 drink-offerings of blood will I not ofler, nor take up their names into my 
 lips." 
 
 Christ denounceth vengeance against those who should make to them- 
 selves other gods, run after other saviours, or suffer any creature to rival 
 him in their affections; declaring of such that their offerings should not be 
 presented by him to the Father, nor should they be partakers of the benefits 
 of his intercession. Even the bloody sacrifices of the law, instituted for 
 a time by God himself, became abomination to him when that time was 
 expired, and the one great sacrifice had been offered upon the altar of the 
 cross. 
 
 " 5. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, and of my cup ; thou 
 maintainest my lot. 6. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places ,- 
 yea, I have a goodly heritage." 
 
 The true David, anointed to his everlasting kingdom, yet first a man of 
 sorrows and a stranger upon earth, prefers the promised inheritance of the 
 church, that spiritual kingdom, city, and temple of Jehovah, before all the 
 kingdoms of this world, and the glory of them; he is sure that Jehovah 
 will maintain his lot, that he will both give and preserve to him this his 
 patrimony; and therefore rejoices at the divine beauty and excellency of 
 the heavenly Canaan. And hence the Christian learns wherein his duty 
 and his happiness consist ; namely, in making choice of God for " the portion 
 of his inheritance and of his cup," for his support, and for his delight: in 
 preferring the spirit to the flesh, the church to the world, and eternity to 
 time. 
 
 "7. I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel; my reins also 
 instruct me in the night season." 
 
 The person speaking here blesses Jehovah for communicating that divine 
 " counsel," that celestial wisdom, by which he was incited and enabled to 
 make the foregoing choice and resolution. In the latter part of the verse 
 is intimated the mode of these gracious and spiritual communications, 
 which in the dark seasons of adversity were conveyed to the inmost thoughts 
 and affections of the mind, thereby to instruct, to comfort, and to strengthen 
 the sufferer, until his passion should be accomplished, and the morning of 
 
Day III. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 
 
 69 
 
 the resurrection should dawn, in which, as we shall see, all his hope and 
 confidence were placed. 
 
 "8. I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right 
 hand, I shall not be moved." 
 
 The method taken by Christ, as man, to support himself in time of trou- 
 ble, and persevere unto the end, was to maintain a constant actual sense of 
 the presence of Jehovah, whom when he thus saw standing at his rio-ht 
 hand, ready, at the appointed hour, to succour and deliver him, he then 
 feared not the powers of earth and hell combined for his destruction. Why 
 are our fears great, but because our faith is little"? 
 
 " 9. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth; my flesh also 
 shall rest in hope." 
 
 Through confidence in the almighty power engaged on his side, joy filled 
 tlie heart of Christ, and rendered his tongue an instrument of giving glory 
 to Jehovah in the midst of his sufferings ; because when they were ended, 
 as they must soon be, his flesh was only to make its bed, and rest awhile 
 in the grave, after the labours of the day, in sure and certain hope of a 
 speedy resurrection and glorification. This same consideration is to the 
 afflicted, the sick, and the dying Christian, a never-failing source of com- 
 fort, an inexhaustible fountain of joy ; sin and infidelity are the enemies, 
 who would fill it with earth. 
 
 " 10. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer 
 thine Holy One to see corruption." 
 
 It was a part of the covenant of grace, and promised by the mouth of 
 God's prophets, that after the death of Messiah, his animal frame tViJJ should 
 not continue, like those of other men, in the grave, ^ixi? nor should corrup- 
 tion be permitted to seize on the body, by which all others were to be raised 
 to incorruption and immortality. As members of Christ, this same promise 
 and assurance is so far ours, that although our mortal part must see cor- 
 ruption, yet it shall not be finally left under the power of the enemy, but 
 shall be raised again, and reunited to its old companion, the soul, which 
 exists, meanwhile, in secret and undiscerned regions, there waiting for the 
 day when its Redeemer shall triumph over corruption, in his mystical, as 
 he hath already done, in his natural body. 
 
 "11. Thou wilt shew me the path of life : in thy presence is fulness of 
 joy ; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." 
 
 The return of Christ from the grave is beautifully described by Jehovah 
 " showing," or discovering to him a " path of life," leading through the 
 valley of the shadow of death, and from that valley to the summit of the 
 hill of Sion, or to the mount of God in heaven, on which he now sits en- 
 throned. There exalted at the right hand of the Father, that human body, 
 which expired on the cross, and slept in the sepulchre, lives and reigns, 
 filled with delight, and encircled by glory incomprehensible and endless. 
 Through this thy beloved Son and our dear Saviour, "thou shalt show" us 
 likewise, O Lord, "the path of life ;" thou shalt justify our souls by thy 
 grace now, and raise our bodies by thy power at the last day ; when earthly 
 Borrow shall terminate in heavenly joy, and momentary pain shall be re- 
 warded with everlasting felicity. 
 
 PSALM XVIL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The Psalmist, confiding in the justice of his cause, 1 — 4. prayeth for a hearing 
 and decision of it ; 5—9. he petitioneth for the divine g-uidance and protec- 
 tion ; 10 — 12. he describeth the temper and behaviour of his enemies ; 13, 
 14. beseecheth God to disappoint them, and to deliver lum ; he endetli with 
 an act of fuilh. 
 
70 A COMMENTARY Psalm XVII. 
 
 " 1. Hear the right, O Lord, or Hear, O righteous Lord, attend unto my 
 cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips." 
 
 The righteousness of tlie Judge, and the importunity and sincerity of the 
 petitioner, are the arguments here urged for a speedy and favourable deter- 
 mination. Slander and calumny were the portion of David, and of a greater 
 than David, till the righteous Lord manifested himself on their behalf. 
 And shall not God, in like manner, judge and avenge the cause of " his own 
 elect, who cry day and night unto him 1 I tell you," saith Christ himself, 
 " that he will avenge them speedUy," Luke xviii. 8. " Men ought always 
 to pray, therefore, and not to faint." 
 
 " 2. Let my sentence come forth from thy presence ; let thine eyes behold ' 
 the things that are equal." 
 
 A court of equity is ever sitting in heaven, to receive appeals from the 
 wrongful decisions of men here below; and in that court a judge presides, 
 whose impartial hands holds the scales of justice even ; whose unerring eye 
 marks the least inclination of either; and from whose sentence injured in- 
 nocence is therefore taught to expect redress. 
 
 " 3. Thou hast proved mine heart, thou hast visited rat in the night ! thou 
 hast tried me, and shalt find nothing : I am purposed that my mouth shall 
 not transgress." 
 
 The sutl!erer's "heart condemns him not, and he has confidence towards 
 God," to whom he applies as the proper Judge, because the only Witness 
 of his integrity. God had " proved," not only his words and actions, but 
 his " heart," which man could not do : God had " visited," observed, and 
 explored " him in the night," when secrecy and solitude prompts the hypo- 
 crite to sin, and when the undisciplined imagination wanders abroad, like 
 the bird of darkness, after forbidden objects ; God had " tried" him, as 
 silver or gold, in the fiery furnace of adversity ; and if there be any dross 
 or scum in the metal, it will then rise to the top, and show itself ; yet no- 
 thing appeared, not so much as the alloy of an intemperate word. Abso- 
 lutely and universally, this could only be true of the holy Jesus ; however, 
 through his grace, it may be true of some of his disciples, in particular in- 
 stances of crimes falsely laid to their charge. Let us pray that it may be 
 true of us, whenever God shall please to prove and try us. 
 
 " 4. Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept 
 mt from the paths of the destroyer." 
 
 The way to hold fast our integrity, in time of temptation is here pointed out. 
 "Concerning the works of men," that is, such works as fallen depraved 
 man has recourse to, when in distress, "by the word of thy lips," by trea- 
 suring up thy word in my heart, as the rule of my actions, and the guide 
 of my life, "I have watched," observed, that is, in order to avoid "the paths 
 of the destroyer." This seems to be the literal construction, and to con- 
 vey the full meaning of the verse, which contains exactly the same senti- 
 ment with that in Psalm cxix. U. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, 
 that I might not sin against thee." If the word either be not in the heart 
 at all, or if it be not there in such a manner as to be ready at all times for 
 use and application, the man is in danger, at every turn, of going astray. 
 
 " 5. Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not." 
 
 The word of God aflfords us direction, but the grace of God must enable 
 us to follow its direction, and that grace must be obtained by prayer. The 
 "paths of God" are opposed to the "paths of the destroyer," the way of 
 righteousness to that of sin. The image here is taken from one walkinor 
 in a slippery path, for such is that of human life, by reason of temptations ; 
 so that the believer, especially if he be young, feeble, and inexperienced, 
 has great need of a divine supporter in every step he takes. 
 
 " G. I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, or, because thou hast 
 heard me, O God : incline thine ear to me, and hear m}' speech." 
 The sweet experience of former deliverances giveth a comfortable assur- 
 
Dai III. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 
 
 1 
 
 ance of protection in present and future dangers : and this should cause ua 
 to fly for refuo;e at all limes, by strong supplication and prayer, to him who 
 is able and willing to save us from death. 
 
 "7. Shew thy marvellous loving-kindness, O thou that savest by thy 
 right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against 
 them.'" 
 
 This is an address to the " loving-kindness," or mercy of God, which 
 the Psalmist entreats him to display and magnify in his favour, since it 
 was the promise, the delight, and the glory of Jehovah, to save those who 
 believed and trusted in Him. There are two ways of rendering the latter 
 clause of this verse: either, "Thou who savest by thy right hand," &c. 
 as our translation has it; or, "Thou that savest them wiiich put their trust 
 in thee from those that rise up at, or, against thy right hand," meaning the 
 opposers of the Divine counsels and dispensations; as in Zech. iii. 1. 
 Satan is said to " stand at Joshua's right hand," to obstruct the building 
 of the temple. 
 
 "8. Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me under the shadow of thy 
 wings, 9. From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who 
 compass me about." 
 
 He who has so fenced and guarded that precious and tender part, the pupil 
 of the eye, and who has provided for the security of a young and helpless 
 brood under the wings of their dam, is here entreated to extend the same 
 providential care and parental love to the souls of his elect, equally exposed 
 to danger, equally beset with enemies. Of his readiness so to do he else- 
 where assureth us, under the same exquisite imagery. Zech. ii. 8. " He 
 that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of his eye." Matt, xxiii. 37. " O 
 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy children to- 
 gether, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings !" 
 
 " 10. They are enclosed in their own fat; with their mouth they speak 
 proudly." 
 
 The last argument made use of by the Psalmist, in his address to God, 
 is the character of his adversaries. He begins with their " pride" and its 
 cause, " fulness of bread," or high living. Dr. Hammond prefers the ren- 
 dering which follows ; " They have shut up their mouth with fat ; they 
 speak proudly." Either way the meaning plainly is, that pride is the 
 child of plenty, begotten by self-indulgence, which hardens the hearts of 
 men against the fear of God and the love of their neighbours ; rendering 
 them insensible to the judgments of the former, and the miseries of the 
 latter. Let every man take care, that, by pampering the flesh, he do not 
 raise up an enemy of this stamp against himself. 
 
 " 11. They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their 
 eyes bowing down to the earth." 
 
 " Tliey have compassed us in our steps ;" that is, literally, Saul and his 
 followers had watched, pursued, and at last hemmed in David and his men ; 
 "They have set, or fixed their eyes" upon us, '}*1ND riruj'? " to lay us pros- 
 trate upon the earth," or finally to make an end of us. Such are our 
 spiritual enemies : such is their intention, and our danger. 
 
 "12. Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young 
 lion lurking in secret places." 
 
 The similitude of a lion, either roaring abroad in quest of his prey, or 
 couching in secret, ready to spring upon it the moment it comes within his 
 reach, is often employed by David, to describe the power and malice of his 
 enemies. Christians cannot forget, that they likewise have an adversary of 
 the same nature and character ; one ever seeking whom, and contriving how, 
 he may devour. 
 
 " 13. Arise, Lord, disappoint him, cast him down : deliver my soul 
 from the wicked, which is thy sword ; From men tvhich are thy hand, O 
 Lord, from the men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and 
 
72 A COMMENTARY Psaoi XTIII- 
 
 whose belly thou fiUest with thy hid treasure : they are full of children, and 
 leave the rest of their substance to their babes." 
 
 The Psalmist having characterized those who pursued after him lo take 
 away his life, now entreats God to " arise," or appear in his cause, to " dis- 
 appoint" or "prevent" the enemy in his designs, and to "cast hira down," 
 to overthrow and subdue him. The next words may be thus rendered ; 
 "Deliver my soul from the wicked by thy sword, from men by thy hand, 
 O Lord, from the men of the world ;" the expressions, " sword, and hand 
 of Jehovah," being frequently used to denote his power and vengeance. 
 The l'7nD HD'JTO or " mortals of the transitory world," from whom David 
 
 firays to be delivered, are said to be such as have " their portion in this 
 ife," such as, in our Saviour's language, "have their reward" here, and 
 are not to expect it hereafter; "whose bellies thou fiUest with thy hid 
 treasure ;" whom thou permiltest to enjoy thy temporal blessings in abun- 
 dance, to " receive their good things" upon earth, and to " fare sumptuously 
 every day ;" as if it were to convince us, in what estimation we ought to 
 hold the world, when we see the largest shares of it dealt out to the most 
 worthless of the sons of Adam : " They are full of, or abound in children, and 
 leave the residue of their substance to their babes :" after living in plenty, 
 perhaps to a good old age, they leave behind them a numerous and flourish- 
 ing posterity, who inherit their estates, and go on, as their fathers did be- 
 fore them, without piety to God, or charity to the poor. Fom these men 
 and their ways, we have all reason to say with David, " Good Lord, deliver 
 us :" 
 
 " 15. As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness ; I shall be satis- 
 fied, when I awake, with thy likeness." 
 
 Instead of setting our affections on things below, the prophet instincts us, 
 after his example, to place all our happiness in the vision of God, and in 
 that righteousness which leads to it ; since the hour is coming, when we 
 shall awake, and arise, after the Divine similitude; when we shall be like 
 God, for we shall see him as he is, and by seeing him shall be changed 
 into the same image ; and then shall every desire be satisfied with the ful- 
 ness of joy, with the exceeding abundance of unutterable glory. 
 
 THIRD DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM XVIII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm, as we are informed by the sacred history, 2 Sam. xxii. 1. was com- 
 posed and sung by David, in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of 
 the hand of all hisenemies, and out of the hand of Saul. It contains, ver. 1 — 3. 
 an address of thanks to Jehovah : 4 — 6. a relation of sufferings undergone, 
 and prayers made for assistance ; 7 — 15. a magnificent description of the 
 Divine interposition in favour of the sufferer, and 16 — 19. of the deliverance 
 wrought for him, 20 — 24. in consideration of his righteousness, 25 — 28 ac- 
 cording to the tenor of God's equitable proceedings. 29 — 36. To Jehovah is 
 ascribed the glory of the victory, which 37 — 42. is represented as every way 
 complete, by the destruction of all ojjponents, and 43 — 45. tlie submission of 
 tlie heathen ; for these events, 46 — 50. God is blessed and praised. As the 
 sublimity of the figures used in this Psalm, and the consent of ancient com- 
 mentators, even Jewish as well as Cln-istian, but above all, the citations made 
 from it in the New Testament, do evince, that the kingdom of Messiah is 
 here pointed at, under that of David ; an application is therefore made of the 
 whole in the ensuing comment, to the sufferings, resurrection, righteousness, 
 and conquests of Christ, to the destruction of the Jews, and the conversion 
 of the Gentiles. In a word, the Psalm, it is apprehended, sliould now be 
 
Day hi. E. P. ON THE PSAI.MS. 73 
 
 considered as a glorious epinikion, or triumphal hymn, to be sung by the 
 church, risen and victorious in Christ her head. 
 
 " 1. 1 will love thee, O Lord, my strenojth." 
 
 Let us suppose King Messiah, like his illustrious progenitor of old, 
 seated in peace and triumph upon the throne designed and prepared for him. 
 From thence let us imagine him taking a retrospective view of the suffer- 
 ings he had undergone, the battles he had fought, and the victories he had 
 gained. With this idea duly impressed upon our minds, we shall be able 
 in some measure to conceive the force of the words, " lamN* With all the 
 yearnings of affection I will love thee, Jehovah, my strength, through my 
 union with whom, I have finished my work, and am now exalted to praise 
 thee, in the name of a redeemed world." Whenever we sing this Psalm, 
 let us think we are singing it in conjunction with our Saviour, newly risen 
 from the dead; a consideration which surely will incite us to do it with be- 
 coming gratitude and devotion. 
 
 "2. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, 
 my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salva- 
 tion, and my high tower." 
 
 Li other words, explanatory of the figures here made use of. Through 
 Jehovah it is, that I have stood immoveable amidst a sea of temptations 
 and afflictions : he has supported me under my troubles, and delivered me 
 out of them; his protection has secured me, his power has broken and 
 scattered mine enemies ; and by his mercy and truth am I now set up on 
 high above them all. — How lovely these strains, in the mouth of the church 
 militant ! How glorious will they be, when sung by the church triumphant ! 
 It is observable, that the words, " in whom I trust," or, as the original has 
 it, " I will trust in him," are referred to in the margin of our English Bible, 
 as quoted from this verse by St. Paul, Heb. ii. 13. If it be so, the reader, 
 by turning to the place, may furnish himself with a demonstration, that in 
 the xviiith as well as in the xvith Psalm, David speaks in the person of 
 Christ. 
 
 "3. I will, or, did call upon the Lord, ivho is worthy to be praised; so 
 shall I be, or, so was I saved from my enemies." ■ 
 
 As the Psalm so evidently throughout is a thanksgiving for past deliver- 
 ances, the verbs in this verse seem to require the same rendering which is 
 given to them below, at ver. 6. Jehovah is to be " called upon," both in 
 adversity and in prosperity; in the former with the voice of prayer, in the 
 latter with that of praise. "Is any afflicted!" saith St. James, v. 13. 
 " Let him pray. Is any merry'? Let him sing Psalms." 
 
 " 4. The sorrows, or, cords of death compassed me, and the floods of un- 
 godly men, or, Belial, made me afraid. 5. The sorrows, or, cords of hell, 
 ar, the grave, compassed me about ; the snares of death prevented me." 
 
 St. Peter, in his serni,on on the day of Pentecost, says, when speaking of 
 Christ — "Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death, be- 
 cause it was not possible that he should be holden of it," Acts ii. 24. Now, 
 " the Hebrew word VdDj (fis Dr. Hammond well observes on that place) 
 signifies two things, a cord, or hand, and zpang, especially of women in 
 travail ; hence the LXX. meeting with the word, Ps, xviii. where it cer- 
 tainly signifies ;to/v/a, corrfs or hands, yet have rendered it aitvt;, pangs; 
 and from their example here St. Luke hath used rac axf/v^tc S-av«tT», the 
 pains or pangs of death ; when both the addition of the word Aua-stj , loosings, 
 and xP^'Tiia-dcti, being holden fast, do show the sense is hnnd^, or cords.'''' 
 From the passage in°the Acts, with this learned and judicious remark upon 
 it, we obtain not only the true rendering of the phrase, "Dlta ''^JH, cords 
 or bands of death," but also something more than an intimation, that in the 
 verses of our Psalm now before us, David speaks of Christ, that the " cords 
 of death," those "bands" due to our sins, "compassed him about, and the 
 
 7 
 
74 ^ COMMENTARY Psalm XVni. 
 
 floods of Belial," the powers of darkness and ungodliness, like an over- 
 whelming torrent breaking forth from the bottomless pit, "made him afraid 
 in the day of his agony, when the apprehensions of the bitter cup, cast his 
 soul into unutterable amazement, and he beheld himself environed by those 
 "snares," which had captivated and detained all the children of Adam. 
 David surrounded by Saul and his blood-thirsty attendants, was a lively 
 emblem of the suffering Jesus, and therefore the same description is ap- 
 ]>licable to both ; as the words of the second Psalm, in like manner, cele- 
 brate the inauguration of the son of Jesse, and that of the Son of God. 
 
 " 6. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God : he, 
 heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into 
 his ears." 
 
 David was in distress ; David called upon Jehovah, the God of Israel, 
 who dwelt between the Cherubim in the holy place ; and by him the prayer 
 of David was heard. Much greater was the distress of Christ, who like- 
 wise, as St. Paul speaks, " in the days of his flesh offered up prayers and 
 supplications with strong crying and tears, unto him that was able to save 
 him from death, and was heard," Heb. v. 7. his voice ascended to the eter- 
 nal temple, his powerful cry pierced the ears of the Father everlasting, and 
 brought salvation from heaven at the time appointed. The church also is 
 distressed upon earth, she crieth, her cries are heard, and will be answered 
 in the day of God. 
 
 " 7. Then the earth shook and trembled ; the foundations also of the 
 hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth." 
 
 At this verse the Prophet begins to describe the manifestation of Divine 
 power in favour of the Righteous Sufferer. The imagery employed is bor- 
 rowed from mount Sinai, and those circumstances which attended the de- 
 livery of the law from thence. When a monarch is angry, and prepares for 
 war, his whole kingdom is instantly in commotion. Universal nature is 
 here represented as feeling the effect of its sovereign's displeasure, and all 
 the visible elements are disordered. The earth shakes from its foundations, 
 and all its rocks and mountains tremble before the majesty of their great 
 Creator, when he ariseth in judgment. This was really the case at the 
 resurrection of our Lord from the dead ; when as the Evangelists inform 
 us, " there was a great earthquake," and the grave owned its inability any 
 longer to detain the blessed body, which had been committed, for a season, 
 to its custody. And what happened at the resurrection of Jesus, should 
 remind us of what shall happen, when the earth shall tremble, and the 
 dead shall be raised at the last day. 
 
 " 8. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth 
 devoured; coals were kindled by it; or, fire out of his mouth devoured, 
 with burning coals from before him." 
 
 The farther effects of God's indignation are represented by those of fire, 
 which is the most terrible of the created elements, burning and consuming, 
 all before it, scorching the ground, and causing the mountains to smoke. 
 Under this appearance God descended on the top of Sinai : thus he visited 
 the cities of the plain ; and thus he is to come at the end of time. When- 
 ever therefore he is described as showing forth his power and vengeance 
 for the salvation of his chosen, and the discomfiture of his enemies, a " de- 
 vouring fire" is the emblem made choice of, to convey proper ideas of such 
 his manifestations. And from hence we may conceive the heat of his wrath 
 against the adversaries of man's salvation, when by raising his Son Jesus 
 from the dead, he blasted their schemes, and withered all their strength. 
 
 " 9. He bowed the heavens also, and came down : and darkness was 
 under his feet. 10. And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly ; yea, he did 
 fly upon the wings of the wind. 11. He made darkness his secret place; 
 his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the 
 skies." 
 
DAT III. E. p. ON THE PSALMS. 75 
 
 Storms and tempests in the element of air are instruments of the Divine 
 displeasure, and are therefore selected as figures of it. When God descends 
 from above, the clouds of heaven compose an awful and gloomy tabernacle, 
 in the midst of which he is supposed to reside : the reins of whirlwinds 
 are in his hand, and he directs their impetuous course through the world; 
 the whole artillery of the a?rial regions is at his command, to be by him 
 employed against his enemies, in the day of battle and war. 
 
 " 12. At the brightness that was before him, his thick clouds passed, 
 hail-s^ones and coals of fire. 13. The Lord also thundered in the heavens, 
 and the Highest gave his voice: hail-s/o?;es and coals of fire. 14. Yea, he 
 sent out his arrows, and scattered them ; and he shot out lightnings, and 
 discomfited them." 
 
 The discharge of the celestial artillery upon the adverse powers is here 
 magnificently described. Terrible it was to them, as when lightnings and 
 thunders, hail-stones and balls of fire, making their way through the dark 
 clouds, which contain them, strike terror and dismay into the hearts of men. 
 Such is the " voice," and such are the " arrows" of the Lord Almighty, 
 wherewith he " discomfiteth" all who oppose the execution of his counsels, 
 and obstruct the salvation of his chosen. Every display and description of 
 this sort, and indeed every thunder-storm which we behold, should remind 
 us of that exhibition of power and vengeance, which is hereafter to accom- 
 pany the general resurrection. 
 
 " 15. Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the 
 world were discovered at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of 
 thy nostrils." 
 
 As the former part of the Psalmist's description was taken from the ap- 
 pearance on Mount Sinai, so this latter part seems evidently to allude to 
 what passed at the Red Sea, when by the breath of God the waters were 
 divided, the depths were discovered, and Israel was conducted in safety 
 through them. By that event was prefigured the salvation of the church 
 universal, through the death and resurrection of Christ, who descended into 
 the lower parts of the earth, and from thence reascended to light and life. 
 The xivth chapter of Exodus, which relates the passage of Israel through 
 the Red Sea, is therefore appointed as one of the proper lessons on Easter 
 Day. And thus we obtain the ideas intended to be conveyed in this sublime 
 but difficult verse, together with their application to the grand deliverance 
 of the true David inlhe day of God's power. Indeed it is not easy to ac- 
 commodate to any part of the history of the son of Jesse, those awful, ma- 
 jestic and stupendous images, which are made use of throughout this whole 
 description of the Divine" manifestation, from verse 7. But however this 
 1)0, most certainly every part of so solemn a scene of terrors forbids us to 
 doubt but that a " greater than David is here;" since creation scarce af- 
 fords colours brighter and stronger than those here employed, wherewith to 
 paint the appearance of Jehovah at the day of final redemption. 
 
 " 16. He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many, or the 
 great, waters. 17. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them 
 which hated me : for they were too strong for me." 
 
 For this purpose did God in so wonderful a manner display his power 
 and glory, that he might deliver the sufferer out of his troubles. This de- 
 liverance is first expressed metaphorically by " drawing him out of the 
 great waters," and then plainly, " he delivered me from my strong enemy," 
 &c. The " great waters," in ver. 16, are the same with " the floods of the 
 ungodly," in ver. 4. By these was Messiah, like David, oppressed and 
 overwhelmed for a time ; but, like David, he rose at length superior to them 
 all. The " strong enemy" was obliged to give way to a " stronger than 
 he, who overcame him, and took from him his armour in which he trusted, 
 and divided the spoil," Luke xi. 22. 
 
 >' 18. They prevented me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was 
 
76 A COxMMENTARY Psalm XVIII. 
 
 my stay. 19. He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, 
 because he delighted in me." 
 
 The Divine mercy is celebrated again and again through this sacred hymn 
 in a variety of expressions. Innumerable foes " prevented," that is, sur- 
 rounded, enclosed Christ on all sides, "in the days of his calamity," when 
 the powers of earth and hell set themselves in array against him; but "Je- 
 hovah was his stay;" on him he reposed an unshaken confidence; Jehovah 
 therefore supported his steps, and led him on to victory and triumph; from 
 the narrow confines of the grave he translated him to unbounded empire, 
 because he was the Son of his love, in whom he delighted. 
 
 "20. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according 
 to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. 21. For I have 
 kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God : 
 22. For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his sta- 
 tutes from me. 23. I was also upright before him ; and I kept myself 
 from mine iniquity; o?-, from iniquities. 24. Therefore hath the Lord re- 
 compensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness 
 of my hands in his eye-sight," 
 
 Commentators have been much perplexed on account of these unlimited 
 claims to righteousness made by David, and that, long after the matter of 
 Uriah, and towards the close of his life. Certain indeed it is, that the ex- 
 pressions, considered as David's, must either be confined to his steadfast 
 adherence to the true worship, in opposition to idolatry, or to his innocency 
 with regard to some particular crimes falsely alleged against him by his 
 adversaries. But if the Psalm be prophetical, and sung by the victorious 
 monarch in the person of King Messiah; then do the verses now before us 
 no less exactly than beautifully delineate that all-perfect righteousness 
 wrought by the Redeemer, in consequence of which he obtained deliverance 
 for himself and his people. For " His" righteousness' sake Jehovah was 
 well pleased, and rewarded with everlasting felicity the unspotted i)urity 
 of his works ; " He" performed an unsinning obedience to every part of 
 the law, and swerved not from its line in a single instance; the rule was 
 ever in his eye, and no temptation could induce him to deviate from its di- 
 rection ; like the light, he passed through all things undefiled, and his gar- 
 ments were white as the lily : therefore a glorious kingdom was given unto 
 him, forasmuch as in him the piercing eye of Heaven could discover no 
 blemish at all. 
 
 "25. With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an up- 
 right man thou wilt shew thyself upright: 2G. With the pure thou wilt 
 shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou will shew thyself froward ; 
 Heb. with the perverse thou wilt wrestle, or, strive." 
 
 The reason'is here assigned why God "recompensed INIessiah according 
 to the cleanness of his hands," namely, because he is just, in rendering to 
 ever}'' one according to his works. He who is "merciful" to his brethren, 
 shall obtain the Divine mercy; he who is " upright" in his dealings with 
 others, will have justice done him by the great Judge against his iniquitous 
 oppressors; he who is " pure" from deceit and hypocrisy in the service of 
 God, shall experience in himself a faithful and exact performance of the 
 promises which God hath made to such; but the man that is " froward," 
 perverse, and rebellious, must expect to grapple with an arm, which will 
 either humble or destroy. See Lev. xxvi. 3, 4, &c. 23, 24, &c. 1 Kings 
 viii. 32. Prov. iii. 34. 
 
 "27. For thou wilt save the afflicted, or, lowly, people: but will bring 
 down high looks." 
 
 " God resisteth the proud," saith an apostle, " and giveth grace to the 
 humble," James iv. 6. And, indeed, what is the covenant of grace, but a 
 covenant to humble pride, and to exalt humility; what was it, but the hu- 
 mility of Christ, that subdued the pride of Satan; and on what does the 
 
DAT III. E. p. ON THE PSALMS. 77 
 
 salvation of every man depend, but on the issue of the contest between 
 these two principles in his heart? 
 
 "28. For thou wilt, or, dost, light my candle, or, lamp: the Lord my 
 God will, or, does, enlighten my darkness." 
 
 An instance of God's favour towards the lowly and afflicted was the sal- 
 vation vouchsafed to the suffering Jesus, who like David, after much tribu- 
 lation and persecution, under which he sunk for a time, even so low as to 
 the grave itself, was exalted to glory and honour. This change of condi- 
 tion is set forth by that of a " lamp," from a state of extinction to one of 
 illumination, darkness being a well-known emblem of sorrow and death, 
 as light is the established symbol of life and joy. Remarkable are the 
 words of the Chaldce Paraphrast upon this verse, cited by Dr. Hammond — 
 " Because though shalt enlighten the lamp of Israel, which is put out in 
 the captivity, for thou art the author of the light of Israel : the Lord my 
 God shall lead me out of darkness into light, and shall make me see the 
 consolation of the age which shall come to the just." 
 
 "29. For by thee I have run through, or, broken a troop; and by my 
 God have I leaped over a wall." 
 
 Through the power of his divinity, the Captain of our salvation van- 
 quished the host of darkness, and escaped from the sepulchre, notwithstand- 
 ing all their precautions to confine him there. Vain is every etTort, by 
 whomsoever it is made, against the counsels of omnipotence. And let us 
 reflect, for our comfort, that they who could not prevent the resurrection of 
 Christ, cannot detain the soul of a Christian in sin, or his body in the 
 grave. > 
 
 "30. As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried : he 
 is a buckler to all those that trust in him." 
 
 The "way" of God is the course of his proceedings with men, and its 
 *' perfection" consists in the equity of those proceedings: the promises 
 made in " the word of Jehovah" to his servants, are " tried" in times 
 of affliction and persecution, as gold in the fire, and found pure from an}'^ 
 dross of deceit, or fallibility: he is ever a "shield," to protect "those 
 who trust in him," during their stay here, until he becomes " their exceed- 
 ing great reward" hereafter. All this he has been to the Head, in order 
 that he may be all this to the members of the church. 
 
 "31. For who is God, save the Lord? Or who is a rock, save our 
 God]" 
 
 "Jehovah" alone is the " God," or covenanted Saviour of his people; he 
 is the only "rock" on which they may securely build their hope of heaven. 
 Vain were the idols of the ancient world, Baal and Jupiter; as vain are 
 those of modern times, pleasure, honour, and profit. They cannot bestow 
 content, or make their votaries happy below; much less can they deliver 
 from death, or open the everlasting doors above. 
 
 " 32. It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way 
 perfect." 
 
 In this and the following verses are enumerated the gifts of God to the 
 spiritual warrior, whereby he is armed and prepared for the battle, after the 
 example of his victorious leader. God invests him with " strength," or 
 what the Apostle calls, "the spirit of might in the inner man," as the 
 loins of a soldier are braced by the military girdle ; whence that of St. Paul, 
 " having your loins girt about with truth." He removes everything that 
 may impede his progress, until he has accomplished his warfare, and 
 finished his course in righteousness, which seems to be what is meant by 
 "making his way perfect." 
 
 "33. He maketh my feet like hinds'' feet, and sitteth me upon my high 
 places." 
 
 He endueth the affections, which are the feet of the soul, with vigour 
 and agility, to run the way of his commandments, to surmount every obsta- 
 
78 A COMMENTARY Psaim XVm. 
 
 cle, and, with an activity like that of the swift hart, or the bounding roe, 
 to conquer the steep ascent of the everlasting hills, and gain the summit of 
 the heavenly mountain. St. Paul tells us how the feet must be shod for 
 this purpose, namely, "with the preparation of the Gospel of peace." 
 
 " 34. He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by 
 mine arms." 
 
 He communicates a wisdom and a power which nothing can withstand, 
 instructing and enabling the combatant to overcome in the conflict, to seize 
 and render useless the weapons of the adversary. St. Paul puts into the 
 Christian warrior's hand, " the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of 
 God." 
 
 " 35. Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation : and thy right 
 hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness, or, thy aflflictions, have made 
 me great." 
 
 The salvation of God is a defence against all temptations to such as 
 believe in it; whence St. Paul styles this piece of armour, "the.shield of 
 FAITH, wherewith," says he, "ye may be able to quench all the fiery darts 
 of the devil." The " right hand" of God must support and sustain us at 
 all times ; and the wholesome discipline of the Christian camp, the chas- 
 tisements and corrections of our heavenly Father, must train us up to true 
 greatness, and prepare us for the kingdom of heaven. The soldiers, like 
 their great Leader, must be " made perfect through sufferings." 
 
 " 36. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that, or, and, my feet did 
 not slip." 
 
 In other words, God had opened a free course for him to victory and 
 triumph, and had also endued him with strength to run that course; thus 
 removing the two mischievous effects of sin, which not only precluded the 
 way to heaven, but deprived us of the ability to travel in it. 
 
 " 37. I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them ; neither did I 
 turn again till they were consumed. 38. I have wounded them that they 
 were not able to rise : they are fallen under my feet." 
 
 If we suppose David in his conquests to have prefigured victorious Mes- 
 siah, then have we, in these and the subsequent verses, a sublime descrip- 
 tion of that vengeance, which Jesus, after his resurrection and ascension, 
 inflicted on his hardened and impenitent enemies. His wrath "pursued" 
 and "overtook" them, in the day of visitation ; nor did it return, till, like 
 a devouring fire, it had " consumed the prey." The .Tews were cast 
 down, " not able to rise," or lift up themselves as a people, being crushed 
 under the feet of the once despised and insulted Nazarene. Let us reflect 
 upon the impotence of our spiritual adversaries, when Jesus declares war 
 against them ; and let us beseech him to conquer them in us, as he has con- 
 quered them for us. 
 
 "39. For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle; thou hast 
 subdued under me those that rose up against me. 40. Thou hast also 
 given me the necks of mine enemies ; that I might destroy them that 
 hate me." 
 
 With the almighty power of the Godhead was Jesus invested, by which 
 all the enemies were subdued unto him ; the stiff " necks" of his crucifiers 
 were bowed under him, and utter destruction became the portion of those 
 who hated him, and had " sent after him, saying, We will not have this 
 man to reign over us." So gird us thy soldiers and servants, O Lord Jesus, 
 to the battle ; and subdue under us, by the power of thy grace, those that 
 rise up against us, whether they be oar own corrupt desires, or the malicious 
 spirits of darkness ; so give us, like another Joshua, the " neck'''' of these 
 our enemies, that we may destroy them that hate, and would destroy us. 
 
 "41. They cried, but there was none to save them; even unto the Lord, 
 but he answered them not." 
 
 Never was there a more just and lively portrait of the lamentable and 
 
DAT III. E. p. ON THE PSALMS. 79 
 
 desperate state of the Jews, when their calamities came upon them. 
 "They cried, but — none to save!" They had rejected Him who alone 
 could save, and who was now about to destroy them. They cried to Jeho- 
 vah, and thought themselves still his favourite nation ; but Jehovah and 
 Jesus were one ; so that after putting the latter from them, they could not 
 retain the former on their side. " He answered them not !" It was too 
 late to knock when the door was shut ; too late to cry for mercy, when it 
 was the time of justice. Let us knock while yet the door may be opened, 
 and not begin to pray when prayer shall be no longer heard. 
 
 " 42. Then did 1 beat them small as the dust before the wind : I did cast 
 them out as the dirt in the streets." 
 
 The nature of that judgment which was executed upon the Jews, cannot 
 be more accurately delineated than by the two images here made use of. 
 They were broken in pieces, and dispersed over the face of the earth by the 
 breath of God's displeasure, like " dust before the wind ; and as dirt in the 
 streets, they were cast out," to be trodden under foot by all nations. O 
 that every nation would so consider, as to avoid their crime and their 
 punishment. 
 
 "43. Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people, and thou 
 hast made me the head of the heathen : a people whom I have not known 
 shall serve me." 
 
 If David was delivered from the strivings of the people ; if the adjacent 
 heathen nations were added to his kingdom, and a "people, whom he had 
 not known, served him ;" how much more was this the case of the Son of 
 David, when he was " delivered," by his resurrection, from the power of 
 all his enemies; when he was made " head of the heathen," of whom, after 
 their conversion, his church was, and to this day is composed ; and when, 
 . instead of the rejected Jews, a people, to whom before he had not been 
 known, became his servants ? 
 
 " 44. As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me ; the strangers 
 shall submit themselves unto me. 45. The strangers shall fade away, and 
 be afraid out of their close places." 
 
 "As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me;" hereby is intimated 
 the readiness with which the Gentiles should flow into the church, upon 
 tlie preaching of the Gospel to them, when the Jews, after having so long 
 and so often heard it, had nailed Christ to the cross, and driven the apostles 
 out from among them. " The strangers shall submit themselves unto me ;" 
 the nations who were "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and stran- 
 gers to the covenants of promise," either cordially submitted to the sceptre 
 of Christ, or at least dissembled their hostility, and yielded a feigned sub- 
 mission ; (for so the WT\2 word sometimes signifies ;) " the strangers shall 
 fade away ;" that is, such of them as set themselves against me, shall find 
 their strength blasted and withered as a leaf in autumn, and shall fall at the 
 sound of my name and my victories : " they shall come trembling from 
 their strong holds," as places not able to protect them, and therefore they 
 will sue for peace. Such seems to be the import of these two verses, which 
 therefore denote the conquest of Messiah to have been everywhere com- 
 plete. And accordingly, in the remaining part of the Psalm, the church 
 through Christ her Head, blesseth Jehovah for the same. 
 
 "46. The Lord liveth, and blessed he iny Rock ; and let the God of my 
 salvation be exalted. 47. It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the 
 people under me. 48. He delivered me from mine enemies ; yea, thou 
 liftest me up above those that rise up against me ; thou hast delivered me 
 from the violent man." 
 
 In other words, " And now the Lord God omnipotent liveth and reigneth, 
 for ever blessed and exalted, as the God of salvation ; by him I am avenged 
 of those who persecuted me, and am advanced to empire ; my enemies are 
 fallen, and my throne is established." Thus we learn to trust in Jehovah 
 
80 A COMMENTARY Psalm XIX. 
 
 without fear, when our enemies are victorious, and to glorify him without 
 reserve, when we are so. 
 
 "49. Therefore will I give thanks unto thee,0 Lord, among the heathen, 
 and sing praises unto thy name." 
 
 Remarkable is the manner in which St. Paul cites this verse, Rom. xv. 9. 
 The context runs thus, "Now I say, that Jesus Christ was a minister of 
 the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto 
 the fathers: and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy: as it 
 is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and 
 sing unto thjj- name." This verse is by the Apostle produced as a proof, 
 that the Gentiles were one time to glorify God, for the mercy vouchsafed 
 them by Jesus Christ. But according to the letter of the passage, king 
 David only says, that he will " give thanks unto God among the heathen," 
 on account of his own deliverance, and exaltation to the throne of Israel; 
 for upon that occasion we know that he composed and sung the Psalm. 
 This citation brought by St. Paul cannot therefore be to the purpose for 
 which it is brought, unless the Psalm have a double sense; unless God be 
 glorified in it for the victory and inthronization of Christ, as well as for 
 those of David; and this cannot be, unless the same words which literally 
 celebrate the one, do likewise prophetically celebrate the other ; unless 
 David be a figure of Christ, and speak in his person, andin that of his body 
 the church. While this Psalm is used, as a Christian' hymn, in the Gen- 
 tile Christian church, David still continues, as he foresaw he should do, 
 " to give thanks unto Jehovah, to glorify God among the Gentiles," for the 
 mercies of redemption, and to "sing praises unto his name."* 
 
 " 50. Great deliverance giveth he to his King : and sheweth mercy to his 
 Anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore." 
 
 " Great deliverance giveth he unto his king ;" to king David, in saving 
 him from Saul and his other temporal enemies, and seating him on the 
 earthly throne of Israel ; to King Messiah, in rescuing him from death and 
 the grave, and exalting him to a heavenly throne, as Head of the church; 
 "and sheweth mercy to his Anointed ;" to him who was anointed outward- 
 ly, and in a figure, with oil ; and to him who was anointed inwardly, and in 
 truth, with the Holy Ghost and with power : " to David and to his seed for 
 evermore ;" to the literal David, and to his royal progeny, of whom, accord- 
 ing to the flesh, Christ came; and to Christhimself, the spiritual David, the 
 Beloved of God, and all those who through faith become his children, the 
 sons of God, and heirs of eternal life. 
 
 FOURTH DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM XIX. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In the former part of this beautiful Psalm, ver. 1 — 6. the heavens are repre- 
 sented as the instructers of mankind ; the subject, the universality, and the 
 manner of their instructions, are pointed out; tlie glory, beauty, and powerful 
 effects of the solar light are described. Tlie latter part of the Psalm, 7 — 
 14. contains an encomium on tlie word of God, in which its properties are 
 enumerated ; and a prayer of tlie Psalmist for pardoning and resti-ainlng 
 grace, and for the acceptance of these and all other his devotions and medi- 
 tations. From a citation which St. Paul hath made of the 4th verse, it ap- 
 pears, that in the exposition, we are to raise our thoughts from things natu- 
 
 * " This verse is applied in Rom. xv. 2. to the calling of the GentikiS unto the faith of Christ, 
 and praise unto God therefor. By which we are taught, that of Christ and his Iviiigdom this 
 Psalm is chiefly intended." MnstcorUi. 
 
Day IV. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 81 
 
 ral to thing's spiritual ; we are to contemplate the publication of the Gospel, 
 tl\e manifestation of the Light of Life, the Sunof Righteousness, and tlie effi- 
 cac)' of evangehcal doctrine. In tliis view the ancients have considered the 
 Psahn, and tiie churcli hath therefore appointed it to be read on Christmas 
 
 day. 
 
 " 1. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth 
 his handy-work." 
 
 Under the name of "heaven," or "the heavens," is comprehended that 
 fluid mixture of light and air, which is everywhere diffused about us; and 
 to the influences of which are owing all the beauty and fruitfulness of the 
 earth, all vegetable and animal life, and the various kinds of motion through- 
 out the system of nature. By their manifold and beneficial operations, 
 therefore, as well as by their beauty and magnificence, " the heavens declare 
 the glory of God ;" they point Him out to us, who, in Scripture language, 
 is stj^led " the glory of God ;" by whom themselves and all other things 
 were made, and are upholden; and who is the author of every grace and 
 blessing to the sons of men : " the firmament," or expansion of the celestial 
 elements, wherever it extends, "showeth his handy-work," not only as the 
 Creator, but likewise as the Redeemer of the world. And thus do the 
 heavens afford inexhaustible matter for contemplation and devotion to the 
 philosopher and to the Christian. 
 
 '' 2. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth know- 
 ledge." 
 
 The labours of these our instructers know no intermission, but they con- 
 tinue incessantly to lecture us in the science of divine wisdom. There is 
 one glory of the sun, which shines forth by day; and there are other glories 
 of the moon and of the stars, which become visible by night. And because 
 day and night interchangeably divide the world between them, they are 
 therefore represented as transmitting in succession, each to the other, the 
 task enjoined them, like the two parts of a choir, chanting forth alternately 
 the praises of God. How does inanimate nature reproach us with our indo- 
 lence and indevoti on ! 
 
 " 3. There is no speech nor language ivhere their voice is not heard." 
 
 Our translators, by the words inserted in a different character, have de- 
 clared their sense of this passage to be, that there is no' nation or language, 
 whither the instruction diff"used by the heavens doth not reach. But as the 
 same thought is so fully expressed in the next verse, " Their sound is gone 
 out," &c. it seems most adviseable to adhere to the original, which runs 
 literally thus, " No speech, no words, their voice is not heard ;" that is, 
 although the heavens are thus appointed to teach, yet it is not by articulate 
 sounds that they do it; they are not endowed, like man, with the faculty of 
 speech; but they address themselves to the mind of the intelligent beholder 
 in another way, and that, when understood, a no less forcible way, the way 
 of picture, or representation. So manifold is the wisdom of God ; so various 
 are the ways by which he communicates it to men. 
 
 "4. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the 
 end of the world." 
 
 The instruction which the heavens disperse abroad is universal as their 
 substance, which extends itself in " lines," or rays, " over all the earth ;" 
 by this means their " words," or rather their * " significant actions" and 
 operations, are everywhere present, even " to the ends of the world ;" and 
 thereby they preach to all nations the power and wisdom, the mercy and 
 loving-kindness of the Lord. The apostles' commission was the same with 
 
 • tian'bo — The verb '^'70 (whence "''70 words) is used for expressing the 
 meaning by signs. It has this sense, Prov. vi. 13. t^J13 "^^iD speaking with 
 his feet. 
 
82 A COMMENTARY Psalm XIX. 
 
 that of the heavens; and St. Paul, Rom. x. 18. has applied the natural 
 images of this verse to the manifestation of the Light of Life, by the ser- 
 mons of those who were sent forth for that purpose. He is speaking of 
 those Jews who had not obeyed the Gospel. " But I say," argues he, 
 " have they not heard ] Yes, verily their sound went into all the earth, and 
 their words unto the ends of the world." As if he had said. They must 
 have heard, since the apostles were commanded not to turn unto the Gentiles, 
 till they had published their glad tidings throughout Judea; but the know- 
 ledge of him is now become universal, and all flesh has seen the glory of 
 the Lord ; the Light Divine, like that in the heavens, has visited the whole 
 world, as the prophet David foretold, in the xixth Psalm. The apostle can- 
 not be supposed to have made use of this vScripture in a sense of accommo- 
 dation only, because he cites it among other texts which he produces merely 
 as prophecies. And if such be its meaning, if the heavens thus declare the 
 glory of God — and this is the great lesson they are incessantly teaching — 
 what other language do they speak, than that their Lord is the representa- 
 tive of ours, the bright ruler in the natural world of the more glorious one 
 in the spiritual, their sun of the " Sun of righteousness V But of this the 
 following verses will lead us to speak more particularly. 
 
 " In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, 5. Which is as a bride- 
 groom coming out of his chamber, mid rejoiceth as a strong man to run a 
 race." 
 
 In the centre of the heavens there is a tent pitched by the Creator for the 
 residence of that most glorious of inanimate substances, the solar light; 
 from thence it issues, with the beauty of a bridegroom, and the vigour of a 
 champion, to run its course and perform its operations. A tabernacle, in 
 like manner, was prepared for him, who saith of himself, " I am the light 
 of the world," John viii. 13. And as the light of the sun goes out in the 
 morning with inconceivable activity, new and youthful itself, and commu- 
 nicating life and gayety to all things round it, like a bridegroom, in the 
 marriage garment, from his chamber to his nuptials ; so, at his incarnation, 
 did the Light Divine, the promised bridegroom, visit his church, being clad 
 himself, and clothing her with that robe of righteousness, which is styled, 
 in holy Scripture, the marriage garment ; and the joy, which his presence 
 administered, was, like the benefits of it, universal. And as the material 
 light is always ready to run its heavealy race, daily issuing forth, with re- 
 newed vigour, like an invincible champion still fresh to labour; so likewise 
 did HE rejoice to run his glorious race ; he excelled in strength, and his 
 works were great and marvellous; he triumphed over the powers of dark- 
 ness; he shed abroad on all sides his bright beams upon his church ; he be- 
 came her deliverer, her protector and support; and showed himself able in 
 every respect to accomplish for her the mighty task he had undertaken. 
 What a marvellous instrument of the Most High is the sun at his rising, 
 considered in this view ! 
 
 " C. His going forth is from the end of heaven, and his circuit unto the 
 ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof." 
 
 The light diffused on every side from its fountain, extendeth to the ex- 
 tremities of heaven, filling the whole circle of creation, penetrating even to 
 the inmost substances of grosser bodies, and acting in and through all other 
 matter, as the general cause of life and motion. Thus unbounded and efl^ca- 
 cious was the influence of the Sun of righteousness, when he sent out his 
 word, enlightening and enlivening all tilings by the glory of his grace. His 
 celestial rays, like those of the sun, took their circuit round the earth ; they 
 went forth out of Judea into all parts of the habitable world, and there was 
 no corner of it so remote as to be without the reach of their penetrating and 
 healing power. " The Lord gave the word ; great was the company of 
 those that published it," Psglm Ixviii. 11. It was the express declaration 
 of our Saviour himself, " This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in 
 
Day IV. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. g3 
 
 all the world, for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come," 
 Matt. xxiv. 14. And St. Paul affirms, that the Gospel was "come untoall 
 the world, and had been preached to every creature under heaven," Col. i. 
 6, and 23. The prophet therefore, having- thus foretold the mission of the 
 apostles, and the success of their ministry, proceeds in the next place to 
 describe their "doctrine;" so that what follows is a fine encomium upon 
 the Gospel, written with all the simplicity peculiar to the sacred language, 
 and in a strain far surpassing the utmost efforts of human eloquence. 
 
 " 7. The law, or, doctrine, of the Lord is perfect, converting, or, restor- 
 ing, the soul : the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." 
 
 The word of God in this and the following verses, has several most 
 valuable properties ascribed to it. It is perfect!}' well adapted in every par- 
 ticular, to "convert," to restore, to bring back " the soul" from error to 
 truth, from sin to righteousness, from sickness to health, from death to life; 
 as it convinces of sin, it holds forth a Saviour, it is a means of grace, and 
 a rule of conduct. It giveth wisdom, and by wisdom stability, to those 
 who might otherwise, through ignorance and weakness, be easily deceived 
 and led astray; " it is sure," certain and infallible in its directions and in- 
 formations, "making wise the simple." 
 
 "8. The statutes of the Lord nre right, rejoiceth the heart: the com- 
 mandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes." 
 
 To those who study the righteousness of God therein communicated to 
 man, it becometh a never-failing source of consolation and holy joy; the 
 conscience of the reader is cleansed by the blood, and rectified by the Spirit 
 of Christ; and such a conscience is a continual feast; the " statutes of the 
 Lord are right, rejoicing the heart." The Divine word resembleth the 
 light in its brightness and purity, by which are unveiled and manifested to 
 the eyes of the understanding, the wonderful works and dispensations of 
 God, the state of man, the nature of sin, the way of salvation, the joys of 
 heaven, and the pains of hell: " the commandment of the Lord is pure, 
 enlightening the eyes." 
 
 " 9. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of 
 the Lord are true and righteous altogether." 
 
 " The fear of the Lord," which restrains from transgressing that law by 
 which it is bread in the heart, is in its effect a preservative of mental pu- 
 rity, and in the duration both of its effect and its reward eternal ; it " en- 
 dureth for ever." The judgments of " the Lord are" not, like those of 
 men, oftentimes wrong and unjust, but all his determinations in his word 
 are " truth and righteousness united" in perfection. 
 
 " 10. More to be desired are. they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: 
 sweeter also than honey, and the honey-comb." 
 
 What wonder is it, that this converting, instructing, exhilarating, en- 
 lightening, eternal, true, and righteous word, should be declared preferable 
 to the riches of eastern kings, and sweeter to the soul of the pious believer, 
 than the sweetest thing we know of is to the bodily taste? How ready we 
 are to acknowledge all this ! Yet, the next hour, perhaps, we part with the 
 true riches to obtain the earthly mammon, and barter away the joys of the 
 Spirit for the gratifications of sense! Lord, give us affections towards thy 
 word in some measure proportioned to its excellence; for we can never 
 love too much what we can never admire enough. 
 
 "11. Moreover, by them is thy servant warned ; and in keeping of them 
 there is great reward." 
 " The Psalmist here bears his own testimony to the character above given 
 of the Divine word ; as if he had said. The several parts of this perfect 
 law, hereafter to be published to the whole race of mankind, have been all 
 along my great instructers, and the only source of all the knowledge to 
 which thy servant hath attained; and I am fully assured, that the blessed 
 
84 A COMMENTARY Psaix XX. 
 
 fruit of them, when they are duly observed, and have their proper effect, is 
 exceeding glorious, even eternal life. 
 
 "12. Who can understand his errors'? Cleanse thou me from secret 
 faults." 
 
 The perfection and spirituality of God's law render it almost impossible 
 for a fallen son of Adam even to know all the innumerable instances of his 
 transgressing it. Add to which, that false principles and inveterate preju- 
 dices make us regard many things as innocent, and some things as lauda- 
 ble, which in the eye of Heaven are far otherwise. Self-examination is a 
 duty which few practise as they ought to do: and he who practises it best, 
 will always have reason to conclude his particular confessions with this ' 
 general petition, " Cleanse thou me from secret faults!" 
 
 " 13. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins,- let them not 
 have dominion over me: then I shall be upright, and I shall be innocent 
 from the great transgression." 
 
 In the preceding verse, David had implored God's pardoning grace, to 
 cleanse him from the secret sins of ignorance and infirmity; in this he begs 
 his restraining grace, to keep him back from presumptuous sins, or sins 
 committed knowingly, deliberately, and with a high hand, against the con- 
 victions and the remonstrances of conscience: he prays that such sins 
 might not " have dominion over him," or that he might not by contracting 
 evil habits, become the slave of an imperious lust, which might at length 
 lead him on to " the great transgression," to rebellion, and final apostacy 
 from God ; for he who would be innocent from the " great transgression," 
 must beware of indulging himself in any. 
 
 " 14. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be 
 acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer." 
 
 The prophet, having before solicited the justification of his person through 
 grace, concludes with a petition for the acceptance of all his offerings, and 
 more especially of these his meditations, at the hands of that blessed One, 
 whom he addresses as the author of all good, and the deliverer from all 
 evil ; as the " strength," and the " Redeemer" of his people.* 
 
 PSALM XX. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 1 — 4. The church prayeth for the prosperity of King Messiah, going forth to 
 tlie battle, as her champion and deliverer; for his acceptance by the Father, 
 and for the accomplishment of his will. 5, 6, 7, She declareth her full as- 
 surancc of faitli, and her resolution to trust to him alone, and not in the arm 
 of flesh. 8, She forseeth the fall of her enemies, and her own exaltation? 
 and, 9, concludeth with a prajer to the God of her strength. 
 
 " 1. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of 
 Jacob defend thee." 
 
 This may be considered as the address of a people to their king, when he 
 goeth forth to the battle against their enemies. But it is to be regarded, in 
 a more general and useful view, as the address of the church to Christ her 
 king, in " the day of his trouble." She prayeth for the accomplishment of 
 
 * If the reader shall have received any pleasure from pursuing the comment on the foregoing 
 Psalm, especially the first part of it, he is to be informed, that he stands indebted, on that ac- 
 count, to a discourse entitled, Christ thu liout of the world, published in the year 1750, by 
 the late Reverend Mr. Georye Watson, for many years the dear companion and kind director 
 of the author's studies; in attending to whose agreeable and instructive conversation, he has 
 often passed whole days together, and sliall alw.iys have reason to number them among the 
 best sp-nt days of his life; whose death he can never think of, without lamenting it afresh; 
 and to whose memory he embraces, with pleasure, this opportunity to pay the tribute of a 
 grateful heart. 
 
DAT lA^ M.P. ON THE PSALMS. 85 
 
 his warfare, "throiiirh the name of the God of Jacoh," dwelling' in him. 
 And this warfare, though accomplished in his own person, still remaineth 
 to be accomplished in his people, until the last enemy shall he destroyed, 
 and death shall be swallowed up in victory. It is still " the day of trouble;" 
 still " the name of the God of Jacob," must " defend the body of Christ." 
 
 " 2. Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of 
 Zion." 
 
 All help and strength, in the time of danger and sorrow, must be obtained 
 by prayer from the heavenly Sion, which is the Jerusalem above, and from 
 the eternal temple thereon constructed. By this " help and strength," the 
 Captain of our salvation conquered; and the church, with all her sons, 
 must conquer, through the same. 
 
 " 3. Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice." 
 
 As Christ, in the days of his flesh, offered up, not only prayers, and 
 tears, but at length, his own most precious body and blood, the church here 
 prays, that the great propitiatory sacrifice may he had in everlasting remem- 
 brance before God, and the merits of it be continually pleaded in arrest of 
 judgment, and accepted for herself and her children. 
 
 " 4. Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel." 
 
 The desire of Christ's heart, and the counsel of his will was, that he 
 might die for our sins, and rise again for our justification; that the Gospel 
 might be preached, the Gentiles called, the Jews converted, the dead raised, 
 and the elect glorified. That this his " desire might be granted," and this 
 his " counsel be fulfilled," the church of old prayed ; and the church now 
 prayeth for the accomplishment of that which yet remains to be accom- 
 plished. 
 
 " 5. We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we 
 will set up 02ir banners: the Lord fulfil all thy petitions." 
 
 The joy of the church is the salvation of Christ; and the joy of every 
 individual is in the application of that salvation to himself, and all around 
 him. In the name of Jesus, and under the banner of the cross, the armies 
 of the faithful undertake and carry on all their enterprises against the world, 
 the flesh, and the devil. The prospect of the glorious fruits of Christ's 
 victory caused the church to redouble her prayers, that he might be heard 
 in his " petitions" for mankind, and might see of the travail of his soul. 
 
 " 6. Now know I, that the Lord saveth his anointed : he will hear him 
 from his holy heaven, with the saving strength of his right hand." 
 
 The assurance of the ancient church was built on the prophecies going 
 before concerning the salvation of Messiah. Our assurance is strengthened 
 by the actual performance of so great a part of the counsel of God. We 
 know that the Lord has "saved his Anointed;" that his Anointed saveth 
 all who believe and obey him, from their sins; and therefore, we doubt not, 
 but that by " the strength of his right hand," or by the excellency of his 
 power, he will finally save them from death, and rescue them from the 
 grave. 
 
 "7. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember 
 the name of the Lord our God." 
 
 This should be the resolution of every Christian king and people, in the 
 day of battle. And, in the spiritual war, in which we are all engaged, the 
 first and necessary step to victory is, to renounce all confidence in the wis- 
 dom and strength of nature and the world; and to remember, that we can 
 do nothing, but in the name, by the merits, through the power, and for the 
 sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God. 
 
 "8. They are brought down and fallen ; but we are risen, and stand up- 
 right." 
 
 This was eminently the case, when the pride and power of Jewish infi- 
 delity and pagan idolatry fell before the victorious sermons and lives of the 
 humble believers in Jesus: this is the case in every conflict with our 
 spiritual enemies, when we engage them in the name, the Spirit, and the 
 
 8 
 
86 A COMMENTARY Psalm XXI. 
 
 power of Christ : and his will be the case at the last day, when the world, 
 with the prince of it, shall be " brought down, and fall ; but we, risen" 
 from the dead, through the resurrection of our Lord, shall "stand upright" 
 in the courts of heaven, and sing the praises of him who getteth us all our 
 victories. 
 
 " 9. Save, Lord : let the king hear us when we call." 
 Thus the Psalm concludes, as it began, with a general "Hosanna" of 
 the church, praying for the prosperity and success of the then future Mes- 
 siah, and for her own salvation in him, her King ; who from the grave and 
 gate of death, was, for this end, to be exalted to the right hand of the Ma- 
 jesty in the heavens, that he might hear, and present to his Father the 
 prayers of his people, "when they call upon him." 
 
 PSALM XXL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This is one of the proper Psalms which the church hath appointed to be used 
 on Ascension-day, and wherein, 1 — 6. she celebrates the victory of her 
 Redeemer, and the glory consequent thereupon ; she prophesies, 7. the 
 stability of his kingdom, and, 8 — 12. tlie destruction of the enemies thereof; 
 concluding with a prayer for his final triumph and exaltation ; the celebra- 
 tion of which, with everlasting hallelujahs, will be her employment in heaven. 
 
 " I. The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; and in thy salvation 
 how greatly shall he rejoice !" 
 
 The joy of Christ himself, after his victory, is in the strength and salva- 
 tion of Jehovah, manifested thereby. Such ought to be the joy of his dis- 
 ciples, when God hath enabled them to vanquish their enemies, either tem- 
 poral or spiritual ; in which latter case, as they are called kings, and said 
 to reign with Christ; so they are in duty bound to acknowledge, that they 
 reign by him : " He that glorieth," whatever the occasion be, " let him 
 glory in the Lord." 
 
 " 2. Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the 
 request of his lips." 
 
 The desire of Christ's heart was his own resurrection and exaltation, 
 for the benefit of his church: and now he ever liveth to make "request 
 with his lips," for the conversion and salvation of sinners. Such desires 
 will be granted, and such requests will never be withholden. Let us be 
 careful to frame ours after that all-perfect model of divine love. 
 
 "3. For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness; thou set- 
 test a crown of pure gold on his head." 
 
 The Son of God could not be more ready to ask for the blessings of the 
 Divine goodness, than the Father was to give them: and his disposition is 
 the same towards all his adopted sons. Christ, as king and priest, weareth 
 a crown of glory, represented by the purest and most resplendent of metals, 
 gold. He is pleased to esteem his saints, excelling in diflerent virtues, as 
 the rubies, the sapphires, and the emeralds, which grace and adorn that 
 crown. Who would not be ambitious of obtaining a place therein ! 
 
 "4. He asked life of thee, awe? thou gavest it him, even length of days 
 for ever and ever." 
 
 The life asked by Christ was, not a continuance in this valley of tears, 
 but that new and eternal life, consequent upon a resurrection from the dead. 
 For thus his petition was granted in " length of days, for ever and ever." 
 He died no more ; death had no " more dominion over him." Whose disci- 
 ples then are they, that wish only to have their days prolonged upon the 
 earth, forgetful of the life which is hid with Christ in God 1 
 
 "5. His glory ^zs great in thy salvation: honour and majesty has t thou 
 laid upon him." 
 
Day IV. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 87 
 
 What tongue can express the " glory, honour, and majesty," with which 
 the King of righteousness and peace was invested upon his ascension ; 
 when he took possession of the throne prepared for him, and received the 
 homage of heaven and earth 1 The sacred imagery in St. John's Revela- 
 tion sets them before our eyes in such a manner, that no one can read the 
 description, whose heart will not burn within him, through impatient desire 
 to behold them. See Rev. ch. iv. vii. xix. xxi. xxii. 
 
 " G. For thou hast made him most blessed, Heb. set him to be blessings,* 
 for ever : thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance." 
 
 Christ, by his death and passion, having removed the curse, became the 
 fountain of all blessings to his people, in time and eternity, being himself 
 the blessing promised to Abraham, and the object of the patriarchal bene- 
 dictions. The joy communicated to the humanity of our Lord from the 
 Divine nature, shall be shed abroad on all his saints, when admitted to view 
 the " countenance of God" in the face of Jesus Christ. Then they shall 
 enter into " the joy of their Lord." 
 
 "7. For the king trusteth in the Lord, and through the mercy of the 
 Most High he shall not be moved." 
 
 The throne of Christ, as maa, was erected and established, by his trust 
 and confidence in the Father, during his humiliation and passion. Faith ia 
 God, therefore, is the way that leadeth to honour and stability. " Look at 
 the generations of old, and see : did ever any trust in the Lord, and was 
 confounded 1" Eccles. ii. 10. 
 
 " 8. Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies ; thy right hand shall find 
 out those that hate thee." 
 
 The same right hand of Jehovah is glorious in power to save his people, 
 and to destroy his enemies ; to convert the Gentiles, and to crush the Jews ; 
 to exalt the faithful to heaven, and cast down the unbelieving to hell ; 
 neither is there any treason against the King of heaven, which shall not be 
 dragged forth into the light, made manifest, judged, and condemned. Let 
 thy hand, O Lord, be upon our sins, to destroy them ; but upon us, to 
 save us. 
 
 " 9. Thou shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger : 
 the Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour 
 them." 
 
 " The time of God's anger" often begins in this life, especially towards 
 the close of it, when an evil conscience within, like a flame confined in an 
 " oven," torments the sinner, as a prelude to punishments future and un- 
 known, which the "wrath" of God is preparing to inflict on the incorrigi- 
 ble and impenitent. Let us so meditate on this sad scene, that we may 
 have no part in it. 
 
 " 10. Their fruit shall thou destroy from the earth, their seed from among 
 the children of men." 
 
 A day is coming, when all the " fruits" of sin, brought forth by sinners, 
 in their words, their writings, and their actions, shall be "destroyed;" 
 yea, the tree itself, which had produced them, shall be rooted up, and cast 
 into the fire. The "seed" and posterity of the wicked, if they continue 
 in the way of their forefathers, will be punished like them. Let parents con- 
 sider, that upon their principles and practices may depend the salvation or 
 destruction of multitudes after them. The case of the Jews, daily before 
 their eyes, should make them tremble. 
 
 "11. For they intended evil against thee ; they imagined a mischievous 
 device, which they are not able to perform." 
 
 Vengeance came upon the Jews to the uttermost, because of their in- 
 tended malice against Christ. They, like Joseph's brethren, "thought 
 evil against him ;" but "they were not able to perform it; for God iijeant 
 
 * " Nam pnsuisti euin in secula benediceiiduin." Houhlgant. Compare Gen. xii. 3. Bishop 
 Loieth, in Merrick' 3 Aimotatiom. 
 
88 A COMMENTARY Psalm XXII. 
 
 it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive," 
 Gen. i. 20. So let all the designs of ungodly men against thy church, O 
 Lord, through thy power of bringing good out of evil, turn to her advantage : 
 and let all men be convinced that no weapon formed against thee can 
 prosper. 
 
 " 12. Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, or, thou shalt set 
 them as a butt, luhen thou shall make ready thbie arrows upon thy strings, 
 against the face of them." 
 
 The judgments of God are called his " arrows," being sharp, swift, sure, 
 and deadly. What a dreadful situation to be set as a mark, and "butt," 
 at which these arrows are directed ! View Jerusalem encompassed by the 
 Roman armies, without, and torn to pieces by the animosity of desperate 
 and bloody factions within. No farther commentar}' is requisite upon this 
 verse. " Tremble, and repent," is the inference to be drawn by every 
 Christian community under heaven, in which appears the symptoms of 
 degeneracy and apostacy. 
 
 *' 13. Be thou exalted. Lord, in thine own strength ; so will we sing and 
 praise thy power." 
 
 The church concludes with a joyful acclamation to her Redeemer, wish- 
 ing for his "exaltation in his own strength," as God, who was to be 
 abased in much weakness, as man. We still continue to wish and praj^ for 
 his exaltation over sin, in the hearts of his people by grace, and finally over 
 death, in their bodies, by his glorious power at the resurrection. The 
 triumph over sin we sing in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, upon 
 earth ; that over death we shall praise with everlasting hallelujahs, in 
 heaven. 
 
 FOURTH DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM XXIL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm, which the church hath appointed to be used on Good Friday, as 
 our Lord uttered the first verse of it, when hanging on the cross, consistetli 
 of two parts. The former, 1 — 21. treateth of the passion ; the latter, 22 — 31. 
 celebrateth the resurrection of Jesus, with its effects. 1 — 2. He complaineth 
 of being forsaken ; 3 — 6. acknowledgeth the holiness of the Father, and 
 pleadeth the former deliverances of the church; 6 — 8. describeth his humi- 
 liation, with the taunts and reproaches of the Jews; 9 — 11. expresseth his 
 faith, and pra3'eth for help ; 12 — 18. particularizetli his sufferings ; 19 — 21. 
 repeateth his supplications ; 22 — 25. declareth his resolution to praise the 
 Father for his deliverance, and exhorteth his church to do the same :26 — 31. 
 prophesieth the conversion of the Gentile world to the faith and worship of 
 the true God. 
 
 " 1. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? Why art thou so 
 far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?" 
 
 Christ, the beloved Son of the Father, when hanging on the cross, com- 
 plained in these words, that he was deprived, for a time, of the Divine 
 presence and comforting influence, while he suffered for our sins. If the 
 Master thus underwent the trial of a spiritual desertion, why doth the dis- 
 ciple think it strange, unless the light of heaven shine continually upon his 
 tabernacle'? Let us comfort ourselves, in such circumstances, with the 
 thought, that we are thereby conformed to the image of our dying Lord, that 
 Sun which set in a cloud, to arise without one. 
 
 "2. O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the 
 night season, and am not silent." 
 
 Even our Lord himself, as man, prayed, " that if it were possible, the cup 
 
DatIV. E. p. ON THE PSALMS. 89 
 
 might pass froith him;" but God had ordained otherwise, for his own glory, 
 and for man's salvation. " Day and night," in prosperity and adversity, 
 livino- and dyino-, let us not be "silent," but cry for deliverance ; always 
 remembering to add, as Christ did, "Nevertheless, not my will, but thine 
 be done." Nor let any man be impatient for the return of his prayers, since 
 every petition preferred even by the Son of God himself was not granted. 
 
 " 3. But thou art holy, thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel."* 
 
 Whatever befalleth the members of the church, the head thereof here 
 teacheth them to confess the justice and holiness of God, in all his proceed- 
 ings; and to acknowledge, that whether heexalteth or humbleth his people, 
 he is to be praised and glorified by them. 
 
 "4. Our fathers trusted in thee : they trusted, and thou didst deliver them." 
 
 "Trust" in God is the way to "deliverance;" and the former instances 
 of the Divine favour are so many arguments why we should hope for the 
 same; but it may not always be vouchsafed, when we expect it. The pa- 
 triarchs and Israelites of old were often saved from their enemies : the holy 
 Jesus is left to languish and expire under the malice of his. God knows 
 what is proper for him to do, and for us to suffer; we know neither. This 
 consideration is an anchor for the afflicted soul, sure and steadfast. 
 
 " 5. They cried unto thee, and were delivered : they trusted in thee, and 
 were not confounded." 
 
 No argument is of more force with God, than that which is founded upon 
 an appeal to his darling attribute of mercy, and to the manifestations of it 
 formerly made to persons in distress; for which reason it is here repeated 
 and dwelt upon. They who would obtain grace to help in time of need, 
 must " cry" as well as " trust." The " prayer of faith" is mighty with 
 God, and (if we may use the expression) overcometh the Omnipotent. 
 
 " 6. But I am a worm, and no man ; a reproach of men, and despised of 
 the people." 
 
 He who spareth all other men, spared not his own Son ; he spared not 
 him, that he might spare them. The Redeemer of the world scrupleth not 
 to compare himself, in his state of humiliation, to the lowest reptile which 
 his own hand formed, a " worm," humble, silent, innocent, overlooked, 
 oppressed, and trodden under foot. Let the sight of this reptile teach us 
 humility. 
 
 " 7, 8. All they that see me, laugh me to scorn : they shoot out the lip, 
 they shake the head, saying. He trusted on the Lord, that he would deliver 
 him : let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him." 
 
 This was literally fulfilled, when Messiah hung upon the cross, and the 
 priests and elders used the very words that had been put into their mouths 
 by the Spirit of prophecy so long before. Matt, xxvii. 41 — 43. "The 
 chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said. He trusted in 
 God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him." O the wisdom and 
 foreknowledge of God ! the infatuation and blindness of man ! The same 
 are too often the sentiments of those, who live in times when the church and 
 her righteous cause, with their advocates, are under the cloud of persecution, 
 and seem to sink beneath the displeasure of the powers of the world. But 
 such do not believe, or do not consider, that, in the Christian economy, death 
 is followed by a resurrection, when it will appear, that God forsaketh not 
 them that are his, but they are preserved forever. 
 
 " 9, 10. But thou art he that took me out of the womb ; thou didst make 
 me hope, when I was upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon thee from 
 the womb : thou art my God from my mother's belly." 
 
 This was eminently the case of Christ, who was the Son of God in a 
 sense, in which no other man ever was. But in him we are all children of 
 
 * Or, perhaps, as Bishop Lovvth renders it, " Thou that inhabitest 'lHI^V' 
 a^'^}^^^\ the in-udiations, the glory of Israel." See Merrick's Annotations on the 
 Fsalms, p. 43. 
 
 8* 
 
90 A COMMENTARY Psaim XXH. 
 
 God by adoption : we are all in the hands of a gracious Providence from the 
 womb; and into those hands must we commend ourselves, when about to 
 depart hence. To whom else, then, should we have recourse for support 
 and consolation, in the day of calamity and sorrow? 
 
 " 11. Be not far from me, for trouble is near ; for ikere is none to help." 
 
 From the foregoing considerations, namely, from the holiness of God, ver. 
 3. from the salvation vouchsafed to the people of old time, ver. 4, 5. from 
 the low estate to which Messiah was reduced, ver. G, 7, 8. and from the 
 watchful care of the Father over him, since his miraculous birth, ver. 9, 10. 
 from all these considerations, he enforceth his petition for help, during his 
 unparalleled sufferings, when "all forsook him and fled." Let us treasure 
 up these things in our hearts, against the hour when " trouble shall be near, 
 and there shall be none to help :" when all shall forsake us, but God, our 
 conscience, and our prayers. 
 
 " 12, 13. Many bulls have compassed me : strong bulls of Basban have 
 beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and 
 a roaring lion." 
 
 From the 11th verse to the 19th the sufferings of the holy Jesus are de- 
 scribed, in terius partly figurative, and partly literal. A lamb in the midst 
 of wild " bulls and lions" is a very lively representation of his meekness 
 and innocence, and of the noise and fury of his implacable enemies. " Ba- 
 sban" was a fertile country. Numb, xxxii. 4, and the cattle there fed, were 
 fat and "strong," Deut. xxxii. 14. Like them, the Jews, in that good land, 
 "waxed fat and kicked," grew proud and rebelled; "forsook God that 
 made them, and lightly esteemed the Rock of their salvation." Let both 
 communities and individuals, when blessed with peace, plenty, and prospe- 
 rity in the world, take sometimes into consideration this flagrant instance of 
 their being abused, with the final consequence of such abuse. 
 
 " 14, 15. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint, 
 or, sundered ; my heart is like wax, it is melted in the midst of my bowels. 
 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaveth to my 
 jaws ; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death." 
 
 For our sakes Christ yielded himself, like " water," without resistance, 
 to the violence of his enemies; suffering his "bones," in which consisteth 
 the strength of the frame, to be distended and dislocated upon the cross ; 
 while, by reason of the fire from above, to the burning heat of which this 
 paschal Lamb was exposed, his heart dissolved and melted away. The 
 intenseness of his passion, drying up all the fluids, brought on a thirst, tor- 
 menting beyond expression ; and, at last, laid him low in the grave. Never, 
 blessed Lord, was love like unto thy love ! Never was sorrow like unto 
 thy sorrow ! Thy spouse and body mystical, the church, is often, in a de- 
 gree, conformed unto thee; and as thou wert, so is she in this world. 
 
 " IG. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have 
 enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet." 
 
 Our Lord, who compared himself above, ver. 12. to a lamb in the midst of 
 bulls and lions, here setteth himself forth again under the image of a hart, 
 or hind, roused early in the morning of his mortal life, hunted and chased all 
 the day, and in the evening pulled down to the ground, by those who " com- 
 passed" and " enclosed" him, thirsting and clamouring for his blood, crying, 
 "Away with him, away with him! crucify him, crucify him !" And the 
 next step was, the " piercing his hands and his feet," by nailing them to 
 the cross. How often, O thou Preserver of men, in thy church, thy minis- 
 ters, and thy word, art thou thus compassed, and thus pierced? 
 
 " 17. I may tell all my bones : they look and stare upon me." 
 
 The skin and flesh were distended, by the posture of the body on the cross, 
 that the bones, as through a thin veil, became visible, and might be counted ;* 
 
 * " Qui macilnnti sunt, sic habent ossa prominentia, ut facile omnia possint tactu secerni et 
 numerari. David, quatenus Ii.tc ei couveniunt, dicere lioc jiotuit de ce fuga et molestiis enia- 
 ciato. SedChristus aptiusita loqui poterat, quod magis ernaciatus esset.et corpora iiudoatque 
 in cruce distento, magis adparerent ossa." Lc Clerc, cited by Bia/iop Lowth, in Merrick's Annot. 
 
Day IV. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 91 
 
 and the holy Jesus, forsaken and stripped, naked and bleeding, was a spec- 
 tacle to heaven and earth. . Look unto him, and be ye saved, all ye ends of 
 the world ! 
 
 " 18. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my ves- 
 ture." 
 
 "The soldiers, when they crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made 
 four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat; now the coat was 
 witiiout seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among 
 themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be : that 
 the Scripture might be fulfilled, which sailh. They parted my raiment among 
 them, and for my vesture did they cast lots," John xix. 23, 24. 
 
 "19. But be not thou far from me, Lord : O my strength, haste thee 
 to help me." 
 
 The circumstances of the passion being thus related, Christ resumes the 
 prayer with which the Psalm begins, and which is repeated ver. 10, 11. 
 The adversary had emptied his quiver, and spent all the venom of his 
 malice ; Messiah therefore prayeth for a manifestation of the power and 
 favour of Heaven on his side in a joyful and glorious resurrection. And to 
 a resurrection from the dead every man will find it necessary to look for- 
 ward for comfort. 
 
 " 20. Deliver my soul from the sword ; my darling* from the power of 
 the dog. 21. Save me from the lion's mouth : for thou hast heard me, or, 
 and hear thou me from the horns of the unicorn." 
 
 The wrath of God was the " sword," which took vengeance on all men, 
 in their representative ; it was the "flaming sword," which kept man out 
 of paradise ; the sword, to which it was said, at the time of the passion — 
 " Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my 
 fellow, saith the Lord of hosts : smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall 
 be scattered," Zech. xiii. 7. "Matt. xxvi. 31. The ravening fury of the 
 " dog," the " lion," and the " unicorn," or " oryx," a fierce and untameable 
 creature of the stag kind, is made use of to describe the rage of the Devil 
 and his instruments, whether spiritual or corporeal. From all these Christ 
 supplicates the Father for deliverance. How great need have we to sup- 
 plicate for the same through him ! 
 
 " 22. 1 will declare thy name unto my brethren : in the midst of the 
 congregation will I praise thee." 
 
 The former part of the Psalm we have seen to be prophetical of the pas- 
 sion. The strain now changes to an epinikion, or hymn of triumph, in the 
 mouth of the Redeemer, celebrating his victory, and its happy consequences. 
 This verse is cited by the Apostle, Heb. ii. 11. " Both he that sanctified 
 and they who are sanctified all of one : for which cause He is not ashamed 
 to call them brethren, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren," 
 &c. And accordingly, when the deliverance, so long wished, and so 
 earnestly prayed for, was accomplished by the resurrection of Jesus from 
 the dead, he "declared the name of God," by his Apostles, to all his 
 " brethren ;" and caused the church to resound with incessant praises and 
 hallelujahs ; all which are here represented as proceeding from the body, 
 by and through him who is the head of that body. 
 
 " 23. j" Ye that fear the Lord, praise him ; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify 
 him ; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel." 
 
 If Christ arose from the dead, to declare salvation to his brethren, and to 
 glorify God for the same, how diligent ought we to be in doing the former; 
 how delighted in the performance of the latter ! Messiah first addresseth 
 
 * Heb. ^n'TTI' "*!/ unitedone. " May it relate to anything more than ^ty^J ? The human 
 nature united with the Divinity in the person of Christ? Qucere." Bishop Lowth, in Merrick's 
 Annotations. 
 
 t Bishop Lowth is of opinion, that this verse and the following are the "song" of praise, 
 which in the verse preceding, the speaker says, he will utter " in the congregation." Tlie in- 
 troduction of it, as his Lordship justly observes, gives a variety to the whole, and is liighly 
 poetical. Merrick's Jlnnotations. 
 
93 A COMMENTARY Psalm XXII. 
 
 himself to his ancient people, " the seed of Jacob," to whom the gospel was 
 first preached. How long, O Lord, holy and true, shall thy once highly 
 favoured nation continue deaf to this gracious call of thine ? " All ye seed 
 of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him all ye seed of Israel." 
 
 " 24. For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted ; 
 neither hath he hid his face from him ; but when he cried unto him, he 
 heard." 
 
 The great subjects of praise and thanksgiving in. the church, are the suf- 
 ferings of the lowly and afflicted Jesus, and the acceptance of those suffer- 
 ings by the Father, as a propitiation for the sins of the world ; which ac- 
 ceptance was testified by raising him from the dead ; inasmuch as the 
 discharge of the surety proved the payment of the debt. The poor and 
 afflicted brethren of Christ may take comfort from this verse; for if they 
 suffer in his spirit, they will be raised in his glory. 
 
 " 25. My praise skull be of thee in the great congregation : I will pay my 
 vows before them that fear him." 
 
 The vow of Christ was, to build and consecrate to Jehovah a spiritual 
 temple, in which the spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise should be con- 
 tinually offered. This vow he performed after his resurrection by the 
 hands of his Apostles, and still continueth to perform, by those of his minis- 
 ters, carrying on the work of edification in "the great congregation" of 
 the Gentile Christian church. The two vows of Christ cannot fail of being 
 performed. Happy are they, whom he vouchsafeth to use as his instru- 
 ments in the performance of them. 
 
 " 26. The meek shall eat and be satisfied : they shall praise the Lord 
 that seek him : your heart shall live for ever." 
 
 A spiritual banquet is prepared in the church for the meek and lowly of 
 heart; ttie bread of life and the wine of salvation are set forth in the word 
 and sacraments; and they that hunger and thirst after righteousness shall 
 be "satisfied" therewith: they "who seek" the Lord Jesus in his ordi- 
 nances, ever find reason to "praise him ;" while, nourished by these noble 
 and heavenly viands, they live the life, and work the works of grace, pro- 
 ceeding still forward to glory; when their "hearts shall live for ever" in 
 heaven. 
 
 "27. All the ends of the world shall remember, and turn unto the Lord : 
 and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee." 
 
 The great truth of man's creation and fall, with the promise of a Re- 
 deemer to come, were " forgotten" by the nations, after their apostacy from 
 the true God, and the one true religion ; but were, as we may say, recalled 
 to their " remembrance" by the sermons of the apostles, and the writings 
 of Moses and the prophets, translated and spread among them. By these 
 they were converted to the faith, and now compose the holy church univer- 
 sal throughout the world ; being the glorious proofs and fruits of the resur- 
 rection of Jesus from the dead. 
 
 "28. For the kingdom is the Lord's; and he is the governor among the 
 nations." 
 
 There is good reason why the nations should worship Christ, and throw 
 away their idols; since in his hands, not in theirs, is the government of 
 the world. Upon his ascension he was crowned King of kings and Lord 
 of lords ; he ruleth in the church by his Spirit ; and blessed are the hearts 
 that are his willing subjects in the day of his power. 
 
 " 29. All they that be fat upon the earth shall eat and worship : all they 
 that go down to the dust shall bow before him ; and none can keep alive 
 his own soul." 
 
 It was said above, ver. 26. " the meek," the poor, and lowly, " shall eat 
 and be satisfied." It is here foretold, that the " fat ones of the earth," the 
 great, the opulent, the flourishing, the nobles and princes of the world, 
 should be called in to partake of the feast, and to " worship" God. Rich, 
 
Day IV. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 93 
 
 as well as poor, are invited;* and the iiour is coming, when all ihe race of 
 Adam, as many as sleep in the "dust" of the earth, unable to raise them- 
 selves from thenee, quickened and called forth by the voice of the Son of 
 man, must " bow" the knee to king Messiah. 
 
 " 30. A seed shall serve him ; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a 
 generation." 
 
 The apostle informeth us, Rom. ix. 8. that " the children of the promise 
 were counted for the seed ;" that is, the converts to be made among the 
 nations by the preaching of the Gospel, according to the promise to Abra- 
 ham ; these were to constitute the church and family of Christ, the " gene- 
 ration" of the faithful : these were to take the place, and enjoy the privi- 
 leo-es of the Jews, cut off because of their unbelief. Lord, enable us to 
 serve thee all our lives with a service acceptable to thee in Christ Jesus ; 
 that at the resurrection of the just, we may be numbered in the generation 
 of thy children. 
 
 "31. They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people 
 that shall be born, that he hath done this.'''' 
 
 The promised and expected race shall spring forth at the time appointed, 
 and proclaim the "righteousness," which is of God by faith, to ages and 
 generations yet unborn ; who, hearing of that great work, which the Lord 
 shall have wrought for the salvation of men, will thereby be led to glorify 
 him in the church, for the same, to the end of time. 
 
 Rise, crown'd with lijlit, imperial Salem rise! 
 
 Exalt thy tow'rinj? head, and lift thy eyes! 
 
 See a long race thy spacious courts adorn ; 
 
 See future sons and daughters yet unborn, 
 
 In crowding ranks, on every side arise, 
 
 Demanding life, impatient for the skies! 
 
 See barb'rous nations at thy gates attend. 
 
 Walk in thy light and in thy temple bend. Messiah. 
 
 PSALM XXIII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In this Psalm, the '* sheep of God's pasture" address themselves to their great 
 and good Shepheud, declaring', 1, then- acquiescence and confidence in him; 
 2, his dihgeiice in feeding them with the food of eternal life; 3, his watch- 
 ful care in bringing them buck from the ways of error, and conducting them 
 in the path of truth; 4, his power in saving them from death; 5, his loving- 
 kindness in vouchsafing his spiritual comforts, during their pilgrimage in an 
 enemy's country; and 6, they express their hope and trust, that a continua- 
 tion of that loving-kindness will. enable them to pass through tlie vanities 
 and vexations of time to the blissful glories of eternity. 
 
 " 1. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." 
 
 In these words, which one cannot utter, without feeling the happiness 
 they were intended to describe, the believer is taught to express his absolute 
 acquiescence and complacency in the guardian care of the great Pastor of 
 the universe; the Redeemer, and Preserver of men. With joy he reflects, 
 that he has a "Shepherd;" and that that Shepherd is Jehovah; one pos- 
 sessed of all the qualities requisite to constitute the pastoral character in 
 the highest perfection. For where shall we ever find such unexampled di- 
 
 * They are " invited," but they do not so often accept the invitation. And it must be owned, 
 that 1*TX ^Jt^T are generally mentioned in an unfavourable sense. Bishop Lowth is there- 
 fore rather inclined to construe the words, as Mr. Fenwick does; all who are "fattened," 
 that is, "fed" and " sustained by the earth." The expression then intimates the universality 
 of the Gospel, which, the apostle says, "was preached to every creature;" a phrase of 
 similar import. All who would partake the benefits of Christ's passion, must worship 
 him as a Saviour, before they are called upon to adore him as a Jmige. The bishop thinks, 
 likewise, that the 23th verse should en<l with the words " bow before him ;" that the next words 
 in the original, should be read, as almost all the ancient versions seem to have read them 
 rrn ib ■'K'SJI ^^^<^ rendered—" But my soul shall live— My seed shall serve him," &c. 
 
■^4 A COMMENTARY Psami XXIII. 
 
 ligence, such inexpressible tenderness, such equisite skill, such all-sub- 
 duing might, and such unwearied patience? Why should they fear, who 
 have such a friend'? How can they " want," who have such a "Shep- 
 herd ]" Behold us, O Lord Jesus, in ourselves hungry, and thirsty, and 
 feeble, and diseased, and defenceless, and lost, O feed us, and cherish us, 
 and heal us, and defend us, and bear with us, and restore us. 
 
 "■2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures : he leadeth me beside 
 the still waters." 
 
 The loveliest image afforded by the natural world is here represented to 
 the imagination; that of a flock, feeding in verdant meadows, and reposing 
 in quietness by the rivers of water, running gently through them. It is 
 selected, to convey an idea of the provision made for the souls as well as 
 bodies of men by His goodness, who " openeth his hand, and filleth all 
 things living with plenteousness." " By me," saith the Redeemer, " if any 
 man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture," 
 John X. 9. And what saith the Spirit of peace and comfort! "Let him 
 that is athirst come; and whosoever will, let him take the water of life 
 freely," Rev. xxii. 17. Every flock that we see, should remind us of our 
 necessities; and every pasture should^excite us to praise that love, by which 
 they are so bountifully supplied. 
 
 " 3. He restoreth my soul : he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness 
 for his name's sake." 
 
 To " restore," or bring back those that had " gone astray," that is, in 
 other words, to " call sinners to repentance," was the employment of Him, 
 who in the parable of the " lost sheep," representeth himself as executing 
 that part of the pastoral office. By the same kind hand, when " restored," 
 they are thenceforward led in " the path of righteousness;" in the way of 
 holy obedience. Obstructions are removed, they are strengthened to walk 
 and run in the path of God's commandments; while, to invite and allure 
 them, a crown of glory appears, held forth at the end of it. All this is now 
 done for, in, by, and through that " name," beside which, there is none 
 other under heaven given unto man, whereby he may be saved. 
 
 "4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I 
 will fear no evil : for thou art with me ; thy rod and thy staff they comfort 
 me." 
 
 The sheep here express their confidence in the power of their Shepherd, 
 as suificient to defend them against the last and most formidable enemy, 
 Death himself. To apprehend the scenery in this verse, we must conceive 
 the church militant and the church triumphant as two mountains, between 
 which lieth the " valley of the shadow of death," necessary to be passed 
 b)^ those who would go from one to the other. Over all that region of 
 dreariness and desolation, extendeth the empire of the king of terrors: and 
 the believer alone " feareth no evil" in his passage through it; because he 
 is conducted by " that great Shepherd of the sheep, whom God brought 
 again from the dead ;" Heb. xiii. 20, and who can therefore show us the 
 path of life through the vale of death. In all our dangers and distresses, 
 but chiefly in our last and greatest need, let " thy rod," the sceptre of thy 
 kingdom, Lord, protect us, and thy pastoral " staff" guide and support 
 our steps; till, through the dreadful valley, we pass to the heavenly moun- 
 tain, on which St. John saw " the Lamb standing with a great multitude 
 redeemed from the earth," Rev. xiv. 1. 
 
 " 5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; 
 thou anointest my head with oil ; my cup runneth over." 
 
 Another set of images borrowed from a " feast," is introduced to give us 
 ideas of those cordials and comforts prepared to cheer and invigorate the 
 fainting soul; while, surrounded by " enemies," it is accomplishing its 
 pilgrimage through life ; during which time its sorrows and afflictions are 
 alleviated and sweetened by the joys and consolations of the Holy One; 
 by the feast of a good conscience; by the bread of life, the " oil" of glad- 
 ness, and the " cup" of salvation, still full and " running over." 
 
Day V. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 95 
 
 " 6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life ; 
 and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." 
 
 Experience of " goodness and mercy," already so often vouchsafed, begets 
 an assurance of their being continued to the end ; for nothing can separate 
 us from the love of Christ, if we do not separate ourselves from it. Thus 
 will the Lord our Saviour provide for us on earth, and conduct us to heaven ; 
 where we shall dwell to " length of days," even the days of eternity, " one 
 fold under one Shepherd :" a fold into which no enemy enters, and from 
 which no friend departs: where we shall rest from all our labours, and see 
 a period to all our sorrows : where the voice of praise and thanksgiving is 
 heard continually; where all the faithful, from Adam to his last horn son, 
 shall meet together to behold the face of Jesus, and to be blessed with the 
 vision of the Almighty : where " we shall hunger no more, neither thirst 
 any more, neither shall the sun light on us, nor any heat. But the Lamb, 
 which is in the midst of the throne shall feed us, and lead us to living foun- 
 tains of waters," Rev. vii. 16, 17. 
 
 FIFTH DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM XXIV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The plan of this Psalm, according' to the letter of it, is beautifully delineated 
 by Bishop Lowth, in his xxviith lecture. The ark of God is supposed to be 
 moving', in a grand and solemn procession of the whole Israelitish nation, 
 towards the place of its future residence on moinit Sion. See 1 Chron. xv. 
 On ascending the mountain, the Psalm is sung', declaring, 1, 2, the sove- 
 reignty of Jehovah over all the earth; describing, 3 — 6, what the cliaracter 
 ought to be of that people whom he had moi'e peculiarly selected, to serve 
 him in the house where his glory was to dwell, and of which, 7 — 10, it was 
 now about to take possession. All this is by us to be applied to the Chris- 
 tian church, and the ascension of our Lord into heaven; for which reason, 
 the Psalm is one of those appointed to be used on Ascension-day. 
 
 " 1. The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they 
 that dwell therein." 
 
 The God of Israel was Lord of the whole earth, by right of creation. 
 The same divine person who created the world, hath since, in Christ, re- 
 deemed it: and it is his again, by that right also. But the church Chris- 
 tian is his, in a more peculiar manner, as the church of Israel formerly was. 
 We are doubly bound to adore and to obey him. "It is he that hath made 
 us, and not we ourselves;" Psalm c. 2, and " we are not our own, being 
 bought with a price," 1 Cor. vi. 20. The inference is, "Let us glorify God 
 in our bodies, and in our spirits, which are," every way " God's." 
 
 " 2. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the 
 floods." 
 
 The waters, which, at the creation, and again at the deluge, overspread 
 all things, being, by the power of God, driven down into the great deep, 
 and there confined, the earth was, in a wonderful manner, constructed and 
 established as a circular arch, upon, or over them. Let us often meditate 
 on this noble subject for contemplation and devotion; that we may learn, 
 whither we are to have recourse, when in danger of being overwhelmed by 
 sins or sorrows. 
 
 "3, Who shall ascend into the hill of the LordI and who shall stand 
 in his holy place]" 
 
 The connexion seems to be this. If the Almighty Creator and Lord of 
 all the earth has chosen us to be his peculiar people, to serve and worship 
 him in his temple, upon tiie holy hill of Sion, whither the sacred symbol 
 
96 A COMMENTARY Psalm XXIV, 
 
 of his presence is now ascending, what manner of persons ought we to be? 
 The reasoning is exactly the same, as Bishop Lowth observes, with that of 
 Moses, in Deut. x. 14 — 16. "Behold the heaven, and the heaven of hea- 
 vens, is the Lord's thy God ; the earth also, with all that therein is. Only 
 the Lord hath a delight in thy fathers, to love them ; and he chose their seed 
 after them, even you, above all people, as it is this day. Circumcise there- 
 fore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff-necked." The argument 
 applies, with additional force, to ourselves, as Christians. We compose a 
 far more numerous and magnificent procession than that of the Israelites, 
 when the church universal, with her spiritual services, attends our Lord, as 
 it Avere, upon his ascension, in heart and mind ascending with him into the . 
 holy place not made with hands. 
 
 "4. He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lift up 
 his soul unto vanity, or, placed his trust in vain idols, or, in the creature, 
 nor sworn deceitfully. 5. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, 
 and righteousness from the God of his salvation." 
 
 No man can ascend into heaven through his own righteousness, but he 
 who came down from heaven, and performed a perfect sinless obedience to 
 the will of God. Sinners of old were purified through faith in him that 
 ■was to come, by typical offerings and ablutions, before they approached the 
 sanctuary. We have been cleansed from our sins, and renewed unto holi- 
 ness, by the blood of Christ, and the washing of the Holy Ghost. Thus 
 we become his people: thus we " receive the blessing from the Lord, and 
 righteousness from the God of our salvation." 
 
 " 6. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O 
 Jacob, or, O God of Jacob." 
 
 Such ought the people to be, who seek the presence of God, and approach 
 to worship him in the sanctuary ; who celebrate the ascension of their Re- 
 deemer, and hope, one day, to follow him into those happy mansions, which 
 he has gone before to prepare for them. 
 
 "7. Lift up your heads, O ye gates ; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting 
 doors; and the King of glory shall come in. 8. Who /s this King of glory ? 
 The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle." 9, 10. The 
 chorus is repeated. 
 
 We must now form to ourselves an idea of the Lord of glory, after his 
 resurrection from the dead, making his entry into the eternal temple in hea- 
 ven ; as of old, by the symbol of this presence, he took possession of that 
 figurative and temporary structure, which once stood upon the hill of Sion. 
 We are to conceive him gradually rising from mount Olivet into the air, 
 taking the clouds for his chariot, and ascending up on high ; while some of 
 tlie angels, like the Levites in procession, attendant on the triumphant Mes- 
 siah, in the day of his power, demand, that those everlasting gates and doors, 
 hitherto shut and barred against the race of Adam, should be thrown open 
 for his admission into the realms of bliss. "Lift up your heads, O ye 
 gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall 
 come in." On hearing this voice of jubilee and exaltation from the earth, 
 tlie abode of misery and sorrow, the rest of the angels, astonished at the 
 thought of a MAN claiming a right of entrance into their happy legions, ask 
 from within, like the Levites of the temple, " Who is this King of glory ]" 
 To which question the attendant angels answer, in a strain of joy and tri- 
 umph — and let the church of the Redeemer answer with them — " The Lord, 
 strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle;" the Lord Jesus, vic- 
 torious over sin, death, and hell. Therefore we say, and with holy trans- 
 port we repeat it ; " Lift up your heads, ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye 
 everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in." And if any ask, 
 " Who is the King of glory ]" To heaven and earth we proclaim aloud — 
 "The Lord of hosts," all-conquering Messiah, head over every creature, 
 the leader of the armies of Jehovah, " He is the King of glory." Even so, 
 Glory be to thee, Lord most high! Amen. Hallelujah. 
 
DayV. M. p. ON THE PSALMS. 97 
 
 PSALM XXV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 It is much the same, whether we suppose the church, or any single member 
 thereof, to be speaking' throog-hout the Psahn, and praj'ing, 1 — 3. for help 
 and protection ag'ainst spiritual enemies ; 4, 5. for knowledge and direction 
 in the way of godliness ; pleading- for this purpose, 6, 7. God's mercies of 
 old ; 8. the perfections of his nature : 9, 10. enumerating the qualifications 
 requisite for scholars in tlie divine school ; 11. upon tbe strength of those 
 arguments, enforcing the petitions for mercy; 12 — 14. describing the bles- 
 sedness of the man who feareth the Lord; 15 — 21. preferring divers peti- 
 tions ; and 22. closing the whole with one for the final redemption of the 
 Israel of God. 
 
 " 1. Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. 2. my God, I trust in 
 thee: let me not be ashamed; let not mine enemies triumph over me." 
 
 Cares and pleasures are the weights whicli press the soul down to earth, 
 and fasten her thereto ; and it is the spirit of prayer which must enable her 
 t« throw off these weights, to break these cords, and to "lift up" herself 
 to heaven. He who " trusteth" in anything but in God, will one day be 
 "ashamed" and confounded, and give his spiritual "enemies" cause to 
 "triumph over him." 
 
 " 3. Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed ; let them be ashamed 
 which transgress without a cause, or, vainly, rashly." 
 
 God, as a father and a master, will never suffer his children and servants 
 to want his favour and protection ; nor will he permit malicious rebels to 
 enjoy it. Honour will, in the end, be the portion of the former, and shame 
 the inheritance of the latter. 
 
 " 4. Shew me thy ways, O Lord ; teach me thy paths. 5. Lead me in 
 tliy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee 
 do 1 wait all the day." 
 
 We are travellers to heaven, who, through temptation, are often drawn 
 aside, and lose our way. The way is the law of God; and to keep that 
 law is to walk in the way. God only can put us in the way, and preserve 
 us and forward us therein; for which purpose, we must continue instant in 
 prayer to " the God of our salvation," that he would "teach" us to do his 
 will; that so we may not be ashamed and confounded. 
 
 "6. Remember, O Lord, tl\y tender mercies, and thy loving-kindnesses; 
 for they hfivc been ever of old." 
 
 The soul, when hard beset with sins and sorrows, is apt to think that 
 GoD hath forsaken and forgotten her. In this case, she cannot more effec- . 
 tually prevail upon him, or comfort herself, than by recollecting, and, as 
 it were, reminding him of former mercies; since, however the dispositions 
 and affections of men may alter, God is always the same. 
 
 "7. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions ; accord- 
 ing to thy mercy remember thou me, for thy goodness' sake, O Lord." 
 
 When God remembers his mercy, he forgets our sins; and when he for- 
 gets our sins, he remembers his mercy ; for what else is his mercy, but the 
 forgiveness, the blotting out, the non-imputation of sin? Who, that has 
 lived long in the world, can survey the time past of his life, without break- 
 ing forth into this petition, adding, to "the sins of his youth," the many 
 transgressions of his riper years'? 
 
 " 8. Good and upright is the Lord : therefore will he teach sinners in the 
 way." 
 
 Another argument for hope and trust in God, is drawn from his " nature." 
 He hates sin, and loves righteousness ; he sent his Son to suffer for the one, 
 and his Spirit to produce the other ; and he cannot but be faithful and just to 
 his own gracious promises, which all centre in the salvation of sinners by 
 pardon and grace, through Him., who is "the way, the truth, and the life." 
 
 a 
 
9S A COMMENTARY Psalm XXV. 
 
 "9. The meek will he guide in judgment; and the meek will he teach 
 his way." 
 
 Pride and anger have no place in the school of Christ. The Master him- 
 self is "meek and lowly of heart;" much more, surely, ought the scholars 
 to he so. He, who hath no sense of his ignorance, can have no desire, or 
 capability of knowledge, human or divine. 
 
 " 10, All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, unto such as keep 
 his covenant and his testimonies." 
 
 The law of God is the way by which he cometh to us, as well as by that 
 which we go to him; and all the different dispensations of that law, here 
 styled "the paths of the Lord," are composed of mercy and truth ;" mercy 
 promising, and truth performing, meet together in Christ, who is " the end 
 of the law to every one that believeth;" to such as "keep his covenant and 
 his testimonies." 
 
 "11. For thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is 
 great." 
 
 The pardon of sin is to he asked, and obtained, throughout that gracious 
 "name," in which mercy and truth are met together;" and so " great" is 
 our sin, that pardon can be had only through that name. 
 
 " 12. What man is he that feareth the Lord 1 Him shall he teach in the 
 way that he shall choose." 
 
 The blessings consequent upon the " fear of the Lord," are such as will 
 fully justify the earnestness and fervour of the foregoing petitions for par- 
 don and grace. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," He 
 who hath it will "choose" the right way, and will be "taught" to go 
 therein. 
 
 " 13. His soul shall dwell at ease, ffeb. lodge in goodness : and his seed 
 shall inherit the earth." 
 
 It is a privilege of " the man who feareth the Lord," that not only in this 
 present life, all things work together for his " good," but his soul, after 
 havincf persevered in righteousness, shall take up its abode in the mansions 
 of felicity. His "seed" likewise shall be blessed in the same manner, 
 with such a portion of the temporal promise made to Abraham, as God 
 seeth best for them, and certainly with an abundant share in the spiritual 
 inheritance, the new earth, wherein dwell righteousness, joy, and glory. 
 "Blessed are the meek," the seed of Christ, "for they shall inherit the 
 earth," Matt. v. 5. 
 
 " 14. The secret, Heb. fixed counsel, or, design of the Lord, is with them 
 that fear him ; and he will shew them his covenant, Heb. and his covenant, 
 to make them know it." 
 
 The greatest happiness of man in this world is, to know the fixed and 
 determinate counsels of God concerning the human race, and to understand 
 the covenant of redemption. This likewise is the reward of " the fear of 
 the Lord," which humbles the soul, and prepares it for divine illumination, 
 causing it to place all its comfort in meditation on the wonders of heavenly 
 love. " All things which I have heard of my Father I have made known 
 unto you," saith our Lord to his disciples, John xi. 15. 
 
 "15. Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord: for he shall pluck my feet 
 out of the net." 
 
 Encouraged to hope for the blessings above mentioned, the lowly sup- 
 pliant still continues to fix the eyes of his understanding on their proper ob- 
 ject, God his Saviour, beholding his glory, attending to his will, and 
 expecting his mercy. An unfortunate dove, whose feet are taken in the 
 snare of the fowler, is a fine emblem of the soul, entangled in the cares or 
 pleasures of the world ; from which she desires, through the power of grace, 
 to fly away, and to be at rest, with their glorified Redeemer. 
 
 " 16. Turn thou unto me, and have mercy upon me ; for I am desolate 
 and afilicted." 
 
 They who are ever looking unto the Lord, will be heard, when they be- 
 
DAT V. M. P. ON THE PSA.LMS. 99 
 
 seech him to turn his face, and to look upon them. When the soul, for- 
 saking and forsaken by all earthly supports and comforts, finds herself in a 
 state of desolation, and is experimentally convinced of her being, not in a 
 paradise of delights, but in a vale of misery, then her visitation and deli- 
 verance are at hand. 
 
 " 17. The troubles of my heart are enlarged : O bring thou me out of my 
 distresses." 
 
 As life is prolonged, troubles are generally enlarged,* till at length they 
 take up what room there is in the heart. The last scene of the tragedy is 
 the most calamitous. So it was in the life of our dear Master. And every 
 man will sooner or later perceive that God alone can " bring him out of his 
 distresses." 
 
 "18. Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my 
 sins." 
 
 Affliction and pain, whether of mind or body, are the fruits of sin ; and 
 the pardon of sin is the first step towards the removal of sorrow. The latter 
 is sent to beget in us a due sense of the former, in order to a deliverance 
 from both. In the new earth " dwelleth righteousness ;" and, for that rea- 
 son, " there is no more sorrow, pain, nor crying," 2 Pet. iii. 13. Rev. 
 xxi. 4. 
 
 " 19. Consider mine enemies, for they are many ; and they hate me with 
 cruel hatred." 
 
 As the evils we suffer are great, so the enemies we have to encounter are 
 many. Their name is " legion :" and to their envy, hatred, and malice, 
 there are no bounds. How unequal the combat, unless thou, O God, goest 
 forth with us, by thy grace, conquering and to conquer !" 
 
 " 20. keep my soul, and deliver me : let me not be ashamed ; for I put 
 my trust in thee." 
 
 Preservation from sin, and deliverance from death, are two great gifts of 
 God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. For the latter clause, see ver. 2. 
 
 " 21. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me ; for I wait on thee." 
 
 How many wishes do our hearts send forth after riches, honours, and 
 pleasures: how few after "integrity and uprightness:" yet these can 
 "preserve" us, and those cannot. Absolute integrity and uprightness are 
 the prerogatives of the King of righteousness : and it is his grace which 
 makes us such as his mercy will accept. On him therefore let us 
 " wait." 
 
 " 22. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles." 
 
 In the common salvation all have an interest ; and, for that reason, all 
 should pray for it. The earthly David petitioned for Israel ; the heavenly 
 David ever continueth to intercede for the church; and every Christian 
 ought to become a suppliant for his brethren, still looking and longing for 
 that glorious day, when, by a joyful resurrection unto life eternal, God shall 
 indeed " redeem Israel out of all his troubles." 
 
 PSALM XXVI. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The party speaking in this Psalm, whether we suppose it to be the typical or 
 the true David, the church or any member thereof, lying under the false ac- 
 cusations of calumny, 1, 2, 3. appealeth to God in behalf of injured innocence ; 
 4, 5. disclaimeth all connexion with wicked men ; 6, 7, 8. declareth a fixed 
 resolution to adhere to the worship of God in the church, 9, 10. prayeth to 
 
 * Bishop Lowth, with some slight altoration of the text, thinks the rendering should be, 
 Coarctationes cordis mei dilata; 
 Et ex augustiis nieia educ me. 
 
 See Merrick's Annotations. 
 
100 A COMMENTARY Psalm XXVI. 
 
 be delivered from the ungodly ; 11. again protesteth integrity, and 12. de- 
 termineth to praise tiie Lord. 
 
 " 1. Judge me Lord, for I have walked in mine integrity; I have 
 trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide." 
 
 We have here an appeal to God, in behalf of injured and calumniated 
 innocence. This was the case of David, with regard to the accusations of 
 Saul; of Christ, with regard to those of the Jews; and it is often the case 
 of the church, and of good men in the world ; for whose use this Psalm 
 seems peculiarly calculated. 
 
 "2, Examine me O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart." 
 
 A trial of this sort might be desired by David, and may be desired by 
 men, like him, conscious of their integrity, as to the particular crimes 
 charged upon them by the malice of their enemies. Christ alone could ask 
 such a trial at large, as being equally free from every kind and degree of 
 sin ; and certain of receiving additional lustre from the increasing heat of 
 the furnace. 
 
 "3. For thy loving-kindness is before mine eyes; and I have walked in 
 thy truth." 
 
 They who stud)'^, in order to copy the "loving-kindness" and the "truth" 
 of God, may have confidence towards him, whose " truth" will not suffer 
 him to be false to the promises which his " loving-kindness" prompted 
 him to make. 
 
 " 4. I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissem- 
 blers. 5. I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with 
 the wicked." 
 
 David, driven by Saul into a land of aliens, yet preserved himself from 
 the contagion of idolatry. And happy the Christian who can say, that 
 during the time of his banishment and pilgrimage, he hath escaped the 
 pollutions that are in the world, namely, vanity and hypocrisy, evil prac- 
 tices, and wicked principles. Christ alone, like his emblem the light, 
 passed through all things undefiled. 
 
 " G. I v/ill wash mine hands in innocency : so will I compass thine altar, 
 O Lord ; 7. That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell 
 of all thy wondrous works." 
 
 Listead of consorting with the heathen, David comforts himself with the 
 future prospect of restoration to Jerusalem'; of attend ing the service of God in 
 the tabernacle ; of performing the legal ablutions, in token of innocency there- 
 by signified : and of singing, before the holy altar, psalms of praise for his 
 deliverance. The believing soul, in like manner, may find perpetual consola- 
 tion, while she looks forward toward her return home from her exile in the 
 world, to the Jerusalem above ; her access to the fountain of life and purity; 
 her employment of serving God in the eternal temple, and chanting forth, 
 with angels and archangels, the new songs of the celestial Sion, for so great 
 salvation. 
 
 "8. Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where 
 thine honour dwelleth ; Heb. the place the tabernacle of thy glory." 
 
 With what ardent affection the banished prophet sighs for the beauty of 
 holiness in the church, the most amiable object on earth, because the nearest 
 resemblance of heaven, where is the true " habitation of God's house, and 
 the tabernacle of his glory ;" since of the heavenly Jerusalem, St. John 
 tells us, that the " Lord God Almighty and tlie Lamb are the temple," 
 Rev. xxi. 22. 
 
 " 9. Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men ; 10. 
 In whose hand is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes." 
 
 In consideration of his integrity and piety, David beseeches God not to 
 deliver him over into the hands of Ids unjust and bloody enemies, nor to 
 reckon him in their number. Let our lot, Lord, be among thy children 
 here, that it may be among them hereafter. 
 
DAT V, E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 101 
 
 " 11. But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be 
 merciful unto me." 
 
 The Christian's resolution, like that of the prophet, must be, to hold fast 
 his " inteority" in the midst of his enemies, and notfollow^a multitude to do 
 evil ; as knowing, that the day of final " redemption and mercy" will come. 
 
 " 12. My foot standeth in an even place : in the congregations will I 
 bless the Lord." 
 
 The law of God is that " even place," that plain and direct path, in 
 which the affections, which are the "feet" of the soul, must be immoveably 
 fixed, so that nothing may induce her to swerve from the stability of her 
 purpose, to the right hand or to the left. David, upon his return to his coun- 
 try, "blessed the Lord in the congregation" of Israel, by singing Psalms 
 of praise and thanksgiving, and by the constant use of those very Psalms, 
 the Lord is daily " blessed" in all Christian " congregations" throughout 
 the world ; yea, and he shall be so blessed to the end of time. 
 
 FIFTH DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM xxvn. 
 
 ARGUMENT. ♦ 
 
 This Psalm containeth, 1 — 3. a declaration of trust and confidence in Jehovah 
 amidst the dangers and tumults of war : 4. a longing desire of restoration to 
 the' city and house of God : 5, 6. a triumphant assurance of final victory and 
 exaltation : 7 — 12, earnest prayer for support and protection ; 13. a profes- 
 sion of faith, and its mighty power and comfort in affliction; 14. an exhorta- 
 tion to patience. 
 
 "1. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The 
 Lord is the strength of my life ; of whom shall I be afraid V 
 
 God is our " light," as he showeth us the state we are in, and the ene- 
 mies we have to encounter; he is our " strength," as he enableth us by his 
 grace, to cope with, and overcome them ; and he is our "salvation," as the 
 author and finisher of our deliverance from sin, death, and Satan. All this 
 he was to the blessed Person, whom David represented ; and all this he 
 will be to his faithful servants. "If God" therefore "be for us, who can 
 be against us V Rom. viii. 31. 
 
 " 2. When the wicked, cve7i mine enemies and foes, came upon me to eat 
 my flesh, they stumbled and fell." 
 
 The past time is often used, in the prophetical language, to intimate the 
 certainty of the future. Faith sees the foe already vanquished, and the prey 
 snatched from the jaws of the devouring lion. 
 
 " 3. Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear : 
 though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident." 
 
 What avails it, that the " host" of darkness is in arms, and the world 
 taking the field against us, when the Lord is our light, and heaven our ally ? 
 
 "4. One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I 
 may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the 
 beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple." 
 
 _ The victories of David ended in his restoration to Jerusalem, and the ser- 
 vice of God : the victories of Christ terminated in his triumphant return to 
 a better Jerusalem ; and this ought to be the " one thing desired" by the 
 Christian, that after his conquest over the body of sin, he may pass the un- 
 numbered days of eternity in the courts of heaven, contemplating the beauty 
 and the glory of his Redeemer. 
 
 "5. For in the time of trouble, he shall hide me in his pavilion : in the 
 secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me ; he shall set me upon a rock." 
 
 The protection and consolation, experienced by believers of the church 
 
 9* 
 
102 A COMMENTARY PsiiM XXVU. 
 
 militant, give them a taste of the loving-ldndness of the Lord, and make 
 them impatiently desirous of quenching their thirst at the fountain of divine 
 pleasures, after they shall have been exalted upon the Rock of ages, from 
 whence that fountain flows. 
 
 " C. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round 
 about me : therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy ; I will 
 sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord." 
 
 These words, as they are supposed to be spoken by David, by Christ, or 
 by the church, express their respective assurances, through faith, of final 
 victory over their several enemies, with their determined resolution of sing- 
 ing hallelujahs to Jehovah for the same. 
 
 "7. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon 
 me, and answer me." 
 
 From the assurances of faith it is always good to descend to the humilia- 
 tion of prayer to God, who alone can grant unto us that one thing which we 
 desire, and long after, while in the land of our captivity, and house of our 
 pilgrimage. See ver. 4. 
 
 " 8. When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy 
 face. Lord, will I seek." 
 
 The voice of God throughout the Scriptures exhorteth the believer to 
 turn away from the delusive appearances of the creature, and to seek after 
 Him who is "altogether lovely," until he behold " theglory of God in the 
 face of Jesus Christ." To this voice the believer answers, like a well- 
 tuned instrument to the master's touch, declaring his resolution so to do. 
 
 " 9. Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: 
 thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, God of my 
 salvation." 
 
 The suppliant having determined to seek the face of God, here prayeth, 
 that he would permit himself to be found, and to be seen ; and that he 
 would not, by " hiding his face." cause the light of knowledge to become 
 darkness, and the fire of charity to go out. The church dreadeth nothing so 
 much as an eclipse of the "Sun of Righteousness." 
 
 " 10. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will 
 take me up." 
 
 A time will come when the dearest earthly friends and relations can no 
 longer be of any assistance to us.* The case of the church and of the soul 
 is oftentimes compared to that of a poor, helpless, exposed orphan. Where 
 worldly comforts end, heavenly ones begin. See Isa. xlix. 13. Matt, xxiii. 
 37. John ix. 35. 
 
 "11. Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because 
 of mine enemies." 
 
 The child of God, learning to walk in the law of his heavenly Father, 
 prayeth to be directed and strengthened from above, that the enemy may 
 neither pervert his steps, nor triumph in his fall. 
 
 " 12. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies : for false wit- 
 nesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty." 
 
 David had his enemies and false accusers; Christ also had his; and 
 every child of God hath need to petition for deliverance from the great 
 enemy of his salvation, the grand accuser of the brethren, who is ever 
 breathing out malice and cruelty against the body and members of Christ. 
 
 " 13. I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord 
 in the land of the living." 
 
 " Faith" in the comfortable promises of God is the only sovereign cordial 
 for a " fainting" spirit. Earth is the land of the dying: we must extend 
 our prospect into heaven, which is the land of the " living," where the 
 faithful shall " see" and experience evermore " the goodness of the Lord." 
 
 * As there seems to be some difficulty in supposing the Psalmist's parents to have " de- 
 serted" him, they miglii peiiiaps be said to have " forsaken" him (as Muis conjectures) ; that 
 is, to have left him behind them, as being dead.— JlferncA. 
 
DAT V. E.P. ON THE PSALMS. 103 
 
 "14. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen 
 thine heart : wait, I say, on the Lord." 
 
 The person speaking concludes with an apostrophe to his own soul, 
 resulting from the confidence in God, expressed, ver. 1. from the desire and 
 the hope of heaven, 4 — 13. and from the manifold pledges of the Divine 
 love already received in this life : 5. the proper inference from all which 
 considerations is this; that we should patiently "wait on the Lord," till 
 the few and evil days of our pilgrimage pass away, and we arrive at the 
 mansions prepared for us in the house of our heavenly Father ; till our war- 
 fare be accomplished, and terminate in the peace of God ; till the storms 
 and tempests of wintry time shall give place to the unclouded calm, and the 
 ever-blooming pleasures of eternal spring. 
 
 PSALM XXVIIL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm, like the xxiid, and many others, consisteth of two parts. For, 
 1 — 5. the true David appeareth in his state of humiliation and suffering-; he 
 prayeth for deliverance, and prophesieth the destruction of Jiis enemies. 
 6 — 9. he sing-eth a sweet, though short hymn of triumph, and intercedeth 
 for his church and people. 
 
 " 1. Unto thee will I cry, Lord, my rock ; be not silent to me: lest, 
 j/thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit." 
 
 The true David here maketh supplication, " with strong crying," to the 
 Father, that he may not be suffered to continue, like other men, under the 
 dominion of the "grave." The Christian prayeth, in the same words, to 
 be delivered from the " pit" ^of corruption ; and mightily should he "cry" 
 to Jehovah, the " rock" of his salvation, until his prayer be heard and an- 
 swered. 
 
 " 2. Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I 
 lift up my hand toward thy holy oracle." 
 
 Christ frequently interceded for his people, with his " hands lifted up 
 toward heaven," in fervent prayer : and — " I will," saith the Apostle, 
 "that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands," 1 Tim. ii. 8. Shall 
 our Redeemer pray for us, and shall we not pray for ourselves ? 
 
 "3. Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of ini- 
 quity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their 
 hearts." 
 
 Christ, who alone is without sin, petitioneth that he may not be oppres- 
 sed by sinners ; he who is truth and love, prayeth to be preserved from the 
 " false and malicious." Let us pray to be made like him; and, like him, 
 to be delivered from evil, especially from the evil of a " lying and slander- 
 ing" tongue. 
 
 " 4. Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness 
 of their endeavours : give them after the work of their ^hands ; render to 
 them their desert. 5. Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor 
 the operation of his hand, ye shall destroy them, and not build them up." 
 
 In these verses, as indeed in most of the imprecatory passages, the impe- 
 rative and the future are used promiscuously; " Give them — render them — 
 he shall destroy them." If therefore the verljs, in all such passages, were 
 uniformly rendered in the future, every objection against the Scripture im- 
 precations would vanish at once, and they would appear clearly to be, what 
 they are, namely, prophecies of the Divine judgments, which have been 
 since executed against the Jews, and which will be executed against all 
 the enemies of Jehovah, and his Christ, whom neither the " works" of crea- 
 tion, nor those of redemption, can lead to repentance. 
 
 " 6. Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my sup- 
 
104 A COMMENTARY Psalji XXIX. 
 
 plications. 7. The Lord is my strength and my shield ; my heart trusted 
 in him, and I am helped : therefore ray heart greatly rejoiceth ; and with 
 my song will I praise him." 
 
 The scene now changes from the humiliation and sufferings, to the glory 
 and triumph of Christ our Head, who, through the power of the Divinity, 
 having overcome his enemies, may be supposed at his resurrection from the 
 dead, to have sung this strain ; a strain which they who have been delivered 
 from sin and sorrow, will best understand by using it. 
 
 " 8. The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his 
 anointed, or, Christ." 
 
 He who saved and exalted the Head, will also save and exalt the mem-' 
 bers; or, as St. Paul expresseth it, " If the Spirit of him that raised up 
 Jesus from the dead, dwell in you ; he that raised up Christ from the dead 
 shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you," 
 Rom. viii. 11. And for the accomplishment of this glorious salvation, the 
 salvation of his church, the Redeemer intercedeth in the remaining verse of 
 this Psalm. 
 
 " 9. Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance : feed them also, and 
 lift them up for ever." 
 
 Save us, O Lord Jesus, from our sins ; bless us, thou Son of Abraham, 
 with the blessing of righteousness ; feed us, O thou good Shepherd of the 
 sheep ; and lift us up for ever from the dust, O thou the resurrection and the 
 life! 
 
 PSALM XXIX. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In this Psalm, the prophet, 1, 2. calleth the kings of the earth to give glory to 
 Jehovah, and to the voice or word of his power ; the effects of which in the 
 world and in the church are most magnificently described; the same things 
 being true of thunder and lightning in the former, and of the word of God in 
 the latter ; as each of them is styled the " voice of the Lord ;" and both, 3, 4. 
 ai"e mighty in operation ; both, 5. read, and, 6, 7. shake, and, 8. piece and 
 melt, and, 9. made manifest. The Psalm concludes with, 10. an acknow- 
 ledgment of the extent and glory of God's kingdom, and, 11. a promise of 
 victory and peace through him. 
 
 " 1. Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and 
 strength. 2. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name : worship 
 the Lord in the beauty of holiness." 
 
 Tiie prophet addresseth himself to the " mighty" ones of the earth, ex- 
 horting them to " give" God the "glory," and to submit themselves to the 
 Jcingdom of Messiah ; to honour that holy "name" by which they must be 
 saved ; to bow before his altars, " by whom kings reign ;" and to cast down 
 their crowns at the foot of the eternal throne. 
 
 " 3. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters ; the God of glory thiin- 
 dereth ; the Lord is upon many waters." 
 
 The reason why the mighty are exhorted to serve Jehovah, is because of 
 his wondrous works in the world, and in the church. — By the " voice" or 
 " word" of God, the " waters" were driven down into the deep, and for- 
 bidden to overflow the earth anymore ; by the voice of God, the tumultuous 
 and raging nations subsided, and the church was immoveably fixed upon the 
 rock of her salvation; and by the Gospel of the " God of glory" all those 
 effects were produced in the hearts of men, which are wrought upon terres- 
 trial substances, by its well known and most significant emblem, in the 
 material heavens. 
 
 " 4. The voice of the Lord is powerful ; the voice of the Lord is full of 
 majesty." 
 
Dat V. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 105 
 
 Of the power and majesty of God's voice when he speaketh from heaven 
 in thunder, few hearts are insensible; of the power and majesty of his voice, 
 when he spoke from heaven by his apostles, those " sons of" the spiritual 
 " thunder," the world was once fully sensible. O may the evangelical 
 *' Boanerges" so cause the glorious sound of the Gospel to be heard, under 
 the whole heaven, that the world may again be made sensible thereof; be- 
 fore that voice of the Son of man, which hath so often called sinners to 
 repentance, shall call them to judgment! 
 
 " 5. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars ; yea, the Lord breaketh 
 the cedars of Lebanon, or, Libanus." 
 
 The force of lightning is known to rend in pieces the tallest and strongest 
 trees, in a moment; nor is the word of God less effectual in bringing down 
 the loftiest pride, and rending the hardest heart of man, by the Spirit which 
 accompanieth it. Thus was the persecuting Saul humbled and converted 
 by a " light" and a " voice" from " heaven ;" so that instead of " breath- 
 ing out threatenings and slaughter," he asks, like a meek and dutiful child, 
 "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ]" Acts ix. 1. G. 
 
 " 6. He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a 
 young unicorn," 
 
 Thunder not only demolisheth the cedars, but " shaketh the mountains" 
 on which they grow. Thus, by the Gospel, "every mountain and hill was 
 shaken, and made low; every high thing which exalteth itself against the 
 knowledge of Christ was cast down, and brought into subjection," Isa. xL 
 4. 2 Cor. X. 5. 
 
 "7. The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire." 
 By the power of God, the "flames of fire" are " divided" and sent abroad 
 from the clouds upon the earth, in the terrible form of lightning, that sharp 
 and glittering sword of the Almighty, which no substance can withstand. 
 The same power of God goeth forth by his word, " quick and powerful, 
 and sharper than any two-edged sword," penetrating, melting, enlightening, 
 and inflaming the hearts of men. Acts ii. 3. Heb. iv, 12. 
 
 " 8. The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness ; the Lord shaketh the 
 ■wilderness of Kadesh." 
 
 The wilderness of Kadesh was a part of that wilderness through which 
 the Israelites passed in their way to Canaan. See Numb. xiii. 26. Thun- 
 der shaketh those wide-extended deserts, as well as Lebanon and Sirion, 
 mountains of Judea. The Gospel was first preached in Palestine, but from 
 tlience it went forth into the Gentile world, that dry, barren, and desolate 
 " wilderness." The wilderness is yet once again to be shaken hy " the 
 voice of God," and to be removed for ever, that paradise may succeed in its 
 place. 
 
 " 9. The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, or, the oaks to 
 tremble,* and discovereth the forests; and in his temple doth everyone 
 speak oihis glory." 
 
 Storms of thunder and lightning, attended often with whirlwinds, strip 
 the trees of their leaves and bark, and disclose the recesses of forests. It is 
 by the " word of God," that the "hidden things of darkness are manifest- 
 ed," and the "counsels of all hearts revealed :" for "all things are naked 
 and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do," 1 Cor. iv. 5. 
 Heb. iv. 13. For these his marvellous works, in the natural and spiritual 
 world, God is daily "glorified" in the "church." 
 
 " 10. The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for 
 ever," 
 The Lord Jesus sitteth on his throne, having all power in the dispensa- 
 
 * So Bishop Lowth renders the clause in his Lectures. Aristotle, Plutarch, and Pliny, as 
 cited by Mr. Merrick, mention the case of abortion being soinctinies caused among cattle by 
 thunder. Whatever terrifies to any degree, may certainly produce such an eftect. But the 
 Bishop's interpretation is, in every respect, the most eligible. The evident connexion with the 
 »vorda that follow,—" discovereth the forests,"— forbids us to doubt of its being right. 
 
106 A COMMENTARY PsAL:»r XXX. 
 
 tions of nature and of grace ; by which, as he checketh at pleasure the rage 
 of the most boisterous elements in the former, so, with the same ease, he 
 controlleth the fury of the enemy and oppressor in the latter ; saying, with 
 equal authority in both cases. Peace ! be still ! 
 
 "11. The Lord will give strength unto his people ; the Lord will bless 
 his people with peace." 
 
 From Jehovah, whose power and majesty have been with so much subli- 
 mity displayed in this whole Psalm, we are to expect, through faith and 
 prayer, " strength" to overcome our enemies, whether ghostly or bodily ; 
 and also the blessing of " peace," which must be the fruit of victory. 
 Thou, O Christ, art the " mighty God ;" and therefore thou art the " Prince 
 of Peace," Isa. ix. 6. 
 
 SIXTH DAY— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM XXX. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In this Psalm, or devout hymn, composed probably by David, on his revisiting' 
 tlie sanctuary, after a joyful recovery from some dangerous sickness, he, 1 — ^3. 
 returneth thanks for that event ; and, 4. calleth the church to do likewise, 5. 
 drawing- a comparison between temporary sufferings, and eternal rewards. 
 6, 7. He describeth his former prosperity, succeeded by affliction, with, 8— 
 10. the supphcations poured forth to the Almighty, in the day of his distress : 
 and then returneth again, 11. to celebrate his deliverance, and, 12. to glorify 
 God for the same. The Psalm is finely adapted to the case of the true David, 
 and of Christians, his disciples and followers. 
 
 " 1. I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, Heb, drawn 
 me out, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me." 
 
 These words, if originally composed and uttered by king David, on occa- 
 sion of some temporal mercy, apply in a far more emphatical and beautiful 
 manner, to the case of Messiah, suffering and rising again, as well as to that 
 of his church and people following him, both in his sufferings and resurrec- 
 tion ; when we shall all lift up our voices and sing together. — " I will mag- 
 nify thee, O Lord, for thou hast lifted me up ! and hast not made my foes to 
 rejoice over me!" 
 
 " 2. O Lord, my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me." 
 
 Deliverance is to be attained by "prayer;" for so David, and so the Son 
 of David obtained it; the former was "healed," at his restoration to health 
 and strength ; the latter, at the resurrection ; the soul is healed at its repent- 
 ance and conversion; and the body will hereafter be repaired, beautified, and 
 glorified, from the ruins of the grave. 
 
 "3. Lord, thou hast brought up my soul, or, animal frame, from the 
 grave : thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit." 
 
 The resurrection of David was a figurative one ; that of Christ was a real 
 one, as that of his saints will be; so that the Psalm is more strictly appli- 
 cable to the true, than it ever could have been to the typical David. The 
 latter clause may be rendered — " Thou hast quickened me from among them 
 that go down to the pit ;" which rendering is most agreeable to the former 
 part of the verse, "Thou hast brought up my frame from the grave." 
 
 " 4. Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the re- 
 membrance of his holiness, or, his Holy One." 
 
 The church of the redeemed is called upon to glorify the name of God, for 
 his remembrance of the " King of saints," and for the accomplishment of 
 the promise, in raising him from the dead. 
 
 " 5. For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life : weeping 
 may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." 
 
Day VI. MP. ON THE PSALMS. ]^07 
 
 This is a most beautiful and affecting image of the sufferings and exalta- 
 tion of Christ; of the sorrows and joys of a penitent; of the miseries of 
 time, and the glories of eternity ; of the night of death, and the mornino- of 
 the resurrection. 
 
 " 6. And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. 7. Lord, by 
 thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong : thou didst hide thy 
 face, and 1 was troubled." 
 
 David, after his success against Goliah, and Christ, upon his triumphant 
 entry into Jerusalem, were hailed by the acclamations and hosannas of the 
 people, as the Christian may sometimes meet with the applauses of the 
 world, and be led to think himself established in prosperity. But other 
 troubles awaited David; and the blessed Jesus was nailed to the cross. Let 
 not the disciple expect to be above his master ; nor in the season of lightand 
 joy, neglect to prepare for the approaching days of sorrow and darkness. 
 
 "8. I cried unto thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication. 
 9. What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the 
 dust praise thee? Shall it declare thy truth? 10. Hear, O Lord, and have 
 mercy upon me : Lord, be thou my helper." 
 
 These are some of " the strong cryings and supplications," which the 
 true David poured forth while under the cloud of his passion; and which 
 are to be ponred forth by us when conformed to his image in sufferino- af- 
 fliction. The argument here used is a very powerful one, namely, the ne- 
 cessity of a resurrection from the grave, that man may be saved and God 
 glorified. The dead cannot praise, or serve God. They must live again 
 for this purpose; and for this purpose it is, that we should desire to live, 
 whether it be in the present world, or that which is to come. 
 
 " 11. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put 
 off" my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness." 
 
 This might be true of David, delivered from his calamity; it was true 
 of Christ, arising from the tomb, to die no more; it is true of the penitent, 
 exchanging his sackcloth for the garments of salvation; and it will be ve- 
 rified in us all at the last day, when we shall put off the dishonours of the 
 grave, to shine in glory everlasting. ; 
 
 " 12. To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be si- 
 lent: O Lord, my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever." 
 
 The end of Christ's resurrection, of the salvation of the souls of the 
 faithful, and the resurrection of their bodies, is one and the same, namely, 
 the glory of God, who is the author of every kind of deliverance; whose 
 praise should, therefore be resounded by the grateful tongues of the re- 
 deemed, from generation to generation ; as the tongue then becometh the 
 " glory" of man when it is employed in setting forth the glory of God. 
 
 PSALM XXXL 
 
 argument. 
 
 In this Psalm, ver. 5th of which was pronounced by our Lord when expiring 
 on the cross, we hear the true David, like his representative of old, 1 — 6. 
 supplicating- for deliverance; 7, 8. rejoicing in the Divine favour and assist- 
 ance; 9 — 13. describing his afflicted and forlorn state; 14 — 18. returning 
 again to his prayers; 19 — 22. celebrating the mercies of God to tlie children 
 of Adam; and, 23, 24. exhorting his saints to courage and perseverance un- 
 der their troubles in the world. 
 
 "1. In thee, Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed : de- 
 liver me in thy righteousness." 
 
 God is faithful and just, to save those, who, in time of trouble, renouncing 
 all dependence on themselves and the creature, " put their trust" only in 
 
lOS A COMMENTARY Psaui XXXI. 
 
 his. mercy. His honour is engaged by his promise, not to let such be 
 " ashamed" of their confidence. 
 
 "2. Bow down thine ear to me, deliver me speedily: be thou my strong 
 rock, for an house of defence to save me." 
 
 The Christian, lilce his blessed Master, is "besieged" by many and 
 powerful enemies, insomuch that, notwithstanding all human precautions, 
 " unless Jehovah keep the city, the watchman waketh in vain." Who, in 
 such circumstances, would not pray for " speedy" deliverance. 
 
 " 3. For tliou art my rock, and my fortress : therefore for thy name's 
 salce, lead me and guide me." 
 
 God will be the " rock" and " fortress" of those who esteem him as 
 such ; and after having been so, through all the dangers and difficulties of 
 life, lie "will lead" and "guide" them to the realms of peace and rest, for 
 the sake of that " name" which implieth salvation. 
 
 " '^ . Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me : for thou 
 art my strength." 
 
 As David praj'^ed for an escape from the secret conspiracies that were en- 
 tered into against him, so did Christ pray for deliverance from the snares 
 of death ; and so doth the Christian pray to be extricated from the toils 
 both of sin and death. 
 
 "5. Into thin,e hand I commit my spirit; thou hast redeemed me. Lord 
 God of truth." 
 
 David, in his distress, might by these words express his resignation of 
 himself and his affairs into the hands of God; but it is certain that Christ 
 actually did expire upon the cross, with the former part of this verse in 
 his mouth, Luke xxiii. 46. Nor is there any improi)riety in the application 
 of the latter part to him, since, as man, the surety and representative of our 
 nature, he " was redeemed" from the power of the enemy, by " the God of 
 truth" accomplishing his promises. 
 
 "6. I have hated them that regard lying vanities : but I trust in the 
 Lord." 
 
 They may hope for redemption, who so " trust in God," as to trust in 
 nothing beside him; for all else is "vanity," and will deceive. 
 
 "7. I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy; for thou hast considered 
 my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities: 8. And hast not shut 
 me up into the hand of the enemy : thou hast set my feet in a large room." 
 The considerations that make the soul " cheerful" in the hour of afflic- 
 tion, are, that God is merciful; that as he is not ignorant, so neither is he 
 unmindful of our troubles; that he is a friend, who " knows" us in adver- 
 sity no less than in prosperity; tliat he hath not subjected us to the neces- 
 sity of being overcome by our spiritual enemies ; but hath, " with the 
 temptation, made a way for us to escape." 
 
 "9. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble: mine eye is 
 consumed with grief, yea, my soul, or, animal frame, and my belly." 
 
 Upon the strength of the foregoing considerations, supplication is here 
 made for deliverance from troubles, which wasted the eyes with weeping, 
 and exhausted the strength and vigour of the frame. Such were the trou- 
 bles of David, and, more emphatically, those of Christ: and sickness and 
 sorrow will one day teach us all to use the same expressions. 
 
 " 10. For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: ray 
 strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed." 
 
 Do we not, in these words, hear the voice of the " man of sorrows, suf- 
 fering, not indeed for his own iniquity," but for ours, of which he frequently, 
 in the Psalms, speaks aS if it were "his own'? If sin was punished in the 
 innocent Lamb of God, let us not expect that it should be unpunished in 
 us, unless we repent; and let our punishment never fail to remind us of 
 our guilt. 
 
 "11. I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among 
 
DAT VI. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 109 
 
 my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance : they that did see me with- 
 out, fled from me." 
 
 These particulars were never more applicable to David, than they were 
 to the Son of David, when his acquaintance, at beholding him reviled by 
 his enemies, were terrified from attending him, and when " all the disciples 
 forsook him, and fled." The same things are cften too true of the faith and 
 the church. They are true likewise of every man, when he suffers the 
 dishonours of the last enemy, death; when he is "a fear" to his dearest 
 friends, and they are obliged to forsake him. 
 
 "13, I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind; I am like a broken 
 vessel." 
 
 This was literally the case of Christ, when laid in the sepulchre, and 
 esteemed no longer the object of hope by his friends, or of fear by his 
 enemies. That he should be so "forgotten," while dead, is less wonder- 
 ful, than that this should have happened since his glorious resurrection, and 
 ascension into heaven. 
 
 "13. For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side; 
 while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my 
 life." 
 
 The slander of Shimei, and the counsel of Ahitophel against king David, 
 directs us to the slanders of the Jews, and the counsels of Judas and the 
 Sanhedrim against the beloved Son of God, who, in his church, will be per- 
 secuted in like manner by the ungodly to the world's end. 
 
 " 14. But I trusted in thee, Lord; I said, Thou art my God. 15. My 
 times are in thy hand ; deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from 
 tliem that persecute me. 16. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: 
 save me for thy mercies' sake." 
 
 In all our afflictions, after the example of the typical, and of the true 
 David, we are to have recourse to the prayer of faith ; we are to consider, 
 that Jehovah is our God and Saviour; that the times and the seasons of 
 prosperity and adversity, of life and death, are in his hand ; and therefore 
 on him we are to wait, till the day of mercy shall dawn, and the shadows 
 fly away. 
 
 " 17. Let me not be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon thee: let 
 the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. 18. Let the 
 lying lips be put to silence ; which speak grievous things proudly and con- 
 temptuously against the righteous." 
 
 Ahitophel, for his treason against David ; and Judas, for his treachery 
 against Christ, felt the force of this prophetical imprecation, or prediction, 
 which will also, one day, take its full effect, in the confusion of all impe- 
 nitent calumniators and traitors. 
 
 " 19. O how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that 
 fear thee ; vjhich thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee, before the 
 sons of men!" 
 
 Peace of conscience, the comforts of the Spirit, and the hope of futufe 
 glory, will teach the soul, even in the darkest night of aflliction, to break 
 forth into this exulting strain of gratitude and praise, for the blessings ex- 
 perienced by those who confess their Saviour before men. 
 
 " 20. Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride, 
 Heb, conspiracies, of man : thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion 
 from the strife of tongues." 
 
 In times of contention and persecution, there is a refuge for the faithful 
 in " the tabernacle of David," which is the mystical body of Christ, in- 
 habited by the presence of God. In this sacred " pavilion," they enjoy 
 the pleasures of contemplation and devotion, regardless of the distant 
 tumult and confusion of the world. 
 
 "21. Blessed be the Lord; for he hath shewed me his marvellous kind- 
 ness in a strong city." 
 The man Christ, and the church with him, like David of old, here rejoice 
 
 10 
 
110 A COMMENTARY Psaim XXXU, 
 
 in the protection and saving power of God, in the same manner as in Isa. 
 xxvi. 1. " We have a strong city ; salvation will God appoint for walls 
 and bulwarks." 
 
 " 22. For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes ; neverthe- 
 less, thou heardest the voice of my supplications, when I cried unto thee." 
 
 Whoever shall consider the troubles of the beloved Son of God, bereaved 
 for a season of the light of heaven, only that it might afterwards arise upon 
 him with a greater lustre, will be taught never to faint under the chastise- 
 ment of the Lord ; since the darkness of the night argues the approaching 
 dawn of the day. 
 
 " 23. O love the Lord, all ye his saints : /or the Lord preserveth the 
 faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. 24. Be of good courage, 
 and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord." 
 
 The exhortation is raised from the consideration of the deliverance of 
 Christ, with the destruction of his enemies ; which ought to strengthen and 
 comfort the hearts of believers under all their afflictions here below ; that so, 
 after having suffered courageously with their Master, they may triumphantly 
 enter into his joy and glory. 
 
 SIXTH DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM XXXIL 
 
 ARGTIMENT. 
 
 In this Psalm, which is the second of those styled penitential, David, as a model 
 of true repentance, 1,2. extolleth the blessedness of those whose sins are 
 forgiven them ; 3, 4. describeth the torment endured by him, before he con- 
 fessed his sin ; and, 5. the goodness of God in pardoning it, when confessed; 
 
 6. he foretelleth that others, after his example, should obtain the like mercy ; 
 
 7. declareth his hope and confidence in his God ; who, 8. is introduced, pro- 
 mising wisdom and grace to the penitent ; 9, 10. sinners are warned against 
 obstinacy ; and, 11. the righteous exhorted to rejoice in God tlieir Saviour. 
 
 "1. Blessed zs Ae wj^ose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 
 2. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in 
 whose spirit there is no guile." 
 
 As the sick man is eloquent in the praise of health, so the sinner begin- 
 neth this his confession of sin with an encomium on righteousness, longing 
 earnestly to be made a partaker of the evangelical " blessedness ;" to be 
 delivered from the guilt and the power of sin; to be pardoned and sanctified, 
 through faith which is in Christ Jesus. See Rom. iv. 6. 
 
 " 3. When I kept silence my bones waxed old, through my roaring all 
 the day long." 
 
 In opposition to the blessedness above-mentioned, the penitent now pro- 
 ceeds to declare his own wretched estate, occasioned by his "keeping 
 silence," or not confessing his sin, which therefore rankled and festered 
 inwardly, occasioning torment inexpressible. The disorders of the mind, 
 as well as those of the body, should be communicated to persons skilful in 
 assuao-in"- and removing them. Many might thereby be saved from the 
 horrible crime of self-murder, which is generally committed in agonies of 
 solitary remorse and despair. 
 
 " 4. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me : my moisture is 
 turned into the drought of summer." 
 
 Outward calamities, and inward pangs of conscience, are the strokes of 
 God's hand, designed to humble the sinner, and lead him to confession; 
 and in the infliction of these, such severity is sometimes necessary, that 
 the patient is brought to death's door, before a turn can be given to the 
 
Day VI. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. HI 
 
 disease; but the pain of a blow upon an ulcerated part, however exquisite, 
 is well compensated for, if, by promoting a discharge, it effect a cure. 
 
 " 5. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. 
 I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest 
 the iniquity of my sin." 
 
 What is this, but the Gospel itself—" If we confess our sins, he is faithful 
 and just to forgive us our sins," 1 John i. 9. And thus it happened, in one 
 case, to David, who had no sooner confessed his sin to the prophet Nathan, 
 but an answer of peace was instantly vouchsafed — " The Lord hath put 
 away thy sin," 2 Sara. xii. 13. Were angels to descend from heaven, to 
 comfort the dejected spirit of a sinner, they could say nothing more effec- 
 tual for the purpose, than what is said in this verse of our Psalm. But 
 practice will be the best comment upon it. 
 
 "6. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when 
 thou mayest be found : surely in the floods of great waters they shall not 
 come nigh unto him." 
 
 Encouraged by this example and declaration of David, to hope for mercy, 
 on confession of sin, it is here foretold, that humble penitents shall be led 
 to make their prayer unto God in the acceptable time, and in the day of 
 salvation, while he " may be found ;" that so they may be forgiven, and 
 preserved from great and overwhelming calamities : from the fears of death, 
 and the terrors of judgment. 
 
 " 7. Thou art my hiding place : thou shalt preserve me from trouble : 
 thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance." 
 
 The penitent, happily returned to the house of his heavenly Father, now 
 esteemeth himself safe under his protection : and resteth in full assurance 
 that all his sorrows shall one day be turned into joy, through the redemp- 
 tion which is in Christ Jesus. 
 
 "8. I will instruct thee, and teach thee in the way in which thou shalt 
 go : I will guide thee with mine eye." 
 
 The Redeemer is here introduced, returning an answer to the penitent's 
 declarations of his humility and faith; promising "instruction" in that wis- 
 dom which every man wants, who continues in sin, together with the direction 
 of the Spirit in the way of righteousness, and the superintendence of his 
 •watchful care. Man cannot prevent evils, because he cannot foresee them. 
 " Next therefore to the protecting power of God's Wing, is the securing 
 prospect of his Eye," saith Dr. South. 
 
 " 9. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understandino- ; 
 whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto 
 thee." 
 
 The person speaking in the former verse, or the prophet himself, exhorts 
 sinners to repent at the invitation and encouragement afforded them ; and 
 not to continue, like brutes, fierce, obstinate, and senseless, until, like 
 them, they must be tamed and managed by force, and the severity of dis- 
 cipline. 
 
 " 10. Many sorrows shall he to the wicked : but he that trusteth in the 
 Lord, mercy shall compass him about." 
 
 They who are not to be reformed by gentler methods, must learn righteous- 
 ness under the rod of aflliction, in the school of the cross : and happy are 
 they, if their " sorrows" may so turn to their advantage. But happier are 
 those, who, led by the goodness of God to repentance°and faith, enjoy the 
 light and protection of " mercy." 
 
 " 11. Be glad in the Loan, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, 
 all ye that are upright in heart."* 
 
 * Bishop Lovvth is of opinion, this verse should be the first of the ensuing Psalm, the repeti- 
 tion being in the very style and manner of the Hebrews, and the words repeated and varied 
 with the greatest art and elegance. " Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous : and shout 
 for joy, all ye that are upright in heart— Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous ; for praise is comely 
 for the upright."— See Merrick's Annotations. 
 
112 A COMMENTARY Psalm XXXIH. 
 
 In the beginning of the Psalm, the penitent, smitten with a sense of his 
 wretchedness on account of his sins, extolleth the blessedness of the rig-ht- 
 eous ; he now again doth the same, through a joyful sense of his pardon, 
 and restoration to that happy state. Let us "rejoice," O Lord Jesus; but 
 let us " rejoice in thee" and in thy salvation; so shall we rejoice indeed. 
 
 PSALM xxxin. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In this Psalm, the prophet, 1 — 3. exhorteth the faithful to a spiritual and holy 
 joy in their God, whom they are to praise, 4, 5. for his truth, righteousness, 
 and mercy ; 6—9. for his power, displayed in the works of creation ; 10 — 19. 
 for the wisdom of his providence, and the care he hath of his people. 20, 
 21. The righteous, in answer to the exhortation, declare their joy and confi- 
 dence in God their Saviour, and, 22. prefer a petition for his manifestation. 
 
 "1. Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous ; fur praise is comely for the 
 upright." 
 
 God, and not the world, is the fountain of "joy ;" which sinners talk of, 
 but the righteous only possess. " Rejoice in the Lord always ; and again 
 I say, rejoice," Phil. iv. 4. 
 
 " 2. Praise the Lord with harp : sing unto him with the psaltery, and an 
 instrument often strings." 
 
 Music, both vocal and instrumental, is of eminent use in setting forth the 
 praises of God : but there is no instrument like the rational soul, and no 
 melody like that of well-tuned affections. When this music accompanies 
 the other, the sacred harmony of the church is complete. 
 
 " 3. Sing unto him a new song ; play skilfully with a loud noise." 
 
 "Old things are passed away," and the ideas of a Christian are to be 
 transferred from the old world, and the old dispensation, to the "new;" 
 since, under the Gospel, "all things are become new," and all men ought 
 to become so. Rev. xxi. 1. 5. Abilities of every kind are never so well 
 employed, as in the service of him who giveth them. 
 
 " 4. For the word of the Lord is right, and all his works are done in 
 trath." 
 
 God is to be praised for his word, and his works ; for his rectitude in one, 
 and his truth in the other; for his faithfulness in accomplishing by the lat- 
 ter, what his goodness had promised in the former. The sense will be the 
 same, if we suppose that by the " word of the Lord" is meant the personal 
 Word, or the Son of God, all whose " works," wrought for the salvation 
 of men, " are done in truth," as witnessed by the law and the prophets. 
 
 " 5. He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the good- 
 ness, Heb. mercy, of the Lord." 
 
 " Justice" is an attribute inseparable from God : and what deserves the 
 praises of men, as it excites the admiration of angels, is, that, without sa- 
 crificing this formidable attribute, he hath contrived to fill and overflow the 
 earth with his " mercy." 
 
 " G. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made : and all the host 
 of them by the breath, or, spirit, of his mouth." 
 
 It is true, that the world was created by the " word" or fud of God, 
 which may be here described, after the manner of men, as formed by "the 
 breath of his mouth." It is also true, that by the instrumentality of the 
 eternal Word, and the eternal Spirit, the whole heavens and earth were 
 made ; as also the new heavens and earth, which shall succeed them. Glory 
 is due from man to God, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit. 
 
 " 7. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap : he layeth 
 up the depth in store-houses." 
 
 The next instance of divine power and goodness, for which we are here 
 
DAT VI. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 113 
 
 excited to be thankful, is that of laying up the waters, which originally 
 covered the face of the earth, in the great deep beneath. And let us re- 
 flect, that, by the same divine power and goodness, a deluge of wickedness 
 and violence is prevented from overwhelming the faith and the church. 
 
 " 8. Let all the earth fear the Lord : let all the inhabitants of the world 
 stand in awe of him: 9. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, 
 and it stood fast." 
 
 He who made all things, who preserves all things, and can in a moment 
 destroy all things, is the proper object of our " fear;" and that we fear him 
 so little, is 3 most convincing proof of the corruption and blindness of our 
 hearts. 
 
 " 10. The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought : he maketh 
 the devices of the people of none effect. 11. The counsel of the Lord 
 standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations." 
 
 The wisdom of God's providence is not less worthy of adoration than the 
 power of his might. By this wisdom, the " counsels" of states and em- 
 pires are either directed to the accomplishment of the great counsel of hea- 
 ven; or, if they attempt to thwart it, are blasted, and " brought to nothing." 
 History will force all who read it with this view, to acknowledge thus 
 much. And with this view, indeed, it should always be read. 
 
 "12. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people 
 whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance." 
 
 The foregoing considerations of the righteousness, truth, mercy, power, 
 and wisdom of Jehovah, naturally suggest a reflection on the "blessed- 
 ness" of the church, in whose cause all those attributes are, by the cove- 
 nant of grace, engaged and exercised. But who now esteems this blessed- 
 ness as it deserves? 
 
 " 13. The Lord looketh from heaven: he beholdeth all the sons of men. 
 14. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of 
 the earth. 15. He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their 
 works." 
 
 How great must be the advantage of living in his favour, and under his 
 protection, who, from the watch-tower of his eternal throne, beholdeth, di- 
 recteth, and controlleth at pleasure, not only the actions and the words, but 
 the very thoughts and imaginations of the inhabitants of the earth ! For, 
 this being the case, it is most certain that, 
 
 " 16. There is no king saved by the multitude of an host : a mighty man 
 is not delivered by much strength. 17. An horse is a vain thing for safety; 
 neither shall he deliver any by his great strength." 
 
 All the power in the world is less than nothing, if brought into the field 
 against that of God ; so that the fate of every battle will depend upon the 
 side which he shall please to take, who is equally able to confound the 
 many and the mighty, and to give victory to the weak and the few. The 
 same is true of that spiritual warfare, in which we are all engaged. 
 
 " 18. Behold the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him; upon them 
 that hope in his mercy : 19. To deliver their soul from death, and to keep 
 them alive in famine." 
 
 The ever-waking eye of Providence, which looketh on all, looketh with 
 favour and loving-kindness on such " as fear" God without despondency, 
 and " hope" in him without presumption : their bodies are often wonder- 
 fully preserved in times of danger and want; but, what is of far greater 
 consequence, their souls are saved from spiritual and everlasting death, and 
 nourished in the wilderness with the bread of heaven. 
 
 " 20. Our soul waiteth for the Lord : he is our help and our shield. 21. 
 For our heart shall rejoice in him; because we have trusted in his holy 
 name." 
 
 In answer to the foregoing exhortation, the " righteous" are here intro- 
 duced, declaring their fixed resolution to persevere in faith and patience, 
 " waiting" for the coming of their Lord and Saviour, in whom they "rejoice 
 
 10* 
 
114 A COMMENTARY Psaim XXXIV. 
 
 with joy unspeakable and full of glory," by reason of that humble and 
 holy confidence which they have in him. 
 
 " 22. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in 
 thee." 
 
 The " hope" of the church was always in IMessiah. Of old she prayed 
 for the "mercy" of his first advent; now she expecteth his second. Grant 
 us, O Lord, hope, of which we may never be disappointed. 
 
 PSALM XXXIV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The prophet, escaped out of the hands of his enemies, uttereth a song of 
 praise, in words which the Christian now employeth to celebrate the far 
 greater deliverance of his Saviour, and liimself by him, from the power of 
 more formidable adversaries. 1 — 7. He calleth his brethren to rejoice with 
 him, and to magnify God for the favour and protection vouchsafed to his 
 servant, in a time of danger; 8 — 10. he exhorteth others to taste and expe- 
 rience the goodness of Jehovah to such as fear him; and for that purpose, 
 11 — 14. instructeth them in the nature and effects of divine fear; after which, 
 15 — 22. he sweetly descanteth on the certainty of redemption from aU the 
 tribulations endured by the faithful in this mortal life. 
 
 " 1. I will bless the Lord, at all times : his praise shall continually be 
 in my month." 
 
 The Christian, delivered from many perils, yet continually liable to more, 
 finds cause, at all seasons, and in all situations, to bless God. " In all 
 thintrs he gives thanks, and rejoices even in tribulation," which caniaot de- 
 prive him of the true ground of all joy, the salvation of Christ. 
 
 " 2. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord : the humble shall hear 
 thei-eof, and be glad." 
 
 The glory of every action is to be ascribed to God, whose interpositions, 
 in behalf of his people of old time, afford consolation and joy to the hum- 
 ble and afflicted. But chiefly are the members of the church bound to give 
 thanks for the resurrection and triumph of Christ, their head. " The hum- 
 ble" can never " hear" of this without being " glad." 
 
 " 3. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together." 
 The Christian not only himself magnifies God, but exhorts others to do 
 likewise ; and longs for that day to come, when all nations and languages, 
 laying aside their contentions and animosities, their prejudices and their er- 
 rors, their unbelief, their heresies, and their schisms, shall make their sound 
 to be heard as one, in magnifying and exalting their great Redeemer's 
 name. 
 
 " 4. I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my 
 fears." 
 
 The ground of this rejoicing to the typical David, might be his delive- 
 rance from his enemies; to the true David, it was his rescue from the 
 powers of darkness; to the believing soul, it is her salvation from sin; and 
 to the body, it will be redemption from the grave. Then the Lord will de- 
 liver us "from all our fears; and this he will do, if we seek him, in his 
 Scriptures, and in his ordinances. 
 
 "5. They looked unto him, and were lightened; and their faces were 
 not ashamed." 
 
 Faith is the eye, sin the blindness, and Christ the light of the soul. The 
 blindness must be removed, and the eye must be directed to the light, 
 which will then illuminate the whole man, and guide him in the way of 
 salvation. He who thus looketh unto the Sun of righteousness, for light 
 and direction, shall never be confounded. 
 
Day VI. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 115 
 
 " 6. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of 
 all his troubles." 
 
 David, when he escaped from his enemies, might be " poor" and desti- 
 tute. But HE was emphatically " the poor man," who became so for our 
 sakes; who not only possessed nothing, but desired nothing in this world. 
 He " cried, and Jehovah heard him, and delivered him out of all his trou- 
 bles ;" as he will hear and deliver the " poor in spirit," who pray unto 
 him. For, 
 
 " 7. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, 
 and delivereth them." 
 
 The Divine protection and salvation, vouchsafed to the faithful, is here 
 signified, whether we suppose that by " the angel of Jehovah," is meant 
 tlie presence of Christ in the church militant, as of old in the camp of 
 Israel ; or the ministration of created spirits to the heirs of salvation, as in 
 tlie case of Elisha; 2 Kings vi. 17. Let the consideration of these invi- 
 sible guardians, who are also spectators of our actions, at once restrain us 
 from evil, and incite us to good. 
 
 " 8. O taste and see that the Lord is good : blessed is the man that 
 trusteth in him." 
 
 David saw and tasted the goodness of Jehovah, when delivered from his 
 adversaries ; the Son of David, when raised from the dead. Both invite us, 
 by " trusting" in God, to behold and experience, in our own persons, the 
 mercies and consolations of heaven. 
 
 " 9. O fear the Lord, ye his saints : for there is no want to them that 
 fear him. 10. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger; but they that 
 seek the Lord shall not want any good thing." 
 
 He who seeketh the Lord, shall find him ; and he who hath found him, 
 can want nothing. Faith, hope, charity, temperance, purity, patience, and 
 contentment, are the true riches ; and the lack of them, the poverty to be 
 most dreaded ; since to a Christian, persecution, loss, sickness, nay death 
 itself, is gain. In the mean lime, God is never wanting to provide for his 
 servants what he seeth needful and best, in matters temporal ; while tyrants 
 and oppressors, who are in the world what " lions" are in a forest, are 
 often, by the just judgment of heaven, reduced to want that which they 
 have ravished from others. 
 
 " 11. Come, ye children, hearken unto me : I will teach you the fear of 
 the Lord." 
 
 They who, by contemplating the advantages described above, which 
 attend the fear of the Lord, are become desirous of obtaining that fear, must 
 hearken to their heavenly Father, who by his prophet " speaketh unto 
 thein as unto children," offering to teach them the good and the right way. 
 " 12. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he 
 may see good 1" 
 
 Every Christian professeth to "desire," not only an animal, but a spi- 
 ritual "life;" to love, not an old age in time, but an eternal duration; that 
 he may " see those good things" which God hath prepared, not upon earth, 
 but in heaven, for them that love him. Let us observe, therefore, upon 
 what terms such blessings are offered. 
 
 " 13. Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile." 
 The tongue is an instrument of much good, or much evil. Life and death 
 are in its power : he that keepelh it, keepeth his soul ; and he who offendeth 
 not therewith is a perfect man ; it is an unruly member, and the first work 
 of the fear of God must be to bridle it, that no profane, unclean, slanderous, 
 deceitful, or idle words, proceed out of the mouth. And as the heart is to 
 the tongue what the fountain is to the stream, that must first be purified. 
 " 14. Depart from evil, and do good ; seek peace and pursue it." 
 Not the tongue only, but the whole man, is to be corrected and regulated 
 by the fear of God, operating unto repentance from dead works, and, 
 through faith, unto ebedience of life. And he who hath thus obtained 
 
116 A COMMENTARY Psalm XXXIV. 
 
 peace with God, must ever remember to follow peace with men, reconcil- 
 ing his brethren, if at variance; himself, if it be possible, being at variance 
 with no one. 
 
 " 15. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open 
 unto their cry. 16. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to 
 cut off the remembrance of them from the earth." 
 
 The righteous may be afflicted, like David, and like a greater than 
 David ; and their oppressors may for a time be triumphant; but in the end, 
 the former will be delivered and exalted ; the latter will either cease to be 
 remembered, or they will be remembered with infamy. 
 
 " 17. The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of 
 all their troubles." 
 
 This great and comforting truth, is attested by the history of the deli- 
 verances of Israel from Egypt, Babylon, &c., of Jonah from the whale ; of 
 the three children from the flames, &c., wrought at the supplications of the 
 respective parties in distress : but above all, by the salvation of the world, 
 through the intercession of Jesus Christ. The death of martyrs is their 
 deliverance ; and the greatest of all deliverances. 
 
 " 18. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth 
 such as be of a contrite spirit." 
 
 We are apt to overlook men, in proportion as they are humbled beneath 
 us ; God regards them in that proportion. Vessels of honour are made of 
 that clay, which is " broken" into the smallest parts. 
 
 " 19. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth. 
 him out of them all." 
 
 Afflictions all must suffer ; but those of the righteous end in victory and 
 glory. What soldier would not cheerfully undergo the hardships of a cam- 
 paign upon this condition ? " In the world," saith the Captain of our salva- 
 tion, " ye shall have tribulation ; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the 
 world ;" John xvi. 33. 
 
 "20. He keepeth all his bones; not one of them is broken." 
 It is God who preserveth to man the strength of his body, which lieth in 
 the bones ; and that vigour of his spirit, which consisteth in firm and well- 
 established principles of faith and holiness. The bones of the true Paschal 
 Lamb continued whole during the passion, and those of the saints shall be 
 raised whole at the last day, when the mystical body of Christ shall come 
 out of its sufferings, no less perfect and entire than did the natural. 
 
 " 21. Evil shall slay the wicked : and they that hate the righteous shall 
 be desolate." 
 
 The evil of punishment springs from the evil of sin ; and no sin works 
 such "desolation," as a malicious "hatred" and persecution of the true 
 sons and servants of God. Whoso doubts the truth of this, let him only 
 survey and consider attentively the desoiation of the once highly favoured 
 nation, for their enmity against the King of righteousness, and his faithful 
 subjects. 
 
 "22. The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants; and none of them 
 that trust in him shall be desolate." 
 
 The frequent prosperity of the wicked, and the troubles of the righteous 
 in this world, strike powerfully upon the sense, and are for that reason too 
 apt to efface from our minds the notices given us by faith, of that future 
 inversion of circumstances, which is to take place after death. To renew, 
 therefore, the impression of such an interesting truth, the redemption of the 
 afflicted righteous is so oft^n insisted on in the course of this Psalm. Ena- 
 ble us, O Lord, to "walk by faith, and not by sight," until we come to the 
 heavenly kingdom ; where, with all thy saints, made perfect through suf- 
 ferings, we shall "bless and magnify'thee at all times," and thy "praise 
 will continually be in our mouth," for evermore. 
 
DAT VII. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 117 
 
 SEVENTH DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM XXXV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The prophet in this Psahn, as in the xxiid, which it resembles, personating^ 
 Messi:ih in his state of humiliation and suffering-, 1 — 3. beseecheth Jehovah 
 to interpose in his behalf ; 4 — 8. predicteth the confusion of his enemies, and, 
 9, 10. his own triumph ; 11 — 16. describcth the malice of his persecutors 
 against him, and his love towards them; 17 — 25. repcatelh his supphcations 
 for deliverance, and enlargeth upon the cruel insults he met with ; 26. he 
 again foretelleth the destruction of the adversary, and, 27, 28. the exultation 
 of the faithful. 
 
 "1. Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me; fight 
 against them that fight against me." 
 
 David in his afflictions, Christ in his passion, the church under persecu- 
 tion, and the Christian in the hour of temptation, supplicate the Almighty 
 to appear in their behalf, and to vindicate their cause. 
 
 "2. Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help. 
 3. Draw out also the spear, and stop the tuay against them that persecute 
 me : say unto my soul, I am thy salvation." 
 
 Jehovah is here described as a " man of war," going forth to the battle 
 against the enemies of Messiah and his church : the protection afforded by 
 his mercy is prefigured by the shield of the warrior, covering his body from 
 the darts of the enemy : and the vengeance of his uplifted arm is repre^ 
 sented by the offensive weapons used among men, such as the spear and 
 the sword. " If God be for us, who can be against us ■?" If he speaketh 
 salvation, who shall threaten destruction 1 See Deut. xxxii. 41. Wis- 
 dom V. 20. 
 
 "4. Let them be confounded, or, they shall be confounded, and put to 
 shame, that seek after my soul : let them be, or, they shall be, turned back 
 and brought to confusion, that devise my hurt." 
 
 The consequence of the Omnipotent appearing in arms against his adver- 
 saries is here foretold. And the prediction has long since been verified ia 
 the " confusion" of Saul, and of the Jews, as will be finally fulfilled in that 
 of Satan and all his adherents at the last day : for the manifestation of 
 which day the church now waiteth in faith and patience. 
 
 "5. Let them be, or, they shall be, as chaff before the wind : and let the 
 angel of the Lord, or, the angel of the Lord shall, chase ^A«m." 
 
 The Jews, separated from the church and people of Christ, become use- 
 less and unprofitable to any good work, possessing only the empty ceremo- 
 nies and husks of their religion, and by the breath of the Divine displeasure 
 dispersed over the face of the earth, afford a strikingcomment on this verse, 
 and as striking an admonition to every opposer of the holy Jesus. See 
 Psalm i, 4. 
 
 " 6. Let their way, or, their way shall, be dark and slippery : and let the 
 angel of the Lord, or, the angel of the Lord shall, persecute them." 
 
 A traveller, benighted in a bad road, is an expressive emblem of a sinner 
 walking in the slippery and dangerous ways of temptation, without know- 
 ledge to direct his steps, to show him his danger, or to extricate him from 
 it ; while an enemy is in pursuit of him, whom he can neither resist nor 
 avoid. Deliver us, O Lord, from all blindness, but above all, from that 
 which is judicial! 
 
 "7. For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which 
 without cause they have digged for my soul. 8. Let destruction, or, 
 destruction shall, come upon him at unawares ; and let his net that he hath 
 
118 A COMMENTARY Psaim XXXV. 
 
 hid, or, his net that he hath hid shall, catch himself; into that very destruc- 
 tion let him, or, he shall, fall." 
 
 Tlye causeless persecution raised against David by Saul, and against our 
 Lord by the Jews, reverted through the righteous judgment of God, on the 
 head of the persecutors. The innocent birds escaped; and they who set 
 the toils, were themselves taken therein. Saul lost the kingdom which he 
 thought to have secured, and his life also; and the Jews, who crucified 
 Christ lest " the Romans should take away their place and nation," had 
 their place and nation taken away by those Romans for that very reason. 
 In these histories, all impenitent persecutors of the faith, the church, and 
 the servants of God, may read their doom. 
 
 "9. And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord : it shall rejoice in his sal- 
 vation. ]0. All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee, which 
 deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and 
 the needy from him that spoileth him '" 
 
 These verses, as they describe the joy which the soul and body of Christ 
 were to experience after the resurrection, so shall they one day be sung by 
 the mystical body of the Lord, when delivered from the power of the spoiler, 
 and raised entire from the dust. In the mean time, they may express our 
 gratitude for any temporal preservation from enemies, from sad casualties, 
 and dangerous temptations. 
 
 "11. False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge, -Hfii, asked 
 me, things that I knew not. 12. They rewarded me evil for good, to the 
 spoiling of my soul." 
 
 This was never more literally true of David, than it was of the Holy 
 Jesus ; when standing before Pontius Pilate, he received no other return 
 from the Jews, for all the gracious words which he had spoken, and all 
 the merciful works which he had done among them, than that of being 
 slandered and put to death. 
 
 " 13. But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: 
 I humbled, or, afflicted, my soul with fasting; and mine prayer returned 
 into mine own bosom." 
 
 If David prayed, fasting in sackcloth, for Saul and his associates, the 
 Son of David, to heal the souls of men, put on the veil of mortal flesh, and 
 appeared in the form and habit of a penitent, fasting forty days and forty 
 nights, making continual intercession for transgressors, and grieving to 
 think that any men, by their obstinacy, should deprive themselves of the 
 benefits thereof. 
 
 " 14. I behaved myself, Heb. I walked, as though he had been my friend 
 or brother ; I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother, or, 
 as a mother that mourneth." 
 
 He who so passionately lamented the natural death of Saul, doubtless 
 bewailed greatly his spiritual death of sin : and he who took a comprehen- 
 sive view of the sins and sorrows of Jerusalem, wept over that wretched 
 city, with the tender affection of a " friend," a " brother," and a " mother" 
 — " O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy children 
 together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings !" 
 
 " 15. But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves to- 
 gether: yea, the abjects, or, smiters, gathered themselves together against 
 me, and I knew it not; they did tear mc, and ceased not." 
 
 When the blessed Jesus was suflering for the^sins of men, he was insulted 
 by those men for whose sins he suffered. He gave not only his reputation 
 to the revilers, but also his back to the " smiters," though not conscious of 
 the crimes for which they pretended to punish him. 
 
 " 16. With hypocritical mockers in feasts, or, among the profligates, the 
 makers of mock, they gnashed upon me with their teeth." 
 
 However this might be true in the case of David, it certainly had a literal 
 accomplishment in the scoffs and taunts of the chief priest and others, when 
 Christ was hanging on the cross, " Ah, thou that destroyest the temple," 
 
Day VII. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 119 
 
 &c. "He trusted in God," &c. "Let him come down from the cross," 
 &c. &c. nay, one of the thieves, crucified with him, " cast the same in his 
 teeth." Whosoever considers these things, will not be surprised at the ex- 
 postulation in the following verse. 
 
 " 17. Lord, how long wilt thou look on 1 Rescue my soul from their de- 
 structions, my darling from the lions." 
 
 Christ pra)'eth, like David of old, for the manifestation of the promised 
 mercy ; for the deliverance of the nature which he had assumed, and which 
 he delighted in. Who does not behold in him, surrounded b}"^ his enraged 
 and implacable enemies, a second Daniel, praying in the den of" lions'!" 
 
 " 18. I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise 
 thee among much people, or, the strong people." 
 
 This verse is exactl}"^ parallel to Psalm xxii. 25. wherein, after an enu- 
 meration of his sufferings, our Lord predicteth the praise and glory that 
 should accrue to God in the church, after his resurrection, from the preach- 
 ing of the apostles ; which passage see and compare ; as also Isa. xxv. 3. 
 and Rev. vii. 9. 
 
 " 19, Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me : 
 neither let them wink with the eye them that hate me without a cause." 
 
 The prophet, in the person of Christ, returneth again to make supplica- 
 tion that an end may be put to the insults, the scoffs, and the sneers of the 
 reprobate. O come, that day, when they shall cease for evermore ! 
 
 " 20. For they speak not peace : but they devise deceitful matters against 
 them that are quiet in the land. 21. Yea, they opened their mouth wide 
 against me and said, Aha, aha ! our eye hath seen «Y." 
 
 David would have lived " quietly" under the government of Saul ; our 
 Lord did not aim at temporal sovereignty over the Jews ; nor did the 
 primitive Christians desire to intermeddle with the politics of the world: 
 yet all were betrayed, mocked, and persecuted as rebels, and usurpers, and 
 the pests of society. 
 
 "22. 77i/s thou hast seen, O Lord : keep not silence: O Lord, be not 
 far from me. 23. Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment, even unto my 
 cause, my God, and my Lord. 24. .Tudge me, O Lord my God, according 
 to thy righteousness ; and let them not rejoice over me." 
 
 God " seeth" and knoweth all things ; yet he permitteth those, who love 
 him best, to be often long afflicted and oppressed, seeming as one at a 
 " distance," or " silent," or " asleep," that is, regardless of what passes. 
 At such times, we are not to remit, but to double our diligence in prayer, 
 reiterating our cries — "Lord, save us! we perish!" Then will he 
 " awake and arise, and rebuke the winds and the seas, and there shall be a 
 cairn." 
 
 " 25. Let them not say in their hearts. Ah, so would we have it : let 
 them not say, We have swallowed him up." 
 
 Messiah prayed for an end of his sufferings : that the enemies of man- 
 kind might not triumph in his destruction; that death might not finally 
 " swallow him up," but be itself " swallowed up in victory." The church 
 daily maketh the same request. 
 
 " 26. Let them, or, they shall, be ashamed and brought to confusion to- 
 gether, that rejoice at mine hurt: let them, or, they shall, be clothed with 
 shame and dishonour, that magnify themselves against me. 
 
 The accomplishment of this prediction, by the resurrection of Jesus, and 
 the destruction of Jerusalem, is well known. There are two events to 
 come, parallel to these two which are past, viz. the resurrection of the faithful, 
 and the destruction of the vorld ; when all who, like the Jews, have 
 "rejoiced in the hurt" of Messiah, and have " magnified themselves agains 
 him," will, like the Jews, be covered with everlasting " confusion." 
 
 " 27. Let them, or, they shall, shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my 
 righteous cause : yea, let them, or, they shall, say continually, Let the 
 Lord be magnified, which h^th pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. 
 
120 A COMMENTARY Psalm XXX Vf. 
 
 28. And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness, and of thy praise, all 
 the day long." 
 
 As the preceding verse foretold the sorrow of the enemies, so these two 
 describe the joy of the friends to Messiah, upon his victory and exaltation, 
 which have been, and shall continue to be, celebrated by the church in 
 these divine hymns, indited by the Holy Spirit for that purpose, until the 
 songs of time shall end in the hallelujahs of eternity. 
 
 PSALM XXXVI. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In the four first verses of this Psalm, the prophet descrlbeth the principles, the 
 actions, the conversation, and the imaginations of his wicked persecutors ; 
 and from thence raising his thoughts to heaven, 5 — 9. celebrateth the mercy 
 and loving-kindness of Jehovah ; for a continuation of which to himself and 
 the church, he fervently prayeth, 10, 11, and 12. foreseeth the downfall of 
 the ungodly. 
 
 " 1. The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart. That there is 
 no fear of God before his eyes." 
 
 If the present reading in the original be the true one, the meaning must 
 be this — The transgressions of a bad man show plainly, in the apprehension 
 of a good one, that the former is destitute of a true fear of God. Bishop 
 Lovvth, by a slight alteration or two in the text, renders it to this effect — 
 "The wicked man, according to the wickedness in his heart, saith. There 
 is no fear of God before mine eyes."* The great truth which the prophet here 
 declareth himself to be convinced of, is, that all wickedness proceedeth from 
 the absence of " the fear of God" in the person who committeth it ; that 
 fear being a principle, which, while it is predominant in the man, will 
 restrain him from transgression. Our laws suppose as much, when in the 
 form of indicting a criminal, they attribute the commission of the offence 
 to his " not, having the fear of God before his eyes." 
 
 " 2. For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity he found 
 to be hateful : or, when his sin is ready to be found out and to be hated." 
 
 He Avho hath lost " the fear of God" is first led into sin, and then de- 
 tained in it; because, having forgotten the great witness and judge of his 
 actions, he vainly thinks his crimes may be concealed or disguised ; till a 
 discovery breaks the charm, and disperses the delusion. The last day will 
 show strange instances of this folly. 
 
 "3. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to 
 be wise, and, to do good, or, to understand that he may do good." 
 
 If the fear of God be not in the heart, " iniquity and deceit" will be under 
 the tongue; and, then, an apostacy from wisdom and goodness, or the wis- 
 dom of goodness, which is the only true wisdom, cannot be far off. 
 
 " 4. He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that 
 is not good ; he abhorreth not evil." 
 
 From the actions and the words of him who hith not the fear of God be- 
 fore his eyes, the prophet goeth back to the thoughts and imaginations of 
 his heart, which even in retirement and solitude, are busily employed upon 
 evil, as those of the righteous are, at those seasons, upon God and goodness. 
 A man may know the slate of his mind, in some measure, from his morning 
 and evening thoughts " upon his bed." Hewho doih not give diligence to 
 " set himself in a good way," will soon be set in one that is not good ; and 
 he who doth not "abhor" sin, will ere long delight in it. 
 
 " 5. Thy mercy, Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth 
 
 * See Merrick's Jlnnota^ons. 
 
DavVII. M.P. ON THE PSALMS. 121 
 
 unto the clouds, or, skies. 6. Thy righteousness is like the great moun- 
 tains ; thy judgments «re a great deep." 
 
 From the wickedness of the world, in which we live, we must lift up our 
 eyes for help and comfort to the mercy and truth of God, boundless, pure, 
 and beneficial, as the heavens over our heads; to his righteousness, fixed 
 End permanent, as the everlasting hills; and to his judgments, stupendous 
 and unfathomable as the waters of the great deep. Truth will engage mercy 
 to accomplish the promised salvation of the elect; and righteousness will 
 employ judgment in executing upon the reprobate the vengeance that is due. 
 
 " Lord, thou preserves! man and beast. 7. How excellent is thy lov- 
 ing-kindness, God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the 
 shadow of thy wings." 
 
 The good providence of God extendeth over all creatures, nourishing and 
 preserving them, as well as man, for whose use they were made. We can 
 never enough value and " extol the loving-kindness" of him, whose over- 
 shadowing " wings" protectand cherish us on earth, in order to bear us from 
 thence to heaven. See Matt. xxi. 37. Dent, xxxiii. IL 
 
 " 8. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house ; and 
 thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures." 
 
 In heaven alone the thirst of an immortal soul after happiness can be sa- 
 tisfied. There the streams of Eden will flow again. They who drink of 
 them shall forget their earthly poverty, and remember the miseries of the 
 world no more. Some drops from the celestial cup are sufficient for a time 
 to make us forget our sorrows, even while we are in the midst of them : 
 what then may we not expect from full draughts of those pleasures, which 
 are at thy right hand, Lord, for evermore] 
 
 " 9. For with thee is the fountain of life : in thy light shall we see light." 
 
 The rivers before mentioned flow irom a " fountain," which fetcheth not 
 supplies from without, but whose spring is within itself, and therefore caa 
 never be exhausted. The " water of life" proceeds from " the throne of 
 God and the Lamb," Rev. xxii. 1. "This is life eternal, to know thee the 
 only true God, and Jesus Ch: 'st whom thou hast sent," Johnxvii. 3. God, 
 like the sun, cannot be seen, but by the light which himself emits. 
 
 " 10. O continue thy loving-kindness unto them that know thee; and thy 
 righteousness to the upright in heart." 
 
 The prophet, groaning under the oppression of the wicked, who are de- 
 scribed in the first part of the Psalm, prayeth for a continuation of the mer- 
 cies of God, which he has celebrated in the second part. Give us, God, 
 the knowledge of thee, and make us upright in heart, that thy loving-kind- 
 ness and thy righteousness may be our portion for ever. 
 
 " U. Let not the foot of pride come against me; and let not the hand of 
 the wicked remove me." 
 
 The Christian has reason enough to join with the prophet in this petition, 
 whether we suppose it to deprecate destruction from proud men and sinneis, 
 without us, or from pride and sin, within us. 
 
 " 12. There are the workers of iniquity fallen : they are cast down, and 
 shall not be able to rise." 
 
 Faith calleth things that be not as though they were; it carries us forward 
 to the end of time, it shows us the Lord sitting on his throne of judgment; 
 the righteous caught up to meet him in the air ; the world in flames under 
 his feet; and the empire of sin fallen, to rise no more. 
 
 II 
 
122 A COMMENTARY Psalm XXXVII. 
 
 SEVENTH DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM XXXVII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 From the beginning to the end of this Psalm, the Holy Spirit, by the prophet, 
 administereth advice and consolation to the church and people of the liOrd, 
 oppressed and afflicted in the world, by prosperous and triumpiiant wicked- 
 ness. Faith and patience are therefore recommended upon the double con- 
 sideration of that sure reward whicli awaitetli the righteous, and that certain 
 punishment which shall be inflicted on the wicked. These two events are . 
 set before us in a variety of expressions, and under many lively and affecting 
 images. As the Psalm is rather a collection of divine aphorisms on the same 
 subject, than a continued and connected discourse, it admitteth of nothing 
 farther in the way of argument. 
 
 " 1. Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, neither be thou envious against 
 the workers of iniquity : 2. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, 
 and wither as the green herb." 
 
 The Holy Spirit here prescribeth a remedy to a very common, and no less 
 dangerous disorder of the mind, namely, a distrust of God's providence, 
 occasioned by frequently beholding the prosperity of the wicked, in this 
 present world. He who alloweth himself time to consider how soon the 
 fairest spring must give place to a burning summer, a blighting autumn, and 
 a killing winter, will no longer envy, but pity the fadingverdure of the grass, 
 and the still more transient glories of the flowers of the field. Herbs and 
 plants are medicinal in more senses than one.* 
 
 " 3. Trust in the Lord, and do good ; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and 
 verily thou shalt be fed ; or, dwell in the land, and feed on truth, or, faith- 
 fulness." 
 
 The consideration of the speedy and tragical end of sinners affordeth a 
 powerful argument for perseverance in faith and holiness ; for continuing in 
 the church, and making our abode in the pastures of truth ; until in the 
 strength of that sacred viand, we come to the heavenly land of promise, and 
 dwell therein for ever. 
 
 "4. Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires 
 of thine heart." 
 
 He who delighteth in the creature, hath not always the " desires of his 
 heart" granted, nor is it fit that he should have them ; but he who delight- 
 eth in God, will desire what he delighteth in, and obtain what he desireth. 
 
 " 5. Commit thy way unto the Lord : trust also in him ; and he shall bring 
 it to pass. 6. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and 
 thy judgment as the noon-day." 
 
 Malice and calumny may, for a time, overshadow the splendour of a holy 
 character ; but the sun will come forth, and the clouds will fly away. This 
 was most eminently true of the blessed Jesus at his resurrection, and will 
 be verified in his saints at the last day. The history of Susannah affordeth 
 a remarkable instance of it in this life. " Her heart trusted in the Lord, and 
 he brought forth her righteousness as the light; insomuch that all the assem- 
 bly cried out with a loud voice, and praised God, who saveth them that trust 
 in him," ver. 35. 60. 
 
 " 7. Rest in, or, be silent to, the Lord, and wait patiently for him : fret not 
 thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of tlie man who 
 bringeth wicked devices to pass." 
 
 If the spotless Lamb of God was dumb, before those who were divesting 
 him of his honours, and robbing him of his life, " silent" resignation cannot 
 
 ♦ See an elegant and beautiful discnurse on the " lilies nf the field," published among the 
 Scniioiis of the late learned, ingenious, and worthy Dr. Tottie. 
 
Day VII. E. p. ON THE PSALMS. 123 
 
 but become one who suffers for his sins. Israel was commanded to " stand 
 still, and see the salvation of God ;" but the people gazed upon the pomp 
 and power of Pharaoh, who was in pursuit of them, till their faith failed, 
 and they began to murmur and despond. How often is this our case before 
 we perceive it. 
 
 " 8. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath : fret not thyself in any wise to 
 do evil. 9. For evil-doers shall be cut off; but those that wait upon the 
 Lord, they shall inherit the earth." 
 
 At the day of judgment, when "evil-doers shall be cut off," by the flaming 
 sword of eternal vengeance, and when the saints of the Most High shall 
 " inherit the new earth," the latter will have no emotions of anger or envy 
 against the former. Let them so meditate on that day, as to make it present 
 to their minds, and they will have no such emotions now. 
 
 " 10. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be .- yea, thou shalt 
 diligently consider his place, and it shall not 6e." 
 
 The whole duration of the world itself is but a " little while," in the sight 
 of him, whose hope is full of immortality. But the calamities and deaths of 
 princes ; the tragical fate of empires, swept with the besom of destruction ; 
 the overthrow of cities, whose dimensions, towers, and palaces, once aston- 
 ished the earth, but whose "place" is now no where to be found by the 
 most curious and diligent inquirer ; and the desolations of the chosen city 
 Jerusalem ; all these are even now sufficient to draw forth the tear of com- 
 miseration, and to extinguish the kindling spark of envy in every considerate 
 mind. 
 
 " 11. But the meek shall inherit the earth ; and shall delight themselves 
 in the abundance of peace." 
 
 The " meek" are they who bear their own adversities and the prosperity 
 of their enemies without envy, anger, or complaint. For these there is a 
 possession in the kingdom and city of the Prince of "peace," which " the 
 Lord the righteous judge shall give them at that day." " Blessed are the 
 meek," saith that Lord and Judge himself, " for they shall inherit the 
 earth," Matt. v. 5. " In the mean time, they, and they only, possess the 
 present earth, as they go towards the kingdom of heaven, by being humble, 
 and cheerful, and content with what their good God has allotted them. 
 They have no turbulent, repining, vexatious thoughts that they deserve bet- 
 ter; nor are vexed, when they see others possessed of more honour, or more 
 riches, than their wise God has allotted for their share. But they possess 
 what they have with a meek and contented quietness ; such a quietness as 
 makos their very dreams pleasing, both to God and themselves." Walton's 
 Complete Angler, p, 295. 
 
 " 12. The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with 
 his teeth. 13. The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is 
 coming." 
 
 The original enmity between the wicked one and the Just One will al- 
 ways subsist between the wicked and the just. The rage of the former 
 against the latter is compared to that of mad dogs, or wild beasts; but a 
 day is coming, when all that rage must be turned and employed against 
 themselves. God, who knoweth this, contemneth their vain efforts; and 
 Christians, who know it, and are under the protection of God, should do 
 the same. 
 
 " 14. The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, 
 to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conver- 
 sation, or, upright of way. 15. Their sword shall enter into their own 
 heart, and their bow shall be broken." 
 
 The tongue is a "sword," and a " bow" which shooteth its arrows, even 
 bitter words, against the humble and upright, Jesus, and his disciples. 
 But these are not the only weapons that have been drawn against them. 
 How the malice of the Jews returned upon their own heads, no one is ig- 
 norant ; though few lay it to heart, and consider them as set forth for an 
 example. 
 
124 A COMMENTARY Psilm XXXVfT. 
 
 "16. A little that a riohteous man hath, is better than the riches of many 
 wicked. 17. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Loko 
 upholdeth the righteous." 
 
 A little, with the blessing of God upon it, is better than a great deal, 
 with the encumbrance of his curse. His blessing can multiply a mite into 
 a talent, but his curse will shiink a talent to a mite. By him " the arms 
 of the wicked are broken," and by him '* the righteous are upholden ;" so 
 that the great question is, whether he be with us, or against us; and the 
 great misfortune is, that this question is seldom asked. 
 
 " 18. The Lord knoweth the days of the upright; and their inheritance 
 shall be for ever. 19. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in 
 the days of famine they shall be satisfied." 
 
 The favour of God is, to them that obtain it, a better and an enduring 
 substance, which, like the widow's barrel and cruse, wasted not in the 
 evil days of famine, nor will fail in that evil day of eternal want, when the 
 foolish virgins shall be calling in vain for oil, and the rich glutton as vainly 
 imploring a drop of water to cool his tongue. 
 
 "20. But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be 
 as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume 
 away." 
 
 The destruction of the wicked is here again set before us, but under 
 a different image, namely, that of a sacrifice. Senseless, as cattle, they 
 are fatted for the altar, they wanton in their prosperity, and nourish their 
 hearts against the day of slaughter. In the mean time, the Almighty is 
 whetting that sword, which nothing can withstand; and those fires are 
 kindling, which shall never be extinguished. See Isa. xxxiv. 6 — 10. 
 
 "21. The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again; but the righteous 
 sheweth mercy, and giveth." 
 
 The wicked man, like his leader, the " wicked one," payeth not those 
 whose money or abilities he hath occasion to borrow, and to employ in his 
 service; whereas the disciple of Christ, in imitation of his Master, not 
 only punctually observeth the rules of justice and equity, but thinketh it 
 "more blessed to give than to receive." Li like manner, though both are 
 indebted for everything to the bounty of God, the latter maketh all the 
 acknowledgments and returns in his power; while the former never thinketh 
 of making any. 
 
 " 22. For, or, therefore, such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth ; 
 and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off." 
 
 They who are like their merciful and gracious Lord, and who by their 
 devotion and charity, bless him, are blessed of him ; they who are like 
 their cruel and iniquitous master, and who, by their ungodliness, injustice, 
 and hard-heartedness, dishonour their Maker and Redeemer, are cursed of 
 him. To the former therefore it will be said, at the last day, " Come, ye 
 blessed, inherit the kingdom;" to the latter, "Go, ye cursed, into the 
 fire." 
 
 "23. The steps of a good man are ordered, Heb. established, by the 
 Lord; and he delighteth in his way. 24. Though he fall, he shall not be 
 utterly cast down : for the Lord upholdeth hhti with his hand." 
 
 This was emphatically true of the man Christ, whose steps Jehovah es- 
 tablished, and in whose way he delighted : who, " though he fell" by death, 
 yet was raised again by his mighty hand, and outstretched arm. It is true 
 likewise of Christians, whom it should support and comfort in all dangers 
 and temptations. See, for a parallel. Psalm xci. 
 
 " 25. I have been young, and noiv am old; yet have I not seen the righ- 
 teous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. 26. lie is ever merciful, and 
 lendeth; and his seed is blessed." 
 
 So far is charity from impoverishing, that what is given away, like va- 
 pours emitted by the earth, returns in showers of blessings into the bosom 
 of the person who gave it; and his offspring is not the worse, but infinitely 
 
DAT VII. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 125 
 
 the better for it. " The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that watereth 
 shall be watered also himself," Prov. xi. 25. The bread which endureth, 
 as well as that which perisheth, is his; and the blessings of time are 
 crowned with those of eternity. 
 
 "27. Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore. 28. For 
 the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved 
 for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. 29. The righteous 
 shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever." 
 
 The justice and mercy of God, the rewards which await the righteous, 
 and the punishments that will, sooner or later, be inflicted on the wicked, 
 are subjects on which, whoever shall frequently meditate, " will depart 
 from evil, and do good." " Whatsoever thou takest in hand," saith the 
 wise son of Sirach, " remember the end, and thou shalt never do amiss," 
 Eccles. vii. 36. 
 
 "30. The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue 
 talketh of judgment. 31. The law of God is in his heart; none of his 
 steps shall slide." 
 
 The word which is here, as in other places innumerable, translated "the 
 righteous," is in the singular number, and might therefore be translated 
 " the Righteous One," or, " the Just One," for it is often designed to point 
 him out to us, who is emphatically so styled; whose "mouth" always 
 "spake wisdom," in whose "heart was the law of God," and whose 
 " steps" NEVER declined to evil. Lord, put thy laws into our hearts, that 
 out of the abundance of the heart the mouth may speak ; and as the mouth 
 speaks, the hands may act, and the feet may walk. 
 
 " 32. The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. 33. 
 The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is 
 judged." 
 
 The Jews " watched" that Just one, daily and hourly ; they " sought to 
 slay him," and did so; but "Jehovah left him not in their hands," but 
 vindicated his innocence, by raising him from the dead. And the day is 
 coming, when he who hath stood tamely at the bar of men, and hath suf- 
 fered for truth and righteousness, shall be advanced to a throne among the 
 saints and martyrs, to assist at the trial of his once insulting judges. 
 
 " 34. Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to 
 inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it." 
 
 The apostle, writing to the Hebrew converts, under affliction and perse- 
 cution, thus expresseth the sentiment contained in this verse. " Cast not 
 away your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye 
 have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might 
 receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will 
 come, and will not tarry," Ileb. x. 35. 
 
 " 35, I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like 
 a green bay tree; or, a native tree, which has grown from the seed without 
 transplantation, in the same spot, 36. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he 
 was not; yea, I sought him, but he could not be found," 
 
 The great Babylonian monarch had his own exaltation, and subsequent 
 degradation, portrayed to him in a vision under this very image, which 
 conveyeth to the mind a most striking and affecting idea of the rise and 
 fall of men and empires, which have now no existence but in history. " I 
 saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was 
 great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto 
 heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of the earth. The leaves thereof 
 were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all ; the beast 
 of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the 
 boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. I saw in the visions of my 
 head upon my bed, and behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from 
 heaven. He cried aloud, and said thus; Hew down the tree, and cut off 
 his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit ; let the beasts get 
 
 11* 
 
126 A COMMENTARY Psalm XXX Vin. 
 
 away from under it, and the fowls from his branches," Dan. iv. 10, 11, &c. 
 See the prophet's exposition, 20, 21, &c. and what is said above, on ver. 
 10. of this Psalm. 
 
 " 37. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright : for the end of that 
 man w peace. 38. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the 
 end of the wicked shall be cut off." 
 
 After taking a view of those short-lived honours, which the world setteth 
 upon the heads of its most favoured votaries, let us turn our eyes to the 
 " Perfect and Upright One;" let us behold the permanent greatness and 
 the unfading glory of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the para- 
 dise of God ; whose leaves are for the healing of the nations, and vi^hose 
 fruit is the fruit of " peace." 
 
 "39. But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their 
 strength in the time of trouble. 40. And the Lord shall help them, and 
 deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, 
 because they trust in him." 
 
 Of thee, O Lord Jesus, is our salvation; be thou our strength in this 
 mortal life, which is a time of trouble ; help us against our spiritual ene- 
 mies, and deliver us from them; deliver us from the wicked one, and from 
 all evil : and save us from the guilt and punishment thereof; because we 
 put our trust in thee, and in thee alone. 
 
 EIGHTH DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM XXXVIII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In this Psalm, which is the third of those styled Penitential, the sinner, ver. 1. 
 prayeth to be chastened only, and not destroyed; 2 — 10. describeth the 
 state of his soul under various imag-es, chiefly boiTowed from bodily dis- 
 eases and pains; 11, 12. complaineth of his friends forsaking, and his ene- 
 mies persecuting' him ; but, 13 — 15. continueth patient and resigned, com- 
 mitting his cause to God, whom, 16 — 22. he beseecheth to help him, on his 
 confession and repentance. As our Lord took upon him the guilt, and suf- 
 fered the punishment of sin ; as there are some passages in the latter part of 
 the Psalm, literally predictive of his passion, and so understood by the best 
 ancient expositors ; and as the sinner should be led by his own sorrows to 
 reflect on those of his Redeemer; the meditations of the reader are, there- 
 fore, mider each particular, directed by the ensuing comment, into that 
 channel. 
 
 " 1. O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath ; neither chasten me in thy hot 
 displeasure." 
 
 The petition here preferred, as in the sixth Psalm, is that Jehovah would 
 not condemn, as a Judge, but chasten, as a Father, for the amendment and 
 preservation of the offender. The same prayer, which we sinners make for 
 ourselves, Christ, who bore our sins, once made for us. 
 
 "2. For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore." 
 
 The "arrows," and the "hand" of God, are his judgments on sin; those 
 internal pangs and terrors which pierce the soul, and those external alllic- 
 tions and calamities which sink and weigh dovrn the spirits. The holy 
 Jesus, at the time of his passion, received these arrows, and sustained this 
 weight, for the sins of the whole world. 
 
 "3. Tfiere is no soundness in my flesh, because of thine anger; neither 
 is there any rest, or, peace, or, health, in ray bones, because of my sin." 
 
 The expressions in this verse are applicable to the disorders and diseases 
 which sin hath introduced both into the soul and into the body, as the 
 
DAT VHI. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 127 
 
 terms, " health" and " sickness," are in Scripture no less frequently- 
 employed to describe th.e state of the former, than that of the latter. If a 
 single'sinner thus complaineth of his grief and pain, what must have been 
 the agony and passion of him who suffered for all, mercifully and lovingly 
 submUting to be " made sin for us !" 
 
 " 4. For mine iniquities are are gone over mine head : as an heavy bur- 
 den they are too heavy for me." 
 
 Sins and sorrows are here, as in many other places, represented under 
 the image of mighty waters rolling incessantly over the head of the person 
 sunk into them, and by their accumulated weight depressing them, so that 
 he can no more rise above them. Let us meditate on that deep and tem- 
 pestuous ocean, into which we were the means of plunging the innocent 
 Jesus. 
 
 "5. My wounds stink, and are corrupt, because of my foolishness." 
 
 Sin is the wound of the soul, which must be washed with the tears of 
 repentance, cleansed by the blood of Christ, and healed by the Spirit of the 
 Holy One. It requires great care and attention, until the cure be completed. 
 Otherwise, mortification and death ensue, as in the case of outward wounds, 
 if neglected, or ill-managed. See Isa. i. 6. Luke x. 34. All the sores and 
 pains of the body mystical are lamented by him who is the Head of that 
 body, and who felt the sad effects of these corruptions of our nature in the 
 day of his sufferings. 
 
 " G. I am troubled, Heh. writhed, or, distorted ; I am bowed down greatly ; 
 I go mourning all the day long." 
 
 As the body by pain, so the soul by guilt, is " distorted" from its original 
 uprightness; it is "bowed down" to the earth, through shame and fear, 
 being no longer able to look up towards heaven with its accustomed holy 
 confidence, and instead of rejoicing in a good conscience, and the hope of 
 glory, sorrow is its portion, and grief its familiar acquaintance. And what 
 wonder, that we should be humbled and afflicted for our own sins, when 
 the Son of God was so humbled and afflicted for sins not his own ] 
 
 " 7. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease, or, inflammation; 
 and there is no soundness in my flesh." 
 
 The " disease," or "inflammation," complained of, in these metaphorical 
 terms, seems to be the distemperature of our fallen nature, whereby it 
 Cometh to pass, that "the flesh lusteth against the spirit;" it is -that 
 " other law in our members, warring against the law in our minds, bring- 
 ing us into captivity to the law of sin," and forcing every son of Adam to 
 cry out — " O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body 
 of death !" Happy is it for us, that we are enabled to go on with the Apos- 
 tle, and to "thank God," that we are delivered, " through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord," on whom were "laid the iniquities of us all." 
 
 " 8. I am feeble and sore broken : I have roared by reason of the dis- 
 quietness of my heart." 
 
 The vigour of a man is broken in pieces, and wasted away, by pain and 
 the disquietude from thence arising, which cause piercing cries, and loud 
 lamentations. When sin in the soul is felt, like sickness in the body, it 
 will produce effects in some degree similar. Let us reflect on the suffer- 
 ings, the cries, and the tears of our Redeemer. 
 
 "9. Lord, all my desire is before thee : and my groaning is not hid from 
 thee." 
 
 The " desires" and " groans" of the penitent are known to God, and 
 marked down in his book : and there is no small comfort in thinking and 
 acknowledging that they are so ; but much more comfort is there in the 
 remembrance of those inconceivable " desires," and those unutterable 
 "groanings," which the holy Jesus poured forth for us in the days of his 
 flesh, and which prevail for the acceptance of our own. 
 
 " 10. My heart panteth, my strength faileth me : as for the light of mine 
 eyes, it also is gone from me." 
 
123 A COMMENTARY Psalm XXXYHI. 
 
 In bodily sickness, these are three symptoms of approaching dissolution ; 
 and the soul is in great extremity, when the three corresponding symptoms 
 appear upon her; namely, when she hath neither resolution to will, power 
 to perform, nor knowledge to discern, the things that belong unto her 
 health and peace. 
 
 " 11. My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore, or, plague, or, 
 affliction ; and my kinsmen, or, my neighbours, stand afar off." 
 
 A body afflicted with a noisome distemper, and a soul troubled on 
 account of sin, find but ievf friends, who have charity enough to stay with, 
 and to minister to them. Let us not be surprised or offended at this, when 
 we see the righteous Jesus, at his passion, destitute and forsaken by all ; • 
 as it is written, "Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled," Matthew 
 xxvi. 56., and all his acquaintance, " and the women that followed him 
 from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things," Luke xxiii. 49. 
 
 " 12. They also that seek after my life, lay snares /or n^e.- and they that 
 seek my hurt, speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day 
 long. 13. But I, as a deaf man, heard not ; and I icas as a dumb man, ihat 
 openeth not his mouth. 14, Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in 
 whose mouth are no reproofs, or, altercations." 
 
 These verses describe and recommend to our imitation the behaviour of 
 David, and of a greater than David, when under persecution ; the former 
 from Absalom, Ahitophel, Shimei, &c., the latter from the chief priests and 
 elders, Judas, and the Jews. 
 
 " 15. For in thee, O Lord, do I hope, or, thee do I wait for : thou wilt 
 hear, or, answer, O Lord my God." 
 
 This verse assigns the reason why the ill usage, which we receive at the 
 hands of men, should be borne with patience and resignation ; namely, be- 
 cause, as it is not without the permission, so neither will it be without the 
 notice, of the Almighty ; who will one day take the matter into his own 
 hands. Christ, saith St. Peter, "who did no sin, neither was guile found 
 in his mouth ; j'^et, when he was reviled, reviled not again ; when he 
 suffered, he threatened not: but committed himself to him that judge th 
 righteously," 1 Pet. ii. 21. 
 
 "16. For I said. Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me : 
 when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me." 
 
 As the glory of God may be said, in some measure, to depend on the 
 behaviour and fate of his servants; on that account, besides the stings of 
 conscience, temporal punishments, and the danger of eternal torments, good 
 men should ever have before their eyes the dishonour which is brought on 
 the name of God, and the stop which is put to the progress of his Gospel, 
 by the fall of any eminently righteous and holy person into sin. 
 
 " 17. For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me. 
 18. For I will declare mine iniquity: I will be sorry for my sin." 
 
 The surest way to have our weakness strengthened, and our sin forgiven, 
 is to acknowledge and confess both ; and this we need not be ashamed to 
 do, when we consider, that he, who is the Lord, strong and mighty, took 
 our infirmities ; and the King of Righteousness bare our sins, in his own 
 body on the tree. 
 
 " 19. But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong; and they that 
 hate me wrongfully are multiplied . 20. They also that render evil for good 
 are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is." 
 
 These words joined with the preceding, are applicable to the distress of 
 David, and the prosperity of his adversaries ; to the sufferings of Christ 
 and the triumph of the Jews ; to the afflictions of the church, and the 
 gaiety of the world ; to the weakness of faith, and the strength of nature. 
 The result of all this is, that salvation cometh of God only, and is to be 
 implored in the following words, which conclude the Psalm. 
 
 "21. Forsake me not, O Lord; O my God, be not far from me. 22. 
 Make haste to help me, O Lord [God of] my salvation." 
 
DirVllI. M. P. ON THE PSALMS, I09 
 
 PSALM XXXIX. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The prophet in a state of distress and persecution, detcrmineth, 1 — 3. to be 
 wutclit'ul and silent, as our blessed Lord also Mas, Ijefore his enemies. He 
 prayeth for a due sense of the shortness of human life : and after meditating, 
 5, 6. on that subject, fixeth all his faith and hope in God, 7. whom he en- 
 treateth, but with submission to his will, 8 — 10. for remission of sin, and 
 alleviation of misery. 11. From a view of the human body wearing away by 
 sickness, he breaketh out, 12, 13. into a most fervent and affectionate prayer, 
 wliich ought to be continually in the mouth of the Christian upon earth. 
 This Psalm is with the utmost propriety appointed by the church to be used 
 at the burial of the dead, as a funeral is indeed the best comment upon it. 
 
 *' 1. I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue; 
 I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me." 
 
 The Psalm begins abruptly with the result of a meditation on the narrow, 
 slippery, and dangerous paths of life ; and more especially, on the extreme 
 difficulty of restraining the tongue amidst the continual temptations and 
 provocations of the adversary. In these circumstances, " watchfulness" 
 and " silence" are resolved on as the only means of security. Let us be- 
 hold the Lamb of God, as our great pattern and example herein. 
 
 " 2. I was dumb with silence ; I held my peace eve7i from good ; and my 
 sorrow was stirred." 
 
 There is a time to keep silence, because there are men who will not hear; 
 tliere are tempers, savage and sensual, as those of swine, before whom, 
 evangelical pearls, or the treasures of heavenly wisdom, are not to be cast. 
 This consideration stirreth up fresh grief and trouble in a pious and charitable 
 heart. How much more must it have done so, in the soul of Him, who 
 lived and died only for the salvation of sinners. 
 
 "3. My heart was hot within me ; while I was musing the fire burned : 
 then spake I with my tongue." 
 
 The fire of divine charity, thus prevented from diffusing itself, for the 
 illumination and warmth of those around it, and, like other fire, rendered 
 more intense by its confinement, presently ascended in the flame of devotion 
 toward heaven ; while it continued to be fed, and preserved in brightness 
 and vigour, by meditation on the goodness of God, and the ingratitude of 
 man ; the transient miseries of time, and the durable glories of eternity. 
 
 " 4. Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, 
 what it /*,• that I may know how frail I am.'''' 
 
 Wearied with the contradiction of sinners, and sickening at the prospect 
 of so much wretchedness in the valley of weeping, the soul looks forward 
 to her departure from hence, praying for such a sense of the shortness of 
 human life, as may enable her to bear the sorrows of this world, and excite 
 her to prepare for the joys of a better. " O faithless and perverse genera- 
 tion," saith even the meek and patient Jesus himself, " how long shall I be 
 with you? how long shall I suffer you]" Matt. xvii. 17. 
 
 " 5. Behold, thou hast made my days as an hand-breadth, and mine age 
 is as nothing before thee ; verily every man at his best, Heb. settled estate, 
 is altogether vanity." 
 
 The age of man, or that of the world, is but a " span" in dimension, a 
 moment in duration ; nay, it is less than both ; it is " nothing," if compared 
 with the unmeasurable extent, and the unnumbered days of eternity : 
 every hour, from that of our birth, brings us so much nearer to our death ; 
 nor can we continue, for a second of time, in one stay. " Behold," then, O 
 Lord, the "vanity" of man; and be so merciful unto him, as to open his 
 eyes, that he may behold it himself! 
 
 " 6. Surely, every man walketh in a vain shew, or, in a shadowy image ; 
 
130 A COMMENTARY Psaim XXXIX. 
 
 surely they are disquieted in vain : he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not 
 who shall gather them." 
 
 This world is, to the other, as a "shadow" to the substance; n^j, tem- 
 poral life, health, riches, honours, and pleasures, can hardly be called 
 shadows of those which are eternal in point of resemblance ; though for 
 their illusive and fleeting nature, they are shadows indeed. " The mortal 
 state of man is compounded of light and darkness ; seeming to be something, 
 when really it^is nothing : always altering and ending on a sudden ; nearest 
 to disappearing, when at full length ; sure to continue no longer than while 
 the sun is above the horizon ; but liable to vanish at the inteiposition of a 
 cloud ; and, when it is gone, leaving no track behind it." The fate of 
 riches, heaped up by misers, with unutterable care and anxiety, may con- 
 vince us how "vainly" men are " disquieted !" 
 
 " 7. And now, Lord, what wait I for ] My hope is in thee." 
 The soul, that hath a true sense of the vanity of the creature, will at 
 once fix her thoughts and affections on the Creator. A celebrated writer, 
 describing a man of the world on his death-bed, hath expressed this senti- 
 ment with wonderful sublimity and elegance — " Whoever would know how 
 much piety and virtue surpass all external goods, might here have seen 
 them weighed against each other, where all that gives motion to the active, 
 and elevation to the eminent • all that sparkles in the eye of hope, and 
 pants in the bosom of suspicion, at once became dust in the balance, with- 
 out weight and without regard. Riches, authority, and praise, lose all their 
 influence, when they are considered as riches, which to-morrow shall be 
 bestowed upon another: authority, which shall this night expire for ever ; 
 and praise, which, however merited, or however sincere, shall, after a few 
 moments, be heard no more."* 
 
 " 8. Deliver me from all my transgressions ; make me not the reproach 
 of the foolish." 
 
 Affliction hath then had its proper effect, when the sufferer is thereby 
 convinced of sin, and therefore prayeth for a removal of the latter, as the 
 only way to be delivered from the former. The "reproaches" of the 
 foolish make no inconsiderable article in the account of a Christian's suffer- 
 ings : and our Lord frequently complaineth of them in the Psalms, as one 
 of the bitter ingredients of his own cup. 
 
 " 9. I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst i7." 
 Whatever materials compose the rod of affliction, and from whatsoever 
 quarter the stroke cometh, let us remember, that the rod is grasped, and the 
 stroke is inflicted, by the hand of our heavenly Father. To revenge our- 
 selves on the instrument is folly; to murmur against the agent is some- 
 thing worse. 
 
 " 10. Remove thy stroke away from me : I am consumed by the blow of 
 thine hand." 
 
 The Christian, who knows from whence his troubles proceed, knows 
 where to apply for relief; and having first "petitioned" for remission of 
 sin, ver. 8. he then humbly supplicates for a mitigation of his sorrow. 
 " Father," saith the beloved Son of God, " if thou be willing, remove this 
 cup from me," Luke xxii. 42. 
 
 "11, When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest 
 his beauty, or, all that is delightful, or, desirable in him, to consume away 
 like a moth : surely, every man is vanity." 
 
 The body of man is as a " garment" to the soul ; in this garment sin 
 hath lodged a " moth," which, by degrees, fretteth and weareth away, first 
 the beauty, then the strength, and finally the contexture of its parts. Who- 
 ever has watched the progress of a consumption, or any other lingering dis- 
 temper, nay, the slow and silent devastations of time alone, in the human 
 frante, will need no farther illustration of this just and atlecting similitude ; 
 
 * Rambler. Vol. II. No. 54. 
 
Day VIII. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 13X 
 
 but will discern at once the propriety of the reflection which follows upon 
 it — " Surely, every man is vanity !" 
 
 " 12. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry ; hold not thy 
 peace at my tears : for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my 
 fathers were," 
 
 Meditation should terminate in devotion ; and meditation on human vanity 
 and misery, if indulged as it deserves to be, certainly will do so ; it will 
 bring us to our "prayers," our "cries," and our "tears;" and teach 
 us to address the throne of grace, as poor pilgrims in a strange land, 
 who have here no abiding city, but are soon to strike our tents, and be 
 gone for ever. Such was David, though king of Israel ; and such was 
 the Son of David, in the body of his flesh, though Lord of all things: both 
 were " strangers and sojourners, as all their fathers," Abraham, Isaac, and 
 Jacob, were before them, and as all their children have been, and shall be, 
 after them upon the earth. 
 
 "13. O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be 
 no more." 
 
 Most fervently and affectionately, therefore, ought the Christian pilgrim 
 to pray, that God would spare his life, and respite the fatal sentence, until 
 all that hath been decayed through the frailty of nature, be renewed by the 
 power of grace ; that his perfect reconciliation with the Almighty may be 
 accomplished, and his plenary pardon sealed in heaven, before hetakethhis 
 last farewell of the world, and ceaseth to have an existence in these regions 
 of vanity and sorrow. 
 
 PSALM XL. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 It is plain, from ver. 6 — 8. of 'this Psalm, compared with Heb. x. 5. that the 
 prophet is s])eaking' in the person of Christ, who, 1 — 5. celebrateth the de- 
 liverance wrought for his m3'stical body, the church, by his resurrection from 
 the grave, effecting that of his members from the guilt and dominion of sin ; 
 for the abolition of which he declareth, 6 — 8 the ineflicacy of the legal 
 sacrifices, and mentioneth his own incarnation, to do the will of his Father, 
 and, 9, 10. to preach righteousness to the world. 11 — 18. He represcnteth 
 himself as praying, whde under his sufferings, for his own and his people's 
 salvation ; he foretelleth, 14, 15. the confusion and desolation of his enemies, 
 and, 16. the joy and thankfulness of his disciples and servants ; for the speedy 
 accomplishment of which, 17. he preferreth a petition. 
 
 " 1. 1 waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined unto me, and heard 
 my cry." 
 
 In this verse we hear the voice of the meek Lamb of God, who, though 
 never sorrow was like unto his sorrow, " waited patiently," till the time 
 appointed by the Father came, when that sorrow should be turned into joy. 
 Let not his disciples expect to " inherit the promises," otherwise than 
 " through faith and patience." Four thousand years, the church, under the 
 patriarchs, the law, and the prophets, waited for the first advent of Messiah; 
 and, seventeen hundred years, the church, under the Gospel, hath awaited 
 for the second. Jehovah, who inclined himself to the prayers of the former, 
 will also hear the cries of the latter. 
 
 " 2. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, Heb, a pit of confused 
 tumultuous noise, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and 
 established my goings." 
 
 The sufferings from which our Redeemer was delivered, are here described 
 under the image of a dark subterraneous cavern, from which there was no 
 emerging, and where roaring cataracts of water broke in upon him, over- 
 whelming him on every side; till, as it is expressed in the xviiith Psalm, 
 
132 A COMMENTARY Psalm XL. 
 
 " God sent from above, and took him, and drew him out of many waters." 
 Let us celebrate tlie deliverance of Christ, as a pledge and earnest of our own 
 rescue from the troubles and temptations of life ; from the power of death 
 and the grave; from the " horrible pit, and the miry cla}- ;" when we shall 
 be exalted on "the rock" of our salvation, and our "goings" shall be 
 "established" for ever. 
 
 " 3. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God : 
 many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord." 
 
 Every new deliverance requires "a new song." Christians sing their 
 wonderful redemption from sin and death in these holy hymns, which God, 
 by his Spirit, hath put into their mouths, and which, by their application to 
 matters evangelical, are become "new" songs, setting forth the praise and' 
 glory of God, through Jesus Christ. And who can hear the church singing 
 the victory and triumph of her mighty and merciful Saviour, without being 
 incited to " fear" and to " believe." 
 
 "4. Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth 
 not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies." 
 
 He who is sensible how much God hath done, and how little the world 
 can do for him, will earnestly and heartily pronounce the blessedness of the 
 man who relies upon the real power and goodness of the former, instead of 
 suffering himself to be deceived by the empty parade and fallacious promises 
 of the latter. 
 
 "5. Many, Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast 
 done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward; they cannot be reckoned up in 
 order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than 
 can be numbered," 
 
 The counsels and works of the ever-blessed Trinity, planned and executed 
 for the benefit of man, in his creation and preservation, his redemption and 
 sanctification, in order to his resurrection and glorification, through Christ, 
 already risen and glorified, are subjects which can never be exhausted by 
 the intellectual powers of men or angels; but will, to both, afford matter of 
 incessant meditation and endless praise. Yet, how little do we meditate on 
 them; how seldom, and how coldly, do we praise God for them! 
 
 " 6. Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire ; mine ears hast thou 
 opened : burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not required. 7. Then said 
 I, Lo, I come : in the volume of the book it is written of me. 8. 1 delight to 
 do thy will, my God : yea, thy law is within my heart." 
 
 These words, as the Apostle informeth us, Heb. x. 5. are spoken by 
 Christ, in his own person. In them he proclaims the inefficacy of the legal 
 sacrifices to take away sin, and the Divine disapprobation of such sacrifices, 
 when relied on for that purpose. He sets forth his own readiness to do, and 
 to suffer, the will of the Father, implied in the Psalm, by the words — "mine 
 ears hast thou opened ;" but more plainly expressed in the Apostle's citation, 
 by the paraphrase, " a body hast thou prepared me."* He refers to the 
 predictions concerning Messiah, in the Scriptures of the Old Testament, 
 which is here styled — " the volume, or, roll of the book." He declares the 
 pleasure he had in doing the Father's will, or in accomplishing the law ; 
 
 * For the expression "Mine ears hast thou opened," seems equivalent to, "Thou hast made 
 me obedient." Thus, Isa. 1. 5. '■ The Lord hath opened mine ears, and I was not rebeUioiis, 
 neither turned away back. I gave iny back to the smiter," &c. The LXX. perhaps, meant to 
 interpret this symbolical impression, when they rendered it by a-ctf/.a. xa-'Dtpria-ai fxoi, "Then 
 hast prepared," or, fitted my body," that is, to be " obedient," and to " do thy will." See Dt, 
 Jackson, Vol. II. p. 882. This seems to be the best sense of the present reading, and is well ex- 
 pressed by Mr. Merrick, in his poetical version: 
 
 Nor sacrifice thy love can win. 
 Nor oflbriiigsfrom the stain of sin 
 
 Obnoxious man shall clear: 
 Thy hand my mortal frame prepares, 
 (Thy hand, whose sienature it bears,) 
 
 And opes my willing ear. 
 
 jMr. Pierce, of E etcr, proposed a conjectural alteration of the word □"JiN "ears," into the 
 
Dat VIII. M. P. ON THE PSALMS, I33 
 
 wliich liaJ taken possession of all his powers and faculties ; having been 
 admitted by t!ie understanding", retained in the memory, and rendered ope- 
 rative in the will. " I delight to do thy will, my God ; yea, thy law is 
 within my heart." 
 
 " 9. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation : lo, I have 
 not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest. 10. I have not hid thy right- 
 eousness within my heart ; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salva- 
 tion : I have not concealed thy loving-kindness and thy truth from the great 
 congregation." 
 
 As the preceding verses described the priestly office of our Lord; in the 
 execution of which he offered himself, and his all-perfect obedience,for us ; 
 so, in the passage now before us, he declares himself to have acted up to the 
 jirophetical part of his character, by " preaching" the doctrines of truth, 
 righteousness, and salvation to the people, without concealing aught, through 
 negligence, fear, or favour. Happy the minister of Christ, who, on his 
 death-bed, is able to say the same ! 
 
 " 11. Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord; let thy 
 loving-kindness and thy truth continually preserve me." 
 
 The beloved Son of God here prayeth for the continuation of that mercy, 
 and the accomplishment of those gracious promises, to his body the church, 
 which made the subjects of his heavenly discourses in the days of histlesh. 
 Such ought to be the subjects of our discourses and of our prayers. 
 
 " 12. For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities 
 have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up : they are more 
 than the hairs of mine head ; therefore my heart faileth me." 
 
 If these words, as well as the foregoing, are supposed to be spoken by our 
 Lord, (and indeed there doth not appear to be any change of person) they must 
 be uttered by him, considering himself (for so the primitive writers sup- 
 pose him in the Psalms frequently to consider himself) as still sufferino- in 
 his body mystical, the church; and lamenting, as head, both the trans- 
 gressions and the afflictions of the members, accomplishing their warfare 
 in the world. Thus much at least we know, that after his ascension, when 
 the members were persecuted on earth, the head complained from heaven, 
 as sensible of the pain. " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?" Some 
 critics think the word '•Jij;, in the text, may be translated, "my punish- 
 ment." But the author of the Anonymous Notes, mentioned below, ob- 
 serves, that " all punishments, properly speaking, presuppose sin ; and 
 especially, when they are represented, as here, to overtake and seize a per- 
 son. Therefore, to understand this of Christ, i* must be interpreted of 
 imputed sins, or punishments for them." Ilerrick^s Annotations, p, 295. 
 
 " 13. Be pleased, Lord, to deliver me: O Lord, make haste to heln 
 me." ^ 
 
 This short, but forcible prayer, for help and deliverance in God's good 
 time, and according to his good pleasure, continues, and must continue, to 
 be the prayer of the church, and of all her children, until the day of final 
 redemption. 
 
 two words niJ |X "then a body," &c. in which case a learned friend suggests, r\""1D must 
 likewise be altered to pc^2 "hast thou prepared, or finished." Bishop Lowth wishes to adopt 
 Mr, Pierce's emendation, in order to render the original conformable to St. Paul's citation 
 from the LXX. And I must confess, if the Apostle's argument turned on the word o-ce/Ad, 
 such an emendation might seem necessary. It is true, craAta. X/>/rB occurs in the succeeding 
 verse; but I think it not essential to the argument, which seems to stand clear and full, 
 whatever be the meaning of o-'^^* K*T«^T^a-^ /^"-":Wheh. he said, Sacrifice, fccitliou 
 wouldst not-then he said, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He takethaway.tJie firetj ithat Jae 
 may establish the second." The author of the Anony!m£)i^s,IVQte3 in Mr. Merrick's JVi^notations. 
 I find, is of this opinion : " It is not certaiji that \\^a qpostlc ^rgues from the wortl a-f»pM. at all." 
 He quotes the translation of the LXX, as he found it in his copy ; Jays a stress on vvhatJsjn the 
 Hebrew, but none on the rest ; either knowing it not to be there, or being reatraii)[e4:by,th?|SiJirit 
 of God, from making use of it." See Appendix to Merrick's Annotations, p 294 
 
 12 
 
134 A COMMENTARY Psalm XLI. 
 
 " 14. Let them, or, they shall, be ashamed and confounded together that 
 seek after my soul to destroy it; let them, or, they shall, be driven back- 
 ward, and put to shame, that wish me evil. 15. Let them, or, they shall, 
 be desolate for'a reward of their shame, that say unto me, Aha, aha." 
 
 The shame, confusion, and desolation to be brought on the Jews, by the 
 resurrection, exaltation, and power of him, whose blood they thirsted after, 
 and whom they mocked and insulted, when in his last agonies on the cross, 
 are here foretold ; and the prophecy hath been punctually fulfilled. But a 
 more horrible confusion and desolation awaiteth them, and all other impeni- 
 tent sinners, at the future revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 
 when vengeance must destroy those whom mercy cannot reclaim. And, to 
 this ultimate issue of things, the church directeth her views. 
 
 " 16. Let all those that seek thee, or, all those that seek thee shall, rejoice 
 and be glad in thee : let such as love thy salvation, or, such as love thy 
 salvation shall, say continually. The Lord be magnified." 
 
 As the last verses predicted the calamities which should befall the ene- 
 mies of Messiah, this describeth the unfeigned joy and gladness, springing 
 up in the hearts of such as love the salvation of Jesus, and evermore mag- 
 nify his holy name in the church, for the blessing of redemption, " eating 
 their meat," as the first Christians are said to have done, " with gladriess 
 and singleness of heart, praising God," Acts ii. 46. _ 
 
 "17. But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord /AmA;e/A upon me: thou 
 art my help and my deliverer; make no. tarrying, O my God." 
 
 The church, like her Redeemer, is often poor and afflicted in this world, 
 but Jehovah thinketh upon her, and is solicitous for her support ; she is 
 weak and defenceless, but Jehovah is her help and her deliverer. With 
 such a Father, and such a friend, poverty becometh rich, and weakness it- 
 self is strong. In the mean time, let us remember that he who once came 
 in great humility, shall come again in glorious majesty. " Make no tarry- 
 incT, our God;" but " Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly," Rev. xxii. 20. 
 
 EIGHTH DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM XLI. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The application made of the 9th verse of this Psalm, John xili. 18. showeth 
 that the prophet is speaking in the person of Messiah. 1 — 3. He declareth 
 the blessedness of the man that considereth the poor; he prayeth for mercy 
 and favour; 5 — 9. describeth the behaviour of his adversaries, and of one 
 person in particular; 10. petitioneth for deliverance; 11, 12. rejoiceth in 
 hope; and, 13. breaketh out into thanksgiving;. 
 
 " 1. Blessed is he that considereth the poor; the Lord will deliver in 
 time of trouble, Heh. in the day of evil." 
 
 As Christ considered us in our state of poverty, so ought we most atten- 
 tively to consider him in his ; to consider what he suffered in his own per- 
 son; to discern him suffering in his poor afflicted members; and to extend 
 to them the mercy which he extended to us. He who was " blessed" of 
 Jehovah, and "delivered in the evil day," by a glorious resurrection, will 
 " bless" and " deliver," in like manner, such as, for his sake, love and re- 
 lieve their brethren. 
 
 " 2. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, or, revive him ; 
 and he shall be blessed upon the earth : and thou wilt not deliver him unto 
 the will of his enemies." 
 
 The compassionate and charitable disciple of the holy Jesus is often won- 
 
DatVIII. E. p. ON THE PSALMS. 135 
 
 derfully " preserved," and rendered prosperous even in this world; but his 
 greatest comfort is, that, like his Master, he shall one day be " revived," 
 to inherit the " blessing," in a better country, where no " enemy" can ap- 
 proach to hurt or molest him. 
 
 "3. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing; thou 
 wilt make all his bed in his sickness." 
 
 An exemption from sorrow and sickness is not promised to the children 
 of God ; but strength and comfort are given unto them from above, to sup- 
 port and carry them through their trials ; and they who, in the days of their 
 health, have, by their alms, given rest to the bodies, or, by their counsels, 
 restored peace to the consciences of others, shall have the bed of pain 
 made easy under them by the hand of their heavenly Father. 
 
 " 4. I said, Lord, be merciful unto me : heal my soul ; for I have sinned 
 against thee." 
 
 Every son of Adam may, and ought, in these words, to acknowledge his 
 sin, and to entreat for mercy and grace to heal the disorders of his nature. 
 If we suppose Messiah ever to have uttered this verse in his devotions, as 
 we know he applied the 9th verse to his own case, it is obvious that he 
 must be understood to confess the sins, not of his own righteous person, 
 but of the nature he had assumed, in order to cleanse and purify it, by his 
 sufferings. See above, Psalm xl. 12. 
 
 " 5. Mine enemies speak evil of me ; When shall he die, and his name 
 perish?" 
 
 Here we may undoubtedly consider the poor and lowly Jesus in the day 
 of his humiliation, when he was daily and hourly calumniated by his ad- 
 versaries : when restless and impatient at beholding him still alive, they 
 said — "What do we, for this man doth many miracles'? If we let him thus 
 alone, all men will believe on him: Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? 
 behold, the world is gone after him," John xi. 47. xii. 19, and when grown 
 more furious and clamorous, they cried, " Away with him, away with him, 
 crucify him, crucify him." How many, with the same bitterness of spirit, 
 " speak evil" continually of his doctrines, his church, his ordinances, and 
 his ministers ; in effect saying, " When shall he die, and his name pe- 
 rish?" 
 
 " 6. And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth 
 iniquity to itself; ivhen he goeth abroad, he telleth z7." 
 
 Thus the enemies of Christ " sent out spies, who should feign them- 
 selves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might 
 deliver him into the power and authority of the governor," Luke xx. 20. 
 Thus Judas sat down at the last supper, all the while meditating the de- 
 struction of his Master; till at length, rising from the table, and going 
 abroad, he put his design into execution: and thus the mystical body of 
 Christ frequently suffers, as his natural body once did, by means of hypo- 
 crites and traitors. 
 
 " 7. All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they 
 devise my hurt. 8. An evil disease, say they, Heb. a word, or matter, of 
 Belial, namely, the crimk charged upon him, cleaveth fast unto him : and now 
 that he lieth, he shall rise up no more." 
 
 The whispers of the Pharisees, the counsels of the Sanhedrim, and their 
 taunts and scoffs at the blessed Jesus, when on the cross " numbered with 
 the transgressors," nor ever expected to " arise" again from the dead, are 
 here most significantly and plainly pointed out. The same weapons are 
 frequently employed against the servants of Christ; but let them not be, on 
 that account, discouraged from following their Master. 
 
 " 9. Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of 
 my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me." 
 
 "I speak not of you all," saith our Lord to his disciples; "I know 
 whom I have chosen ; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled. He that eateth 
 bread with me, hath lifted up his heel against me," John xiii. 18. The 
 
136 A COMMENTARY Psalm XLII. 
 
 sufferings of the church, like those of her Redeemer, generally begin at 
 home : her open enemies can do her no harm, until her pretended friends 
 have delivered her into their hands : and, unnatural as it may seem, they 
 who have waxed fat upon her bounty, are sometimes the first to "lift up 
 the heel" against her. 
 
 " 10. But thou, Lord, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I 
 may requite them, or, and 1 shall requite them." 
 
 The holy Jesus here maketh his prayer unto the Father, for the accom- 
 plishment of the promised resurrection, and foretelleth the righteous judg- 
 ment that would be executed on his enemies, after their rejection of the 
 gracious offers made them by the apostles in his name, notwithstanding all 
 that they had said and done against him. Then the kingdom of God waff 
 taken from them, and their house was left unto them desolate. The hour is 
 coming, when the church shall arise to glory, and all her enemies shall be 
 confounded. 
 
 "11. By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth 
 not triumph over me. 12. And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine in- 
 tegrity, and settest me before thy face for ever." 
 
 The Christian, like his Master, must expect sorrow and tribulation, but he 
 is not thereby deprived of the " favour" of heaven ; his spiritual enemies, 
 whatever trouble they may give him, yet do not " triumph" over him; he 
 is preserved in his " integrity," and his reward will be the " vision" of 
 God. For the exaltation, therefore, of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of all 
 believers in, by, and through him. 
 
 "13. Blessed he the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and to ever- 
 lasting. Amen, and Amen." 
 
 PSALM XLIL 
 
 ARGUMENT. . 
 
 Diivid, by Absalom's rebellion, driven from Jerusalem to the coanti-y beyond 
 Jordan, is there supposed to have indited this Psalm ; which, as it is appli- 
 cable to the case of our Lord, in bis state of sojourning and suffering on 
 earth, for our sins; as also that of the church under persecution, or that of 
 any member thereof, when deprived of the opportunities of public vvorsliip; 
 so doth it, in tiie most beautiful and pathetical strains, describe the vicissi- 
 tudes of joy and sorrow, of liope and despondency, which succeed each 
 other in the mind of the Christian pilgrim, while, exiled from the Jerusalem 
 above, he suffereth affliction and tribulation in tliis valley of tears. Tlie last 
 is the application chiefly made in tiie comment, as it is the most general and 
 useful one; the others naturally offer themselves, being coincident with, or 
 subordinate to it. 
 
 "1. As the heart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul af- 
 ter thee, God." 
 
 The thirst which the " hart" experienceth, when chased in sultry wea- 
 ther over the dusty plains, is here set before us, as a representation of that 
 ardent desire after the waters of eternal comfort, which the temptations, the 
 cares, and the troubles of the world produce in the believing soul. Happy 
 they who feel this desire, and fly to the well of life, that it may be satis- 
 fied. " Blessed are they that thirst after righteousness, for they shall be 
 filled," Matt. v. 6. 
 
 " 2. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God : when shall I come 
 and appear before GodT' 
 
 Whoever considers what it is to " appear before God ;" to behold the 
 glorious face of Jesus; to contemplate a beauty which never fadeth; to be 
 enriched by a beneficence which can never be exhausted, and blessed in a 
 love unmerited and infinite; will find abundant reason to say, again and 
 again, " My soul thirsteth after God ;" why is the time of my banishment 
 
Day VIII. E. p. ON THE PSALMS. 137 
 
 prolonged; when shall the days of ray pilgrimage have an end; "when 
 shall I come and appear before God?" 
 
 " 3. My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually 
 say unto me, Where is thy God ?" 
 
 So long as soul finds herself absent from him whom she loveth, sorrow 
 is still he'r portion, as well in the day of worldly prosperity, as in the night 
 of adversity. And this sorrow is greatly aggravated by the taunts ot the 
 enemy ; who, because the promise is delayed, and she suffereth affliction in 
 the mean season, ridiculeth and insulteth her faith and hope as vain and 
 groundless; intimating that God hath forsaken her, and tempting her to 
 renounce her principles. 
 
 " 4. When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me : for I had 
 gone with the multitude ; I went with them to the house of God, with the 
 voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holy-day." 
 
 As the royal prophet, when driven from Jerusalem by Absalom, was 
 melted into tears at the comparison of his destitute and forlorn situation 
 with his former glory and happiness, when upon some joyous festival, with 
 all his subjects about him, he had attended the service of the tabernacle in 
 the city of God : so the Christian pilgrim cannot but bewail his exile from 
 the heavenly Jerusalem, out of which sin hath driven him, and doomed him 
 to wander for awhile in the valley of misery. Led by repentance and faith, 
 to look back to the place from whence he is fallen, he sighs after the un- 
 speakable joys of the celestial Zion ; longing to keep a festival, and cele- 
 brate a jubilee in heaven ; to join in the songs of angels, and bear a part in 
 the music of hallelujahs." 
 
 "5. Why art thou cast, or, bowed, down, O my soul ? and why art thou 
 disquieted in me ? Hope thou in God : for I shall yet praise him for the 
 help, or, salvation, of his countenance." 
 
 The holy mourner now expostulates with his soul, for suffering herself to 
 sink into a kind of despondency on account of her afflictions, and the inso- 
 lent triumph of the adversary ; and, as a sovereign cordial for melancholy, 
 prescribes "faith" in God, which will show the morning of salvation 
 dawning, after the night of calamity shall have run its course ; a night, 
 which cannot be long, and may be very short. When the sun arises, we 
 cannot be without light; when God turns his countenance towards us, we 
 cannot be without "salvation." 
 
 " 6. O my God, my soul is cast down within me : therefore will I 
 remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the 
 hill Mizar, or, the little hill. 
 
 The soul, although exhorted in the last verse to " put her trust in God," 
 yet, considering her own infirmity, still continueth to be dejected : the pro- 
 phet, therefore, confesseth as much ; and maketh his complaint to God, 
 from whom alone he expecteth comfort; and whom he did not forget, while, 
 far from the sanctuary, he wandered up and down in the country beyond 
 Jordan, whither he had fled from the face of Absalom. This world is, to 
 us, that "country beyond Jordan;" Lord, make us to "remember" thee, 
 under all the afflictions and tribulations we meet with therein, until, 
 restored to thy Jerusalem, we shall praise thee in heaven for the mercies 
 experienced upon earth. 
 
 " 7. Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts ; all thy 
 waves and thy billows are gone over me." 
 
 The prophet describeth the troubles which successively came upon him, 
 by the vengeance of heaven, from above, "raising up evil against him, out 
 of his own liouse" and kingdom, from beneath, according to the prediction 
 of Nathan. 2 Sam. xii. II. The ideas seem to be borrowed from the 
 general deluge, or, from a stoim at sea, when, at the " sound" of descend- 
 ing "waterspouts," or torrents of rain, the depths are stirred up, and put 
 into horrible commotion ; the clouds above calling, as it were, to the waters 
 below, and one wave encouraging and exciting another, to join their forces, 
 
 13* 
 
138 A COMMENTARY Psalm XLII. 
 
 and overwhelm the despairing sufferer.* The compass of creation affordeth 
 not, perhaps, a more just and striking image of the nature and number of 
 those calamities, which sin hath brought upon the children of Adam.| 
 
 "8. Yet the Lord will command his loving-kindness in the day time, 
 and in the nioht his song shall he with me, and my prayer unto the God of 
 my life." 
 
 The gloomy prospect begins again to brighten, by a ray of hope shooting 
 through it; and the prophet returneth to his rest and confidence in the 
 mercy of God : determining, not only to give him thanks in the day of pros- 
 perity, but as Paul and Silas afterwards did, to sing his praises at midnight, 
 in adversity and affliction. 
 
 " 9. I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? Why' 
 go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy! 10. .^s with a 
 sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me : while they say daily unto 
 me. Where is thy God V 
 
 He ventureth, notwithstanding, meekly and humbly, upon the strength 
 of the promises, to expostulate with him, who was the " rock" of his salva- 
 tion, as to his seeming destitution, while continually oppressed and in- 
 sulted by the cutting reproaches of the adversary. See above, ver. 3. 
 These mio-ht be thought to render it in some sort necessary for God to arise 
 and vindicate his own honour, by the protection and deliverance of his 
 servant. The Psalmist concludes with that exhortation to his soul, to 
 trust in God, and to wait for his salvation, which makes the mournful cho- 
 rus of this beautiful Psalm. 
 
 " 11. Why art thou cast down, O my soul ? and why art thou disquieted 
 within me ? Hope thou in God ; for I shall yet praise him, who is the health 
 of my countenance, and my God." See above, ver. 5. 
 
 PSALM XLin. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm seemeth to be a continuation of the former, written by David in 
 the same circumstances, on the same subject, and closing with the same 
 chorus. 
 
 " 1. Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly, or, un- 
 merciful, nation : O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man." 
 
 David, in the same situation as before, appealeth to God against a people 
 who had driven their sovereign from his capital, to wander, like a fugitive 
 and vagabond, in the remotest parts of his dominions : against the ;hypo- 
 crisy of Absalom, and the villany of Ahitophel. The Son of David may 
 be supposed to make the same appeal against the same nation, for their far 
 more cruel, treacherous, and iniquitous usage of him, their King and their 
 God. And the words suit the circumstances of an oppressed church or an 
 injured prince, of all who suffer for truth and righteousness' sake, or who 
 groan under the tyranny of their spiritual enemies, the world, the flesh and 
 the devil. 
 
 "2. For thou art the God of my strength ; why dost thou cast me off? 
 why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy ? See above. 
 Psalm xlii. 9. 3. send out thy light and thy truth : let them lead me ; 
 let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles." 
 
 * Thus, as the learned Merrick observes, one river in Homer, " calls upon another," to assist 
 in oveiwhehning the Grecian hero. And in iEschylus, the lire and sea are said to "swear to- 
 gether," and to give each other their " pledge of confederacy" against the Grecian army. 
 
 t Since this was written, I find the autlior of " Observations on divers passages of Scrip- 
 ture," agreeing entirely with me in the notion, that David is here describing those waterspouts, 
 and storms at sea, which were common on the Jewish coast, as we learn from Dr. Shaw. 
 Observations, p. 324. 1st edit. So Mr. Merrick likewise, irfliis Annotations. 
 
Day IX. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. I39 
 
 The- chief desire of the Christian, analogous to that of the prophet in dis- 
 tress, is to be saved from sin, as well as sorrow ; to be instructed in the 
 way of righteousness, by the "light" of heavenly wisdom, shining in the 
 face of Jesus Christ; to see the accomplishment of the promises, in him 
 who is the "truth ;" and to be " led" by this light and this truth, from the 
 land of his pilgrimage, to the "holy hill," and the "mansions" of the just, 
 in the new Jerusalem. 
 
 "4. Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy, 
 or, the gladness of my joy : yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God, 
 my God." 
 
 The royal prophet, upon his restoration to his throne, was to sacrifice, on 
 the altar of his God, with the voice of thanksgiving, and to celebrate his 
 mighty deliverer, in a new song, upon the melodious harp. fThe Christian, 
 in like manner, foresees a day coming, when sorrow and sighing shall be no 
 more; when he and his brethren are to be "made kings and priests;" 
 when they are to reign with their Redeemer for ever; and, upon their 
 golden harps, tuned to an unison with those of angels, to sing his everlast- 
 ing praises in the courts of the heavenly temple. Therefore, 
 
 " 5. Why ar| thou cast down, O my soul 1 and why art thou disquieted 
 within me 1 Hope in God : for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of 
 my countenance, and my God." See above, Psalm xlii. 5. 
 
 NINTH DAY.— MORNING PRAYER, 
 PSALM XLIV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In this Psalm we have the voice of the church, under persecution, 1 — 3. re- 
 counting' the mercies of God, vouchsafed to his servants of old time ; 4 — 8. 
 declaring- lier confidence, tliat she shall experience the same in her present 
 distress, and shrdl at length overcome, through the power of her Redeemer; 
 for that notwithstanding her seeming desertions and manifold sufferings, 
 9 — 16. there is still a faithful remnant, 17 — 22. of those who have not bowed 
 the knee to Baal, and who cease not, 23 — 26. to cry unto God for mercy 
 and deliverance. 
 
 " 1. We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what 
 work thou didst in their days, in the times of old." 
 
 The works wrought of old, by the arm of Jehovah, for the salvation of 
 his people, are recorded by the Spirit in the Scriptures of truth, that 
 "through patience and comfoit of those Scriptures," as the Apostle ex- 
 presseth it, the church and people of God, whensoever oppressed and 
 afflicted, in any age or countrj^, "may have hope," that the same God will 
 exert the same power in their behalf. And great is the light, great is the 
 consolation, which the sacred history, when thus applied, will always 
 afford to the troubled mind. 
 
 " 2. How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst 
 them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out." 
 
 If the dispossession of the Canaanites, and the establishment of the 
 house of Jacob in their land, furnished the distressed church of Israel with 
 sufficient ground for confidence; how much force hath the argument since 
 received, by the accomplishment of what was then typified; by the victo- 
 ries of the true Joshua, or Jesus, by the fall of paganism, and the planta- 
 tion of the Christian faith in its stead ! 
 
 " 3. For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither 
 did their own arm save them ; but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the 
 light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them." 
 
140 A COMMENTARY Psalm XLIV. 
 
 As it sufficiently appears, that the settlement of Israel in the promised 
 land was the work of God, from the miraculous fall of Jericho; from the 
 prolongation of the day, at the word of Joshua ; from the slaughter of the 
 enemy by hailstones from heaven, &c. &c. so was it the first thing which an 
 Israelite was in duty bound to acknowledge, if he hoped for more mercies 
 at the hand of God. The Christian, in like manner, begins and ends all 
 his prayers with an humble and thankful acknowledgment of the free mercy 
 of God in Jesus Christ; confessing, that he "got not" his title to salvar 
 tion, nor should enter into the possession of it, by " his own" power or 
 merit, but by " the right hand and the arm of his Redeemer, and the light 
 of his countenance, because he had a favour unto him." 
 
 " 4. Thou art my King, O God : command deliverances for Jacob." 
 
 In these words, the church sums up her argument; as if she had said, 
 O thou, who, going forth before thy people, hast so often and so wonder- 
 fully wrought salvation of old time, I still acknowledge thee as my King, 
 able and willing to save; O manifest yet again thy power, yet again let 
 me experience thy mercy. Behold, all things are yet at thy command; all 
 events are at thy disposal. O gracious Saviour, let all work together for 
 good, to her whom thou lovest. 
 
 " 5. Through thee will we push down our enemies ; through thy name 
 will we tread them under that rise up against us." 
 
 The people of God, however persecuted by the powers of the world, 
 here declare, that their faith faileth not; that the adversary cannot take 
 from them their holy confidence in God, through whom, and in whose saving 
 name, whenever he shall think fit to hear their prayers, and to appear in 
 their cause, they doubt not of obtaining a final victory, and celebrating a 
 glorious triumph over all their enemies, terrestrial and infernal. Such 
 should be the hope of every afflicted soul. 
 
 " 6. For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. 
 7. But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame 
 that hated us. 8. In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name 
 for ever." 
 
 In spiritual as well as temporal warfare, the appointed means are to be 
 used, but not "trusted in;" man is to fight, but God giveth the victory ; 
 and to Him must be ascribed the praise, and the power, and the glory ; that, 
 as it is written, " He who glorieth, may glory in the Lord." And thus 
 the Christian church daily singeth, after the example of her blessed and 
 holy representative, " My soul doth magnify the Lord, my spirit rejoiceth 
 in God my Saviour." 
 
 " 9. But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth 
 with our armies." 
 
 The church having declared her confidence, founded on the former mer- 
 cies of God vouchsafed unto her, proceedeth now to describe her pitiable 
 state under persecution, when the protection of the Almighty seemed, for 
 a season, to be withdrawn, so that she was no longer able to stand before 
 her enemies. 
 
 "10. Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy; and they which 
 hate us spoil for themselves." 
 
 The first consequence of a victory, gained by the enemies over the friends 
 of the church, is rapine and sacrilege ; the invasion of her patrimony, and 
 the plunder of her revenues ; allured by the prospect of which, robbery 
 hath sometimes entered into the sanctuary, under the mask of reformation. 
 
 "11. Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scat- 
 tered us among the heathen." 
 
 The second calamity which is permitted to fall on the church, in the day 
 of adversity, is that her people are doomed to sudden and cruel deaths by 
 sanguinary edicts. A third calamity is that of their being driven, in times 
 of persecution, from their native country, to wander among strangers and 
 aliens, or among those in whose communion it is judged unlawful to join. 
 
DAT IX. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 141 
 
 " 12. Thou scllest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth 
 by their price." 
 
 A fourth misery incident to the people of God, when under persecution, 
 is, that he permits them to be held cheap and vile, and to be sold into sla- 
 very by their enemies for little or nothing; a situation far more to be dreaded 
 than the sword of the executioner. 
 
 " 13. Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a deri- 
 sion to them that are round about us. 14. Thou makest us a by-word among 
 the heathen ; a shaking of the head among the people. 15. My confusion 
 is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me: 16. 
 For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth ; by reason of the 
 enemy and avenger." 
 
 The fifth and last bitter fruit of persecution is, that thereby the name, 
 and truth, and church, and people of God, are exposed to the insolent and 
 blasphemous scoffs and jeers of infidels; nor is there any circumstance to 
 a pious soul more grievous and afllictive than this. 
 
 " 17. All this is come upon us ; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither 
 have we dealt falsely in thy covenant. 18. Our heart is not turned back, 
 neither have our steps declined from thy way; 19. Though thou hast sore 
 broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of 
 death." 
 
 It is certain that God is provoked, by the sins of a church, to let loose 
 the fury of the oppressor upon her. This is acknowledged by Daniel in 
 his prayer, ch. ix. by the three children in the furnace. Song, ver. 5, 6. by 
 the Maccabean martyrs, suffering under Antiochus, 2 Mace. vii. 18. and by 
 Cyprian, and others, in the primitive times. It is not less certain, that no 
 mere man can say, he is free from transgression. The verses now under 
 consideration, are not, therefore, spoken by the whole church, but by the 
 faithful remnant; nor do they imply an exemption from all sin, but a stead- 
 fast perseverance in the profession of God's true religion, from which it is 
 the aim of persecution to seduce, or to force them. The malice of the tor- 
 mentors is here compared to the venom of "serpents;" and the state of a 
 suffering church to the gloom of " death" itself. Happy the soul, that in 
 the extremity of affliction can with humble confidence thus make her appeal 
 to God, as having held fast her integrity against all the efforts made to 
 wrest it from her, and not having suffered the blasts of adverse fortune, by 
 wearing out patience, to part her from the anchor of faith. 
 
 "20. If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our 
 hands to a strange god ; 21. Shall not God search this ouf? for he knoweth 
 the secrets of the heart." 
 
 The consideration, that God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all 
 " things," 1 John iii. 20. ought to be strongly impressed on our minds at 
 all times ; but more particularly, when we are tempted by the world (as, 
 one way or other, we all frequently are) to deny our Master, either byword 
 or deed ; and when we have occasion to call Heaven to witness our up- 
 rightness under such temptation. 
 
 " 22. Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted 
 as the sheep for the slaughter." 
 
 The sufferings of the martyrs were a sufficient proof that they had not 
 yielded to the temptations of the enemy. St. Paul, Rom. viii. 36. cites 
 this verse as predictive of the persecution then beginning to be raised 
 against the Christians. All may apply it to themselves, who are in circum- 
 stances of the same nature; and persecution is generally consistent with 
 itself, contriving by some means or other, to be rid of those who stand in its 
 way. It is a storm, before which all must either bend or be broken. 
 
 "23. Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord] Arise, cast «s not off for 
 ever. 24. Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction, and 
 our oppression]" 
 
 There is a time, when the triumphs of the adversary, and the afflictions 
 
142 A COMMENTARY Psalm XLV. 
 
 of the church, tempt men to think, that the eye of Providence is closed, or 
 turned awaj', and that the Almighty had ceased to remember their sad es- 
 tate. But the truth is, that God only giveth his people an opportunity of 
 feeling their own insufficiency ; and waiteth, till by fervent and importunate 
 prayer, they solicit his help. For so the holy Jesus slept, while the ship 
 was covered with the waves; until, awakened by the cries of his disci- 
 ples, he arose to their assistance, and spoke the tempest into a perfect 
 calm. 
 
 " 25. For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly cleaveth unto 
 the earth." 
 
 They who are not brought into this state of humiliation, by outward suf- 
 ferings, should bring themselves into it by inward mortifications and self- 
 denial, by contrition and abasement, if they would put up such prayers, as 
 the Majesty of Heaven will deign to accept and answer; if they would 
 repeat, with our church, in the spirit of the litany, the concluding verse of 
 this Psalm — 
 
 " 26. Arise, for our help, and redeem us, for thy mercies' sake !" 
 
 PSALM XLV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In this Psalm, which is one of those appointed to be used on Christmas- day; 
 tlie prophet, after, 1. proposing his subject, proceeds to celebrate King Mes- 
 siah, 2. for his spiritual beauty and eloquence; 3, 4, 5. his power and victo- 
 ries; 6. his throne and sceptre; 7. his righteousness and inauguration; 8. his 
 royal robes, and glorious palace. 9. The church is introduced as his spouse; 
 her appearance and dress are described; 10, 11, 12. it is foretold, that the 
 nations shall bring their offerings to her; 13, 14, 15. her attire, her presen- 
 tation to Christ with her attendant train, and the universal joy and gladness, 
 occasioned by the solemnization of the nuptials, are set forth. 16. The pro- 
 phet predicteth the fruits of this divine union, and, 17. the use that should 
 be made of his sacred epithalanium, by the faithful, from generation to ge- 
 neration. 
 
 "1. My heart is inditing, Heh. boileth, or, bubbleth up, a good matter, 
 or, the good word : I speak of the things which I have made touching the 
 King: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer." 
 
 " The Spirit of the Lord," saith David elsewhere, 2 Sam. xxiii. 2. " spake 
 by me, and his word is my tongue." In like manner, we are to conceive 
 the prophet here to be full of the Divine Spirit, which inspired him with 
 " the good word," or the glad tidings of salvation. The sacred fire, en- 
 closed in his heart, expanded itself within, till at length it brake forth with 
 impetuosity to enlighten and to revive mankind with this glorious predic- 
 tion " touching the king," Messiah ; and this was uttered by his tongue, 
 under the guidance of the Spirit, as, in writing, the pen is directed by the 
 hand that holds it. 
 
 " 2. Thou art fairer ttian the children of men : grace is poured into thy 
 lips : therefore God hath blessed thee for ever." 
 
 After a short introduction, the prophet stays not to enter regularly upon 
 the subject, in the formal way of narration ; but, as if he saw the Divine 
 Person, whom he was about to celebrate, standing before him, he breaks 
 out in ecstatic admiration of the second Adam, so dilTerent from all the de- 
 scendants of the first! Compounded of a soul fair above all created spirits, 
 and a body pure and perfect, and now brighter than the meridian sun ; being 
 invested with the unutterable effulgence of the Divine nature. Next 
 to the spiritual beauty of Messiah, the prophet is astonished (as those 
 who heard him speak in the days of his flesh afterwards were) at the " gra- 
 cious words which proceeded out of his mouth, Luke iv. 22. through the 
 grace poured into his lips." Such honey and milk were under his tongue, 
 
Uax IX. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. ' I43 
 
 so delightful and salutary was his doctrine, that even his enemies found 
 themselves obliged to confess, "never man spake like this man," John vii. 
 46. His virord instructed the ignorant, resolved the doubtful, comforted the 
 mourners, reclaimed the wicked, silenced his adversaries, healed diseases, 
 controlled the elements, and raised the dead. Therefore hath the Father 
 loved, and exalted, and blessed him for evermore. 
 
 " 3. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty ; with thy glory and 
 thy majesty." 
 
 The prophet having described the beauty and the eloquence of the King, 
 proceedeth now to set forth his power, and to arm him as a warrior for the 
 battle. The " sword" of Messiah is his Word, which, in the language of 
 St. Paul, is said to be "quick and powerful, and sharper than any two- 
 edged sword ;" and is represented by St. John, as " a sharp two-edged 
 sword," coming out of the "mouth" of Christ, Heb. iv. 12. Rev. i. 16. 
 With this weapon he prevailed, and thereby made his "glory and majesty" 
 to be known throughout the world. 
 
 " 4. And in thy majesty ride prosperously, because, or, for the sake, of 
 truth, and meekness, and righteousness ; and thy right hand shall teach 
 thee terrible, or, wonderful, things."* 
 
 Messiah is in these words magnificently described as making his pro- 
 gress among the nations, seated in his triumphal chariot, adorned with all 
 the regal virtues, achieving the most astonishing victories, and, by the irre- 
 sistible might of his power, subduing idolatry and iniquity to the faith and 
 temper of the Gospel. 
 
 " 5. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the King's enemies ; whereby 
 the people fall under thee." 
 
 The prophet goes on to represent Messiah as a warrior, completely armed, 
 and skilful in the use of every weapon. Thus a prince is portrayed, Rev. 
 vi. 2. " I saw, and behold a white horse, and he that sat on him had a 
 bow, and a crown was given unto him ; and he went forth conquering and 
 to conquer." The conquests of Messiah are either those of his word over 
 sin, or those of his arm over the persecuting powers. 
 
 " 6. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever : the sceptre of thy kingdom 
 is a right sceptre." 
 
 The battle being fought and the victory gained, we are called to the 
 consideration of the " throne" and "sceptre" of King'Messiah, whom the 
 prophet addresseth, as God. His throne is distinguished from the thrones 
 of this world, by its endless duration ; his sceptre from the sceptre of earthly 
 potentates, by the unerring rectitude of its administration. 
 
 " 7. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness : therefore God, 
 thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." 
 
 The sermons, the example, and, above all, the death of Christ for the 
 expiation of sin, demonstrated his love of righteousness and hatred of 
 wickedness; and "because he humbled himself, and became obedient even 
 to the death of the cross, therefore God highly exalted him," Phil. ii. 8, 9. 
 and he was "anointed" to the kingdom, "with the Holy Ghost and with 
 power" immeasurable ; to the intent that he might bestow, in due propor- 
 tion, the gifts of heaven on those whom he is not ashamed to call " friends" 
 and " brethren." And these gifts he did bestow on them, by the emission 
 of the Spirit, soon after his ascension and inauguration. See the applicji- 
 tion of these two last verses to Christ, Heb. i. 8. 
 
 "8. All thy garments smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory 
 palaces,! whereby they have made thee glad." 
 
 * " The sense, perhaps, may be this ; Thy right hand, by its promptness to encounter danger, 
 shall bring thee acquainted with terrible things: thy right hand shall know its office; by 
 habitual exercise, shall render thee expert in war, and lead thee on from conquest to con- 
 quest." Merrick. 
 
 t That is, palaces adorned, or inlaid with ivory : as " Ebur atria vestit." Lucan, s. 119. 
 Mernck. 
 
144 A COMMENTARY Psalm XLV. 
 
 From the throne, the sceptre, and the inauguration, the prophet passes 
 on to the robes and palaces of the King- of glory, declaring, that as the 
 perfumed garments of an earthly prince scatter through all the royal apart- 
 ments a grateful fragrance, so from the glorious vestments of our High 
 Priest and King is diffused the sweet savour of his heavenly graces, filling 
 those happy regions of joy and gladness where he keeps his residence 
 above, and, by the communication of the Spirit, refreshing the faithful on 
 earth with their odours. 
 
 " 9. King's daughters were among thy honourable women, or, the splen- 
 dour of thy train ; upon th}' right hand did stand the queen in the gold of 
 Ophir." 
 
 Such being the divine beauty and heavenly glory of the blessed Person, • 
 whose nuptials the prophet is now proceeding to describe, it is no wonder 
 that, upon hearing of his fame, innumerable converts, forsaking the vanities 
 even of courts and kingdoms, should follow him, ambitious to have the 
 honour of composing his train ; which in reality was the case upon the 
 publication of the Gospel. And lo, at "the right hand" of the King, fol- 
 lowed by this magnificent procession, appears the church, the spouse of the 
 Lamb, arrayed in the garments of righteousness and salvation, fitly com- 
 pared, for their inestimable value, and radiant brightness, to the " gold of 
 Ophir." 
 
 "10. Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear;, forget 
 also thine own people, and thy father's house: 11. So shall the King 
 greatly desire thy beauty : for he is thy Lord ; and worship thou him." 
 
 This seemeth to be the voice of God, addressing the church to the follow- 
 ing effect — thou, whom I have begotten unto a lively hope, by the resur- 
 rection of Jesus from the dead, and whom I have called out of the world, 
 to become "the Lamb's wife," hearken diligently to my voice, consider 
 attentively what I say, and be obedient to my direction ; thou art now enter- 
 ing into a new state ; let old things pass away ; regard no more thy con- 
 nections with earth ; but let the love, and, if possible, the very memory of 
 thy former condition, be obliterated from thy mind ; let all things belong- 
 ing to the flesh die in thee: then'shalt thou be truly acceptable and dear 
 in his sight, who, having purchased and betrothed thee to himself, justly 
 claims thy whole heart, thy undivided love, and thy unlimited service and 
 adoration. 
 
 " 12. And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; ev^n the rich 
 among the people shall entreat thy favour." 
 
 The accession of the Gentiles, with their offerings and donations, to the 
 church, is here predicted, under the name of "Tyre," a city in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Palestine, formerly the glory of the nations, and mart of the 
 world. See Isa. Ix. and Rev. xxi. 
 
 " 13. The King's daughter is all-glorious within : her clothing is of 
 wrought gold." 
 
 The church, in different respects, is sometimes called the spouse, some- 
 times the sister, and often, as here, the " daughter" of the heavenly King : 
 the connection formed between them, uniting itself in every relation, and 
 every affection. Her beauty, so greatly desired and delighted in by Messiah, 
 is spiritual,; it is the beauty of holiness ; and her clothing is " the righteous- 
 ness of saints," 1 Pet. iii. 3. Kev. xix. 8. 
 
 "14. She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needlework, or, 
 embroidery : the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought 
 unto thee." 
 
 The different graces of the faithful, all WTought in them by the same 
 Spirit, compose that divine "embroidery," which adorns the wedding-gar- 
 ment of the church, who is therein presented to the King, attended by her 
 bride-maids, after the nuptial manner. These areeitherthe single churches, 
 or holy souls, that accede to, and accompany the spouse, unless we suppose. 
 
Dat IX. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. I45 
 
 as some do, that the bride is the Israelitish church, and then the attendants 
 will represent the Gentiles. 
 
 " 15. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought : they shall enter 
 into the King's palace." 
 
 The solemnization of this marriage between Christ and the church pro- 
 duceth a jubilee upon earth, and causeth the streets of the heavenly Jerusa- 
 lem to resound with hallelujahs. For this the angels tune their golden 
 harps, while prophets, apostles, martyrs and saints, fill up the universal 
 chorus of " Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that 
 sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever." 
 
 " 16. Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest 
 make princes in all the earth." 
 
 In this verse the prophet foretelleth the fruit that should spring from the 
 glorious nuptials, which he hath been celebrating. He assureth the spouse, 
 that instead of her earthly kindred, whether Jewish or Pagan, which she 
 was to leave for Christ, should arise an illustrious and royal progeny of be- 
 lievers, out of whom were to be chosen Christian kings to govern the 
 world, and Christian bishops to preside in the church. The expression, 
 "whom thou mayest make princes," may answer to that in the Revela- 
 tion, ch. i. ver. 6. " And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his 
 Father." So Mr. Merrick thinks, who beautifully turns the passage, in 
 his poetical version, as follows : — 
 
 No more the patriarchs of thy line 
 
 In Time's long records chief shall shine; 
 
 Thy greater sons, to empire born, 
 
 Its future annals shall adorn. 
 
 Thy pow'r deriv'd to them display, 
 
 And stretch through earth their boundless sway. 
 
 " 17. I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations : there- 
 fore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever." 
 
 By inditing this divine marriage-song, appointed to be sung in the con- 
 gregation of the faithful, from age to age, the Psalmist hath been, as he 
 foresaw he should be, the blessed means of celebrating his Redeemer's 
 name, and inciting the nations of the world to do likewise; nor will he 
 cease to be so, while the xlvth Psalm continues to be sung in the church 
 upon earth : that is, while there remaineth a church upon earth, to sing in. 
 And we, who now do sing it, are witnesses of these things. 
 
 PSALM XLVI. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The church, in time of trouble, declares, 1. her trust and confidenee to be in 
 God, and doubts not, 2, 3. of being preserved safe, by means of this anchor, 
 in the most stormy seasons ; even then, 4, 5. enjoying' the comforts of the 
 Spirit, and the presence of Christ in the midst of her. She describes, 6, and 
 7. exults in, the power and might of her victorious Lord; 8. calling the world 
 to view and consider his wonderful works. 9. He himself is introduced, as 
 speaking the nations into peace and obedience. She concludes witii a repe- 
 tition of ver. 7. in the way of chorus. 
 
 " 1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." 
 As we are continually beset by " troubles," either bodily or spiritual, so 
 we continually stand in need of a city of " refuge and strength" into which 
 we may fly and be safe. Religion is that city, whose gates are always open 
 to the afflicted soul. We profess to believe this : do we act agreeably to 
 such profession 1 
 
 "2. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though 
 the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3. Though the waters 
 thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling 
 thereof." 
 
 13 
 
146 A COMMENTARY Psalm XL VII. 
 
 The church declares her full and firm confidence in God, as her refuge 
 and strength amidst all the tumults and confusions of the world, the raging 
 of nations, and the fall of empires. Nay, at that last great and terrible day, 
 when sea and land are to be confounded, and every mountain and hill 
 removed for ever; when there is to be "distress of nations, with perplexity, 
 the sea and the waves roaring;" even then the righteous shall have no 
 cause to " fear," but rather to "lift up their heads" with joy and triumph, 
 because then it is that their " redemption draweth nigh." Let us set that 
 day before us, and try ourselves by that test. 
 
 "4. Thtre is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of 
 God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. 5. God is in the 
 midst of her : she shall not be moved : God shall help her, and that right 
 early ; Heb. when the morning appeareth." 
 
 Such is the ground on which the church erects her confidence. Instead 
 of those waters which overwhelm the world, she has within herself the 
 fountain of consolation, sending forth rivers of spiritual joy and pleasure ; 
 and in the place of secular instability she is possessed of a cityfand hill, 
 which stand fist for ever, being the residence of the Eternal, who, at the' 
 dawn of the last morning, will finally appear as the protector and avenger 
 of Israel. 
 
 " 6. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved : he uttered his 
 voice ; the earth melted." 
 
 How concise, how energetic, how truly and astonishingly sublime ! The 
 kingdom of Christ being twofold, these words may be applied either to the 
 overthrow of heathenism, and the establishment of the Gospel ; or to the 
 destruction of the world, and the erection of Messiah's triumphant throne. 
 Conquer, O Lord, all our perverse affections, and reign in us, that we may 
 conquer, and reign with thee. 
 
 " 7. The Lord of hosts is with us ; the God of Jacob is our refuge ; Hei. 
 •an high place for us." 
 
 To the " Lord of hosts" all creatures in heaven and earth are subject ; in 
 "the God of Jacob," the church acknowledges the Saviour of his chosen. 
 If this person be Immanuel, God with us, of whom can we be afraid ] 
 
 " 8. Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath 
 made in the earth. 9. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth : 
 he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the cha- 
 riot in the fire." 
 
 The church in these words, proposes to us the noblest subjects for con- 
 templation ; namely, the glorious victories of our Lord, partly gained 
 already, and partly to be gained hereafter, in order to the final establish- 
 ment of universal peace, righteousness, and bliss, in his heavenly kingdom. 
 Then the mighty shall be fallen, and the weapons of war perished for ever. 
 Hasten, Lord, that blessed day; but first prepare us for it. 
 
 " 10. Be still, and know that I am God : I will be exalted among the 
 heathen, 1 will be exalted in the earth." 
 
 In this verse there is a change of person, and Jehovah himself is intro- 
 duced as commanding the world to cease its opposition, to own his power, 
 and to acknowledge his sovereignty over all the kingdoms of the nations. 
 Let our rebellious passions hear this divine edict, tremble, and obey. 
 
 " XL The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge." 
 See ver. 7. 
 
 NINTH DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM XLVII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In this Psalm, appointed by the church to be used on Ascension-day, the pro- 
 phet, 1. calls the nations to celebrate so glorious a festival; and that, on 
 
DAT IX. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. I47 
 
 account, 2. of Christ's power, and the mightiness of his kingdom; 3. of his 
 victories and triumphs tlirough the Gospel ; 4. of the inhei-itance prepared 
 for his chosen, in the heavenly Canaan, by his own ascension thither ; which, 
 5. is described under images borrowed from the ascent of the ark into the 
 holy city and temple ; an occasion on which the Psalm was probably com- 
 posed. 6, 7. He again "and again exhorts all people to sing the praises of 
 their God and King, and to sing with the understanding, as well as with the 
 voice. 8, 9. The Psalm concludes with predicting the establishment of 
 Christ's kingdom, and the conversion of the Gentile kings and nations to the 
 faith. 
 
 "1.0 clap your hands, all ye people ; shout unto God with the voice of 
 triumph." 
 
 The prophet invites all nations to celebrate the festival of Messiah's ex- 
 altation, because all nations had a share in the benefits and blessings of that 
 glorious day. God is to be worshipped with bodily, as well as spiritual 
 worship : every " hand" should be lifted up to him who formed it, and 
 every " mouth" should praise him who giveth breath for that purpose. 
 
 " 2. For the Lord most high is terrible ; he is a great King over all the 
 earth." 
 
 The church celebrates the ascension of Christ, because then he was 
 " highly exalted ;" then he became " terrible" to his enemies, all power in 
 heaven and in earth being committed to him; and then he began to display 
 the excellent majesty of his universal kingdom, to which he was then inau- 
 gurated, being crowned "King of kings, and Lord of lords." 
 
 " 3. He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our 
 feet." 
 
 The consequence of our Lord's ascension was the going forth of the all- 
 subduing word, under the influence and direction of which the convinced 
 and converted nations renounced their idols and their lusts, and bowed their 
 willing necks to the yoke of Jesus. This is that great conquest, fore- 
 showed by the victories of Joshua, David, and all the faithful heroes of old 
 time, and foretold in language borrowed from their histories. 
 
 " 4. He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob 
 whom he loved." 
 
 The land of Canaan, emphatically styled " that good land, and the glory 
 of all lands," was the "excellent inheritance," chosen for the sons of 
 Jacob, and consigned to them upon the expulsion of the idolatrous nations. 
 But from that inheritance Israel also hath long since been expelled: and 
 Christians, by these words, are taught to look to "an inheritance eternal, 
 and incorruptible, and that fadeth not away :" to those happy and enduring 
 mansions which the Son of God is gone to prepare for them that love him, 
 and are beloved of him. 
 
 " 5. God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet." 
 
 Literally, if applied to the ark, as bishop Patrick paraphrases the verse, 
 " God is gone up, by the special token of his presence, into that holy place, 
 with shouts of joy and praise ; the Lord is gone up in a triumphant pomp 
 with the sound of the trumpet, and all other instruments of music." See 
 2 Sam. vi. 5. 15. 2 Chron. v. 2. 12, &c. Psalm cxxxii. 8, 9. But spi- 
 ritually, as applied now by the Christian church, to the ascension of Christ 
 into heaven, prefigured by that of the ark into the temple — God incarnate is 
 gone up into that holy place not made with hands; the everlasting doors of 
 heaven are opened to the King of glory to enter and repossess his ancient 
 throne : there he is received by the united acclamations of the celestial 
 armies, by that " shout," that " voice of the archangel, and that trump of 
 of God," which are to sound again, in the day when he shall "so come, in 
 like manner, as he went into heaven."* 
 
 • " AscenditDeus"— Ascendit area in Jerusalem cum cantu. Propheticfi, ascendit Christus 
 in coBlum. Bossuct. 
 
148 A COMMENTARY Psalm XLVIII. 
 
 " 6. Sing praises to God, sing praises : sing praises unto our King, sing 
 praises. 7. For God is tiie King of all the earth : sing ye praises with 
 understanding." 
 
 Who can contemplate the glorious triumph of human nature over its 
 enemies, in the person of our king, risen and ascended, without finding 
 himself constrained to break forth into joy, and to sing with a thankful 
 heart, and an elevated voice, the praises due unto his holy name ! These 
 divine hymns were designed for that purpose. Let us therefore sing them, 
 and let us sing them "with understanding;" considering by whom they 
 were indited, and of whom they treat; reflecting that the eternal Spirit is 
 their author, and their subject the blessed Jesus. 
 
 " 8. God reigneth over the heathen : God sitteth upon the throne of his 
 holiness." 
 
 We are never suffered to forget, that the end of Messiah's exaltation to 
 the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens, was the conversion and salva- 
 tion of the world; so continually do the prophets and apostles delight to 
 dwell upon that most interesting topic, the conversion of the " nations" to 
 the Gospel of Christ. Why do we vainly fancy that we belong to Him, 
 unless his Spirit " reign" in our hearts by faith 1 
 
 " 9. The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of 
 the God of Abraham ; for the shields of the earth belong unto God : he is 
 greatly exalted." 
 
 This verse plainly describeth the kings of the Gentiles as acceding to the 
 church ; as becoming, with their subjects, through faith, " the people of the 
 God of Abraham," and a part of the sacred peculium ; as submitting to God 
 in Christ that power with which they were invested, as " shields of the 
 earth," or protectors of their several kingdoms; and as bowing their scep- 
 tres to the cross of Jesus,* The sense of the verse, expressed in New 
 Testament language, would be, "The kingdoms of this world are become 
 the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and 
 ever." So let every nation be converted unto thee, O Lord ; and every 
 king become thy son and servant ; until all the world shall worship thee, 
 sing of thee, and praise thy name ! 
 
 PSALM XLVIII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm is one of those which by our church are appointed to be used on 
 Whitsunday, because, under images taken from the earthly city Jerusalem, 
 newly rescued from her enemies by him who resided in the material temple 
 on mount Zion, are celebrated, 1, 2, 3. the glory, the beauty, and the 
 strength of the church Christian, that city and temple of Messiah ; who, 4 — 
 7. is described as breaking in pieces, and bringing to nothing, the opposition 
 formed against her by the heathen kings and emperors ; on which account, 
 8 — 11. she exprcsseth her gratitude and joy ; 12 — 14. exhorting her people 
 to contemplate, and transmit to posterity an account of those wonderful 
 works of God, the establishment and preservation of his chm'ch in the 
 world ; for which she wishes all generations after her example to adore and 
 praise his holy name for ever and ever. 
 
 " 1. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, 
 in the mountain of his holiness." 
 
 The prophet preparing to celebrate the beauty and magnificence of the 
 
 * This latter part of the verse is differently explained by the Rev. Mr. Merrick, in his poeti- 
 cal paraphrase of this psalm— 
 
 For he, whose hands, amid the skies, 
 
 Th' eternal sceptre wield. 
 To earth's whole race his care applies, 
 And o'er them spreads his shield. 
 
Dax IX. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 149 
 
 church, begins with setting forth the praises of her great Founder: whose 
 wisdom, mercy, and power, as they are conspicuous in all his works, so, 
 more especially, in this, the chief and crown of all; for which, his name 
 can never be sufficiently extolled by the inhabitants of the new Jerusalem ; 
 and by them it ought to be extolled for ever and ever. 
 
 "2. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion; 
 on the sides of the north, the city of the great King." 
 
 How " beautiful" is the holy and heavenly Zion, or the Christian 
 church : how truly is she " the joy of the whole earth," by the glad tidings 
 which her ministers continually publish ; how properly is this Jerusalem 
 styled, " the city of the great King !" 
 
 "3. God is known in her palaces for a refuge." 
 
 The great Founder of the church is also her protector and defender ; the 
 dependence of the new Jerusalem, like that of the old, is not in man, or in 
 tlie arm of flesh, but in the God who resideth in the midst of her. For, 
 surely, unless he kept the holy city, the watchmen in the towers would 
 wake but in vain. 
 
 " 4. For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together." 
 Never were the power and malice of earthly princes more violently bent 
 to hinder the building of Jerusalem, or to pull down what was already built, 
 than they were to prevent the edification of the church, and to root up its 
 foundations. But the event with regard to the latter, was the same which 
 had often happened, in the case of the former. 
 
 " 5. They saw it, and so they marvelled ; they were troubled, and 
 hasted away. 6. Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a 
 woman in travail." 
 
 The potentates of the world saw the miracles of the apostles, the courage 
 and constancy of the martyrs, and the daily increase of the church; notwith- 
 standing all their persecutions; they beheld with astonishment the rapid 
 progress of the faith through the Roman empire ; they called upon their 
 gods, but their gods could not help themselves; idolatry expired at the foot 
 of the victorious cross, and the power which supported it, became Chris- 
 tian. 
 
 " 7. Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind." 
 In the foregoing verse, the consternation amongst the enemies of the 
 church was compared to the horrors of a travailing woman ; here it is likened 
 to the apprehensions of despairing mariners. Nor indeed can anything 
 in nature more fitly represent the overthrow of heathenism by the spirit of 
 the Gospel, than the wreck of a fleet of ships in a storm at sea. Both are 
 effected by the mighty power of God.* 
 
 "8. As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, 
 in the city of our God : God will establish it for ever." 
 
 The church heard, by the prophets, of the future birth, life, death, resur- 
 rection, and ascension of Messiah ; of the effusion of the Spirit, and her own 
 enlargement, establishment and preservation, in the Gentile world. These 
 predictions, which she had so often "heard," she hath "seen" accomplish- 
 ed, even unto this day \\ and therefore doubts not of God's continuing his 
 favour and protection to the end of time. 
 
 * Sensus est: qiialis ventus vehemens conterit naves magni maris, talis fist Dei vis tuentis 
 Jerusalem, et hostilem exercitmn dissipantis. Bossuet. Illustrations of this kind are some- 
 times introduced, by the sacred writers, witli the mark of comparison frequently, as here, with- 
 out it. The meaning evidently is, that as the east wind shatters in pieces the ships of Tarshish, 
 so the Divinepovver, struck the heathen kings with terror and astonishment. 
 
 t " Sicut audivimus" — Prophetia IsaicB videtur hie notari : sensusque est ; sicut audivimus 
 ab Isaia prophetatum, fore ut obsidio miribiliter solveretur, ac Sennacherabi Du.v Rabsaces, 
 ejusque cxercituscsderetur, sicimpletuni vidimus. Isa..\xXvii. 21. 3 Reg. xi.\. 20. Qua figura 
 coelestis Jerusalem incolaa et ipsi canunt, "sicut audivimus," ex auditu fidei.Gal. iii. 25. "sic 
 vidimus," jam sublato velo, atqueapertaDei facie. "Deusfundavit earn;" nihil habetmetuen- 
 duin, tanto exempta periculo. Prophetice, do JEcclesia, fundata super patram, ideoquo incon- 
 cussa, Matt. svi. Id. Bossuet. 
 
 13* 
 
150 A COMMENTARY Psalm XLIX 
 
 " 9. We have thought of, or, we wait in silence and patience for, thy 
 loving-kindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple." 
 
 Contemplation of all the wondrous works, which the Lord our God hath 
 wrought for us, produces faith in his promises, and resignation to his will : 
 and he that, with these dispositions, waits for God's mercies, in God's 
 house, shall not wait in vain. 
 
 " 10. According to thy name, O God, sois thy praise unto the ends of the 
 earth : thy right hand is full of righteousness." 
 
 Wherever the name of God is known, and his works are declared, there 
 the sacrifice of praise must needs be offered to him, by men, who are made 
 sensible of his mercies towards them : and the day is coming, when all the 
 world shall be forced to acknowledge, that his "right hand is full of right- 
 eousness," and his judgments are just. 
 
 "11. Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judahbe glad, because 
 of thy judgments." 
 
 The church, and all her children, are exhorted to rejoice, with joy un- 
 speakable and full of glory, on account of the manifestation of divine power 
 on her behalf, against her enemies. Thus, at the fall of the mystic Ba- 
 bylon, it is said — "Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles 
 and prophets, for God hath avenged you on her," Rev. xviii. 20. 
 
 " 12. Walk about ^ion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. 
 13. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces ; that ye may tell it 
 to the generations following." 
 
 Christians are here enjoined to contemplate, again and again, continually, 
 the fabric of the spiritual Jerusalem, wonderfully raised and as wonderfully 
 preserved : to consider attentively the parts designed for use, for strength, 
 for ornament; that they may be able to instruct posterity in the nature and 
 history of this holy building, and in their duty of forwarding and defending 
 the same from generation to generation. 
 
 "14. For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide 
 even unto death." 
 
 Let the world worship whom or what it will, we worship none other but 
 Him, who, by his Spirit, founded, and, by his power, preserveth the church ; 
 who, by that Spirit, " guideth" us through life, and by that power, will 
 enable us to overcome "death ;"* that so we may rejoice and triumph for 
 evermore, as citizens of the city of God, and subjects of the King of glory. 
 
 PSALM XLIX. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The prophet after a solemn introduction, 1 — 4. in which the whole world is 
 called upon, to hear a lesson of divine wisdom; 5. proposes the subject in a 
 question, implying the great folly of yielding to the temptation of fear, in 
 the time of affliction and persecution, when the rich and the powerful are 
 in arms against the innocent and righteous sufferer; inasmuch as, 6 — 9. no 
 man, by his riches or power, can redeem his brother, or liimself, in the evil 
 day; but, 10. wise and foolish die, and leave their estates to others; and, 
 11 — 13. notwithstanding all their care and pains, are soon forgotten, while 
 they are detained by death in the grave, till they rise to judgment and con- 
 demnation. On the other hand, the prophet, in the person of Messiah, 15. 
 declares his faith in a joyful resurrection to life'and glory, through the power 
 of Jehovah; and 16 — 20. exhorts believers, neither to fear nor envy the man 
 of the world, considering what his latter end is to be. 
 
 " 1. Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: 
 2. Both low and high, rich and poor, together." 
 
 *" This God will be our God to all eternity, and (by that power which he has already exerted 
 in our protection) will conduct us through life with safety." Merrick. 
 
Day IX. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 151 
 
 This Psalm opens with great dignity, and the prophet speaks " as one 
 having authority." He demands an audience, like that which is to be as- 
 sembled at the last day ; having something to deliver, which is very uni- 
 versally important and interesting; something which concerns every age, 
 and condition, and nation, under heaven. And we may observe, that al- 
 though the sound of this Psalm, when first uttered, could be heard only 
 within the confines of Judea, yet the knowledge of it hath since actually 
 been diffused in the Christian church, throughout the world, from the rising 
 to the setting sun. But how few, alas, have duly attended to the salutary 
 lesson, which it so divinely teacheth! 
 
 " 3. My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart 
 shall be of understanding." 
 
 At the call of folly, what multitudes are always ready to assemble! But 
 Wisdom, eternal and essential Wisdom, crieth without; she lifteth up her 
 voice in the streets: and who is at leisure to attend her heavenly lectures'? 
 The "mouth" of Jesus always "spake of wisdom;" but few regarded 
 him: the " meditation of his heart" was ever "of understanding ;" but it 
 was accounted madness. 
 
 " 4. I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying 
 upon the harp." 
 
 In the promulgation of wisdom and understanding to the world, the pro- 
 phet, as the faithful scribe of the Spirit, was to speak only what he should 
 hear, by " inclining his ear" to his divine Teacher ; he was to speak in the 
 way of " parable, or proverb, or problem," that is, in such away, as should 
 require study and diligence, to unfold and explain; in such a way, as the 
 world is not inclined to understand, or listen to; as our Lord delivered his 
 doctrines when on earth. And, that melody might serve as a vehicle for 
 instruction, this important lesson was to be set to music, and played upon 
 the harp. 
 
 "5. Wherefore shall I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my 
 heels shall encompass me about." 
 
 The iniquity of my heels, says Bishop Lowth, is hardly sense. Sup- 
 pose Opj? to be not a noun, but the present participle of the verb ; it will 
 then be, " The wickedness of those that lie in wait for me," or, " endea- 
 vour to supplant me." Bishop Hare likewise, as Mr. Merrick has observed, 
 translates 'Dpi? " insidianlium mibi." I had at first given another turn to 
 the Psalmist's question, and, by " the iniquity of my heels" had under- 
 stood to be meant, " the iniquity of my footsteps," that is, " my goings or 
 ways;" (Op;? being used for footsteps. Psalm Ivi. 7. and Cant. i. 8.) as it 
 had been said — Why, for the sake of procuring riches, or power, should I 
 bring fear and anguish upon myself; in that hour, when my sins will find 
 me out, and neither riches nor power can deliver me from the punishment 
 due to them? Thus Bossuet and Mudge understood the verse. But I am 
 clear, that Bishop Lowth's idea is the true one; and then the purport of the 
 question is plainly this — Why should I give way to fear and despondency, 
 in the time of calamity, when the wickedness of my wealthy and power- 
 ful adversaries compasses me about, to supplant and overthrow me^ 
 
 " 6. They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multi- 
 tude of their riches ; 7. None of them can by any means redeem his brother, 
 nor give to God a ransom for him ; 8. (For the redemption of their soul is 
 precious, and it ceaseth for ever;) 9. That he should still live forever, and 
 not see corruption." 
 
 In this world, as the wise man observeth, Eccles. x. 19. " money an- 
 swereth all things;" and therefore, worldly men place their trust and con- 
 fidence in it ; but, in " the evil day," riches shall not be found ; nor, if they 
 could be found, would they avail anything towards eternal salvation. For, 
 " what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" saith one, who best 
 knew the value of souls ; as he paid the price of that precious redemption, 
 
152 A COMMENTARY Psalm XLIX. 
 
 which otherwise must have " ceased for ever," when he suffered for us on 
 the cross, and arose on the third day to life and immortality, without seeing 
 corruption.* 
 
 " 10. For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish 
 person perish, and leave their wealth to others." 
 
 The inability of man to save his brother or himself from death, is evinced 
 by daily experience, w^hich showeth us, that the penalty due to sin is con- 
 tinually levied upon all: wisdom and folly go down into the dust together; 
 " and then, whose shall those things be, which have been provided?" Luke 
 xii. 20. Their possessions come into the hands of others, parhaps for those 
 for whom they had never intended them, and who had neither inclination 
 nor ability to do the dead man any service. 
 
 "11. Their inward thought /s, M«< their houses shall co?itiniie for ever, 
 and then dwelling-places to all generations: they call their lands after their 
 own names." 
 
 Various are the contrivances of vain men, to have their names written on 
 earth, and to procure, after their deaths, an imaginary immortality, for them- 
 selves and their families, in the memory and conversation of posterity; 
 which is not often obtained ; and if obtained, is of no value; when, with 
 less trouble, they might have had their names written in heaven, and have 
 secured to themselves a blessed immortality, in the glorious kingdom of 
 their Redeemer. 
 
 "12. Nevertheless, man being in honour, abideth not: he is like the 
 beasts that perish." 
 
 The continuance of a man in the world is as that of a traveller at an inn, 
 who tarrieth but for a night; so that if honour and wealth do not soon leave 
 him, he must soon leave them, and like the brutes around him, return to 
 his earth, never more to be seen, and little more to be thought of.f Fami- 
 lies decay, and are extinguished, as well as individuals ; and the world 
 itself is to perish after the same example. That such beings, in such a 
 place, should think of becoming glorious and immortal ! 
 
 " 13. This their way is their folly ; yet their posterity approve their say- 
 ings." 
 
 The practice of labouring to acquire wealth and greatness, which can be 
 of no service after death, aiid of endeavouring to perpetuate the possession 
 of the most uncertain things in nature, is doubtless a folly; but it is folly 
 which, like many others, is at once blamed and imitated. 
 
 " 14. Like sheep they, or, that, are laid in the grave ; death shall feed 
 on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; 
 and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling." 
 
 The high and mighty ones of the earth, who cause people to fear, and 
 nations to tremble around them, must one day crowd the grave; in multi- 
 tude and impotence, though not in innocence, resembling sheep, driven and 
 confined by the butcher in his house of slaughter. There death, that rave- 
 ning \ttolf, shall feed sweetly on them, and devour his long-expected prey 
 in silence and darkness, until the glorious morning of the resurrection 
 dawn ; when the once oppressed and afflicted righteous, risen from the 
 dead, and sitting with their Lord in judgment, shall have the dominion over 
 their cruel and insulting enemies; whose faded beauty, withered strength, 
 and departed glory, shall display to men and angels the vanity of that con- 
 fidence which is not placed in God. 
 
 " 15. But God will redeem my soul, or, animal frame, from the power 
 of the grave : for he shall receive me." 
 The righteous, as well as the wicked, descend into the grave; to the 
 
 *Hoa versus ad Cliristtini pat res referunt.nt spnsussit, nemopiiriis homo fratrem redimit.sed 
 taiitum iUe homo qui etiam Deus est. Memoraiit ctiaiii interpretcs R. iMosen Hazardaii.qui 
 verba hiec de Rege Messia iutelligit.qne pro redemptionc fratruni inorluus, postea inictenium 
 vivat, uti priedictiim est ablsaia.iiii. JO. Bof.^uet. 
 
 t " Comparatus est jumentis ;" quoad temporalia, nihil habet auiplius, atque onaniiio instar 
 jumenti est, nisiajteruameditatur. Bossuet. 
 
DAT X. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. I53 
 
 bodies of the former it is a resting-place, as the prison was to St. Peter, 
 till the angel of the Lord shall awaken them, and call them forth ; while 
 to the latter it is a condemned hold, from which, at the appointed day, they 
 are to be dragged to execution.* The prophet here expresseth a full and 
 firm faith in the resurrection ; and may be conceived as speaking in the 
 person of Him who was first redeemed from the grave, and accepted by 
 the Father ; who did not " despond in the days of evil, and when the wick- 
 edness of his supplanters compassed him about;" as foreseeing their speedy 
 destruction, and his own approaching resurrection and exaltation. And 
 therefore, he thus exhorts each disciple of his in the subsequent verses of 
 our Psalm. 
 
 " 16. Be not thou afraid when one is made rich ; when the glory of hi3 
 house is increased. 17. For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away; 
 his glory shall not descend after him." 
 
 This is the conclusion of the Psalm, naturally following from the pre- 
 mises ; and addressed, by way of exhortation and comfort, to the meek and 
 humble disciples of the Lamb ; directing them to fear God, who is able to 
 destroy both soul and body in hell, and not to be afraid of the short-lived 
 power, conferred in this world by wealth over the body only. For this 
 purpose, nothing is requisite, but to strip the worldling of the pomp and 
 parade, the connexions and relations of life, and to consider him, as he is 
 to appear on the day of his burial ; when nothing shall attend him, but his 
 shroud to the grave, and his works to the judgment-seat. View him in this 
 light, which is the proper light to view him in, and he will cease to be the 
 object of fear or envy. 
 
 " 18. Though while he lived he blessed his soul, (and men will praise 
 thee when thou doest well to thyself.)" 
 
 Such must be the worldling's end, as described above, however, in the 
 day of health and prosperity, he may bless himself, and say, " Soul, thou 
 hast goods laid up for many years : take thine ease, eat, drink, and be 
 merry." Nor will such a speech, whenever it is spoken, want its admirers : 
 it will have the applause of numbers, whose opinion it is, that " there is 
 nothing better for a man, than that he should eat, and drink, and enjoy him- 
 eelf, all the days of his life which God giveth him under the sun." 
 
 "19. He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see 
 light." 
 
 They who follow their fathers in sin, must follow them likewise into the 
 torments of that sad place, where darkness has fixed its everlasting abode, 
 for the reception of those who ever loved and embraced it ; and where the 
 light of life and salvation no longer visits those who always hated and 
 rejected it. 
 
 " 20. Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts 
 that perish." 
 
 The sum of the whole matter is, that it can profit a man nothing to gain 
 the whole world : to become possessed of all its wealth, and all its power ; 
 if, after all, he lose his own soul, and be cast away, for want of that holy 
 and heavenly wisdom, which distinguishes him from the brutes, and sets 
 him above them, in his life, and at his death. 
 
 TENTH DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM L. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm presents us with a magnificent description, 1.2. of the promulga- 
 tion of the Gospel, followed, 3, 4, by a prediction of the terrible manner of 
 
 * Impiorum inanitate despecta, assurgit adbonos in Deuni sperantes, quorum Deus animam 
 ab inferis redimit, ciim a sepulchro assumptos ad vitam a'teriiam transfert. Alioqiii, neque qui 
 sperat in Domino plus reliquis haberet, ncque prefatioui responderet tiujus Psalmi doctriua. 
 Bossuet. 
 
154 A COMMENTARY Psalm L. 
 
 God's coming to judge the apostate people of Israel;* 5, 6. of the assembly 
 to be present, and his appeal to men and angels; 7 — 13, the rejection of the 
 legal, and, 14, 15. the establishment of the Christian worship and services; 
 16, — 20. the impenitent Jews are arraig-ned, and, 21. threatened, and, 22. 
 exliorted to consider, to repent, and, 23. to embrace the evangelical, or spi- 
 ritual religion. It is to be observed, that in this Psalm, as in our Lord's dis- 
 course on the same subject, the particular judgment of Jerusalem is a figure 
 and specimen of the last general judgment. Hypocritical and wicked Chris- 
 tians are therefore to apply to themselves what is primarily addressed to 
 their elder brethren, the unbelieving and rebeUious sons of fiutliful and obe- 
 dient Abraham. 
 
 " 1. The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, and called the earth, 
 from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof." 
 
 " God, who at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake in time past 
 unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by 
 his Son," Heb. i. 1. The everlasting Gospel hath made its glorious pro- 
 ^less from the eastern to the western world; and the nations have been 
 thereby called to repentance. 
 
 "2. Out of Zioii, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined." 
 
 The law which was given by Moses, proceeded from Sinai, the mount of 
 fear and horror ; but the word of grace and truth which came by .Tesus 
 Christ, issued forth from Sion, the chosen mountain of beauty and excel- 
 lency, in Jerusalem. There that glory first arose and shone, which, like 
 the light of heaven, soon diffused itself abroad over the face of the whole 
 earth. 
 
 "3. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour 
 before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him." 
 
 The prophet, having described the first advent of Christ, and the promul- 
 gation of the Gospel, now foretelleth his coming to take vengeance on the 
 hypocritical Jews ; as also, his advent to judge the world prefigured there- 
 by. Upon both those occasions, his coming was to be with sounds and 
 sights of terror, with all the marks and tokens of wrath and fiery indigna- 
 tion, like those displayed on Sinai. | 
 
 " 4. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he 
 may judge his people." 
 
 Heaven and earth, men and angels, were to be witnesses of the righteous 
 judgments of God, executed upon his apostate people ; as all the celestial 
 armies^ and all the generations of the sons of Adam, are to be present at the 
 general judgment of the last day. 
 
 "5. Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a cove- 
 nant with me by sacrifice." 
 
 Tbese are the words of God, summoning mankind to attend the trial 
 "calling to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge 
 his people." Thus it is said of the Son of man, Matt. xxiv. 31. "He 
 shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall 
 gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the 
 other." 
 
 * Such is the general idea entertained of this Psalm, by the best Christian expositors, cited 
 in Pool's Synopsis, where we are likewise informed, that the Jewish Rabbles affirm the sub- 
 ject of it to be " that judgment, which will be executed in the days of Messiah" — ignorant, alas, 
 that they themselves, and their people, are now become the unhappy objects of that judgment 
 — " Psalnii quinquagesimi argumentum est ex genere Didactico ad moralem Theologiam per- 
 tinens, grave imprimis et fructuosum : Deo niniirum non placere Sacrificia et externos ritus 
 religlonis, sed sinceram potius pietatem, laudesque e\ grato animo profluentes; neque vero 
 has ipsas pit^tates signiticationes, sine justitia cicterisque virtutibus. Ita duas habet partes ; 
 primo argtiitur cultor pius quidem, sed ignarus et superstitioni obnoxius ; deinde improbus 
 pietatis simulator. Si totum hujusce Odte apparatuni et quasi scciiam contemplamur, nihil 
 facile potest esse magnificenlius. Deus universum genus humaiium solemni edicto convocat, 
 ut de populo suo judicium publiceexerceat ; ponitiu" in Sione augustum Tribunal : depincitur 
 Dei advenientis majestas imaginibus a descensu in montem Sinam petitis: Coelum et Terra 
 invocantur Divinie justitiie testes: turn demura inducitur Dei ipsius senlentiani dicentis au- 
 giistissima persona, per reliquaniOden continuata; unde cum cfcterisejus partibusadmirabilis 
 ilia e.\ordii uiajestas et splendor coinumnitalur." Lawth, Pnelcct. xxvii. ad init. 
 
DAT X. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. ;^55 
 
 " G. And the heavens shall declare his righteousness : for God <& judge 
 himself." 
 
 Th' applaiidinfr heavens tlm changeless doom, 
 
 VVhilt? God the balance shall assume, 
 
 In full memorial shall record, 
 
 And own the justice of their Lord. Merrick. 
 
 "7. Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify 
 against thee : I am God, even thy God." 
 
 This is the voice of the omniscient Judge, impleading his ancient people, 
 who are commanded to attend to the words of him, their God and cove- 
 nanted Saviour, thus constrained to clear his justice before the world, and 
 to show that they had destroyed themselves. Nominal and wicked Chris- 
 tians will be addressed in the same manner at the last day. 
 
 " 8. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt-offerings, to 
 have been, or, they were, continually before me." 
 
 This judicial process was not commenced against Israel, for their having 
 neglected to offer the sacrifices of the law ; their oblations were on the altar, 
 morning and evening, continually, insomuch that God, by the prophet 
 Isaiah, declares himself "weary of them," as not having been accompa- 
 nied with faith and holiness in the offerer. Many pharisaical Christians 
 will be condemned for the same reason, notwithstanding their strict and 
 scrupulous attendance upon the ordinances of the new law, if it shall 
 appear, that they left religion in the church behind them, instead of carry- 
 ing it with them, in their lives and conversations. 
 
 " !). I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he-goats out of thy folds, 
 10. For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand 
 hills. 11. I know all the fowls of the mountain; and the wild beasts of 
 the field are mine. 12. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the 
 world is mine, and the fulness thereof." 
 
 The Jewish folly of doting on the legal offerings, as things in them- 
 selves acceptable to God, and conferring justification on man, is reproved 
 in these verses, from the consideration, that the various animals slain in 
 sacrifice were long before, even from the creation of the world, the sole 
 right and property of Jehovah; which, therefore, he needed not to have 
 required at the hands of his people; nor would he have done so, but for 
 some further end and intent, signified and represented by such oblations. 
 What that end and intent was. Christians know. And Jews formerly did 
 know. Learn we hence, not to dream of any merit in our works and 
 services ; since God hath a double claim, founded on creation and redemp- 
 tion, to all we have and all we are. 
 
 " 13. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats'?" 
 
 Another argument of the Jews' blindness, is the gross absurdity of 
 imagining, that a spiritual and holy being could possibly be satisfied and 
 pleased with the taste and smell of burnt-offerings, (which God often de- 
 clareth himself to have been) any otherwise, than as they were symbolical 
 of some other sacrifice, spiritual and holy, and therefore, really propitiatory 
 and acceptable in his sight. That man judaizeth, who thinketh to please 
 God by an external, without an internal service : or by any service without 
 Christ. 
 
 "14. Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the Most 
 High : 15. And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, 
 and thou shalt glorify me." 
 
 The carnal and bloody sacrifices of the law being abolished by the coming 
 of Messiah, the spiritual and unbloody oblations of the Gospel succeed ia 
 tlieir stead. These are, the eucharistic sacrifice of praise and thanksaiving 
 for the mercies of redemption : that hearty repentance, that faith unfeigned, 
 and that obedience evangelical, promised and vowed in baptism : that per- 
 fect trust in God, and resignation to his will, which our Lord expressed in 
 his prayer, during his sufferings, and which we ought to express in our 
 
156 A COMMENTARY Psat.m L. 
 
 prayer?, when called to suffer with him, if we desire to glorify God for our 
 deliverance through him, in the day of visitation. These are the services 
 enjoined to such Jews as would become Christians, and to such Christians 
 as would be Christians in deed and in truth. 
 
 "16. But unto the wicked God saith. What hast thou to do to declare 
 my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? 17. 
 Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my word behind thee." 
 
 From hence, to the end of the Psalm, we have an expostulation of God 
 •with the unbelieving Jew, who boasted his relation to Abraham, without a 
 spark of Abraham's faith in his heart ; and gloried in a law, which con- 
 demned him as a breaker of its precepts in every instance. St. Paul's ex- 
 postulation with the same person, Rom. ii. 17, &c, is so exact a parallel to 
 this before us, that the one will be the best comment upon the other — " Be- 
 hold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of 
 God, and knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excel- 
 lent, being instructed out of the law ; and art confident that thou thyself art 
 a guide oi the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, an instructer of 
 the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of 
 the truth in the law. Thou, therefore, that makest thy boast of the law, 
 through breaking the law dishonourest thou God ]" Every minister of 
 God should try and examine himself by these passages in our Psalm and 
 St. Paul, on the former of which the famous Origen is once said to have 
 preached, making application to his own case, not without many tears. 
 And indeed, "if thou, O Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, who, among us 
 all, shall stand ? But there is forgiveness with thee," Psalm cxxx. 3, 4. 
 
 " 18. When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and, 
 hast been partaker with the adulterers." 
 
 St. Paul proceeds in the very same manner — " Thou that teachest an- 
 other, teachest thou not thyself? Thou that preachest a man should not 
 steal, dost thou steal] Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, 
 dost thou commit adultery ? Tbou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit 
 sacrilege?" — All Christians, the clergy especially, should beware not only 
 of committing evil themselves, but of "consenting" to, or "partaking" of, 
 the evil committed by others. 
 
 " 19. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. 20. 
 Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother ; thou slanderest thine own 
 mother's son." 
 
 Had St. Paul thought proper to have gone on to this instance, he might 
 have said — "Thou that teachest a man should not bear false witness, 
 dost thou bear false witness?" For certainly never men brake that com- 
 mandment in a more flagrant manner than the Jews ; never men " gave" 
 their "mouth" more "to evil," or "framed" more "deceit," than they, 
 when they "sate and spake against their brethren," and "slandered their 
 own mother's children," for believing in Jesus Christ. Let us look at this 
 picture of slander, and we shall never fall in love with so detestable a 
 vice. 
 
 "21. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest 
 that I was altogether such an one as thyself: hut I will reprove thee, and 
 set them in order before thine eyes." 
 
 The forbearance of God only tempted the Jews still to think him on their 
 side, till at length he made the Roman armies his instruments of conviction ; 
 who, by crucifying multitudes of their countrymen, in sight of the besieged, 
 did in a wonderful manner " reprove them, and set before them things which 
 they had done." The day of judgment will do this to all sinners, if tem- 
 poral chastisements effect it not before that day shall come. 
 
 " 22. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear ?/o« en pieces, and 
 there be none to deliver." 
 
 The stupendous desolation of Jerusalem, for rejecting so kind an admo- 
 nition of her Saviour, and suffering him to weep over her in vain, should, 
 
DAT X. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 157 
 
 in a most powerful manner, enforce that admonition on the inhabitants of 
 Christendom, to prevent its falling after the same example of unbelief. 
 
 "33. Whoso offereth praise, glorifieth me ; and to him that ordereth /us 
 conversation aright, will I shew the salvation of God." 
 
 This verse resumes and repeats the conclusion intended by the whole 
 Psalm, concerning the Jewish and the Christian worship ; and St. Paul, in 
 the place above cited, affords us a complete comment upon it. " He is 
 not a Jew, which is one outwardly : nor is that circumcision, which is out- 
 ward in the flesh : but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly : and circum- 
 cision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise 
 is not of men, but of God." 
 
 PSALM LI. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In this Psalm, composed upon a sad occasion, but too well known, we have a 
 perfect model of penitential devotion. The royal supphant, robed in sack- 
 cloth, and crowned with ashes, entreats for mercy, 1, 2. from a considera- 
 tion of his own misery, and of the divine goodness ; 3. from that of his con- 
 fession ; 4. of God's sole right to judge him; 5. laments the corruption of 
 his natm-e ; but, 6. without pleading it as an excuse ; 7. prays for gospel re- 
 mission, in legal terms ; 8. for spiritual joy and comfort ; 9, 10. for pardon- 
 ing and cleansing grace ; 11, 12. for strength and perseverance, that he may, 
 13. instruct and convert others ; 14, 15. deprecates the vengeance due to 
 blood ; 16, 17. beseeches God to accept an evangelical sacrifice ; and, 18, 19. 
 concludes with a prayer for the church. 
 
 "1. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness; 
 according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgres- 
 sions." 
 
 The penitent's first ground for hope of pardon is his own misery, and 
 the Divine mercy, which rejoiceth to relieve that misery. The riches, 
 the power, and the glory of a kingdom, can neither prevent nor remove 
 the torment of sin, which puts the monarch and the beggar upon a 
 level. Every transgression leaves behind it a guilt and a stain ; tlie ac- 
 count between God and the sinner is crossed by the blood of the great pro- 
 pitiatory sacrifice, which removes the former ; and the soul is cleansed by 
 the Holy Spirit, which takes out the latter. 
 
 " 2. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my 
 sin." 
 
 The soul that is sensible of her pollution, fears she never can be sufli- 
 ciently purified from it ; and therefore prays yet again and again, continu- 
 ally, for more abundant grace, to make and to keep her holy. 
 
 " 3. For I acknowledge my transgressions ; and my sin is ever before me." 
 The penitent's second plea for mercy is, that he doth not den}--, excuse, 
 or palliate his fault, but confesses it openly and honestly, with all its aggra- 
 vations, truly alleging, that it haunts him night and day, causing his con- 
 science incessantly to reproach him with his base ingratitude to a good and 
 gracious Father. 
 
 " 4. Against, or, to, thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in 
 thy sight ; that thou mightest, or, therefore thou wilt, be justified when thou 
 speakest, and be clear when thou judgest." 
 
 A third reason why the penitent sues for mercy at the hand of God is, 
 because God alone certainly knows, and is always able to punish the sins 
 of men. David sinned " against" many ; as against Uriah, whom he slew ; 
 against Bathsheba whom he corrupted ; and against all the people, to whom 
 he became the cause of much offence and scandal. But the sin was com- 
 mitted in secret ; and if it had not been so, he, as king, had no superior, or 
 
 14 
 
158 A COMMENTARY Psalm LI. 
 
 judge, in this matter, but God only ; who being able to convict the offender, 
 as he did by the prophet Nathan, would assuredly be justified in the sen- 
 tence he should pronounce. And he will appear to be so in his determina- 
 tions at the last day, when he will surprise the wretched, unthinking, sin- 
 ner, with a declaration similar to that which he made by his prophet to the 
 royal offender, 2 Sam. xii. 12. "Thou didst it secretly; but I will do 
 this thing before all Israel, and before the sun." 
 
 " 5. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity ; and in sin did my mother conceive 
 me." 
 
 The Divine mercy is implored by the penitent, fourthly, because that 
 alone can dry up the fountain of original corruption, from which the streams 
 of actual transgression derive themselves ; and which is here only lamented 
 as their cause, not alleged as their excuse ; seeing, that the greater our 
 danger is of falling, the greater should be our care to stand. David was the 
 offspring of the marriage bed, which is declared to be "honourable and un- 
 defiled." No more, therefore, can be intended here, than that a creature, 
 begotten by a sinner, and formed in the womb of a sinner, cannot be without 
 that taint, which is hereditary to every son and daughter of Adam and 
 Eve."* 
 
 "6. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts, Heb. the reins; and 
 in the hidden part thou shalt make, or, liast made, me to know wisdom." 
 
 The force of " Behold" is — " It is too plain ; I feel it but too sensibly ; the 
 punishment I suffer is evidence sufficient, that thou art not contented with 
 a superficial appearance of goodness : thou lovest truth and sincerity in the 
 bottom of the heart." This God was now teaching him, by the correction 
 he made him suffer. The punishment inflicted tended to give him a right 
 understanding of things, and to work it deep into him. Mudge. 
 
 " 7. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean : wash me, and I shall 
 be whiter than snow." 
 
 He therefore petitioneth, in this verse, for the purification which cometh 
 from God only, through the one great propitiatory sacrifice, by the Holy 
 Spirit; and which was foreshown under the law by the ceremony of sprink- 
 ling the unclean person with a bunch of " hyssop," dipped in the " water of 
 separation." This rite is described. Numb. xix. and explained, Heb. ix. 
 13, 14. "If the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer 
 sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh ; how much 
 more shall ihe bloodof Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered him- 
 self without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve 
 the living God ]" From the latter part of the verse we learn, that, by grace 
 and mercy, the pardoned penitent is arrayed in garments no less pure and 
 splendid than those of innocence itself. 
 
 "8. Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which Ihou hast 
 broken may rejoice." 
 
 Next to the blessings of forgiveness, is to be desired that joy and comfort 
 in the conscience, which forgiveness only can inspire : the effect of this, in 
 repairing the vigour of the spirit, decayed through sorrow and anguish, is 
 compared to setting broken bones, and restoring them again to perfect 
 strength. At the resurrection of the body, this petition will be granted in a 
 literal sense, when the "bones" that are mouldered into dust, shall " rejoice 
 and flourish as an herb," Isa. Ixvi. 14. 
 
 " 9. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities." 
 
 The soul still restless and uneasy, reiterates her request, that God would 
 not only cease to behold her iniquity for the present, as a man who turneth 
 away his face from a writing, but that he would not behold it more, as a 
 man who blotteth out what is written, so that it can never be read again. 
 
DAT X. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 159 
 
 " 10. Create in me a clean heart, O God ; and renew a right, or^ constant, 
 spirit within me." 
 
 The purification and renovation of the heart and spirit of man, is a work 
 to which that power only is equal, which, in the beginning, created all 
 things, and, in the end, will create all things new, A "right spirit is re- 
 newed within us," when the affections turn from the world to God, and 
 charity takes the place of concupiscence. 
 
 "11. Cast me not away from thy presence ; and take not thy Holy Spirit 
 from me." 
 
 The soul that is truly penitent, dreads nothing hut the thought of being 
 rejected from the " presence," and deserted by the " Spirit" of God. This 
 is the most deplorable and irremediable effect of sin ; but it is one that in 
 general, perhaps, is the least considered and regarded of all others. 
 
 " 12. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation ; and uphold me with thy 
 free, or, princely, or, liberal. Spirit." 
 
 David prayeth to God to restore to him the unspeakable joy of that salva- 
 tion, which, as a prophet, he had so often contemplated and celebrated in 
 his divine compositions; he prayeth also to be preserved and continued in 
 that state of salvation by the Spirit of God, which might enable him to act 
 as became a prophet and a king, free from base desires and enslaving lusts. 
 
 " 13. TheM will I teach transgressors thy ways ; and sinners shall be 
 converted unto thee." 
 
 He that would employ his abilities, his influence, and his authority, in 
 the reformation of others, must take care to reform himself before he enters 
 upon the work. " When thou art converted," said Christ to St. Peter, 
 "strengthen thy brethren," Luke xxii. 32. The history of David has 
 " taught" us many useful lessons; such as the frailty of man, the danger of 
 temptation, the torment of sin, the nature and efficacy of repentance, the 
 mercy and judgments of God, &c. &c. by which many " sinners" have in 
 all ages since been "converted," and many more will be converted, so 
 long as the Scriptures shall be read, and the fifty-first Psalm recited in the 
 church. 
 
 " 14. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salva- 
 tion; andmy tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness." 
 
 The unhappy criminal entreats in this verse for the Divine help and de- 
 liverance, as if he not only heard the voice of innocent blood crying from 
 the ground, but as if he saw the murdered Uriah coming upon him for ven- 
 geance, like an armed man. If he can but obtain the pardon of this sin, he 
 promises to publish to all the world the righteousness of God who justifieth 
 sinners, and showeth mercy to the penitent ; though he must at the same 
 time publish likewise his own heinous and horrid wickedness. 
 
 "15. O Lord, open thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy 
 praise." 
 
 The mouth which sin hath closed, can only be opened by pardon : and to 
 show this, he who came conferring pardon, caused the tongue of the dumb 
 to speak, and to sing praises to the Lord God of Israel. Our church, with 
 great propriety, daily maketh her prayer in the words of this verse, before 
 she entereth upon that part of her service, which consisteth of praise and 
 thanksgiving. 
 
 " 16. For thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it,- thou delightest 
 not in burnt-offering, 17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a bro- 
 ken and contrite heart, God, thou wilt not despise." 
 
 David, in his Psalm, is so evangelical, and has his thoughts so fixed 
 upon gospel remission, that he considers the Levitical sacrifices as already 
 abolished, for their insufficiency to take away sin ; affirming them to be (as 
 indeed they were) nothing in the sight of God, if compared with the sacri- 
 fice of the body of sin, offered by contrition and mortification, through faith 
 in Him, who, in the fulness of time, was to die unto sin once, that we, 
 together with him, might for ever live unto God. 
 
160 A COMMENTARY Psalm LIL 
 
 " 18. Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion; build thou the walls of 
 Jerusalem." 
 
 The king forgets not to ask mercy for his people, as well as for himself; 
 so that neither his own nor their sins might prevent either the building and 
 flourishing of the earthly Jerusalem, or, what was of infinitely greater im- 
 portance, the promised blessing of Messiah, who was to descend from him, 
 and to rear the walls of the new Jerusalem. And thus it ought to be the 
 fervent prayer of every man, especially if he be placed in an^ exalted sta- 
 tion, ecclesiastical or civil, that no sins by him committed may any way 
 prejudice others, or obstruct the edification of the church. 
 
 " 19. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifif^es of righteousness, 
 with burnt-offering, and whole burnt-offering: then shall they offer bullocks 
 upon thine altar." 
 
 This had its literal accomplishment when Jerusalem was finished; when 
 the temple was erected on mount Sion; and when the Lord graciously 
 vouchsafed to accept the sacrifices, there oflfered on his holy altars, by king 
 Solomon at the head of his faithful and devout people. It is spiritually 
 true in the Christian church, where the substance of all the Mosaic types 
 and shadows is offered and presented to the Father by the Prince of Peace, 
 at the head of the Israel of God. And it will be eternally verified in the 
 kingdom of heaven, where the sacrifices of righteousness and love, of praise 
 and thanksgiving, will never cease to be offered to him that sitteth on the 
 throne, by the church triumphant in glory. 
 
 PSALM LIL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In the person of Doeg the Edomite, who was the persecutor of David, and the 
 murderer of tlie priests, are described, 1 — 4. the enemies of the truth and 
 the church in all ag-es : whose utter destruction from the presence of the 
 Lord is foretold, 5. with the exultation of the righteous over them, 6, 7. these 
 last rejoice, 8. in their flourishing state under grace, 9. in hope of future 
 glory; through faith and patience. 
 
 " 1. Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, mighty man 1 The good- 
 ness of God endiireth continually." 
 
 " The Psalmist thought it strange," says the pious and ingenious Nor- 
 ris, " that any man should value himself for being able to do mischief, when 
 God esteemed it his glory to do good." In vain did Doeg the Edomite 
 boast himself in the mischief he had done by massacring the innocent 
 priests and their families; since "the goodness of God," which is " un- 
 changeable," had decreed the preservation of David. As vainly did Herod 
 the Idumean, or Edomite, glory in the slaughter of the Bethlehemitish 
 infants, since Heaven had determined that the child Jesus should not be one 
 of the number. A persecution may produce martyrs; but the gates of hell 
 are never to prevail against the church. 
 
 "2. Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceit- 
 fully." 
 
 The mischief done to religion by men of Doeg's turn, is done by the 
 tongue before it is done by the hand ; it is planned leisurely, and executed 
 speedily and deceitfully.* 
 
 "3. Thou lovest evil more than good, and lying rather than to speak 
 righteousness. 4. Thou lovest all devouring words, thou deceitful 
 tongue." 
 
 *" Sicutnovaciila acuta"— qua; cum tangereleniteret tantum radere videretur, alteinfigitur, 
 acvelulblandieudi specie viilnerat: ita Doeg cum Acliimelech in tabernaculn Domini aniicitioe 
 pietatisqiif specie versatus.fwdo iridicio viros oplimns prodigit. 1 Reg. xxi.7. xxii.i). Bossnet. 
 SoMudge,—" Working ireacIieroubly,"Uial is, Tliy tongue is like a sharp razor that cuts one's 
 throat before one is aware of it. 
 
DatX. e.p. on the psalms. 161 
 
 As the Christian spirit delighteth itself in goodness, truth, and charity, 
 so the antichristian spirit is here characterized by its offending, not out of 
 Ignorance, or inadvertence, but mere love of wickedness, falsehood, and ma- 
 lice. To this pitch many have arrived ; and who, that enters upon a course 
 of sin, can say, that he shall stop short of it. 
 
 "5. God shall likewise destroy thee for ever: he shall take thee away, 
 and pluck thee out of thy dwelling-place, and root thee out of the land of 
 the living." 
 
 Wonderful is the force of verbs in the original, which convey to us the 
 four ideas of "laying prostrate, dissolving as by lire, sweeping away as 
 with a besom, and totally extirpating root and branch," as a tree is eradi- 
 cated from the spot on which it grew. If a farther comment be wanted, it 
 may be found in the history of David's enemies, and the crucifiers of the 
 Son of David : but the passage will be fully and finally explained by the 
 destruction of the ungodly at the last day. 
 
 " 6. The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him : 7. 
 IjO, this is i\\e man that made not God his strength; but, trusted in the 
 abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness." 
 
 Such shall be the triumph of Messiah, and of all his faithful servants 
 with him, over the enemies of man's salvation at that hour when, the world 
 being in flames, the confidence that hath been placed in it, must perish for 
 evermore. 
 
 " 8. But I am like a green olive-tree in the house of God : I trust in tlie 
 raercy of God for ever." 
 
 The representative of Messiah portrays himself, as the reverse of Doeg 
 and the wicked, in terms applicable likewise to his great Original. He 
 was in the house of God, they were in the world ; he was as a fruitful 
 olive-tree, they were as barren unprofitable wood: he was to be daily more 
 and more strengthened, established, settled, and increased ; they were to be 
 cast down, broken, swept away, and extirpated : and all this, because he 
 had trusted in the mercy of God ; they in the abundance of their riches. 
 We Gentiles were branches of the wild " olive," but are now grafted into 
 the good one: Lord, make us to flourish and bear fruit, in thy immortal 
 " courts," world without end ! 
 
 " 9. I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it : and I will 
 wait on thy name, for it is good* before thy saints." 
 
 Faith foresees salvation, and anticipates the day of victory and triumph; 
 in the mean time, while she waiteth patiently for its coming, she refresheth 
 and comforteth herself with frequent meditation on the virtue and power of 
 that saving " name" which is " as ointment poured forth ;" by the fragrance 
 of its odours inviting and alluring innumerable converts to run after their 
 beloved Redeemer, in the way of his commandments. 
 
 TENTH DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM LIIL 
 
 This Psalm is in a manner the same with Psalm xiv. except that there 
 is some difibrence in ver. 5. for which, as well as for the explanation of the 
 whole, the reader is referred to the comment on Psalm xiv, 
 
 PSALM LIV. 
 
 AHGUMENT. 
 
 David, as it has been supposed, when betrayed by tlie Ziphites, and surrounded 
 by Saul, 1. 2, committeth his cause, and preferreth his prayer to God: 3. 
 
 * It is a " goodly thing," it carries a good appearance, it looks well before the friends of God, 
 to see me praising him, and putting my trust in him, Mudge. 
 
 14* 
 
162 A COMMENTARY Psalm LV. 
 
 complaineth of his cruel treatment; 4, 5. expresseth his assurance of the 
 Divine favour, and the destruction of his enemies. 6, 7. Being deUvered 
 from his danger, he blesseth and praiseth God. See the history, 1 Sam. xxlii. 
 The application to Christ, and to Christians, is plain and easy; for which 
 reason, our church hath appointed this Psalm to the read on Good Friday. 
 
 " 1. Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me in thy strength. 2. 
 Hear my prayer, O God ; give ear to the words of ray mouth." 
 
 Happy the man, to whom, in the day of trouble, the " name of the 
 Lord is a strong tower," into which " he runneth, and is safe," Prov. xviii. 
 10. Happy the man that can, with a holy confidence, commit his cause to 
 the judgment and determination of God, and expect redress from the Al- 
 mighty. His prayer mounteth up to heaven, and returneth not without a 
 blessing. 
 
 " 3. For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my 
 soul : they have not set God before them." 
 
 The Ziphites, though David's countrymen, acted the part of " strangers," 
 or " aliens," in seeking to deliver him up to his unjust and cruel enemy. 
 iSuch a part did the whole Jewish nation act towards their anointed Prince 
 and Saviour, when they actually delivered him over to the Roman power. 
 And the church frequently meeteth with such treatment at the hands of her 
 children, as she had reason to expect only from " strangers to the covenant 
 of promise." Something like this always happens, when men, instead of 
 setting God, set the world before their eyes. 
 
 " 4. Behold, God is mine helper ; the Lord is with them that uphold my 
 soul. 5. He shall reward evil unto mine enemies : cut them off, or, thou 
 shall cut them off, in thy truth." 
 
 Li all dangers and difficulties, whether temporal or spiritual, the faithful 
 sons and servants of God fix their eyes upon their heavenly Father, and 
 gracious Master : they have recourse to the Divine promises, the perform- 
 ance of which they know to be certain, and therefore can foresee and fore- 
 tell the destruction of their enemies. Thus David, and a greater than 
 David, supported themselves in their troubles ; and the church, with her 
 children, must do likewise. 
 
 " I will freely sacrifice unto thee : I will praise thy name, O Lord, for it 
 is good. 7. For he hath delivered me out of all trouble ; and mine eye 
 hath seen his desire, Heb. mine eye hath looked upon mine enemies." 
 
 Saul, under the direction of the Ziphites, having encompassed David on 
 every side, was suddenly called off to defend his country from an invasion 
 of the Philistines : by which means David escaped, and " beheld his ene- 
 mies" retreating, 1 Sam. xxiii. 27. For this event he offers the sacrifice of 
 a heart freed from fear, and praises the name of his great Deliverer. Chris- 
 tians should follow his example : they should consider how great things God 
 hath done for them, and should never suffer the voice of praise and thanks- 
 giving to cease in the church of the redeemed. Beautiful and emphatical 
 will these two concluding verses appear, when conceived as proceeding 
 from the mouth of our Lord upon his resurrection. And we hope one day 
 to repeat them on a like occasion, saying, each in his own person; "I will 
 freely sacrifice unto thee, 1 will praise thy name, O Lord, for it is good. 
 For he hath delivered me out of all my trouble, and mine eye hath looked 
 upon mine enemies." 
 
 PSALM LV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 David, as it is supposed, when driven out of Jerusalem by the rebellion of Ab- 
 salom, and in danger of being suddenly cut off, 1—8. maketh his prayer to 
 God, and describeth the sorrowful state of his soul; 9—11. entreateth that 
 
Datx. e.p. on the psalms. 163 
 
 the iniquitous counsels of the rebels may be divided and confounded; 12 — 14, 
 upbraideth Ahitophel, the Judas of those times, with his foul treason-, 15 — 19. 
 foretelleth the tragical end of the faction, and his own re-establishment 
 through fiiith in God; notwithstanding the base treachery of his favourite 
 son, and favourite servant. 
 
 " 1. Give ear to my prayer, O God ; and hide not thyself from my sup- 
 plication. 2. Attend unto me, and hear me ; 1 mourn in my complaint, 
 Heb. am dejected in my meditation, and make a noise ; Heb. am in a violent 
 tumultuous agitation, as the waves of the sea." 
 
 In the person of David, driven from his throne, and put in fear of his life, 
 by Absalom and Ahitophel, we here behold our blessed Redeemer, on the 
 day of his sufferings, praying earnestly, and repeating his supplications, as 
 in the garden of Gethsemane, at the prospect of that sea of sorrows, which 
 was then about to overwhelm his agonizing soul. In all our afflictions he 
 was afflicted ; in all his afflictions let us be so. 
 
 " 3. Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the 
 wicked : for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me." 
 
 O my God, how can we repine and murmur at any oppression and car- 
 lumny which we suffer from the world, when we see, not only thy servant 
 David, but thy Son Jesus, thus hated, slandered, and persecuted, by their 
 own subjects, and their own children. 
 
 "4. My heart is sore pained within me; and the terrors of death are 
 fallen upon me. 5. Tearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and hor- 
 ror hath overwhelmed me." 
 
 These words describe the state of David's mind, when he went over the 
 brook Cedron, and up Mount Olivet, "weeping as he went," and expecting 
 speedily to be cut off; 2 Sam. xv. 23, 30. they describe the agony of the 
 Son of David, when he likewise went over the same brook Cedron, John, 
 xviii. 1, at the time of his passion, when his soul was "sore amazed and 
 very heavy, and exceeding sorrowful, even unto death," Mark xiv. 33, 34. 
 and every man will too surely find them applicable to himself, if not often 
 before, yet certainly in the day, when the king of terrors shall draw up all 
 his forces in array against him. 
 
 " 6. And I said, O that I had wings like a dove ! for then would I fly 
 away and be at rest. 7. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in 
 the wilderness. 8. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and 
 tempest." 
 
 The calamitous situation of the Israel itish monarch, forced from him a 
 wish, that, like the bird of innocence and peace, he could in a moment ba- 
 nish himself from the distractions of his rebellious kingdom, and enjoy, in 
 holy solitude, that repose which his sceptre and his guards were not able 
 to procure him. There are few crowned heads, perhaps, which have not 
 more than once found occasion to form, if not to utter, a wish of the same 
 nature. Much more must it have been the wish of that King of Israel, 
 whose crown was literally one of thorns; and it often will be the wish of 
 the devout Christian, who, sensible of the sin and follies that overspread 
 the earth, is taught to aspire after his heavenly country, and to delight in 
 that resemblance of it which the closet best aflfords. 
 
 " 9. Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence 
 and strife in the city." 
 
 In these words king David beseecheth God to divide, confound, and 
 bring to nothing the counsels of an iniquitous and rampant faction ; for so, 
 in the history, we find him saying, " Lokd, I pray thee, turn the counsel 
 of Ahitophel into foolishness," 2 Sam. xv. 31. The royal prayer was 
 heard ; the counsel of Ahitophel was overthown by Hushai, and the disap- 
 pointed traitor became his own executioner. The treason of Judas against 
 the Son of David, brought him likewise to the same end. Every one, who 
 
164 A COMMENTARY Psalm LV. 
 
 finds himself tempted to betray the cause of his prince, or his Saviour, 
 should set these two examples before his eyes. 
 
 " 10. Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof; mischief 
 also and sorrow are in the midst of it. 11. Wickedness is in the midst 
 thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets." 
 
 The violence and strife, mentioned at the conclusion of the preceding 
 verse, are here described as going their rounds, like an armed watch, upon 
 the walls, to guard rebellion, which had taken up its residence in the heart 
 of the city, from the attacks of loyalty, right, and justice, driven with the 
 king beyond Jordan. Thus from the same city was righteousness after- 
 wards expelled, in the person of the King of righteousness, and nothing 
 left, but " mischief, and sorrow, wickedness, deceit, and guile," encom- 
 passed with a guard of " violence and strife." Whether the state of the 
 Gentile Christian church, in the last days, will not too much resemble that 
 of Jerusalem before its destruction, is a matter of sad and sorrowful consi- 
 deration. 
 
 " 12. For it ivas not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have 
 borne it: neither loas it he that hated me that did magnify himself against 
 me ; then I could have hid myself from him. 15. But it ivas thou, a man, 
 mine equal, my guide; Ileb. my disciple and mine acquaintance. 14. We 
 took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in com- 
 pany." 
 
 The many aggravating circumstances of Ahitophel's treason against 
 David, and that of Judas against Christ, are here strongly marked. The 
 treachery of pretended friends is generally to the church, as it was to her 
 Lord, the beginning- of sorrows. Ingratitude, malice, and falsehood, are 
 ingredients that must always meet in the composition of a traitor. 
 
 " 15. Let death seize upon them, or, death shall remove, or, take them 
 away, and let them, or, they shall, go down quick into hell : for wicked- 
 ness is in their dwellings, and among them." 
 
 In these words are predicted the tragical fate of Ahitophel, and those who 
 followed Absalom; of Judas and the Jews; and of all who shall resemble 
 them in wickedness. The sudden destruction of Korah, Dathan, and Abi- 
 ram, who, ^for stirring up a rebellion against Moses and Aaron, "went 
 down alive into the pit," seems here alluded to, as the grand representa- 
 tion of the manner in which the bottomless pit shall one day shut her 
 mouth for ever upon all the impenitent enemies of the true King of Israel, 
 and great High Priest of our profession. 
 
 "16. As for me, I will call upon God and the Lord shall save me. 
 17. Evening, and morning, and at noon will I pray, and cry aloud; and 
 he shall hear my voice." 
 
 Prayer is the believer's universal medicine for all the disorders of the 
 soul within, and his invincible shield against every enemy that can attack 
 him from without. "Morning, Evening, and Noon," were three of the 
 hours of prayer in the Jewish church. We find holy Daniel observing them 
 in Babylon, notwithstanding the royal decree, which made it death for him 
 so to do. The event fully justified him, and showed the power of true devo- 
 tion, whose high prerogative it still is, to save the righteous from the mouth 
 of THE LION. See Dan. vi. 10. 22. 2 Tim. iv. 17. 1 Pet. v. 8. 
 
 " 18. He hath delivered, or, shall deliver, my soul in peace from the bat- 
 tle that was, or, is, against me : for there were, or, are, many with me." 
 
 David was delivered in peace, when after having suppressed the rebel- 
 lion, he was brought back in triumph to his capital ; the Son of David was 
 delivered in peace, when, victorious over the enemies of man's salvation, 
 he arose from the dead, and returned to the Jerusalem above ; the believing 
 soul is delivered in peace, when her sins are forgiven, and her corruptions 
 mortified ; and the bodies of the saints shall be delivered in peace at the 
 resurrection of tiie just. The ground of all these deliverances is one and 
 the same — " They that are with us are more than they that are against us," 
 
DatXI. M. p. ON THE PSALMS. 165 
 
 2 Kings vi. 16. " Greater is he that is in us, than he that is in the world," 
 1 John iv. 4. 
 
 " 19. God shall hear, and afflict, or, humble, them, even he that abideth 
 of old. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God ; or, 
 because they vrill not be converted, and fear God." 
 
 He who inhabiteth eternity, remaining unchangeably the same from eyer- 
 lasting to everlasting, hath determined to hear the prayers of his faithful 
 servant, and finally to humble the pride of his unrepenting adversaries. 
 These are the decrees which he hath thought fit to promulgate ; and on 
 them we may safely depend.. 
 
 "20. He hath put forth his hands against such as be, or, were, at peace 
 with him : he hath broken his covenant." 
 
 The prophet goes on to describe the perfidy of traitors, like Ahitophel and 
 Judas. Every wilful and malicious sinner " puts forth his hand against" 
 the person who is " at peace with him," nay, who "made his peace" with 
 the Father, and by so doing, " breaking the covenant," into which by bap- 
 tism he was admitted. O blessed Jesus, how often do we betray thee to 
 thine enemies, our own lusts, and consider it not. 
 
 " 21. The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in 
 his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords." 
 
 Of this complexion are the cant of hypocrites, the charity of bigots and 
 fanatics, the benevolence of atheists, the professions of the world, the 
 allurements of the flesh, and the temptations of Satan, when he thinks pro- 
 per to appear in the character of an angel of light. 
 
 "22. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee : he shall 
 never suffer the righteous to be moved." 
 
 The conclusion of the whole matter is, that amidst all dangers and adver- 
 sities, whensoever they oppress us, we are to put our full trust and confi- 
 dence only in his mercy, who delivered David, and the Son of David, out 
 of all their troubles. He, who once bore that burden of our sorrows, 
 requested of us, that we would now and ever permit him to bear the burden 
 of our cares; that as he knoweth what is best for us, he may provide it 
 accordingly. When shall we trust Christ to govern the world which he 
 hath redeemed 1 
 
 " 23. But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruc- 
 tion : bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days ; but I 
 will trust in thee." 
 
 O terrible voice of most just judgment, pronounced against rebels and 
 murderers! Of the sure and certain execution of this righteous sentence 
 who can doubt, that considers the fate of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; of 
 Absalom, Ahitophel, and Judas ; and above all, of the city which contained 
 within its walls those rebels, and murderers of the Son of Godi Let us 
 trust for ever in Him alone, who can thus deliver, and thus destroy. 
 
 ELEVENTH DAY— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM LVL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 David, in danger from the Philistines, among whom he was driven, as well as 
 from Saul and his associates, is supposed to, 1, 2. make supplications to God, 
 in whom, 3, 4. he placeth all his hope and confidence, 5 — 7. of being saved 
 from the wiles and stratagems of the adversary ; 8, 9. he comforteth himself 
 with the consideration, that God taketh account of his sufferings, and will 
 appear on his behalf; 10, 11. he repeateth the declaration of his faith in the 
 Divine promises ; and, 12, 13. concliideth with paying his tribute of praise 
 and thanksgiving. What David was in Philistia, the disciples of the Son of 
 David are in the world. 
 
166 A COMMENTARY Psami LVI. 
 
 "1. Be merciful unto me, God; for man would swallow mt up: he 
 fighting daily oppresseth me. 2. Mine enemies would daily swallow me 
 up : for thty he many that fight against me, O thou Most High." 
 
 The same words are applicable to the situation and circumstances of 
 David, pursued by his enemies; of Christ, persecuted by the Jews ; of the 
 church, afflicted in the world ; and of the soul, encompassed by enemies, 
 against whom she is forced to wage perpetual war. 
 
 "3. What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. 4. In God I will 
 praise, or, glory in, his word : in God I have put my trust ; 1 will not 
 fear what flesh can do unto me." 
 
 Whoever, like the prophet Elisha's servant, beholdeth only the forces of 
 the enemy, will be apt, like him, to cry out, " Alas, my master, how shall 
 we doT" 2 Kings vi. 15. But when our eyes are " opened" to see those 
 " horses and chariots of fire, which are round about us ;" when we perceive 
 the promises of the Word, and the mighty succours of the Spirit, which are 
 all on our side; we no longer fear the terrors, or the temptations of flesh 
 and blood ; but find ourselves enabled to do, and to suffer all things, 
 through faith in him, who strengthenelh us to the battle. He hath said, 
 "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee;" so that we may boldly say, 
 " The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me," 
 Heb. xiii. 5, 6. 
 
 " 5. Every day they wrest my words ; all their thoughts ore against me 
 for evil. 6. They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they 
 mark my steps, when they wait for my soul." 
 
 These words could not be more literally descriptive of the behaviour of 
 David's persecutors than they certainly are of that conduct, which the 
 Scribes and Pharisees observed towards our blessed Lord ; when, like ser- 
 pents by the way-side, "they marked his steps," till a proper opportunity 
 offered to dart from their lurking place, and " bruise his heel." We think 
 it hard, when men use us in this manner; but surely we either forget that 
 the Son of God was so used before us, cr that we are his disciples. 
 
 " 7. Shall they escape my iniquity 1 Li thine anger cast down the peo- 
 ple, O God." 
 
 The signal vengeance, inflicted on the enemies of David, of Christ, and 
 of the church, in different ages, may serve to convince us, that if we would 
 "escape," it must be from sin, not by it. 
 
 " 8. Thou tellest my wanderings : put thou rny tears into thy bottle : are 
 they not in thy book ]" 
 
 Known unto God are all the afflictions of his servants, while banished, 
 like David, from their abiding city and country, they " wander" here below, 
 in the land of their pilgrimage. The "tears" of penitents are had in re- 
 membrance, and, as so many precious gems, will one day adorn their 
 crowns. How dear, then, in the sight of God, were the " wanderings" and 
 the " tears" of the holy Jesus, submitting to perform penance for those sins 
 which he never committed ! 
 
 "9. When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back : this I 
 know ; for God is for me." 
 
 What can we possibly desire more, than this assurance, that, how many, 
 or how formidable soever, our enemies may be, yet there is one always 
 ready to appear in our defence, whose power no creature is able to resist. 
 *' This I know," saith David ; and had we the faith of David, we should 
 know it too. 
 
 "10. In God will I praise Ais word: in the Lord will I praise A/s word. 11. 
 In God have I put my trust : I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. 
 (^See above, on verse 4.) 12. Thy vows are upon me, God : I will render 
 praises unto thee. 13. For thou hast delivered my soul from death; ivilt not 
 thou deliver my feet, or, my feet also, or, assuredly, from falling, that I may 
 walk before God in the light of the living." ^ 
 
 At the conclusion of this Psalm, and of many others, the prophet speak- 
 
DAT XI. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 167 
 
 eth of his deliverance as actually accomplished; he acknowledgeth him- 
 self under the ohligation of the vows made to God in the night of affliction, 
 which he is resolved to pay on the morning of triumph and jubilee. O come 
 that glorious morning, when the redeemed shall sing eternal praises to the 
 Lord God of their salvation, for having "delivered their souls from death, 
 and their feet from falling, that they may walk before him in the light of 
 the living !" 
 
 PSALM LVn. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm is said to have been composed by David, on occasion of his escape 
 from Saul in the cave at Eng-edi. See 1 Sam. xxiv. 3. And the church, by 
 her appointment of it as one of the proper Psalms for Easterday, hatli in- 
 structed us to transfer the ideas to the resurrection of Christ from the grave. 
 The Psalm containeth, 1 — 3. an act of faith in the promises : 4. a description 
 of grievous sufferings ; 5. a prayer for the exaltation of God's glory, which is 
 repeated again at the conclusion ; 6. a prediction of judgment on the adver- 
 sary ; 7 — 10. a strain of the highest exultation and jubilee. 
 
 "1. Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me; for my soul 
 trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, 
 until ihese calamities be overpast." 
 
 David, encompassed by his enemies at Engedi, putteth up this prayer to 
 God ; the same prayer we may suppose to have been used by our blessed 
 Lord, when drawing near to the grave, and gate of death : and the church 
 ever continueth the use of it, until she be delivered from the bondage of cor- 
 ruption. In the mean time, she teacheth the children to put themselves, 
 living and dying, under the protection of Him who is always ready to 
 "gather them, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings." There 
 they may rest in peace and security. 
 
 "2, I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things 
 for me." 
 
 David cried unto God, and he was delivered out of the hand of Saul ; the 
 son of David cried unto God, and was delivered from the power of the 
 grave: the saints on earth cry unto God, and shall be delivered out of their 
 troubles; the souls under the alter in heaven, cry unto God, Rev. vi. 10. 
 and shall obtain a reunion with their bodies. Thus God "performeth all 
 things for us," as well as for David. 
 
 " 3. He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him 
 that would swallow me up. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth." 
 
 We have all an enemy, who would " swallow us up ; and we look for a 
 manifestation of the Divine mercy and truth" from " heaven," for the sal- 
 vation of our souls, and the redemption of our bodies, A grand specimen of 
 this manifestation was exhibited to the world on that glorious morning, 
 when Jesus Christ arose from the dead. 
 
 "4. My soul is among lions : and 1 lie even among them that are set on 
 fire, eve7i the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their 
 tongues a sharp sword." 
 
 The fiercest of beasts, the most devouring of elements, and the sharpest 
 of military weapons, are selected to represent the power and fury of David's 
 enemies. How much stronger, and more furious, were the enemies of 
 Christ, who, in the day of his passion, resembled Daniel in the lion's den, 
 the three children in the fiery furnace, and who stood alone, exposed to the 
 assaults of men and evil spirits ! 
 
 " 5. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens ; let thy glory be above all 
 the earth." 
 
 God is exalted and glorified among men by the display of mercy and 
 
168 A COMMENTARY Psalm L\1II, 
 
 judgment, in the salvation of his children from the hands of their enemies. 
 But chiefly was he exalted, when having raised up his Son Jesus, he set 
 him at his own right hand, far above all principalities and powers, and 
 everything that is named in heaven and in earth. This was the great ex- 
 ultation, prefigured, foretold, and incessantly prayed for, in the ancient 
 church. 
 
 " 6. They have prepared a net for my steps ; my soul is bowed down : 
 they have digged a pit before me, into tire midst whereof they are fallen, or, 
 shall fall, themselves." 
 
 David compares himself, 1 Sam. xxvi. 20. to a bird upon the mountains, 
 which the fowler endeavoureth to hunt into nets and snares, set up and pre- 
 pared for its destruction. So was that most innocent Dove, the holy Jesus, 
 persecuted by the Jews, until they had driven him into the snares of death, 
 and laid him low in the grave. But the enemies of both received, in the 
 end, the due reward of their deeds, and " fell into the pit they had digged." 
 "7. My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed ; I will sing and give 
 praise." 
 
 At the prospect of approaching deliverance, the prophet, in the person of 
 Christ, declareth his heart to be fixed and established, steadfast and unmove- 
 able in the midst of trouble, even then preparing to celebrate its future en- 
 largement with songs of praise. 
 
 " 8. Awake up, my glory ; awake, psaltery and harp : I myself will awake 
 early ; or, awaken in the morning." 
 
 For this purpose, he calls upon his tongue, with all his instruments of 
 music, all the organs of the body, and affections of the soul, to unite their 
 powers in sweetest harmony and concert, and to awaken the sluggish 
 morning with the voice of melody, sounding forth the glories of redemption. 
 Thus should the morning be ever celebrated, on which Christ " arose froca 
 the dead, and became the first-fruits of them that slept." 
 
 " 9. I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people : I will sing unto thee 
 among the nations : 10. For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy 
 truth unto the clouds." 
 
 The resurrection of Jesus from the grave, foreshadowed in the deliverance 
 of David from the hand of Saul, was a transaction which caused the 
 heavens, and all the powers therein, to extol the mercy and truth of God. 
 The nations of the earth, whose are the benefits and the blessings of that 
 transaction, are therefore bound evermore to make it the subject of their 
 praises and thanksgivings ; which is done by the members of our church 
 every Easter-day, in the words of this very Psalm. 
 
 "11. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens ; let thy glory be above 
 all the earth." 
 
 Even so, be thou still exalted, O blessed Jesus, above the heavens, 
 while the angels sing their hallelujahs on high ; and let thy glory be above 
 all the earth, while, in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, the congrega- 
 tions of the redeemed incessantly magnify thy salvation below. 
 
 The church triumphant, and the church below, 
 In songs of praise their present union show: 
 Their joys are full, our expectation long; 
 In life we ditfer but we join in song. 
 Angels and we, assisted by this art, 
 May sing together, though we dwell apart. 
 
 Waller on Divine Poesie. 
 
 PSALM LVin. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In the persons of Saul and his iniquitous counsellors, the enemies of Christ 
 and the church, 1, 2. are repi-oved, and 3 — 5. their malice is described, by 
 comparing it to the poison of serpents, which are proof against every art 
 
Day XI. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 169 
 
 made use of to tame them : 6 — 9. the destruction of the wicked is foretold, 
 and illustrated by six similitudes ; 10. tlie triumph of the righteous is likewise 
 predicted ; as also, 11. the effect it will produce, in manifesting, to all the 
 world, the providence and glory of God. 
 
 "1. Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge 
 uprightly, ye sons of men t 2. Yea, in heart ye work wickedness ; ye 
 weigh the violence of your hands, or, your hands frame violence, in the 
 earth." 
 
 The proceedings of Doeg, and other associates of Saul, against David; 
 those of Judas and the Sanhedrim against our Lord ; and those of wicked 
 princes and court sycophants, in different ages, against the faith and the 
 church ; as they spring from the same principles, so they flow pretty much 
 in the same channel. Such men may here see their characters drawn, and 
 their end foretold. 
 
 "3. The wicked are estranged from the womb : they go astray as soon 
 as they be born, speaking lies." 
 
 The tares sown by the enemy, in human nature, appear early ; and show 
 us how far we are " estranged" from original truth and righteousness. What 
 can be expected, unless grace and discipline prevent it, but that " out of the 
 serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery 
 flying serpent]" 
 
 "4. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like tfie deaf 
 adder that stoppeth her ear: 5. Which will not hearken to the voice of 
 charmers, charming never so wisely." 
 
 The wicked are here compared to serpents, for that malignity in their 
 tempers, which is the venom and poison of the intellectual world. And 
 whereas there are some kinds even of serpents, which by musical sounds, 
 may for a time as it is said, be disarmed of their rage, and rendered so 
 tame, as to be handled without danger;* yet the evil dispositions of some 
 men, like those of one particular species of the serpentine race, are often 
 invincible. The enmity of a Saul was proof against the heavenly strains 
 of the son of Jesse ; and He who spake as " never man spake," was stung 
 to death by a " generation of vipers." 
 
 " 6. Break, or, thou wilt break, their teeth, God, in their mouth : break, 
 or, thou wilt, break, out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord." 
 
 The destruction of the wicked is represented under six similitudes. 
 The first is that of breaking the teeth of lions, being the most terrible 
 weapons of the most terrible animals. But what is human power, at its 
 highest exaltation, if compared to that of God? The mountains of Gilboa 
 can tell us, the desolated Zion can inform us, how the mighty are fallen, 
 and the weapons of war perished ! Because the mighty had exalted them- 
 selves, and the weapons of war had been lifted up, against truth and inno- 
 cence, protected by the decrees of heaven. 
 
 " 7. Let them, or, they shall, melt away as waters which run continually, 
 
 * Bochart quotes several ancient authors, who mention this efiect of music, and among them, 
 Virgil, ^iicid vii. v. 753. 
 
 " Vipero generi, et graviter spirantibus hydris 
 "Spargere qui somnos CANTuque manuque solebat." 
 
 The elder Sealiger, as quoted by the same learned critic, writes thus : " Nos aliquando vidimus 
 caiitationibuse cavernis exciri serpentes:" and Mr. Boyle, in his Essay on the Great Eflects of 
 Languid Motion, p. 71. ed. 1()8.5, gives us the following p.assagefrom Sir H. Blunt's voyage into 
 the Levant, p. 81. edit. 5. " Many rarities of living creatui-es I saw in Grand Cairo ; but the 
 most ingenious was a nest of four.legged serpents, of two feet long, black and ugly, kept by a 
 Frenchman, who, when he came to handle them, they would not endure him, but ran and hid 
 in their hole; then would he take his cittern, and play upon it; they, hearing his music, came 
 all crawling to his feet, and began to climb up him, till he gave over playing ; then away they 
 ran." The " deaf" adder may either be a serpent of a species naturally deaf", (for several kinds 
 are mentioned by Avicenne, as quoted by Bochart) or one deaf by accident : in either case, she 
 may be said, in the language of poetry, to " stop her ear," from her being proof to all the efforts 
 of the charmer. Merrick. ' 
 
 15 
 
170 A COMMENTARY Psalm LIX. 
 
 or, pass away: when he bendeth his low tu shoot his arrows, let them, or, 
 they shall, be as cut in pieces." 
 
 The second similitude used to illustrate the destruction of the wicked, 
 is that of torrents and inundations, which descend with great noise from 
 the mountains, and cover the face of a country ; but their cause soon ceasing 
 to act, they run off, and appear no more; herein affording a fine emblem of 
 the weakness and instability of earthly power. The impotence of human 
 efforts against divine counsels is compared, thirdly, to a man drawing a 
 bow, when the arrow on the string is broke in two ; and therefore, instead 
 of flying to the mark, falls useless at his feet. 
 
 " 8. As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away : like the 
 untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun. Or, As a melt- 
 ing snail he shall pass away, as an abortion, they see not the sun." 
 
 A snail, which, coming forth of his shell, marks his path with slime, 
 continually losing some part of his substance in his progress; and an abor- 
 tion, which consumes away in the like manner; these are the fourth and 
 fifth images, selected to represent the transient nature of worldly greatness, 
 still wasting, till it comes to nothing; and the miserable fate of those who 
 perish, with their half-formed devices, nor ever behold the Sun of righteous- 
 ness. 
 
 "9. Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as 
 with a whirlwind, both living and in Ms wrath ; or, he shall take them away 
 alive, as with a whirlwind, in his wrath." 
 
 Wicked men have, in common with others, that tendency to decay, which 
 is entailed on the world, and on all things therein ; but they are warned, by 
 this sixth and last similitude, to prevent the judgments of the Almighty. 
 These often break forth, like a whirlwind, or a thunder-storm, and sweep 
 away at once, in the flower of their strength, and the height of their pros- 
 perity, the tyrannical oppressors of the people of God ; whose short-lived 
 glory and sudden extinction, are aptly resembled to that crackling and mo- 
 mentary blaze, which is produced by a fire kindled among thorns under a 
 pot. 
 
 " 10. The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance ; he shall 
 wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11. So that a man shall say, 
 Verily, there is a reward for the righteous; verily he is, or, there is, a God 
 that judgeth in the earth." 
 
 The victories of that Just One, gained in his own person, and in those 
 of his faithful servants, over the enemies of man's salvation, are productive 
 of a joy, which springeth not from love of revenge, but is inspired by a 
 view of the Divine mercy, justice, and truth, displayed in the redemption of 
 the elect, the punishment of the ungodly, and the accomplishment of the 
 promises. Whoever duly weigheth and considereth these things, will dili- 
 gently seek after the reward of righteousness, and humbly adore the Pro- 
 vidence which ordereth all things aright in heaven and earth. 
 
 ELEVENTH DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM LIX. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm is said to have been composed on occasion of David's escape, when 
 Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill hhn. See 1 Sam. xix. 11 — 18. 
 David, in these, as in many other circumstances of his life, may be considered 
 as the representative of Messiah, 1, 2. praying to be delivered fi-om the 
 power of his blood-thirsty enemies, whose indefiitigable malice he, 3 — 7. 
 describes; but, 8 — 10. predicts his own enlaigement through the tender 
 mercy and mighty power of God; as also, 11 — 15. the singular vengeance 
 
DAT XI. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 171 
 
 to be poured out upon his enemies, for their punishment, and the admonition 
 of others. The Psalm conckides with a strain of exultation and thanks- 
 ^ving. 
 
 " 1. Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God : defend me, Heb. exalt 
 me, from them that rise up against me. 2. Deliver me from the workers 
 of iniquity, and save me from bloody men." 
 
 In these words we hear the voice of David, when a prisoner in his own 
 house; the voice of Christ when surrounded by his merciless enemies! 
 the voice of the church, when under bondaore in the world ; and the voice 
 of the Christian, when under temptation, affliction, and persecution. 
 
 " 3. For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul : the mighty are gathered 
 ao-ainst me; not for my transgression, not for my sin, Lord. 4. They 
 run and prepare themselves without my fault : awake to help me, and be- 
 hold." 
 
 The mighty men of Saul were gathered agfiinst David, who had been 
 guilty of no offence against the king, and therefore was, so far, innocent. 
 The Jews and Romans were gathered against Jesus Christ, who had com- 
 mitted no sin at all, and was perfectly innocent. And the world is often- 
 times in arms against the children of God, only for doing what it is their 
 duty to do. In all such cases, God is to be applied to, as the helper and 
 avenger of those who suffer unjustly. 
 
 " 5. Thou therefore, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake, or, 
 thous halt awake, to visit all the heathen : be not merciful, or, thou wilt 
 not be merciful, to any wicked transgressors." 
 
 The prophet, in this verse, seemeth to respect that great day of final re- 
 tribution, which is to succeed the day of grace, the accepted time of re- 
 pentance and pardon. For then it is, that Jehovah shall awake to judge 
 the nations; to reward every man according to his deeds; and to banish 
 for ever from his presence the impenitent workers of iniquity. The mali- 
 cious adversaries of David, and those of the Son of David, may not then 
 find the mercy, so often by them rejected, in the days of their flesh. 
 
 " 6. They return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and go round 
 about the city." 
 
 The emissaries of Saul, coming after David in the " evening," besetting 
 his house, and blocking up the avenues, are compared to a set of hungry 
 blood-hounds in quest of their prey. But the picture is drawn likewise 
 for that herd of evening wolves, who thirsted after the blood of the Lamb 
 of God, on whom their mouths were opened, crying, " Crucify him! crucify 
 him!" 
 
 "7. Behold, they belch, or, spout out, with their mouth: swords are in 
 their lips; for who, {say they) doth hear]" 
 
 Out of the abundance of malice in the heart, the mouth will speak, like 
 the cutting of a sword; and the wicked take counsel against the just, as if 
 there were no one above who heard and regarded. 
 
 " 8. But thou, Lord, shalt laugh at them ; thou shalt have all the hea- 
 then in .derision." 
 
 These very expressions are used in the 4th verse of the second Psalm, 
 to denote the futility of all the counsels entered into by the Jew and Gen- 
 tile against Messiah and his church. The Psalm before us seems evidently 
 to relate to the same counsels against the same blessed person, whatever 
 part of king David's history might be the occasion of its being com- 
 posed. 
 
 " 9. Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my de- 
 fence, or, exaltation. 10. The God of my mercy shall prevent me: God 
 shall let me see my desire, Heb. look, upon mine enemies." 
 
 To the strength of the adversary the Psalmist opposeth that of God, 
 which he foresaw would rescue him, and avenge his cause. In all our 
 troubles let us do likewise; and then, he who exalted David, and a greater 
 
172 A COMMENTARY Psalm LIX. 
 
 than David, ■will in due time exalt us, and we shall look without fear upon 
 our spiritual enemies. 
 
 " 11. Slay them not, lest my people forget: scatter them by thy power; 
 and bring them down, O Lord our shield. Or, thou wilt not slay them — 
 thou wilt scatter them," &c. 
 
 The prophet, in the person of Messiah, predicteth the singular fate of the 
 Jews; who, for their sins, were not extirpated, lest the Gentile Christians 
 should "forget" their punishment, but were "scattered" among all nations, 
 and degraded from the glorious privileges of that high rank in which they 
 once stood.* Thus doth that people remain at this day, a monument of 
 God's vengeance against apostacy ; a beacon, set up and kindled by the 
 hand of Heaven, as a warning to all Christian churches, that they split not 
 on the same fatal rock. 
 
 " 12. For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips, let them, or, 
 they shall, even be taken in their pride ; and for cursing and lying ivhich 
 they speak." 
 
 The causes of the Jews' dispersion are here assigned, viz. " the sin of 
 their mouth" in " the words of their lips," or their " hard speeches," spoken 
 against the Son of God ; their slanders, lying accusations, and outrageous 
 blasphemies, together with that horrid imprecation in which they involved 
 their descendants ; who have groaned under the weight of it for near these 
 1700 years, and yet still continue to justify tTie deeds of their fathers, re- 
 taining that "pride" in their name, and long-since forfeited privileges, 
 which provoked the Romans to destroy their city and country. 
 
 " 13. Consume them in wrath, consume them, or, thou shalt consume 
 ihem, &c. that they may not, or, shall not, he ,- and let them, or, they shall, 
 know that God ruleth in Jacob, unto the ends of the earth." 
 
 This prediction was accomplished in the total subversionof Jerusalem by 
 Titus, when the Jews having no longer any city, temple, or civil polity, 
 ceased " to be" as a nation. And they have seen enough to have convinced 
 them, that God is the God, " not of the Jews only, but of the Gentiles also." 
 Tue Gospel hath been preached, idolatry hath been overthrown, the nations 
 have been converted to the faith of Abraham, and that of David, whose 
 Psalms are used throughout the world; and God who "ruled in Jacob, 
 and was known in Jewry," now is known, and ruleth " unto the ends of the 
 earth ;" for "they have seen the salvation," and submitted to the sceptre of 
 King Messiah." 
 
 " 14. And at evening let them, or, they shall, return; and let them, or, 
 they shall, make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. 15. Let 
 them, or, they shall, wander up and down for meat, and grudge, or, howl, 
 if they be not satisfied." 
 
 The punishment inflicted on the wicked often carries the mark of their 
 crime. It is just that they who have thirsted after the blood of the righteous, 
 should want a drop of water to cool their tongues ; and the hunger of a dog 
 is deservedly their plague, of whom a resemblance of that unclean animal's 
 disposition hath been the sin. Such is the present condition of the Jews, 
 excluded from the church, and suffering all the calamities of a spiritual 
 famine: and such will be the condition of all those who are to wail and 
 lament in vain, without the holy city, for evermore, Rev. xxii, 15. 
 
 " 16. But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy 
 in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my 
 trouble. 17. Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing : for God is my defence, 
 and the God of my mercy." 
 
 While the wicked murmur and repine at the dispensations of Heaven, 
 the righteous are employed in giving thanks and praises for the same ; and 
 the " morning" which is to consign the former to the habitations of despair, 
 
 * Prophetir('',Christiani divinsB ultionis olilivisci non pnssunt, iliim Judffii, excidio suo siiper- 
 stites, et ubique vagi.pcenain suaiii, ct pariter, in tebiiiuoniuiii, eloquia diviiia circumfeiuiit. 
 Bossuit. 
 
DiT XL E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 173 
 
 where no sounds are heard but those of hideous wailings and horrid blasphe- 
 mies, shall transport the latter to the mansions of felicity, resounding with 
 incessant hallelujahs. 
 
 PSALM LX. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm is thought to have been composed by David, when, after his com- 
 ing to the throne, the tribes of Israel had submitted to his sceptre, and he 
 was engaged in the reduction of the adjacent countries. See the history, 2 
 Sam. chap. v. and viii. 1 — 3. He describes what Israel had lately suffered, 
 from foi'eign enemies and domestic feuds ; 4, 5, 6. he declareth himself ap- 
 pointed to conduct his people to victory and triumph according to a divine 
 prediction ; 6, 7- he rejoiceth in tlie accession of the other tribes to that of 
 Judah, and, 8 — 12. sees Edom, Moab, and Philistia, already subdued by the 
 mighty power of God. All this is now to be spiritually applied, in the Chris- 
 tian church, to the establishment and enlargement of Messiah's kingdom, 
 prefigured by tliat of David. 
 
 "1.0 God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been 
 displeased ; O turn thyself to us again." 
 
 When the church, by her sins, hath rejected God, she is rejected by him; 
 she is delivered into the hand of her enemies, and suffers persecution : when 
 by repentance and supplication she returneth to him, he is ready to meet 
 and receive her. The history of Israel is one continued exemplification of 
 these most interesting truths. It should be the care and endeavour of every 
 church, and every individual to profit thereby. 
 
 " 2. Thou hast made the earth, or, the land, to tremble ; thou hast broken 
 it : heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh." 
 
 The persecutions of the Israelitish church often shook the " land" of pro- 
 mise ; the persecutions of the Christian church have frequently moved the 
 whole earth. Afflictions of this kind may be likened to wounds sometimes 
 made in a diseased body by skilful surgeons, to be healed again, when by 
 a discharge of the corrupt humours, they have answered the end for which 
 they were intended. 
 
 " 3. Thou hast shewed thy people hard things ; thou hast made us to 
 drink the wine of astonishment, or, intoxication." 
 
 The Israelites had not only suffered " hard things" from their professed 
 enemies the Philistines, by the overthrow of Saul and his army, but 
 their civil dissentions at home showed that they had drunk deep of the 
 bitter cup of infatuation. See 1 Sam. xxxi. and 2 Sam. ii. and iii. From 
 these two sources flow the calamities of churches and of kingdoms in all 
 ages, whensoever it pleaseth God to visit their transgressions upon them, 
 by the instrumentality of men, 
 
 " 4. Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be dis- 
 played because of the truth." 
 
 For the temporal salvation of Israel, God raised up David, according to 
 his promise ; to whose standard, as a centre of unity, the worshippers 
 of the true God might resort. For the spiritual and eternal salvation of the 
 church, God raised up his Son Jesus, according to his promise, and " dis- 
 played the banner of the cross," under which believers are enlisted, and led 
 on to triumph, " because of the truth." Remarkable to this purpose are 
 the words of Isaiah, " In that day there shall be a Root of .Tesse, which 
 shall stand for an ensign of the people ; to it shall the Gentiles seek, and 
 his rest," after the battle is over, and the victory gained, " shall he glori- 
 ous," Isa. xi. 10. 
 
 "5. That thy beloved may be delivered, save with thy right hand, and 
 hear me." 
 This prayer, which king David preferred for Israel, the great Intercessor 
 
 15* 
 
174 A COMMENTARY Psalm LX. 
 
 prefers continually for his church ; and all ought to prefer for themselves 
 and for others. 
 
 " 6. God hath spoken in his holiness, or, by his Holy One : I will re- 
 joice, or, exult, i. e as a conqueror: I will divide Shechera, and mete out 
 the valley of Succoth." 
 
 As a ground of hope and confidence, David here declares, that God, by 
 the mouth of a H0I3' prophet, had spoken and promised him the success for 
 which he prayed in the foregoing verse. And that this was known among 
 the people, appears from a speech of Abner to the elders of Israel, 2 Sam. 
 iii. 18. "The Lord hath spoken of David, saying, By tlie hand of my 
 servant David, I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philis- 
 tines, and out of the hand of all their enemies." Having, therefore, men- 
 tioned this prediction, much of which was already accomplished, he exults 
 as a conqueror, resolving to divide into districts, and portion out under 
 proper officers, the country about Samaria, now become his own. 
 
 "7. Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine ; Ephraim also is the strength 
 of mine head : Judah is my Lawgiver." 
 
 "Gilead, Manasseh, Ephraim," and the other tribes of Israel, upon the 
 death of Ishbosheth, the Son of Saul, whom Abner had set over them, joined 
 the royal tribe of Judah, and came in with one accord to the house of David. 
 See 2 Sam. ii. 8. and v. 1. " Ephraim," as a tribe abounding in valiant 
 men, is styled by its prince, " the strength of his head," or the support of 
 his life and kingdom ; and "Judah," as the seat of empire, replenished 
 with men of wisdom and understanding, qualified to assi'st the throne by 
 their salutary counsels, is dignified with the title of " Lawgiver." Thus 
 are the tribes of the spiritual " Israel" subject to Messiah, and serve him 
 in various capacities, as the Spirit furnishes different men with different 
 powers ; some being endued with zeal and fortitude to labour and suffer ; 
 others with knowledge and discretion to instruct and govern. 
 
 "8. Moab w my wash-pot ; over Edom will I cast out, or, extend, my 
 shoe : Philistia, triumph thou because of me ; Heh. Over Philistia give a 
 shout of triumph. The parallel passage, Fsalm cviii. 9. has it — Over Phi- 
 listia I will give a shout of triumph." 
 
 After having mentioned the submission of the Israelitish tribes to his 
 sceptre, David predicts the extension of his kingdom over the neighbouring 
 nations, those inveterate enemies of the people of God ; such as the Moab- 
 ites, the Edomites, and, above all, the Philistines. The absolute reduction 
 of these nations under his dominion, is expressed metaphorically, by the 
 phrases of " making them his wash-pot, and extending his shoe, i. e. setting 
 his foot" upon them. The Son of David also must " reign, till he hath put 
 all enemies under his feet," 1 Cor. xv. 25. And the Christian, in these 
 words, now declareth his hope of being enabled to do the same; to con- 
 quer through his Lord, and to triumph with him. 
 
 " 9. Who will bring me into the strong city ] "Who will lead me into 
 Edom?" 
 
 Bozrah, the capital of "Idumea, or Edom," was a fortified town, situated 
 on a rock deemed impregnable. See Obad. ver. 3. Considering, therefore, 
 the strength of the adversary, David, by this question, acknowledgeth his 
 own impotency, and the need he had of superior aid in order to achieve this 
 important conquest. How great need, then, have we of an Almighty 
 Saviour, who may enable us to overcome our last and strongest enemy, 
 death ! And it is very remarkable, that Christ's victory over this very 
 enemy is set forth by the prophet Isaiah, under the striking image of a 
 king of Israel returning in triumph from the reduction of Idumea. "Who 
 is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah," &c. 
 Isa. Ixiii. 1. The reader will be no less entertained than instructed, by a 
 discourse of Bishop Andrews on this subject, being the seventeenth of his 
 Sermons on Easter-day. 
 
Day XI. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. I75 
 
 " 10. Wilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast me off? And thou, God, 
 which didst not go out with our armies?" 
 
 The question in the last verse, "Who will bring me into Edom'?" is 
 here answered by another question, " Wilt not thou, God," &c. that is, 
 To whom can we have recourse for assistance but to thee, O God 1 De- 
 serted by thee, we fall ; but do thou go forth with us, and we shall a^in 
 rise superior to every enemy. So saith the Christian soldier; "• Lord, to 
 whom shall we go 1 Thou hast the words of eternal life :" Thou hast over- 
 come the sharpness of death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to all 
 believers. 
 
 "11. Give us help from trouble: for vain /s the help of man. 12. Through 
 God we shall do valiantly ; for he it is that shall tread down our enemies." 
 
 David, like a wise and pious prince, acknowledgeth the weakness of the 
 fleshly arm, and strengtheneth himself in the Lord his God. Much more 
 ought we to confess the impotence of nature, and to implore the succours 
 of grace ; that so we may happily accomplish our spiritual welfare, tread 
 Satan under our feet, and triumph finally over the last enemy, death himself. 
 
 PSALM LXL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In the person of David, for awhile driven into exile, and then restored to his 
 kingdom, we here behold the church, or any member thereof, 1, 2, 3. pre- 
 feiTing' a petition for deliverance from the troubles and temptations of this 
 mortal state; 4, 5. expressing- faith and hope in God; 6, 7. praying- for the 
 prosperity and perpetuity of Messiah's kingdom ; and, 8. resolving to praise 
 God evermore for the same. 
 
 " 1. Hear my cry, God; attend unto my prayer. 2. From the end of the 
 earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed : lead me to the 
 Rock that is higher than L" 
 
 The church, extended far and wide among the nations, crieth aloud unto 
 God, by the prayers of its members, even "from the ends, or utmost parts 
 of the earth." The world is to Christians a sea of troubles and tempta- 
 tions, from which they daily beseech God to deliver them, and to place 
 them on the "rock" of their salvation; which rock is Christ. Grounded 
 on him, by faith in his sufferings and exaltation, we may defy all the 
 storms and tempests that can be raised against us by the adversary, while, 
 as from the top of a lofty mountain on the shore, we behold the waves dash- 
 ing themselves in pieces beneath us. 
 
 " 3. For thou hast been a shelter for me, ajid a strong tower from the 
 enemy." 
 
 Meditation on God our Saviour, as set forth in the Scriptures, will ever 
 prove to the believer " a strong tower," or fortress, in which he will be 
 safe from the darts of the enemy, and will be furnished with impregnable 
 arguments -wherewith to oppose and blunt the force of every temptation, 
 which Satan can launch against his soul. 
 
 "4. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever; I will trust in the covert of 
 thy wings." 
 
 They who sojourn in the "tabernacle" of the church militant on earth, 
 and continue faithful members of the same, shall take up their eternal resi- 
 dence in that permanent " temple," the church triumphant in heaven. 
 Below, they are protected by the all-shadowing " wing" of God's fatherly 
 providence ; above, they will be rewarded with the all-illuminating vision 
 of his glorious presence. 
 
 "5. For thou, O God, hast heard my vows; thou hast given me the 
 heritage of those that fear thy name." 
 
 The " vows" of David, made during his banishment, were heard, and he 
 
 "^ 
 
176 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXII. 
 
 was restored to the possession of his kingdom, in that land which God ha3 
 
 fiven to his people for an heritage. The vows of Messiah, made in the 
 ays of his pilgrimage, were heard, and he hath resumed his ancient throne 
 in the heavenly Jerusalem. The prayers of the faithful, made in the land 
 where they are in exile, are heard, and their spirits shall return to God, who 
 will "give them the heritage of those that fear his name." 
 
 "6. Thou wilt prolong the King's life; and his years as many genera- 
 tions. 7. He shall abide before God for ever; O prepare mercy and truth, 
 which may preserve him. [Or, 6. Thou wilt add days to the days of the 
 King ; his years as generation and generation. 7. He shall dwell before 
 God for ever; mercy and truth shall preserve him.]" 
 
 These words must be applied to Him, of whom it was said by the angel, 
 "The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David ; and 
 he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there 
 shall be no end," Luke i. 32. The ancient church prayed for "His" 
 exaltation and glory, under those of his representative ; nay the Chaldee 
 paraphrast expounds this passage of Messiah only ; " Thou shalt add days 
 to the days of King Messias : his years shall be as the generation of this 
 world, and of the world to come." Nor can a better paraphrase be easily 
 devised. 
 
 " 8. So will I sing praises unto thy name for ever, that I may daily per- 
 form ray vows." 
 
 For the preservation and prosperity, the exaltation, the power, and the 
 everlasting glory of Christ's kingdom, with all the benefits and blessings 
 thereof, we are bound to sing praise unto God's holy name for ever, and 
 daily to perform the vows made in baptism, that we would believe in him, 
 and serve him all the days of our life : until that blessed day shall dawn, 
 which no night is to follow, when faith shall end in vision, and duty be 
 resolved into praise. 
 
 TWELFTH DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM LXIL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm containeth, 1, 2. a resolution to trust in God alone, 3, 4. a denuncia- 
 tion of judgment against the persecutors of the Just One ; 5 — 7. a repeated 
 act of f\iith and resolution to trust in God, witli, 8. an exhortation to all na- 
 tions to do the same, and that, 9, 10. because there is no confidence to be 
 placed in man, or in the world; but only, 11. in the Divine power, and, 12. 
 mercy. 
 
 " 1. Truly my soul waiteth, or-, resteth, upon God : from him comefh my 
 salvation. 2. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence, 
 Heb. high place ; I shall not be greatly moved." 
 
 David in the midst of trouble, and perhaps tempted to have recourse to 
 sinful expedients for his preservation, determines still to repose all his con- 
 fidence on the promised mercy of him who is the " salvation," the " rock," 
 and the " high place," or fortress of men. Christ would not be delivered 
 from his sufferings by any other means than those which the Father had 
 ordained. The church in like manner, should patiently wait for the salva- 
 tion of God, and not attempt through distrust of the Divine mercy, to save 
 herself by unwarrantable methods of her own devising. 
 
 " 3. How long will ye imagine mischief against a man 1 Ye shall be 
 slain, all of you : as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence." 
 
 From a declaration of his trust in God, the prophet passeth to an expos- 
 tulation with his enemies, for continually plotting against him ; and fore- 
 telleth that their destruction will happen suddenly and irremediably, like 
 
DAT XII. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. I77 
 
 the downfall of a wall that is out of the perpendicular, or a stone-fence, the 
 parts of which are not cemented together. See Isa. xxx. 13. How striking 
 is this expostulation, and this prediction, if considered as addressed by 
 Messiah to his implacable enemies. 
 
 "4. They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they de- 
 light in lies : they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly." 
 
 The adversaries of David "consulted," how to deprive him of those 
 honours to which God designed to exalt him; the scribes and Pharisees 
 took counsel against Jesus with the same intent: and to rob the Christian 
 of the glory and immortality prepared for him, is the end of every tempta- 
 tion which the enemy throws in his way, whether it be of the terrifying, or, 
 which oftener succeeds, the flattering, alluring, and deceiving kind. 
 
 " 5. My soul, wait thou only upon God ; for my expectation is from him. 
 6. He only is my rock and my salvation ; he is my defence, or, high place; 
 I shall not be moved. 7. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock 
 of strength, and my refuge, is in God." 
 
 The consideration suggested in the preceding verse, namely, that the 
 enemy is ever intent upon our ruin, should stir us up, after the prophet's 
 example, to renew our faith, and strengthen ourselves yet more and more, 
 continually, in the Lord our God, who alone giveth victory, salvation, and 
 glory. 
 
 "8. Trust in him at all times ; ye people, pour out your heart before him : 
 God is a refuge for us." 
 
 The comforts which David had'found, he exhorteth others to seek in faith 
 and prayer ; in such a faith, as fixcth itself on God when the whole world 
 is against it; and such prayer, as poured forth all the desires of the soul 
 into the bosom of the Almighty. How often, in repeating the Psalms, do 
 we declare, that "God is our refuge;" yet how very seldom do we recur 
 to him as such in the hour of temptation ! 
 
 " 9. Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a 
 lie : to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity." 
 
 A reason is here assigned, why we should at all times " trust in God ;" 
 namely, because there is nothing else in which we can trust, but it will in 
 the end deceive us. Weighed in the " balance" of heaven, the power of 
 man to save is " less than nothing." Let us weigh everything in that exact 
 and faithful balance. 
 
 " 10. Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches 
 increase, set not your heart upon them.'''' 
 
 Of all things here below, wealth is that on which poor deluded man is 
 chiefly tempted, even to the end of life, to place his confidence ; and when 
 "riches increase," it proves a hard task for the human heart to keep its af- 
 fections sufficiently detached from them. But he who by injustice acquireth 
 the earthly mammon, justly forfeiteth the treasures of heaven; and he who 
 is made vain and covetous by money, however honestly gotten, renders that 
 a curse to one, which was designed as a blessing to many, and drowns him- 
 self in the spring which should have watered all around him. 
 
 "11. God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this, or, these two 
 things have I heard ; that power belongeth unto God. 12. Also unto thee, 
 Lord, belongeth mercy : for thou renderest to every man according to his 
 work." 
 
 In opposition to the vain boasts of worldly men, trusting in their riches, 
 &c. is cited the declaration of God, when, from mount Sinai, he proclaimed 
 himself to be JEHOVAH, the fountain of all "power," in heaven above, 
 and on earth beneath, jealous of the glory of this attribute, ready to avenge 
 himself on the wicked, and able to abase the pride of man. At the same time 
 also, he proclaimed himself " the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long- 
 suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, 
 forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin," Exod. xxxiv. 6. To all 
 mankind, therefore, the prophet here rccommendeth meditation on these 
 
178 A COMMENTARY Psalm XLin. 
 
 two most interesting subjects, the power of God to punish sin, and his 
 mercy to pardon it. Fear of the former will beget desire of the latter, and 
 both together will set a man upon doing works worthy of their parent faith ; 
 works, which God of his infinite " mercy," for the sake of Christ, has gra- 
 ciously promised to accept, and to "reward." 
 
 PSALM LXIII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 David, in the wilderness of Judah, expresseth, 1, 2. his long-ing desire after the' 
 presence of God, and the divine pleasures of the sanctuary ; 3 — 6. he blesseth 
 and praiseth God botli day and night, in the midst of affection, and 7 — 8. 
 declareth bis faith to be immoveable ; 9, 10. he predicteth the fate of 
 the wicked, with, 11. the exaltation, triumpli, and glory of Messiah, to be 
 exhibited in his own. Tiie whole Psalm is applicable to the circumstances 
 of Christ in the flesh, and to those of his people in the world, 
 
 " 1. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee : my soul thirsteth 
 for thee, my flesh longeth for thee, in a dry and thirsty land, where no 
 water is ; 2. To see thy power and glory, so as I have seen thee in the 
 sanctuary." 
 
 After the example of the persecuted David in the wilderness of Judah, 
 and that of the afflicted Jesus upon the earth, the true Christian dedicates 
 to God " the sweet hour of prime ;" he opens the eyes of his understanding, 
 together with those of his body, and awakes each morning to righteousness. 
 He arises, with an inextinguishable thirst after those comforts, which the 
 world cannot give; and has immediate recourse by prayer to the fountain 
 of the water of life ; ever longing to behold the Divine power and glory in 
 the sanctuary above, of which he has been favoured with some glimpse in 
 the services of the church below. 
 
 ■ " 3. Because thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise 
 thee." 
 
 "Life" is the greatest of earthly blessings, all others being included in 
 it : " all that a man hath," saith vSatan, " will he give for his life," Job 
 ii. 4. Not so the Psalmist. He knew a pearl of far greater price, namely, 
 " the loving-kindness" of Jehovah, on which is suspended, not only the 
 life which now is, but that which is to come. The sense of this loving- 
 kindness tuned the harp of the son of Jesse, and now tunes those of the 
 spirits before the throne. 
 
 " 4. Thus will I bless thee while I live : I will lift up my hands in thy 
 name." 
 
 " While we live," however wretched our condition may be, we have an 
 opportunity of obtaining pardon, grace, and glory ; for which we ought at 
 all times "to bless" God, "lifting up pure hands" in prayer, employing 
 them in every good work, and all in the " name" of Jesus. 
 
 " 5. My soul shall be satisfied as ivifli marrow and fatness ; and my 
 mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips; 6. When I remember thee upon 
 my bed, and meditate on thee in the n/ifA/-watches." 
 
 Solitude and stillness render the " night-watches" a fit season for medi- 
 tation on the so often experienced mercies of God ; which when thus called 
 to remembrance, become a delicious repast to the spirit, filling it with all 
 joy, and peace, and consolation, giving songs in the night, and making 
 darkness itself cheerful. How cheerful, then, will be that last morning, 
 when the righteous, awaking up after the Divine likeness, shall be "satis- 
 lied" with all the fulness of God, and " praise him with joyful lips," in 
 those eternal courts, where there is no night, and from whence sorrow and 
 sighing fly far away. 
 
 "7. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy 
 
Dai XII. M. p. ON THE PSALMS. I79 
 
 wings will I rejoice. 8. My soul followeth hard after thee : thy right hand 
 upholdeth me." 
 
 Recollection of past mercies, inclines the soul to put herself under the 
 "wing" of an all-shadowing Providence. Should her Redeemer, for a 
 time, seem to be deserting her, faith constraineth her to "follow hard after 
 him" as a child doth after the father: and not let go the " hand," which 
 hath so often " upholden" her from falling. 
 
 "9. But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower 
 parts of the earth. 10. They shall fall by the sword ; they shall be a portion 
 for foxes." 
 
 The enemies of Jehovah, and his anointed, if they come not to a violent 
 death, an early grave, or to have their carcasses devoured by the beasts of 
 the field, (as hath sometimes been the case,) yet, in an after-state, their con- 
 dition will certainly be deplorable. Their habitation must be in the " pit ;" 
 their punishment, the flaming " sword" of almighty vengeance ; and their 
 companions, those crafty and malicious ones, who, having contributed to 
 seduce, will help to torment them. 
 
 " 11. But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him 
 shall glory : but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped." 
 
 If David found cause to rejoice in God, who gave him the victory over 
 all his enemies; if the subjects of David might well glory in their king; if 
 the slanderers of David were put to silence, at beholding him exalted to the 
 throne of Israel ; how much greater is the joy of Messiah in the Godhead, 
 giving the manhood victory over his enemies, sin, death, and hell ; how 
 much rather may his subjects and worshippers glory in their triumphant 
 King; and how much more shall the blasphemers of such a Saviour be ever- 
 lastingly confounded, when they shall behold him invested with all the 
 power and majesty of the Father, and seated on the throne of judgment! 
 Surely, then, " the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped." 
 
 PSALM LXIV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 David, hi the person of Messiah, 1, 2. prayeth to be delivered from bis enemies, 
 from then' counsels and insurrections ; 3, 4. he describeth their calumnies 
 and slanders, their scoffs and blaspliemies ; and, 5, 6. their indefatigable 
 mahce ; predicting, 7 — 9. their astonishing fall, with, 10. the exultation of 
 the church in God her Saviour. 
 
 " 1. Hear my voice, God, in my prayer : preserve my life from fear of 
 the enemy." 
 
 The prophet, after beseeching God to hear him, prefers his petition, which 
 is to be " preserved from fear of the enemy." A petition of this kind is 
 granted, either by a removal of the ground of fear, when the enemy's power 
 to hurt is taken from him, or his will changed ; or else, by an extirpation 
 of the fear itself, through increase of faith, charity, and fortitude. For the 
 former, let us pray conditionally, " if it may be done, and if it is God's 
 will that it should be done," as Christ prayed against the bitter cup in the 
 garden ; for the latter, we may pray absolutely ; since a victory gained by 
 the fear of God over the fear of man, is a necessary step, and a happy pre- 
 lude, to a full and final triumph over every enemy of our salvation. 
 
 " 2. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked : from the insurrec- 
 tions of the workers of iniquity." 
 
 The "counsels and insurrections" of the Israelites against David : of the 
 same people afterwards against the Son of David ; of worldly and wicked 
 men against the church ; and of the powers of darkness against us all, are 
 here, respectively, understood to be deprecated. 
 
 "3. Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend, their bows to shoot 
 
180 A COMMENTARY Psaiim LXIV. 
 
 their arrows, even bitter words ; 4. That they maj'^ shoot in secret at the per- 
 fect : suddenly do they shoot at him and fear not." 
 
 In personal scoffings and revilings, the tongue performs the part of a 
 "sword," which is a weapon that can be used only in open rencounters; 
 but " bitter words," spoken in secret, and at a distance from him who is the 
 subject of them, are like " arrows," which may be shot from an obscure 
 and remote corner, and therefore cannot be warded otT. The tongue, in 
 both these capacities, was employed against that perfect one, the holy 
 Jesus, in the days of his flesh. Would to God it had never been since 
 employed against him and his disciples; or, by his disciples against each 
 other. 
 
 " 5. They encourage themselves in an evil ma-tter : they commune of 
 laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them?" 
 
 Sin doth not often appear abroad, without a veil ; and the more atrocious 
 the sin, the more specious must be the pretence which is to cover it. Envy 
 and malice crucified the Son of God; but, during the course of the pro- 
 ceedings against him, you hear only of zeal for the law, and loyalty to 
 Cajsar. Such are the " snares," set by the crafty, to deceive the simple and 
 unwary; without considering, that the broad eye of Heaven all the time 
 surveys their most secret devices, by which they impose upon others, and 
 frequently upon themselves. 
 
 '• 6. They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search : both 
 the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep." 
 
 Truth and righteousness may be found and practised with half the pains 
 that are often employed to " search out iniquity," and establish error. The 
 Jews could not accomplish the death of Christ, without counsels, strata- 
 gems, and subornations, " deep" and dark as hell itself: all which trou- 
 ble they might have saved themselves at once by believing on him. The 
 case is the same with virtue and vice ; and honesty is the readiest, as well 
 as the best, policy. 
 
 "7. But God shall shoot at Xhemviith an arrow: suddenly shall they 
 be wounded. 8. So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon them- 
 selves : all that see them shall flee away." 
 
 While the enemies of the "Just One" were shooting in secret at him, 
 he that dwelleth in the heavens was levelling an arrow at them, and one 
 which would not fail to take place. It accordingly did so; and the direful 
 imprecations of "their own tongues fell," in unexampled vengeance, on 
 the heads of them, and their children, who continued to justify the deeds of 
 their fathers. All would "flee away" from the punishment of "Jerusa- 
 lem;" let all, then, depart from the sins which occasioned it. 
 
 " 9. And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God : for they 
 shall wisely consider of his doing." 
 
 It is remarkable, that the desolation of the once holy and beloved city, 
 filled " all men with fear" and astonishment, forcing them to acknowledge 
 and " declare" it to be the " work of God." Even Titus, the Roman em- 
 peror, confessed, that he had fought and conquered by the favour and under 
 the direction of Heaven. O that men would " wisely consider" of this, 
 and other wonderful works of the Almighty! 
 
 " 10. The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in him; 
 and all the upright in heart shall glory." 
 
 As sorrow, sooner or later, will be the portion of Messiah's enemies, so 
 joy is the high privilege of his friends and disciples. The "righteous" 
 man alone can be truly " glad," because he alone can be glad "in the Lord" 
 Jesus, the object of all his confidence. There was light in Goshen, when 
 darkness covered the Egyptians; the Christian church drank the cup of 
 salvation, when that of vengeance was mingled for Jerusalem ; and when 
 the empire of Satan shall fall, heaven shall resound with hallelujahs. 
 
DatXII. E. p. ON THE PSALMS. 181 
 
 TWELFTH DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM LXV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In this very lovely song of Sion, the prophet treats, 1. of the praise due to Je- 
 hovah, for 2. his mercy, in hearing the prayers of his servants, and, 3. in re- 
 deeming them from tlieir sins: 4. he declareth the blessedness of the elect, 
 in Christ their head; 5. predicteth the wonderfid things which God would do 
 for the salvation of men, by that power which, 6, 7. established the moun- 
 tains, and confined the sea within its bounds; 8. foretelleth the conversion 
 « of the nations: and, 9 — 13. describeth the blessed effects of the Spirit 
 poured out upon the chm-ch, under the figure of rain descending upon a dry 
 ground. 
 
 " 1. Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion: and unto thee shall the 
 vow be performed." 
 
 The oblations of "praise and thanksgiving," vv^ere formerly offered, and 
 all " vows" were paid in the temple on mount Zion. At Jerusalem was 
 performed the promise :of man's redempiion by the sacrifice of the Son 
 of God ; since which event, and the call of the Gentiles, the Christian 
 church has beeti the holy city and temple. In her communion, we are to 
 offer up our devotions, and to perform the vow made in baptism; until we 
 come to the heavenly Sion, to pay our vows, with the church triumphant, 
 in everlasting hymns of praise. 
 
 " 2. O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh eome." 
 The prophet here foretells, that, on account of God's mercy in hearing 
 the prayers of his people, " all flesh," that is, all mankind, out of every 
 nation, should " come" at his gracious call, and make their supplications 
 before him in his church. And to whom should " all flesh come," but to 
 him that " heareth prayer]" 
 
 " 3. Iniquities prevail against me : as for our transgressions, thou shalt 
 purge them away." 
 
 The chief subject of the prayers, made by all flesh to God, is the for- 
 giveness of sin ; in order to which it must be confessed. The verse there- 
 fore consisteth of two parts. First, an acknowledgment of guilt — " Iniqui- 
 ties prevail against me ;" like whereunto is St. Paul's complaint, " O 
 wretched man that I am; who shall deliver me from this body of death 1" 
 The second part of the verse intimates an assurance of pardon through 
 the blood of the Lamb, " As for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them 
 away ; exactly corresponding to the answer, which the Apostle returneth to 
 himself; "I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord," Rom. vii. 24. 
 
 " 4. Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach 
 unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the 
 goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple." 
 
 Blessed are they who are chosen out of the world, and admitted to the 
 privileges of the church; still more blessed are they, who are chosen out 
 of the congregation, to stand continually in the presence of God, and to 
 minister in his courts ; but blessed, above all blessing and praise, is the 
 man Christ Jesus, elect, precious, chosen of God to be a high priest for 
 ever; to make intercession for his people in the courts of heaven; that 
 where he is they may be also. Then shall we indeed be satisfied with the 
 " pleasures of thy house, O Lord, even of thy holy temple." 
 
 -' 5. Bi/ terrible, or, wonderful, things in righteousness wilt thou answer 
 us, God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the 
 earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea." 
 The ancient church foretelleth, that God would " answer" her prayers 
 
 16 
 
182 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXV. 
 
 for the coining of Messiah, by" wonderful things in righteousness ;" which 
 was brought to pass by the death and resurrection of Christ, the overthrow 
 of idolatry, and the conversion of the nations. Then " the God of salva- 
 tion" became " the confidence of all the ends of the earth," and the inha- 
 bitants of the most distant " islands" believed in Jesus. By " wonderful 
 . things in righteousness," will the prayers of the church which now is, be 
 answered, at the second manifestation of the Son of God,- in the glory of 
 his Father. 
 
 •' 6. Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains : being girded with 
 power. 7. Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, 
 and the tumult of the people." 
 
 That power, which originally fixed the foundations of the " mountains," 
 and which, from time to time, controls the " waves" of the sea, is engaged 
 in the support and preservation of the church ; and will never suffer the 
 " waves" of this troublesome world to overwhelm the " mountain of his 
 holiness." 
 
 " 8. They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid of thy tokens : 
 thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice." 
 
 The " tokens, or signs," mentioned in this verse, are the exertions of di- 
 vine power and mercy, called above, " wonderful things in righteousness;" 
 which, at the publication of the Gospel, produced a saving " fear" of God 
 among the nations, "dwelling in the uttermost parts of the earth." "The 
 isles," saith Isaiah on the same occasion, "saw it and feared; the ends of 
 the earth were afraid ; they drew near and came," Isa. xli. 5. And then 
 it was, that "the outgoings of the morning and evening," all the inhabi- 
 tants of the earth, as many as experienced the sweet vicissitudes of day 
 and night, of morning and evening, were " made to r8J«)ice" in God their 
 Saviour ; whose name was praised from the rising to the setting sun. 
 
 "9. Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it; thou greatly enrichest it 
 •with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, 
 when thou hast so provided for it; or, for so thou hast established, or, con- 
 stituted it." 
 
 Under the beautiful image of a once barren and dry land, rendered fruit- 
 ful by kindly showers of rain, turning dearth into plenteousness, are repre- 
 sented here (as in Isa. xxxv. and numberless other places) the gracious 
 " visitation" of the church by the Spirit; the "riches" of grace and mercy, 
 poured upon the hearts of men, from the exhausfless " river of God :" and 
 the bountiful provision made thereby, for the relief of that spiritual famine, 
 which have been sore in all lands. See Isa. Iv. 10. Rev. xxii. 1. Amos 
 viii. 11. 
 
 " 10. Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly; thou settlest the fur- 
 rows thereof; thou makest it soft with showers; thou blessest the spring- 
 ing thereof." 
 
 After the ground is ploughed up, the former rain, descending upon the 
 " ridges," and into the "furrows," dissolveth the parts of the earth, and so 
 fitteth it for the purposes of vegetation, whenever the seed shall be cast 
 into it : then cometh the latter rain to assist, and to " bless the springing" 
 and increase thereof unto a joyful harvest. Thus doth the good Spirit of 
 God both prepare the hearts of his people for the reception of the word, 
 and also enable them to bear fruit, bringing forth "some an hundred-fold, 
 some sixty, some thirty," Matt. xiii. 23. 
 
 "11. Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths, or, 
 clouds, or, heavens, drop fatness." 
 
 The herbs, fruits, and flowers, produced by the earth, are here finely 
 represented as a beautifully variegated "crown," set upon her head by the 
 hands of her great Creator ; at whose command, the heavens, by collecting 
 and distilling the drops of rain, impregnate her, and make her the parent of 
 terrestrial blessings. It is the same God, who will crown with everlasting 
 croodness the acceptable year, the year of his redeemed ; when the spirit 
 
DAT XII. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 1S3 
 
 shall have accomplished his work ; when God shall be glorified in his saints ; 
 emd heaven, as well as earth, shall be full of the goodness of Jehovah. 
 
 " 12. They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness; and the little hills 
 rejoice on every side; or, are girded about with gladness." 
 
 As the rain which descendeth from heaven causeth even the barren wil- 
 derness to become a green pasture, and investeth the naked hills with the 
 garments of joy and gladness ; so the Spirit, when poured out from on high 
 on the Gentile world, converted that " wilderness" into a "fruitful field ;" 
 while the churches, there rising on all sides, like little fertile "hills, re- 
 joiced" with joy unspeakable, and full of glory. See Isa. xxxii. 15. xxxv. 
 1,2. 
 
 " 13. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered 
 over with corn ; they shout for joy, they also sing." 
 
 The happy effects of God's visiting the earth with rain, are valleys cover- 
 ed with, corn, verdant meads, and thriving flocks. All these ideas, in the 
 prophetical Scriptures, are frequently transferred to the times of refreshment 
 and consolation, of peace and fruitfulness, in the church ; which breaks 
 forth into joy, in the one case, as the world is always ready to do in the 
 other. Manifold and marvellous, O Lord, are thy works, whether of nature 
 or of grace ; surely, in wisdom and loving-kindness hast thou made them 
 all ; the earth, in every sense, is full of thy riches ! 
 
 PSALM LXVL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In this Psalm, the prophet, 1, 2. exciteth all the world to sing the praises of 
 God ; 3, 4. the power and universality of his kingdom ; 5 — 12. the deliver- 
 ance of the church from various afflictions and temptations ; for which 13 — ■- 
 15. we are to offer the sacrifices which had been vowed ; 16 — 19. to declare 
 the mercies and lovinj-kindness of the Lord towards us ; and, 20. to bless 
 his holy name continually. 
 
 "1. Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands, or, all the earth: 2. 
 Sing forth the honour of his name ; make his praise glorious." 
 
 "The holychurch, throughout all the world," is here called upon to lift up 
 her voice, like the jubilee trumpet of old, in thanksgiving; to celebrate that 
 NAME which is above every name ; and to make the praise of Jesus glorious, 
 both by word and deed ; that so, others, hearing our voices, and seeing our 
 works, may be led to glorify him in like manner. 
 
 " 3. Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works ! Through the 
 greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee." 
 
 The subjects proposed are the various and awful manifestations of divine 
 " power;" of that power which made, and which continues to support the 
 world; which overthrows, and raises up empires; which subverted the 
 kingdom of Satan, established that of Christ, and caused its enemies either 
 to relinquish, or dissemble their hostility. Happy the man, whose heart 
 and affections " unfeignedly submit themselves" to the sceptre of Messiah. 
 
 " 4. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee : they 
 shall sing to thy name." 
 
 What David spake in the future, the church now speaketh in the present 
 tense — "All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting — Day by 
 day we magnify thee; and we worship thy name ever world without end." 
 A day is coming, when this shall be the case, in an unlimited sense of the 
 words ; when Jews and Gentiles, quick and dead, heaven and earth, shall 
 compose one perfect and truly harmonious choir. 
 
 " 5. Come and see the works of God : he is terrible in his doing toward 
 the children of men. 6. He turned the sea into dry land : they went through 
 the flood on foot; there did we rejoice in him." 
 
184 A COMMENTARY Psalm XLM. 
 
 The prophet, after inviting men to contemplate " the works of God," sets 
 before them, for that purpose, two great miracles wrought for Israel ; namely, 
 the division of the Red Sea, and that of the river Jordan ; by the former they 
 escaped Egypt, by the latter they entered Canaan. Under these two figu- 
 rative transactions, the Christian church beholds, and in the words which 
 describe them, she celebrates, two corresponding works of mercy wrought 
 for her; namely, the deliverance of her children from the dominion of sin, 
 by the waters of baptism; and their admission into the kingdom of heaven, 
 through the grave and gate of Death. If the Israelites rejoiced in God their 
 Saviour, for the former blessings, much more, surely, ought we so to do for 
 the latter. 
 
 "7. He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let 
 not the rebellious, or, the rebellious shall not, exalt themselves." 
 
 The uncontrollable sovereignt)', and superintending providence of our 
 God and King, are topics on which we should ever delight to dwell. 
 Establish, O Lord, thy kingdom within us, and suffer not our "rebel- 
 lious" passions to " exalt themselves" against it. 
 
 "8. O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be 
 heard ; 9. Who holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be 
 moved." 
 
 But chiefly are we bound to "bless" and " praise" God, for that oroodness 
 and mercy, by which our feet are turned back from the ways of death, placed 
 in the path of "life," and enabled to walk therein, without falling into per- 
 dition ; until, having finished our pilgrimage m the world, we lie down in 
 peace, and our flesh resteth sweetly in hope. 
 
 " 10. For thou, O God, hast proved us : thou hast tried us, as silver is 
 tried." 
 
 Notwithstanding the mercy of God, and the salvation wrought for us, we 
 are here taught to expect affliction and tribulation ; which indeed are often- 
 times necessary; for, having in our composition a mixture of the earth from 
 whence we came, with a base alloy of concupiscence, we stand as much in 
 need of adversity, as metals, in like circumstances, do of the fire, to refine 
 and purify our tempers. Try us, God ; but enable us to stand the trial. 
 " 11. Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidest affliction upon our 
 loins. 12. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads : we went through 
 fire and through water ; but thou broughtest us oat into a wealthy place." - 
 
 Various calamities are here mentioned, which God suffers to fall upon 
 his people. As, first, their being " brought into the net," or ensnared and 
 taken captive by their enemies, whom they had not power to resist or escape. 
 Secondly, "afflictions upon the loins," or hard servitude under heavy bur- 
 dens. Thirdly, " men riding over their heads," or the manifold oppressions 
 of persecuting tj'^rants, trampling them under their feet, like war-horses in 
 the day of battle. Fourthly, passing "through fire and water," or troubles 
 of different and contrary kinds, though alike deadly and destructive. But 
 he who brought Israel from among the brick-kilns of Egypt, and through 
 the waters of the Red Sea, and the river Jordan, into the promised rest, will 
 bring us safely through every fiery trial, and through the waves of a trouble- 
 some world, to the land of everlasting peace and comfort. 
 
 " 13. I will go into thy house with burnt-offerings : I will pay thee my 
 vows, 14. Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when 
 I was in trouble. 15. I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, 
 with the incense of rams : I will offer bullocks with goats." 
 
 Under the Gospel, the obligation of " going to the house of God," and 
 there "paying vows," still continues; but the "oflTerings" are changed. 
 The legal sacrifices have been abolished by the oblation of the body of 
 Christ, once for all. The oblation is commemorated in the eucharist : at 
 the celebration of which, we now offer up our prayers and praises, ourselves, 
 our souls and bodies, a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice, acceptable to 
 God, in the name and through the merits of the Redeemer. These offer- 
 
Dat XII. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 185 
 
 ings, if vowed in the seasons of sickness and sorrow, should be paid in the 
 days of health and gladness. 
 
 " 16. Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he 
 hath done for my soul." 
 
 Every man should be ready, like David, to celebrate the mercies of God 
 vouchsafed to him. It is a debt of gratitude to his Saviour, who is glorified, 
 and a debt of charity to his brethren, who are edified thereby ; provided 
 only, that it be done with sobriety and humility. 
 
 '' 17. I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my 
 tongue." 
 
 The mean by which we obtain salvation is faith ; which, as it showeth us 
 both our disease and our Physician, inclineth us to pray to the latter for a 
 cure of the former. Prayer is one gift of God ; and every other gift is ob- 
 tained by it. 
 
 " 18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." 
 
 The prayer which is " heard," is the prayer of the penitent, heartily 
 grieved and wearied with sin, hating, and longing to be delivered from it. 
 For God heareth not hypocrites, who, while they outwardly disavow, yet 
 inwardly " regard" and cherish " iniquity ;" from which every one, who 
 naraeth the name of Christ, ought to depart. 
 
 " 19. But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of 
 my prayer." 
 
 David was heard, when God delivered him from his enemies, and set him 
 on the throne of Israel : Christ was heard, when God raised him from the 
 dead, and exalted him to the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens ; and 
 every man is heard, when God raises him from sin to righteousness, as an 
 earnest of his future resurrection from dust to glory. Let every such man 
 praise the Lord, and say, with David, in the last verse of our Psalm, 
 
 " 20. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his 
 mercy from me." 
 
 PSALM LXVII, 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In tins evangelical Psalm, the Israelitish church is introduced, as partly pray- 
 ing for, and partly foretelling, the advent of Christ, and the conversion of 
 the nations, with the joy and gladness that should be consequent there- 
 upon. The Christian church now uses, and will continue to use, the Psalm, 
 with propriety, until the fulness of the Gentiles shall be come in, the conver- 
 sion of tlie Jews effected, and Christ shall appear the second time, finally to 
 accomplish the salvation of his chosen, 
 
 " 1. God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine 
 upon us." 
 
 The Israelitish church, by the mouth of the prophet, expresseth her 
 ardent desire after Messiah's advent and appearance in the flesh; she 
 prayeth that God would be " merciful unto her," as he had promised ; that, 
 by so doing, he would " bless" her with the blessings of pardon and peace, 
 of grace and glory; and in one word, that he would "cause his face to 
 shine upon her," by the rising of the Sun of Righteousness, making her to 
 behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ; reviving her with the 
 glad tidings of the Gospel, and enlightening her with the light of salvation. 
 
 " 2. That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among 
 all nations." 
 
 Nor was she studious, as her degenerate children have since been, to 
 confine the favour of heaven within her own pale. If she had a good wish 
 for herself, she had one likewise for others; and therefore prayed, that the 
 " way" to life eternal miglit be " known," not in Jewry alone, but over all 
 
 16* 
 
136 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXVm. 
 
 the earth ;" and that the virtues of that salutary medicine, which was able 
 to restore "health" and vigour to the diseased and languishing spirits of 
 men, might be published "among all nations." 
 
 "3. Let the people praise thee, O God ; let all the people praise thee." 
 
 As if she had said — Hitherto, indeed, blessed Lord, thou hast thought 
 fit to make me the guardian and keeper of that great deposit, thy true reli- 
 gion, from which the nations revolted and fell : but the time is coming, 
 when, by the Gospel of thy dear Son, they shall again be called to the 
 knowledge of thee. Thy glory, impatient, as it were, of any longer 
 restraint, and demanding a larger sphere, shall diffuse itself, like the light 
 of heaven, to the ends of the world. Hasten, then, O hasten the dawning 
 of that happy day, when congregations of converted Gentiles shall every- 
 where lift up their voices, and perhaps in the words of this very Psalm, 
 sing to thy praise and glory ! 
 
 "4. let nations be glad, and sing for joy ; for thou shalt judge the 
 people righteously; and govern the nations upon earth." 
 
 And a very sufficient cause, surely, is here assigned, why the " nations" 
 should "be glad, and sing for joy," upon the erection of Messiah's king- 
 dom [in the midst of them ; namely, because he would "judge the people 
 righteously;" breaking the yoke of the oppressor, and thy iron rod of the 
 prince of this world ; becoming himself an advocate in the cause of his 
 church ; introducing her into the glorious liberty of the children of God, 
 whose service is perfect freedom; and, with a sceptre, around which jus- 
 tice and mercy are wreathed together, " governing the nations upon earth." 
 
 " 5. Let the people praise thee, O God ; let all the people praise thee." 
 Chorus repeated, as above, ver. 3. 
 
 " 6. Then shall the earth yield her increase : andGQA.,even our own God, 
 shall bless us." 
 
 Then, when that long-expected time shall arrive, " the earth shall yield 
 her increase ;" the nations of the world shall be converted to the faith, 
 and become fruitful in every good word and work, through the benediction 
 of Heaven upon them.* 
 
 "7. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him." 
 
 The evangelical " blessings," predicted in this Psalm, have been long 
 since poured out upon "the ends of the earth," by the bountiful hand of 
 God in Christ. Let us beseech him to add yet this to all his other mercies, 
 that in return for such unmerited favours, the redeemed may have grace 
 evermore to pay him the tribute of fear and obedience, of duty and love. 
 
 THIRTEENTH DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM LXVIII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This beautiful, sublime, and comprehensive, but very difficult Psalm, Is one of 
 tliose which tlie church has appointed to be used on Whitsunday. It seems 
 evidently to have been composed 'on that festive and joyful occasion, the 
 removal of the ark to mount Sion. See 2 Sam. vi. 1 Chi'on. xv.f Under 
 
 * UniverstE gentes ad Deum convertentur, et electi abundabunt bonis operibus, reriimque 
 emnium copia. Bossuet. 
 
 t The argument seems to be, a prognostication of success to David and the kingdom of 
 Israel, and victory over their enemies, inconsequence of the manifestation of the especial pre- 
 sence of God on mount Sion, and by his power exerted in their favour. In the mystical sense 
 which is authorized by St. Paul, Eph. iv. 8. it is, according to Vitringa, "Ascension Christi in 
 coelos, et sessio ad dextram Patris ; et illius effecta, qua; sunt coUectio et conversatio ecclesije, 
 ac destructio hostium sibi et ecclesiae adversorum." Bishop Loictk, in Merrick's ^inwtations. 
 Dr. Chandler, in his " Critical History of the Life of David," has given an admirable exposition 
 of the literal, or historical sense ofthi3Psalm,anda very ingenious division ofit into five parts, 
 founded on the supposition of its being performed at the removal of the ark. The author has 
 been greatly assisted in the ensuing comment by tbe Doctor's exposition, and the reader will 
 find hia division of the Psalm inserted. 
 
DatXIII. M. p. ON THE PSALMS. 187 
 
 this figure, David, foreseeing the exaltation of Messiah, speaks of him, whom 
 he describes, 1, 2. as arising, and vanquishing his enemies; 3 — 6. as causing 
 the faithful to rejoice, and showing mercy to the afflicted ; 7 — 15. as bring- 
 ing his church out of bondage, supporting her in the world by the Word and 
 the Spirit, purging away her corruptions, and subduing her adversaries; the 
 ground-work being laid in the history of the Egyptian deliverance, the Manna 
 and the Law given in the wilderness, and the overthrow of the Canaanitish 
 nations. 16 — 20, David returns to the scene before him, celebrates the 
 ascension of Christ, with power and great glory, to the heavenly Sion, and 
 the gifts he should from thence pour down upon men; 21 — 23. foretells the 
 vengeance he would take on his opposers; 24 — 28. sets forth the order of 
 the church in her services; 29 — 31. predicts the conver.sion of the nations; 
 all of whom, 32 — 35. he exhorts to unite in chanting forth the praises of 
 their God and Saviour. 
 
 " 1. Let God arise, let his enemies he scattered : let them also that hate 
 him flee before him." 
 
 These words were used by Moses, whenever the ark set forward before 
 the armies of Israel, in their progress toward Canaan, Num. x. 35. David, 
 in like manner, uses them in this triumphal hymn, on the removal of the 
 ark to the city of Zion, 1 Chron. xiii. and xv. Dr. Chandler supposes this 
 part of the Psalm, from ver. 1. to ver. 6. inclusive, to have been sung, 
 when the ark was taken up on the shoulders of the Levites. The church 
 now celebrates, in the same terms, the substance of the foregoing shadows ; 
 she sings the praises of her Redeemer, rising from the dead, and preceding 
 the Israel of God, to the true land of promise ; when "his enemies," the 
 powers of darkness, sin and death, " were scattered, and they that hated 
 him fled before him." And the Christian, in the hour of temptation, will 
 always find this verse a most powerful and profitable ejaculation. 
 
 " 2. As smoke is driven away, .so drive them away : as wax melteth be- 
 fore the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God." 
 
 The sudden and utter destruction of the enemies of God, and of his peo- 
 ple, is resembled, first, to the dissipation of "smoke," which, though it 
 rises from earth in black and tremendous clouds, is by the wind presently 
 brought to nothing; secondly, to the melting of " wax," which though to 
 appearance of a firm and solid consistence, yet when held to the fire for a 
 few minutes, dissolves, and makes no more resistance. So let all thine 
 enemies perish, O Lord, within us. Let our vain imaginations be dis- 
 persed before thy Spirit, and our corruptions melt and die away, at the 
 presence of thy light and thy truth. 
 
 "3. But let the righteous be glad ; let them rejoice before God: yea, let 
 them exceedingly rejoice." 
 
 A variety of expressions is used in the Hebrew, to denote 'the festive 
 "joy" and "delight" with which the righteous celebrate the triumphs of 
 their God over his and their enemies, under each dispensation respectively. 
 When the heart is full of these sensations, it has no desire to resort to the 
 world for pleasure. 
 
 " 4. Sing unto God, sing praises to his name : extol him that rideth upon 
 the heavens by his name jah, and rejoice before him." 
 
 The prophet exhorts the people of God to magnify, with psalms, 
 and hymns, and spiritual songs, the eternal and incommunicable "name" 
 of him "who was, and is, and is to come;" who, deriving being from 
 none, gives it to all: and who, as Redeemer of his people, is exalted 
 above the " heavens," and all powers therein ; above the gods of the 
 nations : acknowledged and glorified by saints and angels, feared and trem- 
 bled at by ungodly men, and evil spirits.* 
 
 * The idea of "riding on the heavens," furnished by our translation, is here followed, be- 
 cause O'Diyn 3D1^ in the 33d verse, seems to be exactly parallel. But Bishop Lowth, Mr. 
 Merrick, and Dr. Chandler, render flU'^JJD ^2~h I^D " Prepare the way for him who rideth 
 
188 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXVUI. 
 
 "5. A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his 
 holy habitation." 
 
 After a description of God's "majesty," the Psalmist proceeds to make 
 mention of his " mercy" towards the afflicted Israelites, who had suffered 
 so much in Egypt and in the wilderness. The cause of the " fatherless 
 and widow" he takes into his own hands. But never did he do this in so 
 full and extensive a manner, as when, by becoming man, he betrothed the 
 church to himself, in righteousness, and became a Father to her fatherless 
 children. 
 
 "6. God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which 
 are bound in chains : but the rebellious dwell in a dry /«??</." 
 
 The "solitary, or destitute," in this verse, are the same persons with the 
 " fatherless and widow," in the foregoing; those, as Dr. Chandler observes, 
 whose fathers and families had been destroyed in Egypt, or fallen in the 
 wilderness ; who, therefore, were left alone, destitute of help. These, God 
 afterwards " made to sit down in families," blessed them with a numerous 
 progeny, and the peaceable enjoyment of domestic felicity. Thus hath 
 since been manifested the same tender care of Heaven, in calling home the 
 wretched outcasts among the nations, and admitting them into the holy 
 and happy family of the children of God. Another instance of God's 
 mercy, mentioned in this verse, is, that " he bringeth out those which are 
 bound with chains," delivering his people from a spiritual, as he once did 
 Israel from a temporal bondage. "But the rebellious," the ungodly and 
 impenitent, " dwell in a dry land," in a spiritual desert, where no waters of 
 life, of comfort, and salvation flow. Such is the state of the rebellious 
 Jews at this day, like that of their murmuring predecessors in the wilder- 
 ness. This allusion, says Bishop Lowth, to the deliverance from Egyptian 
 bondage, and the destruction of the murmurers in the desert, brings in with 
 great ease, the full subject of the exodus in the next verse. 
 
 "7. God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst 
 march through the wilderness: 8. The earth shook, the heavens also drop- 
 ped at the presence of God : even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of 
 God, the God of Israel." 
 
 This part of the Psalm, from ver. 7. to ver. 14. is the second in Dr. 
 Chandler's division. It is supposed to have been sung when the procession 
 began, and to have lasted till mount Sion vras in view. The prophet goes 
 back to commemorate the wonders wrought for Israel, when .Tehovah, by 
 his presence in the cloudy pillar, conducted them through the wilderness ; 
 when descending to deliver the law, he bowed the heavens, and shook the 
 earth, and caused Sinai to quake from its foundations. The Christian 
 church, singing this Psalm on the day of Pentecost, commemorates, under 
 these terms and figures, her redemption from the spiritual Egypt, by the 
 resurrection of Jesus, with mighty signs and wonders, and the succeeding 
 delivery of the new law from mount Sion, after the descent of the Holy 
 Spirit ; by which the old Jewish dispensation was shaken and removed, to 
 make way for one that should last for ever. See Heb. xii. 18 — 28. 
 
 "9. Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful, //e6, a free, liberal, or, gracious, 
 rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance when it was weary." 
 
 As the heavens at the command of God, rained down manna, &c. to 
 strengthen and refresh the well-nigh famished people, in the wilderness ; 
 so by the descent of the spirit from above, bringing with him the word of 
 life, the church, in her infant and languid state, was mightily confirmed and 
 invigorated. 
 
 " 10. The congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, God, hast prepared 
 of thy goodness for the poor." 
 
 through the (lpsert.s,"i. e. whorndp upon thechprubim, thrniifrli t'ln wiUIerness; alliidinu to the 
 passing of the Ark. This construction se^ms most ajrreealile to the common usage of liic words 
 employed iu the original. Either way, the idea is truly great and sublime. 
 
DAT XIII. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 
 
 189 
 
 In the former verse, the Psalmist tells us, that God hath confirmed, re- 
 freshed, and revived his inheritance, by the plentiful, and as it were volun- 
 tary, showers of bread and flesh, that he rained down upon them. In these 
 words. Dr. Chandler apprehends, he speaks of the manner, as well as abun- 
 dance of the food thus given them : and renders this verse thus — " "iri'll, 
 Thy food, or. As to thy food," the food which thou gavest them, " n3 1319', 
 They dwelt in the midst of it ; Thou didst prepare, O God, by thy goodness, 
 for the poor." Thus the history informs us, that the manna covered by the 
 dew, " lay round about the host ;" and that the quails were " let fall by 
 the camp, about a day's journey on one side, and a day's journey on the 
 other, round about the camp," Exod. xvi. 13 Numb. xi. 31. This was 
 literally " dwelling in the midst of the food God had provided for them." 
 By the ministration of the word and sacraments in the Christian church, 
 the true manna, the bread which cometh down, with the dew of God's 
 blessing, from Heaven, is continually furnished, for the nourishment of those 
 who " hunger and thirst after righteousness." It "falls round about the 
 camp," and "as to this thy food," God, we thy favoured people, have the 
 happiness to "dwell in the midst of it :" thus "thou hast prepared, of thy 
 goodness, for the poor in spirit." 
 
 "11. The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that 
 published i7." 
 
 He who supplied his people with food in the wilderness, enabled them 
 likewise to vanquish the numerous enemies that opposed them in their pas- 
 sage through it, the Amalekites, the Amorites, the Midianites, the Moabites, 
 &c. With respect to all these enemies, " the Lord gave the word." The 
 Israelites engaged them by his order ; See Numb. xxi. 34. xxv. 17. and, 
 under his conduct and blessing, obtained the victory over them. When 
 the enemies of man's salvation were vanquished by the resurrection of 
 Christ, and the heathen nations were to own his power, again, " the Lord 
 gave the word." It was published, at first, by apostles, confessors, and 
 martyrs, and hath been since published continually, by all the churches, 
 who celebrate in their services the victories of their Redeemer ; as in old 
 time, prophets and prophetesses, Moses, Aaron, Miriam, Deborah, and 
 others, with the armies of Israel, sang triumphal songs, on occasion of 
 temporal, but figurative conquests. 
 
 "1-2. *Kings [with their'\ armies did flee apace; Heb. fled away: and she 
 that tarried at home divided the spoil." 
 
 When God, by the hand of Moses, and his successor Joshua, led his 
 people through the wilderness, into the land of promise, the kings of 
 Canaan, with their mighty hosts, were discomfited ; and the women of 
 Israel, who, " tarried at home, divided the spoil" of their vanquished ene- 
 mies. After the conquest of the Midianites, as Dr. Chandler observes, 
 God ordered the prey to be divided between them who went out on that ex- 
 pedition, and the rest of the congregation, who continued in their tents. 
 Numb. xxxi. 27. Thus, in the spiritual, war, apostles, confessors, martyrs 
 went out to the battle, fought, and conquered ; while the benefits of the vic- 
 tory, extended to thousands and millions, who without being exposed to their 
 conflicts, and torments, have enjoyed the fruit of their labours. 
 
 " 13. Though ye have lain among the pots, yet shall ye he as the wings of 
 a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold." 
 
 By "lying among the pots,"f or " in dust and' ashes," is evidently de- 
 
 * Bishop Lnwth thinks, with Dr. Hammond, that this verse was the Song, sang by the choir, 
 mentioned in tlie verse preceding. Dr. Chandler adds the next verse to it. 
 
 tMy worthy and learned friend, Mr. Parkhurst, in his Hebrew Lexicon, gives the following 
 account of the word □''iliJiy (derived from the word jli)!!/, to " put or set anything in order) 
 — Rows of stones, on which the caldrons or pots were placed. I-ying among these denotes the 
 most abject slavery ; forthis was the place of rest allotted to the vilest slaves." So our transla- 
 tors render it in the margin of Ezek. .\1. 43. Dr. Chandler adopts the same interpretation of the 
 word. 
 
190 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXVIH. 
 
 noted a state of affliction and wretchedness, lilie that of Israel in Eg-ypt, 
 which was exchanged for one of the utmost dignity and splendour, in 
 Canaan : one is ditferent from the former, as a caldron, discoloured by 
 smoke and soot, is from the bright and beautiful plumage of an eastern dove, 
 glistering interchangeably, as with silver and gold. Thus the church of 
 Christ emerged from a state of persecution and tribulation, into one of 
 splendour and magnificence. And such is the change made in the spiritual 
 condition of any man, when he passes from the bondage of corruption, into 
 the glorious liberty of the Sons of God : he is invested with the robe of 
 righteousness, and adorned with the graces of the Spirit of holiness." 
 
 " 14. When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snow in 
 Salmon." 
 
 The purport of this difficult verse seems to be, that all was white as 
 snow, i. e. all was brightness, joy, and festivity, about mount Salmon, 
 po'^yi J^jyn when the Almighty, fighting for his people Israel, vanquished 
 their enemies, nil in, or about that part of the country. 
 
 " 15. The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan ; an high hill, as the hill^of 
 Bashan." 
 
 When the ark came in view of mount Sion, the place of its fixed resi- 
 dence for the future, and probably when they began to ascend it, Dr. 
 Chandler apprehends, this and the two following verses were sung. And 
 if these words be read with an interrogation, he conceives they will appear 
 snitable to the occasion, and worthy of the genuine spirit of poetry, " The 
 hill of God," that hill which God hath chosen to inhabit, "is it the hill of 
 Bashan, the hill with its craggy eminences, the hill of Bashan 1 Bashan 
 may boast of its proud eminences, its high summits ; but is that the hill, 
 where God will fix his residence]" The prophet speaks of Bashan with con- 
 tempt and disdain, in comparison of Sion. And this agrees well with what 
 immediately follows — 
 
 " 16. Why leap ye, or, why look ye askance with envy, ye high hills ? 
 this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in ; yea, the Lord, will dwell 
 in it for ever." 
 
 The Psalmist, in commemorating God's former mercies and loving-kind- 
 nesses, having been led to mention the towering hills of Salmon and Bashan, 
 by a masterly transition, suddenly resumes his original subject, with a beau- 
 tiful apostrophe to those mountains, letting them know, that however proudly 
 they might lift up their heads above the rest, or, in the language of poetry, 
 "look askance with envy," on mount Sion, yet this was the mount which 
 Jehovah had determined to honour with his special presence ; thither he 
 was now ascending with the ark of his strength ; and there, between the 
 cherubims, in the place prepared for him, he would " dwell for ever ;" till 
 the old dispensation would be at an end, till the glory of the Lord should 
 be revealed in human nature; till God should be manifest in the flesh ; and 
 the true tabernacle and temple should succeed the typical. After that, the 
 privileges of Sion were transferred to the Christian church ; she became, 
 and while the world lasts, will continue to be, the " hill in which God de- 
 lighteth to dwell :" she will therefore be justly entitled to the pre-eminence 
 over all that may seem to be great and glorious in the world. 
 
 " 17. The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels : 
 or, thousands repeated : the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy 
 place; or, Sinai, in the sanctuary." 
 
 The Psalmist, in the preceding verse, had declared Sion to be the habi- 
 tation of Jehovah. In this verse is described the majesty and magnificence 
 of his appearance there, as a mighty conqueror of the enemies of his peo- 
 ple, riding upon the cherubim, as in a triumphal chariot, with all the 
 hosts of heaven, as it were, in his retinue. Thus God descended on Sinai, 
 with the fire, the cloud, and the glory; thus he manifested himself, when 
 taking possession of " the holy place" prepared for him in Sion ; 2 Chron. 
 v. 13. and in some such manner we may suppose king Messiah to have 
 
DAT XIII. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. igi 
 
 entered heaven at his ascension, when he went up in the clouds, with power 
 and great glory, and all the attendant spirits joined his train, rejoicing to 
 minister to their Lord, and increase the pomp and splendour of that glorious 
 day. 
 
 " 18. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou 
 hast received gifts for men ; yea, /or the rebellious also, that the Lord God 
 might dwell among them.^^ 
 
 When the ark had ascended mount Sion, and was deposited in the place 
 assigned for it, the singers are supposed by Dr. Chandler, to have proceeded 
 with this part of the Psalm, in which they celebrate the ascension of their 
 God and King, by the symbol of his presence, to the heights of Sion, after 
 having subdued their enemies,, and enriched his people with the spoil of 
 the vanquished, and the gifts of the tributary nations; of which much waa 
 probably employed in the service of the tabernacle, and afterwards in the 
 building of the temple, first designed by David, " that the Lord God might 
 dwell," and have a fixed, permanent habitation, among his people. But 
 this whole transaction, like many others of old, being a figurative one, the 
 apostle, Eph. iv. 8. has applied the words before us to our blessed Saviour, 
 (the true ark on which the glory rested,) who personally ascended up to 
 the highest heavens, led captivity captive, by triumphing over his conquered 
 enemies, and having received gifts from his heavenly Father, as the fruits 
 of his victory, gave them unto men, as was most conducive to the establish- 
 ment of his church, " that the Lord God might dwell amongthem." "Thou 
 hast ascended on high;" Thou, O Christ, who didst descend from the right 
 hand of the Majesty in the heavens to the lower parts of the earth, art again 
 ascended from the lower parts of the earth to the right hand of the Majesty 
 in the heavens ; " thou hast led captivity captive ;" thou hast conquered 
 the conqueror, bound the strong one, redeemed human nature from the grave, 
 and triumphantly carried it, with thee, to the throne of God; "thou hast 
 received gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious also;" and being thus 
 ascended into thy glory, thou hast received of the Father the promise of the 
 Spirit, with all his gifts and graces, to bestow upon the sons of men ;* even 
 upon such as heretofore have not only broken thy laws, but appeared in 
 arms against thee; yet of such as these, converted by the power of thy 
 Gospel, wilt thou form and establish a church ; " that the Lord God may 
 dwell among them ;" that so, of thy faithful people, gathered from all 
 parts of the world, may be built up a living temple, " an habitation of 
 God through the Spirit." 
 
 " 19. Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, Heh. carries, 
 orr, supports us ; even the God of our salvation. 20. He that is our God is 
 the God of salvation ; and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death, 
 Heb. the goings forth to death, or, of death." 
 
 The preceding survey of God's dispensations constraineth the church to 
 break out into an act of praise, and to bless the Preserver of men, the au- 
 thor of eternal "salvation;" in whose hands are "the goings forth of 
 death ;" in other words, who has " the keys of death and the grave ;" 
 Rev. i. 18. who is possessed of power to confine and to release ; to kill, and 
 to make alive. 
 
 " 21. But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp, 
 or, crown, of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses." 
 
 The meaning is — God shall strike deep, or exhaust the blood of the head 
 of his enemies, even the hairy crown of him that goes on in his guilty 
 practices; where the emphasis consists in the description of God's enemies, 
 
 *The Psalmist mentions these gifts as received: " thou hast received gifts for men :" the apos- 
 tle, in his citation, shownth iisthe enclfor which they were received ;'• He gave gifts unto men." 
 Orrather, as the best critics have observed, in tlie Ilebrew idiom, to " take gilts for another," 
 is the same as to "give them to another." Thus we read, 1 Kings iii. 21. " Take me a sword ;" 
 i. e. give, or bring it me, Gen. wiii.S. "I will take a bit of bread;" i. e. for you, or to give it 
 you—" and comfort ye your hearts." 
 
192 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXVIII. 
 
 •who were such as persevered in their criminal actions. This verse begins 
 a prediction of that vengeance, which the person, who was " ascended on 
 high," would infallibly execute upon his impenitent enemies, and which 
 was shadowed forth in the destruction of the enemies of Israel by David, 
 after that the ark of God was placed upon the hill of Sion. See 2 Sam. 
 viii. The expressions, " the head," and the hairy •' crown," denote the 
 principal part, the strength, the pride, and the glory of the adversary, which 
 was to be crushed, according to the original sentence ; " He shall bruise 
 thy HEAD," Gen. iii. 15. 
 
 " 22. The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan ; I will bring my 
 people again from the depths of the sea; 23. That thy foot may be dipped . 
 in the blood of thine enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same." 
 
 Abner, in his conference with the elders of Israel, to bring them over to 
 David's interest, tells them, " The Lord hath spoken of David, saying, By 
 the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel, out of the hand 
 of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies," 2 Sam. iv. 8. 
 Thus Jehovah had promised to repeat in Israel, by David, his glorious acts; 
 to work as signal victories and deliverances for his people, as he had for- 
 merly done in the field of Bashan, and at the Red Sea; when they saw their 
 enemies dead at their feet. By the glorious resurrection, and triumphant 
 ascension of king Messiah, by the conquests of the Gospel, and the unpa- 
 ralleled overthrow of its opposers, were these figures realized, and these 
 shadows changed into substances. 
 
 " 24. They have seen thy goings, or, marches in procession, God ; 
 even the goings, or, marches, of my God, my King-, in, or, into, the sanc- 
 tuary." 
 
 When the ark was safely deposited, the sacrifices were offered, the so- 
 lemnity W"ell nigh concluded, and the whole assembly about to return back. 
 Dr. Chandler supposes the singers to have struck up, and joined in the re- 
 maining part of this noble anthem. These words contain a sort of triumph, 
 because this great work of translating the ark was now so happily accom- 
 plished. The people of Israel had a pledge and earnest of those mighty 
 things which God would do for them, by the joyful and victorious manner 
 in which, with the ark of his presence, he had taken possession of the 
 place prepared for him on mount Sion, and gone " into the sanctuary." A 
 like pledge and earnest of her future enlargement and exaltation, was the 
 ascension of her Lord and Head, to the Christian church. 
 
 " 25. The singers went before, the players on instruments /o/fowec? after ; 
 among them were the damsels playing with timbrels." 
 
 The joy and gladness expressed by David, and the house of Israel, when 
 in solemn procession, with the sound of vocal and instrumental music, they 
 " brought up the ark of Jehovah, and set it in its place," 2 Sam. vi. 5. 15. 
 17. may be considered as a prelude to that voice of universal exultation, 
 with which the Christian church, in her holy services, doth now celebrate 
 the resurrection and ascension of her Reedeemer. 
 
 " 26. Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from the foun- 
 tain of Israel." 
 
 "Bless ye God in the congregations;" in this form of words, the Is- 
 raelites are supposed, when accompanying the ark, to have reciprocally ex- 
 horted and encouraged each other to exert their utmost powers in the sacred 
 employment of blessing and thanking God : " even the Lord, from the foun- 
 tain of Israel;" " the fountain of Israel" is the same with the " stock, or 
 family of Israel." See Isa. xlviii. 1. The sense of this latter clause there- 
 fore is, " Bless the Lord, ye who are sprung from the stock of Israel ;" 
 thus is the duty of blessing and thanksgiving enforced on the congregations 
 of the faithful in all ages. 
 
 "27. There is little Benjamin loith their ruler, the princes of Judah and 
 their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali." 
 The literal rendering of this verse is — "There is little Benjamin their 
 
Day XIII. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 193 
 
 ruler, the princes of Judah and their council, the princes of ZebuUin, and 
 the princes of Naphtali." In this enumeration of the tribes of Israel, that 
 were present at the removal of the ark, four only are mentioned; Benjamin 
 and Judah, who dwelt nearest to the city of David ; Zebulun and Naphtali, 
 who were the farthest distant from it; to show, as Dr. Chandler observes, 
 the unanimity of the whole nation, and of all the tribes far and near, in at- 
 tending this solemnity, to testify their willing acknowledgment of David 
 for their king, and the city of David for their capital, where all the great 
 solemnities of religion should be performed, and their annual festivals con- 
 tinually celebrated. Benjamin, though the youngest tribe, is named first, 
 and called the " ruler ;" because from that tribe sprang Saul, the first king 
 of Israel. The attendance of this tribe showed, that all envy and opposi- 
 tion to David from Saul's party was at an end. Upon David's accession to 
 the crown, Judah became the royal tribe, and supported the throne by its 
 counsels. Zebulun and Naphtali were tribes of eminent learning and 
 knowledge. See Gen. xlix. 21. Judges v. 14. Thus, after the publication 
 of the Gospel, the nations flocked into the church, both those that were 
 near, and those that were afar off; power, wisdom, and learning, submitted 
 themselves to the kingdom, and conspired to set forth the glory of Mes- 
 siah. 
 
 " 28. Thy God hath commanded thy strength : strengthen, God, that 
 which thou hast wrought for us." 
 
 The former part of this verse contains a comfortable assurance given to 
 the church, that God had made provision, and issued out orders, for esta- 
 blishment and security. In the latter clause is a prayer, that he would ac- 
 complish all his counsels concerning her, and, as he had begun a good work, 
 so that he would vouchsafe to perfect it, unto the day of the Lord. 
 
 " 29. Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto 
 thee." 
 
 David foretells, that on the establishment of the then church and worship 
 in Jerusalem, the kings of the Gentiles should come, and make their obla- 
 tions at the *temple of God ; which happened in his days, and those of his 
 son Solomon, as an earnest and figure of that plenary accession of the kings 
 of the earth to the church of Christ, which was to take place in the latter 
 days, under the Gospel. See 2 Sam. viii. 9 — II. I Kings v. 1. x. 1. 24. 
 2 Chron. ix. 23. Isa. Ix. 3. 6. Matt, ii, 11. Rev, xxi, 24. 
 
 " 30. Rebuke the company of spearmen, the multitude of the bulls, with 
 the calves of the people, till every one submit himself with pieces of silver: 
 scatter thou the people that delight in war." 
 
 We have here a prophetical prayer against the enemies of the Israelitish 
 church. The whole verse, when literally translated, runs thus — "Rebuke 
 the wild beasts of the reeds, the congregation of the mighty among the 
 calves of the nations, skipping, or exulting, with pieces of silver; scatter the 
 people that delight in war." By the " wild beast of the reeds," is to be 
 understood the Egyptian power, described by its emblem, the crocodile, or 
 river-horse, creatuies living among the "reeds" of the Nile. The "calves 
 of the nations" intend the objects of worship among the Egyptians, their 
 Apis, Osiris, &c. around the "congregation of the mighty" assembled. 
 And by their skipping with, " or exulting in, pieces of silver," may either 
 be meant their dancing at their idolatrous festivals with the tinkling instru- 
 ments called " Sistra," which might be made of " silver ;" or else it may 
 imply their " glorifying in pieces of silver," or in their " riches." The last 
 member of the verse is plain, " Scatter the people that delight in war." 
 The whole is evidently a prayer of the prophet to this effect, that it would 
 please God to bring down and overthrow the strength, the pride, and the 
 
 * The tabernacle is called l3'n 1 Sam. iii.3. This might otherwise seem inconsistent with the 
 supposed occasion of the Psalm, and the times of David, when there was yet no temple there. 
 Bishop Lowth. 
 
 17 
 
194 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXVIH. 
 
 idolatry of Egypt, that ancient adversary and oppressor of Israel.* — The 
 Christian church, in like manner, through faith in the power of her Lord, 
 risen from the dead, and ascended into heaven, prayeth for the confusion of 
 her implacable enemies, who delight in opposing the kingdom of Messiah. 
 
 "31. Princes, or, ambassadors, shall come out of Egypt ; Ethiopia shall 
 soon stretch out her hands unto God." 
 
 The hostile powers being overthrown, and the church of Israel fully 
 established, the nations around her, even those which had been most given to 
 idolatry, sued for her friendship, and came to Jerusalem with their gifts and 
 oblations ; as, in like manner, after the defeat of Maxentius and Maximin, 
 the Roman empire, with all its tributary provinces, was added to the church 
 of Christ. 
 
 " 32. Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth ; O sing praises unto the 
 Lord." 
 
 "Rapt into future times," the prophet exhorteth, not Judea only, but all 
 " the kingdoms of the earth," to unite in chanting forth the praises of their 
 God and Saviour. In the fulness of time, this exhortation was heard and 
 obeyed. For Eusebius thus describes the state of the church in the days of 
 Constantino: ''There was one and the same power of the Hol}'^ Spirit, 
 which passed through all the members ; one soul in all ; the same alacrity 
 of faith; one common consent in chanting forth the praises of God." Euseb. 
 Eccks. Hint. B. x. Chap. 2. And it deserves notice, that the primitive 
 Christians, when delivered from the rage of persecuting tyrants, they freely 
 celebrated their holy festivals, could find no words so well calculated to ex- 
 press the joy and gladness of their hearts, as the songs of Moses, and David, 
 and the prophets, which seemed to have been divinely penned on purpose 
 for their use, upon that glorious occasion. The reader may see several very 
 curious and beautiful instances of this, in the opening of the tenth book of 
 Eusebius's History, and in the panegyric there recorded to have been spoken 
 by him, in a full ecclesiastical assembly, to Paulinus, bishop of Tyre, upon 
 the consecration of that church. 
 
 "33. To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old ; 
 lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice." 
 
 The praises of the church are sung to him who, after his sufferings here 
 below, reascended to take possession of his ancient throne, high above all 
 heavens ; who from thence speaketh to the world by his glorious Gospel, 
 mio-hty and powerful, as thunder, in its effects upon the hearts of men. See 
 Psalm xxix. throughout. The power of Christ's voice, when he was on 
 earth, appeared by the effects which followed, when he said, " Young man, 
 arise;" "Lazarus, come forth;" "Peace, be still :" and it will yet farther 
 appear, when " all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of 
 man, and come forth." 
 
 "34. Ascribe ye strength unto God: his excellency ts over Israel, and 
 his strength is in the clouds, Heh. the skies." 
 
 God requires his people to ascribe unto him the kingdom, and the power, 
 and the glory ; to acknowledge him as the author of life, health, and salva- 
 tion, of all they are, and all they have, in nature and in grace ; to glorify 
 him as the Creator and Governor of the world, the Redeemer and Sanctifier 
 of his church. 
 
 * Increpa regem iEgypti populo tuo invidentem, increpa etiam nptimates qui inter populos 
 honore et viribus eminent, argenteis clavis, vul aliis insignibus ornati. JBnssvet. See Bishop 
 ioK-fA, I'railect. vi. art fin. edit. 8vo. The sense of the verse cannot be better espresseJ than it 
 is by Mr. Merricls, in his version : 
 
 The beast, that from liis reedy bed, 
 
 On Nile's proiiil banks, uplifts the head, 
 
 Rebuke, indignant; nor the throng 
 
 Forget, from whose misguidoil tongue 
 
 The heifer and the grazingsteer. 
 
 The offer'd vow unconscious hear ; 
 
 While to tlie silver's tinkling sound. 
 
 Their feet in solemn dance rebound. 
 
DAT Xm. E. p. ON THE PSALMS. I95 
 
 " 35. God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places : the God of Israel 
 is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God." 
 
 The Psalmist, here exemplifying the precept laid down in the foregoing 
 verse, ascribes to God the glory of his appearance in the sanctuary, as the 
 God and King of Israel, terrifying and dismaying his enemies, comforting 
 and invigorating his people. Such is the presence of a glorified Saviour, 
 by his Spirit, in the Christian church. For this, and all other his mercies, 
 she is bound continually to say, and, by her holy services continually doth 
 she say, blessed be God. 
 
 THIRTEENTH DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM LXIX. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The application of many passages in this Psalm to our Lord, made by liimself 
 
 and his apostles, as well as tlie appointment of the whole, by the church, to 
 be used on Good Friday, direct us to consider it as uttered by the Son of 
 God in the day of his passion. 1 — 5. He describeth his sufferings, undergone 
 for the sins of men ; 6, 7. prayeth that his disciples may not be offended at the 
 pain and shame of the cress ;* 8 — 12. relateth the usage he met with at the 
 head of tlie Jews ; 13 — 19. maketh his prayer to the Father; 20, 21. com- 
 plaineth of his desolate estate, of the reproach cast upon him, and the gall and 
 vinegar administered to him ; 22 — 28. foretelleth the judgments of heaven, 
 about to fall upon the Jewish nation ; 29. returneth to the consideration of 
 his own sorrows and prayeth for deliverance ; oO, 31. praiseth the leather for 
 the accomphshment of that deliverance ; 32, 33. exhorteth all men to come and 
 partake of it, and 34. the whole creation to join in a chorus of thanksgiving for 
 it ; 35, 36. predicteth the salvation, edification, and perpetuity of the chui'ch. 
 
 " 1. Save me, O God, for the waters are come in unto my soul. 2. I 
 sink into deep mire, where there is no standing : I am come into deep wa- 
 ters, where the floods overflow me." 
 
 The Gospels imform us concerning the constancy and patience of Christ 
 under his sufferings : the sufferings themselves (those in particular of his 
 soul) are largely described in the Psalms ; many of which, and this among 
 the rest, seem to have been indited beforehand by the Spirit, for his use in 
 the day of trouble. As the head of the church, he here beseecheth the Fa- 
 ther to " save," through him, his mystical body. He compares the sad 
 situation into which he was brought, to that of a drowning man. The 
 Divine displeasure, like a stormy tempest, was let loose upon him ; the sins 
 of the world, as deep mire, enclosed and detained him, whilst all the waters 
 of affliction went over his head, and penetrated to his vitals. 
 
 " 3. I am weary of my crying : my throat is dried : mine eyes fail while I 
 wait for my God." 
 
 This verse describes the effects of those supplications, which the Son of 
 God offered up, " with strong crying and tears, in the days of his flesh ;" 
 Heb. V. 7.; of that thirst, which through loss of blood on the cross, "dried 
 his throat;" and of that longandpatient endurance, when his "eyes failed," 
 and were closed in darkness, while his foith "waited" for the deliverance 
 promised by the Father. The hour is coming, when our eyes must fail, 
 and be closed ; but even then, " let us wait for our God :" in this respect 
 
 * In confesso eat apud Christianos, in Psalmo Ixi.v. nobis ob nculos poni Christum, eumque pas- 
 sum. Nos a(l<limus, eumque crucifixum , quia evaiigclistie Mattlia'us, Marcus, et Johannes, 
 vigesimum secundum certa circumstantiaj crucifixionis Christi applicarunt— Notatum igitur 
 volumus, Christum in tola hac sua ad patrerasupplicalione, (est enimejusdeni argumenti cuni 
 Ps. xxii.) describere mortis etcalamitatis sine genus, ut maxime pudendum, et ignominiosum. 
 Item, ad ver. H. -20, 21.— Christus nuUas liic neglicit voces, qua; probrum aut ignominiam status, 
 in quo tuncerat, designare valent. Viiringa, Observ. Sacr. Lib. II. Chap. x. 
 
196 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXIX. 
 
 " let us die the death of that righteous" person, who died for us ; " and let 
 our last end be like his." 
 
 "4. They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my 
 head : they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are 
 mighty: then I restored that which I took not away." 
 
 The Jews, the Romans, and the spirits of darkness, make up that multi- 
 tude of enemies, which, like a herd of evening wolves, surrounded the 
 Lamb of God, thirsting after his blood, nor resting, till they had drawn forth 
 the very last drop of it from his heart. And thus, the only innocent person 
 in the world suffered for all its guilt, making satisfaction for wrongs which 
 he never did, and "restoring that which he took not away."* 
 
 "5. O God, thou knowest my foolishness ; and my sins are not hid from 
 thee." 
 
 These words, in the mouth of David, or any other sinful son of Adam, 
 are plain enough. They may nevertheless be spoken, as the rest of the 
 Psalm is, in the person of Christ, concerning the iniquities committed by 
 us, but " laid on him ;" which he therefore mentions as if they had been 
 his own ; the head complaining of diseases incident only to the members. | 
 
 " 6. Let not them that wait on thee, Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for 
 my sake : let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God 
 of Israel. 7. Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath 
 covered my face." 
 
 The Son of God prefers a petition to the Father, that his disciples may 
 not be scandalized on account of his passion, or be tempted to relinquish 
 their trust in God, at beholding his only and beloved Son forsaken on the 
 cross ; since it was not for any demerit of his own, but for the sake of God's 
 glory, as well as man's salvation, that he "bore reproach, and shame cover- 
 ed his face." It ought to be the prayer of every Christian, especially if 
 he be a minister of the Gospel, that his sufferings in the world maj' not 
 give just offence to the brethren, or the church ; which they never will do, 
 if he suffer in a good cause, ^vith a good conscience. 
 
 "8. I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my 
 mother's children. 9. For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up : and 
 the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me." 
 
 The Jews were Christ's " brethren" according to the flesh. To them he 
 was a " stranger and an alien." " He came to his own, and his own re- 
 ceived him not." "We know," said they, " that God spake unto Moses; 
 but as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is." And again, 
 "Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil," John i. 11. ix. 29. viii. 4. 8. 
 The ground of all this enmity was the " zeal" of Christ for the reformation 
 and purification of the church, which he manifested in his reproofs and ex- 
 hortations, as also by the emblematical act of driving the buyers and sellers 
 out of the temple. Upon this latter occasion the evangelist tells us, " His 
 disciples remembered that it was written," that is, it was predicted of 
 Messiah in this Psalm, " The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up," John 
 ii. 17. Therefore, as he adds immediately, "The reproaches of them that 
 reproached thee fell on me." In calumniating and blaspheming the works 
 of the Son of God, the Jews reproached both the Father who gave him those 
 works to do, and the spirit by which he did them ; all which reproaches fell 
 on the man Christ, as the visible instrument employed in the doing of them. 
 This last passage is thus quoted and applied by St. Paul — "Even Christ 
 pleased not himself; but as it is written, The reproaches of them that re- 
 proached thee fell on me," Rom. xv. 3. The usage our Lord met with 
 
 * " dui non rapui" — Ex persona Christ! : ita mecum agitur, ac si rapta ab altero,ab altero, 
 eoque iiinoxio, repetas: iieque enim impioreiri e\emplo, Deo rapiii honorein debitum ; pro eis 
 solvoquicunquerapueruiil ; sicutscriptum est ; "Propter sceliispopuli niei, percussieiiin " Isa. 
 Iiii.8. Boxsnet. 
 
 t So this verse is interpreted by the Fathers, and many of the commentators, cited by Poole, 
 in his Synopsis— Thus also Bossuet — " Insipientiam meameldelicta mea" — Ciuie in me suscepi. 
 " Quia posuil iu eo Domiiius iniquitates omnium nostrum." Isa. liii. C. 
 
Day XIII. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 197 
 
 from his brethren, because of his zeal for the house of God, should comfort 
 those who meet with the same usage on the same account. 
 
 " 10. When I wept, and cJuistened my soul with fasting, that was to my 
 reproach. II. I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb 
 to them. 12. Tliey that sit in the gate speak against me ; and I was the 
 song of the drunkards." 
 
 To expiate the sins of his creatures, the king of glory became a man of 
 sorrows; he put on mortal flesh, as a penitential garment; he fasted, and 
 prayed, and mourned, and wept, and humbled himself to the dust, as if he 
 had been the offender, and we the righteous persons, that needed no re- 
 pentance; and what return was made him ? " It was to his reproach, and 
 he became a proverb to them" for whom he suiTered. "They sat in the 
 gate," or on the "judgment-seat," which used to be in the gates of cities, 
 even the senators and judges of the land, the chief priests and elders, 
 "spake against him," with cool and deliberate malice; while he was " the 
 song of the drunken" and profligate, who more grossly insulted and derided 
 him. The true followers of the holy Jesus will often experience the like 
 treatment from an evil and adulterous generation. 
 
 " 13. But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable 
 time : O God, in the multitude of thy mercies hear me, in the truth of thy 
 salvation." 
 
 The Son of God himself, in the midst of sorrows and sufferings, has re- 
 course to prayer, pleading for his church the " mercies" of the Father, set 
 forth in the promises, and his " truth," engaged to make those promises 
 good, in the "salvation" of his chosen, through their head and representa- 
 tive. The " acceptable time," in which Christ prayed, was the time when 
 he offered the great propitiatory sacrifice. Through the merit of that sacri- 
 fice it is, that we have an " acceptable lime, and aday of salvation" allowed 
 us. Behold, now is that time, behold now is that day ! Let us not delay 
 one moment, to use and improve it aright. 
 
 " 14. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink : let me be delivered 
 from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. 15. Let not the water- 
 flood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit 
 shut her mouth upon me." 
 
 Messiah petitions for deliverance from calamities, under the same images 
 that were employed at the beginning of the Psalm, to describe those cala- 
 mities. The purport of the petition is, that the sins of the world, and the 
 sufferings due to them, may not Anally overwhelm him, nor the grave 
 " shut her mouth upon him" for ever; but that the morning of his resurrec- 
 tion may at length succeed the night of his passion. Such is also the hope 
 and the prayer of the church, and of the Christian, here below. 
 
 " 16. Hear me, O Lord ; for thy loving-kindness is good : turn unto me, 
 according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. 17. And hide not thy 
 face from thy servant ; for I am in trouble : hear me speedily, 18. Draw 
 nigh unto my soul, anc? redeem it: deliver me, because of mine enemies. 
 19. Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine 
 adversaries are all before thee." 
 
 As afflictions increase, the prayers are redoubled. Christ pleads with 
 the Father for redemption from death, on account of his divine "loving- 
 kindness and mercy :" of his own great " trouble !" of his " enemies," that 
 they might be converted or confounded : of the "reproach, shame, and dis- 
 honour," undergone by him, that they might be wiped off, and done away : 
 of the wrong he suffered from his adversaries, whose iniquitous proceedings 
 were "all before God," and known to him. Deliverance from tribulation 
 and persecution is prayed for by the church, and by her faithful children, 
 upon the same grounds. 
 
 "20. Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and 
 I looked /or some to take pity, but there was none ; and for comforters, but 
 
 17* 
 
198 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXIX. 
 
 I found none. 21. They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst 
 they gave me vinegar to drink." 
 
 The argument urged by Christ, in these most affecting words, is, that in 
 the extremity of his passion, he was left alone, without a comforter,a friend, 
 or an attendant; while all that were around about him studied to infuse every 
 bitter and acrimonious ingredient into his cup of sorrows. This was lite- 
 rally as well as metaphorically true, when "they gave him to drink vinegar 
 mingled with gall." .See Matt, xxvii. 34. John xix. 28. Such are the 
 comforts often administered by the world to an afflicted and deserted soul. 
 
 " 22. Their table* shall become a snare before them ; and that U'hich 
 should have been for thtir welfare, Heh. their peace-offerings, shall become a 
 trap." 
 
 At this verse beginneth a prediction of those dreadful judgments, which 
 Heaven has since inflicted upon the cruciliers of the Lord of glory. By 
 their " table becoming a snare, and their peace-offerings a trap," is pointed 
 out the consequences of the Jews adhering to the legal services, in opposi- 
 tion to him who is " the end of the law for righteousness." After his suf- 
 ferings and exaltation, to continue under the law became not only unpro- 
 fitable but destructive, inasmuch as it implied a denial of Messiah's advent, 
 and a renunciation of every evangelical benefit and blessing. The religion 
 of God's own appointment was an abomination to him, when reduced to the 
 form of godliness, deserted by its power. Christians, who pride them- 
 selves in the one, while they deny and deride the other, would do well to 
 consider this. 
 
 " 23. Thou wilt darken their eyes that they shall not see ; and make their 
 loins continually to shake." 
 
 They who loved darkness rather than light, by the righteous judgment of 
 God, were permitted to walk on in darkness, while the blind led the blind. 
 And such still continues to be the state of the Jews, notwithstanding that 
 intolerable weight of wo which made " their loins to shake," and bowed 
 down their backs to the earth. " The veil remaineth yet upon their hearts 
 in the reading of the Old Testament," nor can they see therein " the things 
 which belong unto their peace." These two last verses are cited as spoken 
 by Israel, by St. Paul, Rom. xi. 9, 10. Afflict us, blessed Lord, if thou seest 
 it good for us to be afflicted ; only take not from us in our affliction the 
 " Hght" of thy truth, and the " strength" of thy grace. 
 
 ' °24. Thou wilt pour out thine indignation upon them, and thy wrathful 
 anger will take old of them." 
 
 Never was " indignation so poured out," never did " wrath so take 
 hold" on any nation, as on that which once was beyond every other, be- 
 loved and favoured. "The wrath," says St. Pad, 1 Thess. ii. 16. "is 
 come upon them to the uttermost, s;c tsxoc to the end," to the very last 
 dregs of the cup of fury. Let every church which boasteth of favours be- 
 stowed, and privileges conferred upon her, remember the consequences of 
 their being abused by Jerusalem ; and let every individual do the same. 
 
 " 25. Their habitation shall be desolate, and none shall dwell in their 
 tents." 
 
 Our Lord seems to have had this passage in his view, when he said to 
 the Jews, " Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." Matt, xxiii. 38. 
 Jerusalem was by the Roman armies destroyed from the foundations. It 
 hath been since indeed rebuilt, and inhabited by Gentiles, by Christians, 
 
 ♦ I have taken the liberty to give a future rendering to the verbs in this and the following 
 verses. That they are to be so understood, saith Dr. Hammond, i.e. in the future tense, by way 
 of prediction, and not as an imprecation, see St. Aug. deCiv. 1. 17. c. 19. Hscnori oplandosunt 
 dicta, sedoptandi specie, prophetaudo—" These things are not said by the way of wishing, but 
 under the show or scheme of wishing by prophecy." And indeed the Hebrew ''H'' is in the future, 
 and is most fitly rendered, " shall be." And so doth the Jewish Arab interpreter observe, that 
 such seeming imprecations, as here and elsewhere occur in this book of Psalms, are not so much 
 by way of imprecation, as by way of prophecy, or prediction of what in God's best judgment 
 would certainly befall man. Hammond in loc. 
 
DayXIII. E. p. ON THE PSALMS. 199 
 
 and by Saracens, but no more by the Jewish people. It is remarlvable, that 
 this verse is applied Acts i. 20. to Judas, considered as the head and repre- 
 sentative of that apostate nation which rejected and delivered up its Prince 
 and Saviour to be crucified. " He was g-uide to them that took Jesus," 
 Acts i. 1(). The punishment therefore, as well as the sin of Israel, is por- 
 trayed in his person, and the same prophecy is applicable to him and to his 
 countrymen.* 
 
 " -26. For they persecute him whom thou has smitten, and they talk to 
 the grief of those whom thou hast wounded."")" 
 
 The cause of the foregoing calamities, inflicted on the Jews, is here 
 assigned, namely, that instead of mourning and sympathizing with Messiah, 
 in the day when Jehovah laid on him the iniquities of us all, and afflicted 
 him for our sakes, they, by reproaches and blasphemies, aggravated his suf- 
 ferings to the uttermost : and afterwards continued to use his disciples in 
 the same manner. It were to be wished that the sorrows of the penitent, 
 when wounded with a sense of sin, never subjected him to the scorn and 
 contempt of those who would be thought Christians. 
 
 '■'21. Thou wilt add iniquity to their iniquity; and they shall not come 
 into thy righteousness." 
 
 As they added affliction to the afflictions of Christ, so God permitted:}: them 
 to go on, blinded and deserted, in their wickedness, "adding sin to sin," 
 filling up the measure of their fathers, still obstinately refusing to come into 
 the church, and partake of the " righteousness" which is by faith. From 
 all thy judgments, good Lord, deliver us : but, above all, from that which 
 publishes one sin with another, and seals up the reprobate to destruction. 
 
 " 28. They shall be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be writ- 
 ten among the righteous." 
 
 By " the book of the living," in which the names of the righteous are 
 written, is to be understood the register of the true servants and worship- 
 pers of God, of those who are "justified," or made "righteous," through 
 faith. In this register, the names of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the ancient 
 fathers of the Israelitish race, with their true children, stand recorded : but 
 the degenerate and apostate Jews have been long since "blotted out;" 
 they are no longer the peculium of heaven, nor have they any part or por- 
 tion in the inheritance of the sons of God. Thus Ezekiel, "They shall not 
 be in the assembly of my people, nor shall they be written in the writing of 
 the house of Israel," xiii. 9. And our Lord, in his conversations with the 
 Jev/s, took every opportunity to tell them, that they, for their unbelief, 
 should be " cast out," and that the Gentiles, obeying the call of the Gospel, 
 should come from all quarters of the world, and " sit down with Abraham, 
 and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God." 
 
 " 29. But I am poor and sorrowful : let thy saving health, O God, or, thy 
 salvation shall, or, can, set me up on high." 
 
 Messiah returns to the subject of his own sufferings, which were not a 
 little enhanced by the consideration that so many of his people would not 
 be the better for them. " I am poor and sorrowful :" "poor," for he was 
 divested of his very garments; "sorrowful," for he was covered over with 
 stripes and wounds. But he knew the hour was coming, when the salva- 
 tion of God would raise him from the dead, and "set him up on high." 
 Thus should a disciple of Jesus depart out of the world, joyfully relinquish- 
 ing its goods, patiently bearing its evils, and confidently expecting a resur- 
 rection to glory. 
 
 * " Fiat liabitatio enrum duserta,"— De Juda proditore exponitur, Act. i.20. Coiifrriiit etiara 
 Judreis, eversa Hieiosolyma, quod Christus predixerat: " Ecce relinquetur vobis domus vestra 
 deserta, Luc. xiii. 35. Bossuet. 
 
 t Dalur his in verbis ratio longe maxima et 2;ravissima, propter quam Judaei terra suatessent 
 ejuciendi, ac nomine et prerogativis Populi Dei privandi, quia nimirum "eum persequntur, 
 quemaDeopercussum" vident, hoc est, quern vident iraDivina inaximoperepressum.et ad sum- 
 mam ctJuuovtcty redactum. yUringa, Observat. Sacr. Lib. ii. Chap. ix. 
 I Deserendo, et permittendo, noa operando ; ut Theologi noruiit. Bossuet. 
 
200 A COMMENTARY Psalji LXIX. 
 
 " 30. I will praise the name of God with a song, and magnify him with 
 thanksgiving." 
 
 Here, as in the sxiid, and many other Psalms, the scene changes from 
 sorrow to joy ; from a state of suffering to one of triumph ; from the passion 
 to the resurrection. Jesus, risen from the dead, declares his resolution of 
 praising and magnifying the Father, for the salvation of the world, happily 
 accomplished by his labours and sufferings, which were now for ever at an 
 end. The church does the same incessantly, on earth, and in heaven. 
 
 " 31. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox, or bullock, that 
 hath horns and hoofs." 
 
 A bullock was in its prime for sacrifice under the law, when it began to 
 put forth its "horns and hoofs." The infinite distance therefore, in point 
 of value, between the best legal sacrifices, and those of obedience, love and 
 praise, as offered by Christ, and, through him, by his church under the 
 Gospel, is pointed out in this verse. See Psalm xl. 6, &c. 1. 23. 
 
 " 32. The humble shall see this, and be glad ; and your heart shall live 
 that seek God ; or, be seeking God, and your heart shall live." 
 
 It is foretold, that the " humble," or the " poor in spirit," i. e. the meek 
 and lowly followers of the holy Jesus, should find everlasting joy and com- 
 fort in the glad tidings of salvation ; all mankind are exhorted to " seek 
 after God," as manifested in the Gospel of his Son; and the reward pro- 
 mised is "life" spiritual and eternal.* 
 
 " 33. For the Lord heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners." 
 An argument for our " seeking after God," is the experience of patriarchs, 
 prophets, and saints, who in all ages have sought and found him by 
 repentance and faith : and that the Lord " despiseth not his prisoners," is 
 evident from what he did and suffered, to deliver their souls from the 
 bondage of sin, their bodies from the prison of the grave, and both from the 
 dungeon of hell. Therefore, 
 
 " 34. Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and everything that 
 moveth therein." 
 
 The mercies of God in Christ are such, that they cannot worthily be 
 praised by anything less than a universal chorus of the whole old and new 
 creation ; and what should such a chorus celebrate, but those mercies, by 
 which all things have been made, preserved, and redeemed? 
 
 "35. For God will save Zion, and will build tlie cities of Judah ; that 
 they, i. e. men, may dwell there, and have it in possession." 
 
 The salvation and edification of the church followed the passion and 
 resurrection of Christ. " God will save Zion," that is, the church, which 
 at first consisted of the apostles, who were Jews, and others of that nation, 
 by them converted to the faith. " And build the cities of Judah," or cause 
 churches to arise in all the world, Avhich shall from thenceforth take the 
 names and inherit the privileges of "Israel and Judah: that men," even 
 such as God shall call from among the nations, "may dwell there," as 
 cities of the new Jerusalem, " and," instead of rejected Jews, " have it 
 in their possession." 
 
 "3G. The seed also of his servants shall inherit it; and they that love 
 his name shall dwell therein." 
 
 The continuation of the church in the posterity of the faithful is here pre- 
 dicted. Accordingly, the descendants of the proselyted Gentiles have been 
 in possession of the Gospel privileees for above 1700 years. And thus it 
 will be, while they abide in the faith, and " love the name" of Jesus. 
 Should the Gentiles apostatize as the Jews did, and the Jews be converted 
 as the Gentiles were, then the Gospel would go from the Gentiles to the 
 Jews, as before it went from the Jews to the Gentiles; then would there 
 "come out of Sion the Deliverer, to turn away ungodliness from Jacob," 
 Rom. xi. 26. 
 
 * Hffic et s!>qiieiitia ad redemptioncm per Christum, sub ligura soluts ciptivitatis, videntur 
 pertineie. Bossuet. 
 
Day XIV. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 201 
 
 PSALM LXX. 
 
 The words of this Psalm occur, without any material variations, in 
 Psalm xl. verse 13, to the end. The reader is therefore referred thither for 
 the exposition ; as before, in the case of the liiid and xivth Psalms. 
 
 FOURTEENTH DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM LXXL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The Psalmist, sorely distressed in his old age (see ver. 9. and 18), by the re- 
 bellion of Absalom, which was his great affliction at that period of life, ver. 
 1. prayelh for the Divine assistance, pleading, 2, God's righteousness, 3. and 
 promise ; 4. the iniquity of his persecutors; 5, 6. the mercies vouchsafed 
 him from his birtli ; 7, 8. his being deserted and given up by man ; 9. his 
 old age; 10, 11. the taunts and insults of his adversaries; 12. he repeateth 
 his request; 13. prophesieth the downfall of his enemies ; declaretli, 14. his 
 hope, 15. his grathude, 16. his faith; 17, 18. wisheth to be preserved, that 
 he might show forth tlie power and glory of God, whose righteousness and 
 marvellous acts, 19. he extoUeth, and thence, 20, 21. promiseth himself a 
 final redemption from all his troubles, and a restoration to honour and com- 
 fort; when, 22 — 24. he shall sing and speak the praises of the Lord. 
 
 "1. In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust ; let me never be put to confu- 
 sion." 
 
 The promises of salvation are made to those, who, renouncinor all confi- 
 dence in the world and themselves, trust in God alone for it. For this reason 
 the Psalmist so often beo-ins his prayer with a declaration of his " faith," 
 which is to the soul in affliction what an anchor is to a ship in distress. 
 
 "2. Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape : incline 
 thine ear unto me, and save me." 
 
 A second argument, here used, is the "righteousness" of God, who can- 
 not but be faithful and just to his own gracious word. By that word, he 
 had engaged to establish the temporal throne of David, and the eternal 
 throne of the Son of David. And, by the same word, he has engaged to 
 bring those who believe in him, through sufferings, to glory. 
 
 "3. Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: 
 thou hast given commandment to save me ; for thou art my rock and my for- 
 tress." 
 
 The protection of the Almighty, to which the troubled soul "resorts" by 
 faith and prayer, is compared to that which a well-fortified castle, or town, 
 affords to those within it, in time of war. And the plea, upon which this 
 petition is enforced, is in a manner the same with the former, namely, the 
 declared purpose of God to be the Saviour of his servants ; "Thou hast given 
 commandment to save me." 
 
 "4. Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the 
 hand of the unrighteous and cruel man." 
 
 The Divine assistance is implored by the Psalmist, thirdly, on the foot 
 of the goodness of his cause, and the iniquity of his enemies. Such were 
 Absalom, Ahitophel, &c. to David ; Judas and the Jews to Christ ; and such 
 are the world, the flesh, and the devil to the Christian. Against them he 
 is to pray and fight continually ; ever remembering, that wickedness is at 
 least as dangerous when it tempts, as when it persecutes ; and can smile as 
 well as frown a man dead. 
 
 " 5. For thou art my hope, Lord God : thou art my trust from my 
 
 youth. 6. By thee have 1 been holden up from the womb : thou art he 
 
 that took me out of my mother's bowels : my praise shall be continually of 
 
 thee." 
 
 Former mercies are urged, as a fifth motive, for the Divine goodness to 
 
202 A COMMENTARY Psaim LXXI. 
 
 continue those mercies. The watchful care of heaven over us, at an age 
 vphen we are able to take no care of ourselves, deserves consideration. The 
 love of Jesus, shown in passing through a state of childhood for us, de- 
 serves a still more deep and devout consideration. 
 
 "7. I am as a wonder unto many : but thou art my strong refuge." 
 David, banished from his kingdom, was regarded as a " wonder," or a 
 prodigy of wretchedness ; Christ, in his state of humiliation upon earth, was 
 a "sign," everywhere "spoken against," as Simeon foretold he would be, 
 Luke i. 34. The Christian, who lives by faith, who quits possession for 
 reversion, and who chooses to suffer with his Saviour here, that he may 
 reign with him hereafter, appears to the men of the world, as a monster of 
 folly and enthusiasm. But God is the " strong refuge" of all such. 
 
 "8. Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the 
 day.y 
 
 Whatever men say or think of him, the royal prophet desires still to 
 strengthen, and to delight himself, in doing the will, singing the praises, 
 and setting forth the glory of God. Such likewise was thy desire, bles- 
 sed;;Jesus, in the days of thy iiesh. Ever grant that it may be ours. 
 
 " 9. Cast me not off in the time of old age ; forsake me not when my 
 strength faileth." 
 
 David, mindful of the noble actions which, through God's assistance, he 
 had achieved in his youth, beseeches him not to desert his servant, when 
 persecuted by a rebellious son in his old age. The weaknesses and tempta- 
 tions peculiar to that time of life, render this petition necessary for us all 
 to make, before we are overtaken by it. The church findeth but too much 
 occasion to make the same, now that she is sunk in years ; when faith lan- 
 guisheth, charity waxeth cold, and the infirmities of a spiritual old age are 
 coming fast upon her. 
 
 " 10. For mine enemies speak against me ; and they that lay wait for my 
 soul take counsel together, 11. Saying, God hath forsaken him : persecute 
 and take him ; for there is none to deliver him.'''' 
 
 They who saw David ascending mount Olivet in tears, when Absalom had 
 driven him from Jerusalem, and they who beheld Jesus led forth out of the 
 same Jerusalem, to be crucified on mount Calvary, were tempted to regard 
 both the one and the other as finally deserted by God. They who view the 
 church, or any member thereof, under affliction and persecution, are too fre- 
 quently tempted to think the same, and to act accordingly ; though they are 
 so plainly taught the contrary, by the restoration of the king of Israel, and 
 the resurrection of the Son of God. 
 
 "12. O God, be not far from me : O my God, make haste to my help. 
 13. Let them, or, they shall, be confounded and consumed that are adver- 
 saries to my soul; let them, or, they shall, be covered with reproach and 
 dishonour that seek my hurt." 
 
 As the insolence of his persecutors increaseth, the distressed monarch 
 crieth more earnestl)'- unto God ; and is so far from relinquishing his hope, 
 that, in the midst of his sorrows, he foreseeth and foretelleththe final confu- 
 sion of his enemies. The Christian, who has faith in the promises, may do 
 likewise, in the worst of times, and the worst of circumstances. For the 
 day Cometh, when all the workers of wickedness shall be destroyed, "and 
 death and hell shall be cast into the lake of fire," Rev. xx. 11. 
 
 "14. But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and 
 more. 15. My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salva- 
 tion all the day ; for I know not the numbers thereof.''^ 
 
 As there is no end to the loving-kindness of Jehovah, there should be 
 none to our gratitude. The "hope" of a Christian "giveth songs in the 
 night," and enableth him to be thankful, even in the dark season of afflic- 
 tion. Paul and Silas not only prayed, but also " sang praises" to God, in 
 a prison at midnight. Acts xvi. 25. 
 
 " 1(^ I will go in the strength of the Lord God : I will make mention of 
 thy righteousness, even of thine only." 
 
Day XIV. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 203 
 
 He who g-oeth to the battle against his spiritual enemies, should go, con- 
 fiding, not in his own " strength," but in that of the Lord God ; not in his 
 own " righteousness," but in that of his redeemer. Such an one engageth 
 with Om°iipotence on his side, and cannot but be victorious. 
 
 "17. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth ; and hitherto have I 
 declared thy wondrous works. 18. Now also when I am old and grey- 
 headed, God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this 
 generation, and thy power to every one that, is to come." 
 
 It was the God of Israel, who "taught" David, as a warrior, to conquer, 
 and as a Psalmist, to "declare the wondrous works" of his great Benefac- 
 tor. He requests to be preserved in his old age, until, by completing his 
 victories, and his Psalms composed to celebrate them, he had " showed the 
 strength and power of God," not only to the men of the "generation" in 
 which he lived, but also to " every one that should come," or arise in after 
 times, and chant those divine hymns in the assemblies of the faithful, 
 throughout all ages. Doth St. Paul wish to have his life continued upon 
 earth I It is only, that he may edify the church, and glorify God. Other- 
 wise, it is far "better," says he, " to depart, and to be with Christ." 
 
 " 19. Thy righteousness, O God, is very high, who hast done great 
 things : O God, who is like unto thee !" 
 
 What a force is now added to these words, by the actual exaltation of the 
 righteous Saviour "very high" above all heavens, and b)'' the "great 
 things" which he hath "done" for our souls ! Let us think on these things, 
 and we shall most affectionately say, with David, " O God, who is like 
 unto thee !" Delightful is thy love, O Lord Jesus, beyond all pleasure, more 
 precious than much fine gold, and honourable above the thrones of the 
 mighty ! The world languisheth and fadeth away at thy presence, whose 
 beauty is immortal, whose treasures diminish not, and whose glory endu- 
 reth through the unnumbered ages of eternity. 
 
 "20. Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore trouble, shalt quicken 
 me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. 21. 
 Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side." 
 
 In David, delivered out of his troubles, and restored to his throne, webe- 
 hold our Lord, after his "great and sore trouble, literally quickened, or 
 revived, brought up again from the depths of the earth, increased in great- 
 ness, and comforted on every side." In him we were virtuall}'^, by his grace 
 we are actually, raised from sin and sorrow, to righteousness and comfort; 
 and through his power we shall be raised, from dust and corruption, to 
 glory and immortality. 
 
 "22. I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, my God: 
 unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel. 23. My 
 lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee ; and my soul, which thou 
 hast redeemed. 24. My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the 
 day long : for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that 
 seek my hurt." 
 
 The truth of God, in accomplishing his promises by the redemption of 
 our souls, and the confusion of our spiritual enemies, is a subject which 
 demands a never-ceasing tribute of gratitude and love, of praise and thanks- 
 giving. To celebrate it aright, with the melody of instruments, voices, and 
 affections, all in perfect concord, is the duty and delight of the church mili- 
 tant ; which, when thus employed, affords the best resemblance of the church 
 triumphant. 
 
 PSALM LXXIL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 David, praying for Solomon, foretelleth his peaceful and glorious reign, and 
 under that figure, in most lively and beautiful colours, portrayeth the king- 
 
204 A COMMENTARY Psai.3i LXXII. 
 
 dom of Messiah; 1 — 4. its riglileous administration; 5. its duration; 6, 7. 
 its blessings; 8. its extent; 9 — 11. the accession of" the Gentiles to it; 12 — 14. 
 the redemption to be wroug-ht, and 15. the prayers and praises to be offered 
 up in it; 16. its miraculous Increase and fruitfidness; 17. its perpetuity and 
 universality; 18, 19. a doxology sung to God for it. / 
 
 " 1. Give the Kinof thy judgments, God, and thy righ^ousness unto 
 the king's son.* 2. He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy 
 poor with judgment." 
 
 In this prophetical prayer the aged monarch of Israel, about to resiga 
 the kingdom into the hands of his son Solomon, makes unto God the 
 request of a wise father for him. He asks such a portion of wisdom and - 
 integrity from above, as might enable the young prince to govern aright the 
 people of God, and to exhibit to the world a fair resemblance of that King 
 of Israel, who was, in the fulness of time, to sit upon "the throne of his 
 father David;" Luke i. 32. "to reign in righteousness;" Isa. xxxii. 1. and 
 " to have all judgment committed unto him," John v. 22. 
 
 " 3. The mountains shall bring, or, bear, peace to the people, and the lit- 
 tle hills, b}', or, in righteousness." 
 
 In other words, peace, manifested by its consequence, plenteousness, shall 
 be upon all the mountains and little hills of Judea, by means of that righ- 
 teous judgment, which Solomon will execute in the land. And thus in the 
 days of Messiah, " Beautiful upon the mountains were the feet of them that 
 brought the glad tidings of peace ;" which the fruits of the Spirit, in the 
 churches, plainly showed to have been derived from above, through the 
 righteousness of the Redeemer, producing "peace on earth." 
 
 " 4. He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of 
 the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor." 
 
 It is the part of justice, in well-ordered governments, to see that the 
 "poor and needy have right;" to break the teeth of " oppression," and 
 pluck indigence from its devouring jaws. This Christ performed, when, 
 having undertaken the cause of his people against the adversary, he " saved" 
 them by his resurrection, and " broke in pieces" the power of the great op* 
 
 PRESSOR. 
 
 " 5. They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, through- 
 out all generations." 
 
 The kingdom of Solomon continued in his own person only for forty 
 years; but in his seed, that is Christ, it is established throughout all gene- 
 rations. He reigneth " over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his king- 
 dom there shall be no end," Luke i. 33. His dominion over the world by his 
 providence, and in the church by the influences of his grace, is to be coeval 
 with that of the celestial luminaries in nature. And when " the moon shall 
 be confounded, and the sun ashamed," when the heavens shall be dissolved, 
 and the earth burnt up, " the Lord of hosts shall reign on mount Sion," in 
 the Jerusalem above, in glory everlasting. See Isa. xxiv. 23. 
 
 " 6. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass ; as showers that 
 water the earth." 
 
 Refreshing and salutary as the drops of heaven to the shorn and parched 
 grass, is the mild administration of a wise and pious prince to his subjects. 
 And what imao^e can convey a better idea of those most beneficial and 
 blessed effects, which followed the descent of the Son of God upon the 
 earth, and that of the Spirit at the day of Pentecost ] The prophets abound 
 with descriptions of those great events, couched in terms borrowed from 
 the philosophy of rain and dew. See Isa. xliv. 3. Iv. 10. Rosea xiv. 5. 
 Heb. vi. 7. In the last words of David, the reign of Messiah is described 
 under this figure; " He shall be as the tender grass springing out of the 
 
 *Thc " king" and the " king's son," are the same person ; a character that belongs to none 
 so proporly as to Solomon, who was the tirst prince that was at the same time "king," and 
 '• sun uf a king." Madge. Dr. C'liaudler is of the same opinion. 
 
Day XIV. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 205 
 
 earth by clear shining after rain." I cannot help "subjoining Bishop Sher- 
 lock's masterly illustration of this passage — "There cannot be a more 
 lively image of a flourishing condition than what is conveyed to us in these 
 words. The grass, which is forced by the heat of the sun, before the ground 
 is well prepared by rains, is weak and languid, and of a faint complexion; 
 but when clear shining succeeds the gentle showers of spring, the field puts 
 forth its best strength, and is more beautifully arrayed than even Solomon 
 in all his glory." Disc. vol. v. p. 89. 
 
 " 7. In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so 
 long as the moon endureth." 
 
 By means of rain and dew, the grass springeth out of the ground. In 
 the kingdom of Solomom, through the influences of his wisdom, good men 
 were encouraged, righteousness flourished, and the land enjoyed tranquillity. 
 In the days of Messiah, the fruit of the Spirit was righteousness, and the 
 fruit of righteousness was " abundance of peace." He was the true " Mel- 
 chisedek," or " King of righteousness," and therefore the true Solomon, the 
 *' King of Salem, the Prince of peace." And his peace is to endure, when 
 the moon shall have ceased to vary her appearances, and when a period 
 shall be put to all sublunary vicissitudes. 
 
 " 8. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto 
 the ends of the earth, or, land." 
 
 As applicable to the kingdom of Solomon, this verse describes the extent 
 and limits of the promised "land:" if it be interpreted of the wide-extended 
 empire of Christ, that empire knows no bounds but those of the " earth" it- 
 self. The Hebrew word jnx, if often used for both, and, as the dominion 
 of Solomon represented that of a greater than Solomon, both are compre- 
 hended in the same words. And it is observable, that when the prophet 
 Zachariah foretells the advent of " the king of Sion," in great humility, 
 *' meek, and riding on an ass," he describes the extent of his kingdom 
 in these words — " His dominion shall be even from sea to sea, and from the 
 river even to the ends of the earth," ^ech. ix. 9, 10. 
 
 "9. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him: and his 
 enemies shall lick the dust." 
 
 Distant nations submitted themselves to his sceptre, and prostrated them- 
 selves before the throne of Solomon, foreshowing the conversion of the 
 heathen world (in the figurative language of prophecy, frequently styled 
 "the wilderness") to the Gospel, and the lowly adoration to be made by 
 penitent sinners, at the foot-stool of the King of glory. They who take 
 not the advantage of the day of grace, will feel the rod of his power in the 
 day of vengeance,v/hen his "enemies" shall be subjected to him; when 
 death himself shall be destroyed; and "dust shall be the serpent's meat," 
 Isa. Ixv. 25. Gen. iii. 14. 
 
 " 10. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents : the 
 kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts." 
 
 This verse suggesteth to our meditation several curious and interesting 
 particulars, all tending to one and the same end. As, 1. The munificent 
 presents and immense treasures brought to Solomon from Tarshish, and the 
 isles of the Gentiles, 1 Kings x. 22, &c. 2. The coming of the queen of 
 Sheba from the south, with her gifts and acknowledgments, to Jerusalem. 
 3. The offerings made by the eastern Magi, as the first-fruits of the Gen- 
 tiles, to the Saviour of the world. And lastly, the accession of the nations 
 to the faith, (even these " isles of the Gentiles,") bringing their glory and 
 honour into the city of God. See Isa. xlix. Ix. Rev. xxi. 24. 
 
 " 11. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him ; all nations shall serve 
 him." 
 
 It is said, 2 Chron. ix. that "all the kings of the earth sought the pre- 
 sence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom : that he reigned over all the kings, 
 from the river even unto the land of the Philistines, and to the border of 
 Egypt; and that they brought unto him horses out of Egypt, and out of 
 
 18 
 
206 A COMMENTARY PsamLXXII. 
 
 all lands." The dominion of Christ is universal ; and it will appear to be 
 so at the last day ; when before men and angels, he shall prove his claim 
 to the title, " King of kings, and Lord of lords." 
 
 " 12. For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth ; the poor also, and 
 him that hath no helper. 13. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall 
 save the souls of the needy. 14. He shall redeem their soul from deceit 
 and violence : and precious shall their blood be in his sight." 
 
 These three verses, considered as describing the just and merciful admi- 
 nistration of Solomon, need no exposition. As prophetical of Messiah's 
 reign, they may be thus connected with the context, and paraphrased — The 
 kings and nations of the earth shall accede to the church of Christ, induced 
 so to do by the fame of his mercy, no less than by that of his majesty. 
 They shall hear of the great deliverance vvrought by him for the poor in 
 spirit, who make their prayer unto him, confessing their sins, and acknow- 
 ledging the inability of any creature, in heaven or earth, to recover them 
 from their lost estate. These he shall spare, and pardon, and save from 
 sin, and from death, and from hell. He shall for this purpose, break the 
 snares and destroy the power of their great oppressor, the devil ; and so 
 dear shall their blood be in his sight, that he shall shed his own for it; 
 after which, arising to a new and immortal life, he shall accomplish the 
 eternal redemption of his servants. 
 
 " 15. And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba; 
 prayer also shall be made for him continually, and daily shall he be 
 praised." 
 
 As Solomon's reign was long and prosperous, that of Messiah is ever- 
 lasting and glorious; as the rich brought presents to the one, so the nations 
 offered up themselves, their possessions, their souls, and their bodies, to 
 the other; as the former was continually prayed for, and blessed by his 
 subjects, who owed peace and plenteousness to his government; so, with 
 regard to the latter, prayer is made ever in the church for the increase and 
 consummation of his kingdom ; and daily is he praised, by his people, 
 for all the riches of grace, for all the comforts of the Spirit, and for all the 
 hopes of glory, which they possess, and enjoy, through him. 
 
 " 16. There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the 
 mountains ; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon : and they of the city 
 shall flourish like grass of the earth." 
 
 It is here foretold, that in the days of Solomon, wonderful should be the 
 fruitfulness of Judea ; of the country in corn, by which the city is supported ; 
 and of the city in people, who, by their numbers, constitute the strength of 
 the king. The fruitfulness of the country was to be so great, that from a 
 "handful of corn," and that sown on the most barren spot, the "top of a 
 mountain," should issue a produce, the ears of which would "shake," and 
 wave in the wind, like the woods of " Lebanon ;" while in the city, a fresh 
 progeny of Israelites was still springing up, and advancing to maturity, like 
 the unnumbered blades of grass in a field which the Lord hath blessed. 
 See 1 Kings iv. 20, &c. Such, under the reign of King Messiah, was the 
 amazing increase of the " word," when sown in hearts barren before ; such 
 the astonishing multiplication of citizens in the Christian church; as it is 
 written. Acts vi. 7. " And the word of God increased : and the number 
 of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly." So let it be, blessed 
 Lord, wheresoever thy Gospel is preached throughout the world. 
 
 " 17. His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued, Heb. 
 propagated, as long as the sun; and men shall be blessed in him: all 
 nations shall call him blessed." 
 
 The person and kingdom of Solomon have been used all along as a chan- 
 nel, through which to convey a most illustrious prophecy concerning those 
 of Christ. But here, the type seems to be wholly absorbed in the great 
 antitype. His " name," his saving name, " shall indeed remain for ever, 
 propagated," with the faith, through all the generations of men, while the 
 
DAT XIV. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 207 
 
 «' sun," another of his representatives, shall continue to maintain his station 
 in the heavens, and to diffuse his light upon the earth. la him, as it was 
 promised to Abraham, shall all the true children of Abraham be " blessed," 
 with the blessings of eternity ; all nations shall call him " blessed," as they 
 are taught to do in the remaining verses of the exalted composition. 
 
 "18." Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth won- 
 derous things. 19. And blessed be his glorious name for ever; and let the 
 whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen, and Amen." 
 
 Blessed, therefore, be thou, O Lord Jesus ; for thou art the Lord God, 
 even the God of Israel, who hast wrought such miracles of mercy for the 
 salvation of the church : and blessed, by the tongues of men and angels, 
 be thy holy and glorious name ; and let the whole earth be filled with the 
 amazingly transcendent and inconceivable majesty of thy most excellent 
 glory, for evermore ! So be it, so be it. 
 
 FOURTEENTH DAY EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM LXXIII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The person speaking in this Psalm, relates, 1 — 3. the process of a temptation, 
 occasioned by his beholding the prosperity of wicked men upon earth, which 
 he describes, 4 — 11. with, 12 — 14. the suggestions of nature on the occasion; ' 
 but in opposition to these, grace urges, 15. the examples of saints, 16. the 
 difficulty of judging concerning God's dispensations, and, above all, 17 — 20. 
 tlie final issue of things at the last day, and the end of that prosperity which 
 had excited his envy. Perfectly satisfied with these considerations, 21, 22. 
 he owns his uneasiness to have sprung' from his ignorance ; and, 23, 28. 
 closes the Psalm with the most affectionate expressions of his full trust and 
 confidence in the Divine mercy and goodness. No temptation is more com- 
 mon or more formidable, than that above mentioned. A more powerful and 
 effectual antidote to it cannot be devised, than this most instructive and 
 beautiful Psalm affords. 
 
 " 1. Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart," 
 
 This declaration seems to be the result of a long struggle in the mind of 
 the Psalmist, between nature and grace, in which the latter proves victo- 
 rious, and, notwithstanding all appearances to the contrary, determines, 
 against the suggestions of the former, that God is the same good and merci- 
 ful God to his church and people, if they do but preserve inviolable their 
 fidelity to him, whether, in this world, they enjoy prosperity or endure 
 affliction. 
 
 " 2. But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh 
 slipped. 3. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of 
 the wicked." 
 
 Temptations impede the progress of the Christian in the way of right- 
 eousness, and incline him to fall : as it happens to one who walks in a slip- 
 pery path. The temptation here complained of, is that excited by seeing 
 wealth and honour in. the hands of infidelity and villany, while the faithful 
 servants of God are covered with infamy, and oppressed by poverty. A 
 prospect of this sort is apt to make us distrust the love of heaven towards 
 us, and its providence over us. For our benefit, therefore, in the course of 
 this Psalm, the disease is particularized, and the remedy prescribed. 
 
 " 4. For there are no bands, or, pangs, in their death ; but their strength 
 is firm." 
 
 Health and strength are to be reckoned among those temporal blessings, 
 which the long-suffering of God sometimes permits the ungodly to enjoy. 
 And accordingly, we find men of that cast, who live without sickness, and 
 
208 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXXIH. 
 
 die in a manner without pain : while others, of a contrary character, are 
 worn with chronical, or racked with acute disorders, which bring them with 
 sorrow and torment to the grave. 
 
 *' 5. They are not in trouble as other men ; neither are they plagued like 
 other men." 
 
 Calamities, which overwhelm the small concerns of the poor righteous 
 man, approach not the borders of the wealthy sinner. Far from poverty, as 
 free from disease, he seems to pass his days exempted from the miseries 
 of mankind, without labour or anxiety : and not so much as to think of 
 those, who, distressed on all sides, can scarcely earn their bread by the 
 sweat of their brows. See this sentiment beautifully dilated, Job xxi. 
 See also Jer. xii. 1. 
 
 " 6. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain ; violence 
 covereth them as a garment." 
 
 Among men who have not the love of God in their hearts, or his fear be- 
 fore their eyes, pride and oppression are the offspring of worldly prosperity. 
 The daughters attend the mother, wherever she goeth, and show them- 
 selves openly without reserve. " Pride compasseth them about as a chain ;" 
 they wear it for an ornament about their necks, as gold chains, collars, or 
 necklaces, were worn; see Cant. iv. 9. discovering it by their stately car- 
 riage; see Isa. iii. 15. " Violence covereth them as a garment;" it ap- 
 peareth outwardly, in all they say or do, and engrosseth the whole man ; 
 they are, as the English phrase is, " made up of it." 
 
 " 7. Their eyes stand out with fatness : they have more than heart could 
 wish." 
 
 "A man may be known by his looks," saith the son of Sirach, Eccles. 
 xix. 20. The choleric, the lascivious, the melancholy, the cunning, 
 &c. &c. frequently bear their tempers and ruling passions strongly marked 
 on their countenances : but more especially doth the soul of man look forth 
 at his "eyes." The "pride" of the ungodly, occasioned by great and 
 unexpected success in the world, hardly ever fails to bewray itself this 
 way. 
 
 "8. They are corrupt; and speak wickedly co?2cera;7?^ oppression : they 
 speak loftily." 
 
 Prosperity in an irreligious heart breeds "corruptio.n," which from thence 
 is emitted by the breath in conversation, to infect and taint the minds of 
 others. A circle of fawning dependents is never wanting, to whom the 
 poor, vain, and ignorant wretch, exalted in his own conceit above the level of 
 mortality, may, from the chair, without control, dictate libertinism and infi- 
 delity, bidding defiance to the laws of God and man. 
 
 " 9. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh 
 through the earth." 
 
 The blessings, for which a Christian praises his God, only cause the in- 
 fidel to blaspheme him. So true is that of Solomon, " The prosperity of 
 fools destroyeth them." What a pity is it, that the former should ever be 
 less zealous and indefatigable in diffusing his piety, than we know the 
 latter is in propagating his blasphemies through the earth? 
 
 "10. Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are 
 wrung out to them." 
 
 It seemeth impossible to ascertain, with any degree of precision, the 
 meaning of this verse, or to whom it relates. Some think it intends those 
 people who resort to the company of the wicked, because they find their 
 temporal advantage by it; while others are of opinion, that the people of 
 God are meant, who, by continually revolving in their thoughts the subject 
 here treated of, namely, the prosperity of the wicked, are sore grieved, and 
 enforced to shed tears in abundance. Mr. Mudge translates the verse thus — 
 " Therefore let his (God's) people come before them, and waters in full 
 measure would be wrung out from them." That is, " Should God's peo- 
 ple fall into their hands, they would squeeze them to the full ; they would 
 
Day XIV. E. P. ON THE PSAI.MS. 209 
 
 wring out all the juice in their bodies." He takes " waters in full mea- 
 sure," to have been a proverbial expression. 
 
 "11. And they say, How doth God know 1 and is there knowledge in 
 the Most High V 
 
 They who interpret the foregoing verse of the people of God, tempted by 
 the success of the ungodly to distrust his providence, suppose this and the 
 followinor verses to be uttered by " them," as questioning whether God 
 had any regard to what passed here below. But, to avoid confusion of per- 
 sons, I would rather suppose the foregoing verse (to whomsoever it may 
 belong) to be parenthetic, and the verse now under consideration to be an 
 epicurian atheistical speech in the mouth of the wicked, above described at 
 large ; after which the Psalmist goes on, in his own person, as from the 
 beo-inning, to relate the temptation which he underwent, and the issue of it. 
 
 " 12. Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world ; they in- 
 crease in riches." 
 
 The temptation is now stated in its full force, " These" worthless, un- 
 godly, blasphemous wretches, whose characters I have been delineating, 
 " these" are the men who prosper in the world, who succeed in everything 
 they undertake, and roll in riches ! What are we to think of God, his pro- 
 vidence, and his promises 1 
 
 " 13. Verily, I have cleansed my heart m vain, and washed my hands in 
 ionocency. 14. For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened 
 every morning." 
 
 Nature will be apt upon this occasion to suggest, that all my faith, my 
 charity, and my devotion, all my watching and fastings ; in short, all the 
 labour and pains I have taken in the way of goodness, have been altogether 
 vain and fruitless ; since, while the rebellious enemies of God enjoy the 
 world and themselves at pleasure, I, who continue his servant, am in per- 
 petual tribulation and affliction. 
 
 " 15. If I say, I will speak, or, declare, or, preach, thus ; behold, I should 
 offend against the generation of thy children." 
 
 The Psalmist, having thus particularized the disease, proceeds now, like 
 a skilful physician of the soul, to prescribe a medicine for it, which, is com- 
 pounded of many salutary ingredients. And first, to the suggestions of 
 nature, grace opposes the examples of the children of God, who never fell 
 from their hope in another world, because of their sufferings in this. For a 
 man, therefore, to distrust the Divine goodness on that account, is to belie 
 their hope, renounce their faith, and strike his name out of their list. 
 
 " 16. When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me." 
 
 A second reason why a man should not be too forward to arraign God's 
 dispensations of injustice, is the extreme difficulty of understanding and 
 comprehending the whole of them, which indeed is not to be done by the 
 human mind, unless God himself shall vouchsafe it the necessary informa- 
 tion. " It was too painful for me," says the Psalmist. 
 
 " 17. Until I went into the sanctuary of God ; then understood I their 
 end." 
 
 The third argument, with which we may repress the spirit of murmuring 
 and distrust, so apt to be excited by the prosperity of the wicked, is one 
 communicated to us by the word of God, which alone can acquaint us with 
 what is to be the " end," the final portion of sinners at the last day. This 
 is an arrow from the heavenly quiver, which brings' down our enemy at 
 once, and lays Dagon prostrate before the ark. 
 
 " 18. Surely thou didst, or, dost set them in slippery places ; thou castedst 
 them down into destruction." 
 
 Worldly prosperity is as the narrow and slippery summit of a mountain, 
 on which, to answer the designs of his providence, God permits the wicked, 
 during his pleasure, to take their station ; till at length the fatal hour arrives, 
 when by a stroke unseen, they fall from thence, and are lost in the fathom^ 
 less ocean of sorrow, torment, and despair, 
 
 18* 
 
210 A COMMENTARY Psami LXXIII. 
 
 "19. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are 
 utterly consum.ed with terrors." 
 
 The sudden alteration which death makes in the state of a powerful and 
 opulent sinner, cannot but affect all around him, though they behold but 
 one part of it. How much more would they be astonished and terrified, if 
 the curtain between the two worlds were undrawn, and the other half of 
 the chang-e disclosed to view! Let faith do that which sight cannot do; and 
 then the ungodly, however wealthy and honourable, will surely cease to be 
 the objects of our envy. 
 
 " 20. As a dream when one awaketh; so, Lord, when thou awakest, or, 
 causest them to awake, thou shalt despise their image." 
 
 The life of the ungodly is a sleep ; their happiness a dream, illusive and 
 transitory ; at best a shadow ; afterwards, nothing. At the day of death, 
 the soul is roused out of this sleep, and the dream vanishes. When God 
 shall thus awaken them, he will " despise their image," he will bring to 
 nought, and render utterly contemptible, even in their own sight, as well 
 ?is that of himself, of his holy angels, and the spirits of the righteous, those 
 imaginary and fantastic pleasures, for which they have lost the substantial 
 joys and glories of his heavenly kingdom. Now, therefore, while it will 
 not be in vain, "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and 
 Christ shall give thee light." Eph. v. 14. See Job xx. 4, &c. Isa xxix. 8. 
 
 "21. Thus my heart was grieved, Heh. in a ferment, and I was pricked 
 in my reins. 22. So foolish was I, and ignorant : I*was as a beast before 
 thee." 
 
 The Psalmist, fully satisfied with the conduct of Providence, reflects upon 
 the folly of his former uneasiness, and humbly owns that his doubts were 
 occasioned solely by his ignorance of God's ways ; while he formed his 
 judgment of them without having duly taken into consideration the final 
 issue of things. The last day, when it comes, will bring with it a solution 
 of all difficulties. He who bears impressed upon his mind such an idea of 
 that day as the Scriptures can give hirn, may solve them now. 
 
 " 23. Nevertheless I am continually with thee : thou hast holden me by 
 my right hand." 
 
 The remainder of the Psalm contains the most dutiful and aflfectionate 
 expressions of a mind perfectly at ease, and reposing itself with comfortable 
 assurance on the loving-kindness of the Lord, of which it had experienced a 
 fresh instance in its support under the late temptation, and complete victory 
 over it. "I am continually with thee," as a child under the tender care of 
 a parent, and, as a parent, during my danger of falling in a slippery path, 
 " thou hast holden me," thy child, " by my right hand." 
 
 " 24. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to 
 glory." 
 
 He who, but a little while ago, seemed to question the providence of God 
 over the affairs of men, now exults in happy confidence of the Divine mercy 
 and favour towards himself; nothing doubting but that grace would ever 
 continue to guide him upon earth till glory should crown him in heaven. 
 Such are the blessed effects of " going into the sanctuary," and consulting 
 the " lively oracles," in all our doubts, difficulties, and temptations. 
 
 "25. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that 
 I desire besides, Heb. with, or, in comparison of, thee." 
 
 The believing soul seems here to speak in the person, and with the affec- 
 tion, of a spouse, declaring, that not only earth, but heaven itself, would be 
 unsatisfactory and comfortless without the presence of her beloved Re- 
 deemer, the God of her salvation. But there is a pathos in the words 
 themselves, which though the Christian feels, the commentator cannot 
 express. 
 
 "26. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, 
 and my portion for ever." 
 
 None of those things, in the abundance of which the wicked place their 
 
DAT XIV. E. p. ON THE PSALMS. 211 
 
 happiness, can deliver us in the day of death. "Flesh" must revert to dust, 
 and the "heart" must cease its beating. He alone, therefore, is the proper 
 object of our faith and love, who can support and carry us through the 
 dreadful hour, and then raise us again to be our " portion for ever." Lord 
 Jesus, who hast so graciously promised to become our portion in the next 
 world, prevent us from choosing any other in this. 
 
 "27. For lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed, 
 or, wilt destroy, all them that go a-whoring from thee." 
 
 They who are " far from God," are just so far from salvation ; and of 
 course, if they remain in that situation, must "perish." Nor have they 
 reason to expect any other fate, who in their hearts depart from the holy 
 Jesus, after he has betrothed them to himself in righteousness ; and prefer 
 to him the vilest and basest of his 'enemies, the world and the flesh, by 
 whose wicked hands he w^as crucified and slain. 
 
 " 28. But it is good for me to draw near to God : I have put my trust in 
 the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works." 
 
 As if the Psalmist had said, in other words — Hear, therefore, the con- 
 clusion of the whole matter. Let others, dazzled by the blaze of worldly 
 prosperity, forsake God, to obtain a share of it; or murmur against him, 
 because they cannot obtain it. I am persuaded, it now is, and finally will 
 be, "good," delightful, profitable, and honourable, "for me to draw near," 
 and join myself "to him;" which, in this life, I can do no otherwise than 
 by believing and hoping in his holy name; "I will put my trust in the 
 Lord God," and excite others to do the same, by " declaring his works," 
 and dispensations ; that all may perceive what an amazing difference will 
 one day be made between him who lusteth after the creature, and him who 
 loveth the Creator. 
 
 PSALM LXXIV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 Upon whatever occasion this Psalm might have been originally composed, it 
 is plainly intended for the use of the church in time of persecution. l._She 
 bemoans herself as deserted by God ; the return of whose favour she en- 
 treats ; 2. on account of his having redeemed her ; S — 9. the ravages made, 
 and, 10. the reproaches thrown out by the enemy ; 11 — 15. she reminds him 
 of the wonders formerly wrought in her behalf, and, 16, 17. of his power 
 and goodness, manifested in the common course of nature; 19. of the rela- 
 tion in which she stands to him ; 20. of his covenant; 21, 22. of the honour 
 of his name, and 23. the increasing fuiy of her adversaries, just ready to 
 swallow her up. 
 
 "1.0 God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger 
 smoke against the sheep of thy pasture." 
 
 God not only permits, but, by his prophet, who indited this form of words, 
 directs the church, under persecution, to expostulate with him, for having 
 to all appearance finally deserted her. And that, in such deplorable cir- 
 cumstances, she may move his compassion, and, as it were, revive his love 
 towards her, she is taught to remind him of that endearing relation which 
 once subsisted between him and his people, the relation of a " shepherd" 
 to his " sheep." The soul, when led into captivity, and detained in it, by a 
 prevailing lust of passion, may make her prayer likewise in these words, 
 adapted to her case. 
 
 " 2. Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the 
 rod, or, tribe, or, portion, of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed ; 
 this mount Zion wherein thou hast dwelt." 
 
 The Israelitish church pleads for mercy upon these considerations, that 
 God had formerly vouchsafed to redeem her from the Egyptian bondage. 
 
212 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXXIV. 
 
 and to fix his residence on mount Zion, all which would prove to have been 
 done in vain, should he leave her at last in the hands of her enemies. The 
 redemption by Jesus Christ, and his habitation in the church Christian, by 
 his Spirit, are ihe corresponding arguments to be urged, on similar occasions, 
 by her, and by the believing soul. 
 
 "3. Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the 
 enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary." 
 
 God is represented as having withdrawn himself, and departed afar off; 
 he is therefore entreated to return without delay, to view the long lasting 
 desolations of the once highly favoured city, and the ravages made by aliens 
 in the sanctuary ; which could not but excite in him compassion for his 
 people, and indignation against their enemies. The outward calamities of 
 a persecuted church should cause us to reflect on the sad havoc and devas- 
 tation made by sin and Satan in the soul, which before was the city and 
 temple of the living God. 
 
 " 4. Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations, or, places of 
 worship ; they set up their ensigns /or signs." 
 
 No sound can be more shocking than the confused clamour of a heathen 
 army sacking the temple; no sight so afflicting as that of " the abomina- 
 tion of desolation standing in the holy place." Turbulent passions are the 
 enemies which raise an uproar of confusion in the heart; wealth, power, 
 and pleasure, are the idols which profane that sanctuary. 
 
 "5. A man was famous according as he lifted up axes upon the thick 
 trees. 6. But now they break down the carved work thereof with axes 
 Jind hammers." 
 
 The difficulty of these verses lies altogether in the first word, i'lV, with- 
 out which their literal construction is as follows — " As he who lifted up 
 axes in the thick wood, so now they," the enemies above mentioned, " break 
 down the carved work thereof," of the sanctuary, " with hatchets and ham^ 
 mers." Some interpreters render ^fiv impersonally; not "He was fa- 
 mous," but " It is well known," it is manifest, O God, to all the world, 
 " that as he who lifted up axes, so now," &c. Or, may not the sense be — 
 "as "^"W, a knowing, skilful person, one who understands his business, 
 lifted up the axe in the thick wood, so now men set themselves to work to 
 demolish the ornaments and timbers of the sanctuary." The words sug- 
 gest another reason why God should arise and have mercy upon Sion, lest 
 his name should be blasphemed among the nations, when they saw and 
 heard of the sacrilegious and horrible destruction wrought by the enemy ; 
 whom neither the majesty of the temple, nor the reverence of its Divine in- 
 habitant, could restrain from defacing the beauty of holiness. The orna- 
 ments of the internal and spiritual temple sometimes suffer as much from 
 the fury of inordinate affections, as the carved work of the sanctuary ever 
 did from the armies of Nebuchadnezzar or Antiochus. 
 
 "7. They have cast fire into the sanctuary; they have defiled, or, dese- 
 crated, by casting down the dwelling-place of thy name to the ground." 
 
 The gates of the second temple were set on fire by Antiochus ; see 
 1 Mac. iv. 38. but the whole fabric of the first was burnt by Nebuchadnezzar. 
 When animosities break forth, and contentions are raised in the church, 
 " fire is cast into the sanctuary:" when the soul sinks under a temptation, 
 *' the dwelling-place of God's name is desecrated to the ground." 
 
 "8. They said in their hearts. Let us destroy them together: they have 
 burnt up all the synagogues of God in the land." 
 
 Such is the rage of infidels, when it pleases God, for the sins of his peo- 
 ple, to let them loose upon the church, as beasts of prey. From scenes 
 like these, we learn the temper and disposition of that raging adversary of 
 mankind, and his associates ; who, if permitted, would root out Christianity 
 out of every heart. " Watch, therefore, and pray," saith the Captain of 
 our salvation, to all his soldiers, 
 
Day XIV. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 213 
 
 " 9. We see not our signs : there is no more any prophet: neither is there 
 among us any that knovveth how long." 
 
 Darkness is horrible in itself, and adds horror to everything else. The 
 church, therefore, complains, that in the midst of all her other troubles, she 
 was deserted by the light of heaven. No " signs," or miracles, were ex- 
 hibited for her comfort ; there was no " prophet," to inform her concerning 
 the will of God, or to promise her an "end" of her afflictions, as Daniel 
 did, when she was a captive in Babylon. Sin darkens the understanding, 
 takinf from it that light, the direction of which it then stands most in need 
 oi". 
 
 " 10. God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy 
 blaspheme thy name for ever"? 11. Why withdrawest thou thine hand, 
 even thy right hand? Pluck it out of thy bosom." 
 
 To an enumeration of calamities succeeds a prayer for deliverance, ground- 
 ed on the necessity of God's vindicating the honour of his name from the 
 insolent and blasphemous reproaches and scoffs of the enemy. See Ezek. 
 XX. 19. He is therefore entreated to make bare his arm in the sight of the 
 nations, and let his right hand become glorious in the vindication of his 
 name, and the defence of his inheritance. 
 
 " 12. For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the 
 earth." 
 
 And that he will do so, there is always reason for the afflicted church to 
 hope, because, as her " King," he conducted and protected her of old, and 
 wrought " salvation" for her upon the earth ; temporal salvation by the 
 hand of Moses ; eternal salvation by the power of Christ. 
 
 " 13. Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: -thou brakest the heads 
 of the dragons in the waters." 
 
 The first part of this verse alludes to that marvellous act of Omnipotence, 
 which divided the Red Sea, for Israel to pass over; the second part, to the 
 return of its waves upon the heads of the Egyptians, who, like so many 
 sea-monsters, opening their mouths to devour the people of God, were 
 overwhelmed, and perished in the mighty waters. The Christian church 
 is taught to contemplate, under this figure, the salvation of her children, 
 and the destruction of their spiritual enemies, by the waters of baptism. 
 See 1 Cor. x. 2. and the Office for Baptism in the Church of England. 
 Parallel to this passage in our Psalm is that most sublime one, Isa. li. 9, 
 10, 11. "Awake, awake, put on strength, arm of the Lord ; awake, as 
 in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it, that hath 
 cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? Art thou not it, that hath dried the 
 sea, the waters of the great deep ; that hath made the depths of the sea a 
 way for the ransomed to pass over. Therefore, the Redeemed of the Lord 
 shall return, and come with singing unto Zion, and everlasting joy shall be 
 upon their heads ; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and mourn- 
 ing shall flee away." 
 
 " 14. Thou breakest the heads of the leviathan in pieces, ant/gavest him 
 to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness." 
 
 " Leviathan" stands for Pharaoh, or the Egyptian power, represented by 
 the Egyptian animal, the "crocodile" of Nile, the Egyptian river. The 
 " heads" of leviathan are the princes of Egypt, the leaders of the Egyptian 
 armies. And " the people, or inhabitants of the wilderness," to whom they 
 were given for a prey, are not men, but a species of wild beasts, haunting 
 the deserts, for which the word tZ3M]f is used, Isa. xiii. 21. and xxxiv. 14. 
 The sense therefore is, that the bodies of Pharaoh and his captains were 
 thrown on shore by the sea, and so became food for the wild beasts of the 
 neighbouring deserts. The final destruction of the adversaries of Messiah's 
 kingdom is described at large under a like image, Rev. xix. 17, &c. 
 
 "15. Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood, {that is, drmv forth 
 the fountain and the flood % cleaving the rock:) thou driest up mighty 
 rivers." 
 
214 A COMMENTARY Psaim LXXIV. 
 
 Two other remarkable exertions of the Divine power, in favour of the 
 Israelites, are here referred to. Water was brought out of the rock to sa- 
 tisfy their thirst in the time of drought ; and the river Jordan was dried up, 
 to open the passage for them into Canaan. In the former of these transac- 
 tions, faith beholds the water of life springing from the Rock of Salvation ; 
 in the latter are discerned the mystic death and resurrection of Christians, 
 as a prelude to the corporeal ; when, rising from the depths of the grave, 
 they shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 " 16. The day is thine, the night also is thine; thou hast prepared the 
 light and the sun. 17. Thou hast set all the borders of the earth : thou 
 hast made summer and winter." 
 
 From the miraculous interpositions of God in the behalf of his people, 
 the church passes to those ordinary and standing evidences of his goodness 
 towards us, the sweet vicissitudes of light and darkness, and the grateful 
 succession of times and seasons ; by which man is taught, in the most sor- 
 rowful night, to look for a joyful morning; and, during the severest winter, 
 to expect a reviving spring. Thus is the revolving year our constant in- 
 structor and monitor; incessantly inculcating the duties of faith and hope, 
 as well as those of adoration, gratitude, and praise. 
 
 " 18. Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Lord, and that 
 the foolish people have blasphemed thy name. 19. O deliver not the soul 
 of thy turtle-dove unto the multitude of the wicked .- forget not the congre- 
 gation of thy poor for ever." 
 
 After endeavouring to support her own faith, and excite the zeal of God 
 for his inheritance, by a rehearsal of former mercies, the church again urges 
 the argument of "reproach," touched on before, at ver. 10; and then re- 
 minds her Saviour of that endearing appellation of his " turtle-dove," by 
 which he had not disdained to address her in times past. This turtle-dove, 
 simple, defenceless, solitary, meek, timid, and mournful, was in danger of 
 being speedily devoured by her inveterate and implacable enemies ; who, 
 like birds of prey, beset her on all sides, thirsting impatiently for her blood. 
 What an irresistible force do these circumstances give to the words — " O 
 deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the multitude of the wicked ; 
 and forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever!" Let us not fail, in 
 the hour of temptation, to use them, and try the success of them. 
 
 " 20. Have respect unto the covenant : for the dark places of the earth, 
 or, the land, are full of the habitations of cruelty." 
 
 The main anchor of the holy ark, in storms and tempests, is faith in the 
 COVENANT of graco, made from the Iseginning in Messiah ; communicated to 
 Noah, Abraham, David, &c. as his illustrious representatives, and in them 
 to the house of Israel ; accomplished (as Zacharias beareth witness by his 
 song, Luke i. 72, &c.) at the birth of Christ, and then extended to the 
 Gentiles. To this covenant, and the promises made therein, the church 
 here appeals, at a time when the enemy ravaged the promised land at plea- 
 sure,] and everything seemed to forebode the utter extirpation of the law 
 and people of God. Hither, therefore, the soul is to fly for refuge, when 
 nothing else seems capable of affording any. 
 
 "21. let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy 
 praise thy name." 
 
 It is for the honour of God, that they who have recourse to him for help, 
 should not, by "returning" without it, suffer "shame" and confusion, in 
 the presence of their insulting adversaries. And another motive to engage 
 his assistance is, that for every lost soul, there will be a voice the less in 
 that choir which is to " praise his name" to all eternity. 
 
 " 22. Arise, God, plead thine own cause : remember how the foolish 
 man blasphemeth thee daily. 23. Forget not the voice of thine enemies : 
 the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually." 
 
 The church, growing more importunate in her petitions, as the danger 
 increases, beseeches God to appear in her cause, as being in effect his own. 
 
DatXV. M. p. ON THE PSALMS. 215 
 
 on account of his promises, his attributes of righteousness and truth, and 
 the reproaches cast on Him, through his people. While speaking, she 
 seems to hear the tumultuous clamours of the approaching enemy growintr 
 every minute louder, as they advance; and we leave the " turtle-dove," 
 without the Divine assistance, ready to sink under the talons of the rapa- 
 cious eagle. 
 
 FIFTEENTH DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM LXXV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The prophet, 1. gives thanks, with the church, to God for the manifestation of 
 his NAME, and the wonders of salvation wrought thereby. 2. He declares his 
 resolution of executing judgment and justice in his kingdom, which, 3. had 
 been in disorder and confusion : 4, 5. he rebukes the wicked ; 6 — 8. reminds 
 them of the power, providence, counsels and judgments of God ; 9, 10. he 
 concludes with repeating his resolution to praise God ; to break the power of 
 wickedness ; and to establish righteousness. 
 
 "1. Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks : 
 for that thy name is near, thy wondrous works declare." 
 
 The church offers up her repeated praises to God for deliverance; she 
 acknowledges the presence of his name in the midst of her, which had been 
 evidenced by the "wonderful works" wrought for her salvation. Upon 
 whatever occasion these words were originally indicted, the Christian 
 church now celebrates in them that great deliverance, which, by so many 
 miracles of mercy and power, hath been accomplished for her, through Mes- 
 siah, who is in Scripture frequently styled, "the name of .Tehovah." See 
 Isa. XXX. 27. 
 
 " 2. When I shall receive the congregation, I will judge uprightly." 
 The first verse was spoken by many persons; "unto thee, O God, do 
 WE give thanks ;" here the speaker is one, and that one is plainly a ruler, 
 who promises, that when he shall have " received the congregation," or, as 
 some render it, "when he shall have gotten an appointed, or fit time, or 
 season," that is, when he shall be established in power and authority, at a 
 fit time and place, he will "judge uprightly," and introduce a thorough re- 
 formation into a kingdom, which, as we shall find by the following verse, 
 stood greatly in need of it. From these circumstances it should seem most 
 probable, that David is speaking of his advancement to the throne of Israel, 
 and the intended rectitude of his administration, when he should be settled 
 thereon. What David did in Israel, was done in the church universal by 
 him who sat upon the throne of David, when he "received" for his inheri- 
 tance the great " congregation" of the Gentiles, and the earth was full of 
 the " righteousness" of Jehovah. 
 
 " 3. The earth, or, the land, and all the inhabitants thereof, are, or, were, 
 dissolved : I bear up the pillars of it." 
 
 Civil distractions, and the continual irruptions of foreign enemies, had 
 thrown the Israelitish affairs into confusion, and " dissolved" the frame of 
 government; until, by the re-establishment of royal authority, countenance 
 and support were again given to all the subordinate magistrates; who are, 
 in their respective stations, the " pillars" of a community. Such was the 
 universal corruption and dissolution of manners both among Jews and Gen- 
 tiles, when Messias, entering upon his regal office, reformed the world, 
 raised the glorious fabric of the church, and made his apostles and their 
 successors the " pillars" of his spiritual kingdom. Let men support reli- 
 gion ; and God will support them. 
 " 4. I said unto tjie fools, Deal not foolishly ; and the wicked, Lift not 
 
216 A COMMENTARY Psaoi LXXV. 
 
 up the horn : 5. Lift not up your horn on high ; speak not loith a stiff 
 neck." 
 
 " Where the word of a king is, there is power." The prophet addresses 
 himself to the opposers of his government, and the disturbers of Israel : 
 he urges the "folly" of exalting themselves against their prince; and 
 exhorts them, for their own sakes, to humility and obedience. Is not this 
 the very message which the ministers of Christ have received from their 
 King, and are commanded to deliver to the world ? 
 
 " 6. For promotion comeih neither from the east, nor from the west, nor 
 from the south : 7. But God is the Judge ; he putteth down one, and setteth 
 up another." 
 
 The opposition, mentioned in the preceding verse, was called "folly." 
 In these verses it is proved to be such ; as being an opposition, in effect, to 
 the counsels of heaven ; for, not by worldly power or craft, but by the de- 
 signation and providence of God himself, the supreme Judge of princes, and 
 Disposer of kingdoms, was the house of Saul " put down" and the house 
 of David "set up." And are not, then, the enemies of the Son of God in 
 arms against the Father ; who, according to the promises going before con- 
 cerning him, hath highly exalted him ; hath committed all power and judg- 
 ment to him ; and hath put all things under his feet? Yea, and the hour 
 is coming, when he shall put down all rule, and all authority, and power, 
 and the Lord Jesus alone shall be exalted in that day. What will then be 
 the portion of his impenitent adversaries, the next verse will inform us. 
 
 " 8. For in the hand of the Lord, ihere is a cup, and the wine is red ; 
 it is full of mixture, and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof 
 all the wicked of the earth shall wring them oMi, and drink them.'''' 
 
 As the choicest of heavenly blessings are frequently in Scripture repre- 
 sented by the salutary effects of wine, a cup of which the master of the 
 family is supposed to hold in his hand, ready to distribute due portions of 
 it to those around him; so from the noxious and intoxicating qualities of 
 that liquor when drank strong and in too large a quantity, is borrowed a 
 most tremendous image of the wrath and indignation of Almighty God. 
 Calamity and sorrow, fear and trembling, infatuation and despair, the evils 
 of the present life, and of that which is to come, are the bitter ingredients 
 which compose this most horrible cup of mixture. It is entirely in the 
 hand and disposal of God, who, through every age, has been pouring out 
 and administering of its contents, more or less, in proportion to the sins of 
 men. But much of the strength and power of the liquor still remains behind 
 until the day of final vengeance. It will be then exhausted even to the 
 dregs, by unrepenting rebels; when "burning coals, fire, and brimstone," 
 and eternal "tempest," shall be "the portion of their cup," Psalm xi. 6. 
 
 "9. But I will declare forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob." 
 
 These dispensations of mercy and judgment the prophet resolves to "de- 
 clare" to the world for ever, by thus " singing" the works and the " praises" 
 of God, in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs. And while we now sing 
 them, we declare our resolution to be the same with his. 
 
 " 10. All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; butxhe horns of the 
 righteous shall be exalted." 
 
 He determines likewise, as every good governor should do, to exert the 
 authority with which he was intrusted ; to break the power of triumphant 
 wickedness; and to exalt that righteousness which exalteth a nation; 
 hereby rendering himself a fit image of Him, who hath since done away 
 transgression, and brought in everlasting righteousness, who will one day 
 turn the wicked into hell, and exalt his faithful servants to reign with him 
 in heaven. Already he reigns in them upon earth : causing " all carnal 
 affections to die in them, and all things belonging to the Spirit to live and 
 grow in them." 
 
Day XV. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 017 
 
 PSALM LXXVI. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 It is obvious, at first sight, to any one who reads this Psalm, that it was com- 
 posed as a thanksgiving hymn, on account of some great dehverance wrought 
 for his people by the immediate hand of God. The miraculous destruction 
 of the Assyrian army, by the angel, in the days of king Hezekiah, is generally 
 pitched upon as the subject of it, and affirmed to be so by the ancient Greek 
 inscription prefixed to it in the LXX. version. The prophet, 1, 2. declares 
 the glory which God hath gotten him in Israel ; 3 — 6. describes the circum- 
 stances of the deliverance, with 7. a reflection thereupon ; 8 — 10. he men- 
 tions the effects it had produced among the nations, and 11, 12. those which 
 it ought to produce in Israelitish hearts. The ideas are to be transferred to 
 the salvation of the church universal, by the destruction of sin and Satan, and 
 the overthrow of the pei'secuting powers. 
 
 "1. In Judah is God known; his name is great in Israel. 2, In Salem 
 also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling in Zion." 
 
 On occasion of some great deliverance, the prophet speaks in transport 
 concerning that presence and protection of God, which the highly favoured 
 Judah once enjoyed. She enjoyed them while she continued faithful, and 
 really was what she professed to be. But on account of her infidelity, and 
 rejection of her Messiah, an alteration of circumstances has taken place. 
 They are no longer Jews, who are such outwardly, nor is that circumcision, 
 which is outward in the flesh; but they are Jews, who believe in the Son 
 of God ; and they are of the circumcision, who are cleansed by him from 
 all filthiness of flesh and spirit. The Gentile Christian church hath suc- 
 ceeded to the privileges of the Israelitish. In her now " God is known" 
 by the Gospel ; and " his Name is great" in her, by reason of all the 
 mighty wonders which he hath wrought for her ; she is the true " Salem," 
 or city of peace : she is the true "Sion," the spiritual, holy, and beloved 
 hill ; and in her is the " tabernacle" and " dwelling-place" of God her 
 Saviour, by the Spirit. 
 
 " 3. There break he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, 
 and the battle." 
 
 When God appeared in the defence of his ancient people, the weapons of 
 their enemies were at once blunted and broken, and all the formidable appa- 
 ratus of war became in a moment utterly useless. Such was the event when 
 the holy Jesus entered the lists against our spiritual adversaries " for" us; 
 and such ever will be the event when he engages them " in" us. 
 
 "4. Thou art more glorious aud excellent than the mountains of prey." 
 
 This may be a beautiful apostrophe to mount Sion, (mentioned ver. 2.) 
 as appearing infinitely more glorious and excellent through the favour and 
 protection of her God, than the arm of flesh and the instruments of war could 
 render the kingdoms of the earth, which set themselves against her; and 
 which, for their tyranny, and cruelty, and the ravages committed by them, 
 are likened to those mountains where beasts of prey, with similar disposi- 
 tions, rove, and roar, and devour. The powers of the world "make war 
 with the Lamb, whose station" is upon mount Sion: but "the Lamb shall 
 overcome them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings; and they that 
 are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful," Rev. xiv. 1. xvii. 14. 
 
 " 5. The stout-hearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep ; and none 
 of the men might have found their hands. 6. At thy rebuke, O God of 
 Jacob, both the chariot, or, rider, and horse, are cast into a dead sleep." 
 
 It must be acknowledged, that these two verses seem, in a very particu- 
 lar manner, to point at the miraculous destruction of Sennacherib's army, 
 when the " stout-hearted," who doubted not of taking and STJoilino- the holy 
 
 19 
 
21S A COMMENTARY Psaoi LXXVII. 
 
 city, were themselves suddenly " spoiled" of strength and life ; they " slept 
 their sleep, and found not their hands ;" they awaked not ap^ain to the use 
 of their powers and faculties; a rebuking blast was sent from the God of 
 Jacob, under which the flower of Assyria withered in the space of a night, 
 and in the morning was no more; " the horse and his rider were cast into a 
 dead sleep;" they slept the sleep of death. How, in a moment, were the 
 mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished ! How astonishing the 
 downfall of the tyrant ! How complete the triumph of the daughter of Sion ! 
 Such will be the destruction of the world ; such the salvation of the people 
 of God. 
 
 " 7. Thou, even thou art to be feared ; and who may stand in thy sight 
 when once thou art angry ?" 
 
 Why are the miraculous exertions of Omnipotence recorded in the book 
 of life, but to suggest to us this reflection, that God, and God only, is the 
 proper object of our fear; since neither the wisdom of the wise, nor the 
 power of the mighty, no, not the world itself, can stand a single moment 
 before him, " when once he is angry." Yet we continue to dread any 
 frowns but those of Heaven ; and one poor, vain, sinful man shall, through 
 a course of sixty, or seventy years, incessantly and undauntedly tempt and 
 provoke Him, who destroyed 185,000 in a night. What is this but 
 madness ! 
 
 "8. Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth 
 feared, and was still; 9. When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek 
 of the earth, or, the afflicted of the land." 
 
 A destruction so far exceeding human power, was evidently the sentence 
 of God's judgment, audibly pronounced from the eternal throne; and it was 
 heard by all the earth with an awful silence, as when he speaks to attentive 
 nature in thunder. Such was the effect which this interposition in behalf of 
 his people produced among the surviving Assyrians, and the neighbouring 
 nations. Let us carry our thoughts on to the sensations which will be felt 
 in the hearts of men at that hour, when the last trump shall sound in the 
 heavens, and the earth shall shake from her foundations : when God shall 
 arise to execute judgment on the adversaries of his church; and to save, 
 with an everlasting salvation, all the meek and afllicted of the earth. 
 
 " 10. Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee; the remainder of w^rath 
 shalt thou restrain." 
 
 The wrath of man, and of Satan himself, against the church, turns, in 
 the end, to the praise and glory of God, who represses it when at its height; 
 and at all times appoints those bounds which it cannot pass, any more than 
 the raging waves of the ocean can overflow their appointed barrier of sand. 
 " 11. Vow, and pay unto the Lord your God: let all that are round 
 about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared. 12. He shall 
 cut off", or, restrain, the spirit of princes : he is terrible to the kings of the 
 earth." 
 
 If such should have been the gratitude and devotion of Israelites for a 
 temporary deliverance from the fury of an earthly tyrant; how much higher 
 ought that of Christians to rise, for eternal redemption from the great 
 oppressor! How ought they to " vow, and pay their vows unto the Lord 
 their God : to bring presents," to offer all they have, and all they are, to 
 him who is so greatly " to be feared," so highly to be loved ; to him who 
 "restrains" the fury of evil angels, as well as "the spirit of princes;" and 
 is " terrible" to the powers of darkness, no less than to " the kings of the 
 earth." 
 
 PSALM LXXVII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 As the foregoing Psalm was evidently composed, when the churcli had ob- 
 tained deliverance from her enemies, tliis seems no less plainly to have been 
 
Day XV. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 219 
 
 written at a time when she was in captivity under them. It contains, 1 — 4. a 
 complaint of suflerings ; and 5 — 20. a description at large of the struggle 
 between disti-ust and faith; which latter prevails, by having recourse to the 
 consideration of ancient mercies; particularly that of redemption from 
 Egypt. The Psalm is admirably calculated for the use and consolation of any 
 church, or soul, when in affliction and distress. 
 
 " 1. I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice ; and 
 he gave ear unto me." 
 
 Uneasiness in the heart will utter itself by the " voice ;" and when the 
 pain is intense, the " cry" will be loud. Only let it take a right direction, 
 and ascend to heaven ; let the application be made to " God," who will 
 both "hear" and help ; not to the world, which will not do one, and cannot 
 do the other. The cries of the Son of God alone were heard for his own 
 sake ; the cries of all other men are heard for his sake. 
 
 "2. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; my sore ran in the 
 night, and ceased not ; Heb. my hand was stretched out in the night, and 
 ceased not, or, without intermission: my soul refused to be comforted." 
 
 To a soul deeply sensible of the world's vanity, and the misery of sin, 
 every day is a " day of trouble," and the whole time of her pilgrimage is 
 a long, dark, and wearisome " night," during which she seeks after her 
 beloved by prayer; and for the sake of him, and those future joys which 
 she expects in his presence, the pleasures of sense are put away from her, 
 and she " refuses to be comforted" by such comforters. An Israelite can- 
 not enjoy himself in Babylon ; a Christian cannot find perfect satisfaction 
 in the world; a return to Jerusalem will employ the thoughts of both. 
 
 "3. I remembered God, and was troubled : I complained, and my spirit 
 was overwhelmed. Or, I remembered God, and made a noise, i. e. in 
 prayer to kirn,- I meditated, and my spirit was obscured, or, darkened, 
 through grief and affliction.'''' 
 
 This is a fine description of what passes in an afflicted and dejected mind. 
 Between the remembrance of God and his former mercies, and the medita- 
 tion on the seeming desertion under present calamities, the affections are 
 variously agitated, and the prayers disturbed, like the tumultuous waves of 
 a troubled sea ; while the fair light from above is intercepted, and the face 
 of heaven overwhelmed with clouds and darkness. 
 
 " 4. Thou boldest mine eyes waking : I am so troubled that I cannot 
 speak." 
 
 Through grief and anxiety it is that the eyes are made to keep all the 
 watches of the night, and wait in vain for sleep to relieve them from duty, 
 until the dawning of the morning. To a night so spent, may a season of 
 captivity or persecution be compared. Thus the ancient church looked for 
 the first advent of Christ ; and thus doth the church, which now is, expect 
 his second ; prolonging her vigils, even unto the dawning of that morning, 
 which is at once to put a period to darkness and to sorrow. In the mean 
 time, she giveth herself to meditation and prayer. 
 
 " 5. I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. 6. I 
 call to remembrance my song in the night : I commune with mine own 
 heart : and rny spirit maketh diligent search." 
 
 Recollection of former mercies is the proper antidote against a temptation 
 to despair in the day of calamity : and as, in the Divine dispensations, 
 which are always uniform and like themselves, whatever has happened, 
 happens again, when the circumstances are similar; and experience of "an- 
 cient times" is to be called in to our aid, and duly consulted. Nay, we 
 may perhaps " remember" the time, when we ourselves were led to com- 
 pose and utter a " song" of joy and triumph, on occasion of signal mercies 
 vouchsafed us. Upon these topics we should, "in the night of affliction, 
 commune with our own hearts, and make diligent search,',' as Daniel did in 
 Babylon, into the cause, the nature, and the probable continuance of our 
 
220 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXXVII. 
 
 troubles; with the proper methods of shortening, and bringing- them to an 
 end, by suffering them to have their intended and full effect, in a sincere 
 repentance and thorough reformation. 
 
 " 7. Will the Lord cast off" for ever 1 and will he be favourable no more ? 
 
 8. Is his mercy clean gone for ever 1 doth his promise fail for evermore 1 
 
 9. Hath God forgotten to be gracious 1 hath he in anger shut up his ten- 
 der mercies'?" 
 
 The Psalmistnow relates the process of his meditations, and of that con- 
 troversy which arose in his heart between faith and distrust. While he 
 viewed the distressful scene around him, he found himself strongly tempted 
 to question God's love of the church ; to think that he had finally rejected 
 his people ; that the promised mercy of redemption would never be accom- 
 plished ; and that indignation had constrained the bowels of our heavenly 
 Father, which no longer yearned towards his afflicted children. These 
 were the thoughts suggested to a desponding soul by the desolations of 
 Sion at that time ; and the state of things in the world may possibly be 
 such, as to suggest the like thoughts to many in the Christian church, 
 before our Lord shall appear again for her final redemption. Imaginations 
 of the same cast will offer themselves to the mind of the sinner, when the 
 hand of God has lain long and heavy upon him, by the infliction of outward 
 calamities, or the terrors of conscience. 
 
 " 10. And I said, This is my infirmity : but J will remember the years, or, 
 changes, of the right hand of the Most High." 
 
 To the insinuations of distrust, faith now begins to reply. The sufferer 
 checks himself in his former train of thought, and humbly acknowledges it 
 to have sprung from a mind dispirited, and rendered timid by misfortunes ; 
 "I said, This is my infirmity;" but he immediately strengthens himself 
 by reflecting, that all " changes" in the conditions of men are effected, for 
 reasons of infinite wisdom and goodness, by " the right hand of the Most 
 High ;" which is not shortened, but can still, as formerly, when he sees fit, 
 deliver and exalt, as well as punish and depress his people. What, there- 
 fore, though the daughter of Sion be in captivity, and her enemies insult 
 over her ] Messias cometh, who shall redeem her and all nations ; and then 
 shall the "right hand of tlie Most High" work a universal and a glorious 
 " change" upon the earth. 
 
 " 11. I will remember the works of the Lord ; surely I will remember 
 thy wonders of old. 12. 1 will meditate also of all thy works, and talk of 
 thy doings." 
 
 Thus restored to a right frame of mind, the Psalmist, instead of brooding 
 any longer over the calamities of his own time, resolves to turn his thoughts 
 towards the Divine dispensations of old ; to meditate on God's former 
 works and wonders ; his works of justice and mercy, of power and wis- 
 dom, of nature and grace ; and by gratefully celebrating them, to invigorate 
 his faith in the salvation to come, of which they were so many earnests and 
 pledges. And it is this consideration which makes the eucharistic Psalms 
 ever-pleasing and ever-comfortable to the mind ; they are appeals to those 
 attributes which have been so often displayed in the cause of the church ; 
 they are acts of faith, looking backward to the past, and forward to the 
 future ; they are praises, and they are prayers. 
 
 " 13. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary, or, in holiness ; who is so 
 great a god as our God." 
 
 Faith, now reinstated in its sovereignty over the prejudices and fears of 
 the soul, and again placed upon the judgment-seat, pronounces the " ways" 
 or proceedings of God to be such, as, when weighed in the balance of the 
 "sanctuary," and judged of by the Divine rule and manner of acting, will 
 be found agreeable to the standard of perfect " holiness." An assurance is 
 like^vise expressed, that the power of God, however it may for a time lie 
 dormant, yet still retains the same superiority, of which former exertions 
 show it to have been possessed, over the gods of the nations, the elements 
 
DAT XV. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 221 
 
 <Jf nature, and the powers of the world : insomuch that nothing, which was 
 ever called by others, or called itself, " god," was able to stand before 
 Jehovah, the God of Israel: "Who is so great a god as our God 1" 
 Thus, " All the power is given unto me in heaven and in earth," saith our 
 blessed Lord, Matt, xxviii. 18. for the everlasting consolation of the Chris- 
 tian church. 
 
 " 14. Thou art the God that doest wonders : thou hast declared thy 
 strength among the people. 15. Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy 
 people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph." 
 
 Israel, in times of trouble and distress, was wont to look back to the 
 "wonders" wrought in Egypt, and the redemption of all her tribes from 
 that house of bondage. We Christians are taught, while we use the same 
 words, to regard parallel, but more important transactions ; we reflect on the 
 " wonders wrought for the bodies and souls of men, by the strength and 
 arm of Jehovah," revealed and manifested to the world in Christ; and we 
 celebrate the redemption, not of the "sons of Jacob and Joseph" only, but 
 of all nations, from the bondage of corruption ; a redemption, compared with 
 which the deliverance from Egypt, though glorious in itself, hath yet no 
 glory at all, by reason of the glory that so far excelleth. Our confidence in 
 God, during the seasons of affliction, should therefore rise in proportion. 
 
 "16. The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were 
 afraid ; the depths also were troubled." 
 
 The waters of the Red Sea are here beautifully represented as endued 
 with sensibility, as seeing, feeling, and being confounded, even to the 
 lowest depths, at the presence and power of their great Creator, when he 
 commanded them to open a way, and to form a wall on each side of it, until 
 his people were passed over ; until his people were passed over whom he 
 had redeemed. In this amazing transaction let us behold, as in a glass, the 
 salvation of believers by baptism, through' the death and resurrection of 
 Jesus Christ, who made the depths of the grave, as he had done those of the 
 sea, a way for his ransomed to pass over ; and the church, like another 
 Israel, saw her enemies, in effect, dead at her feet. 
 
 " 17. The clouds poured out water; the skies sent out a sound : thine 
 arrows also went abroad. 18. The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: 
 the lightnings lightened the world ; the earth trembled and shook." 
 
 It is said, Exod. xiv. 24. that at the time when Israel was passing the 
 sea, "the Lord looked upon the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of 
 fire and the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, and took off 
 their chariot wheels, and made them to go heavily ; so that the Egyptians 
 said. Let us flee from the face of Israel ; for the Lord fighteth for them 
 against the Egyptians." The verses of our Psalm now before us, seem to 
 explain more particularly the manner in which the Lord "looked upon, and 
 troubled, and tought against the Egyptians," upon that occasion : namely, 
 by thunders and lightnings, storms and tempests, rain, hail, and earthquake, 
 the usual tokens and instruments of Almighty displeasure. Josephus, in 
 like manner, relates that the destruction of the Egyptians was accompa- 
 nied by storms of rain from heaven ; by dreadful thunders and lightnings ; 
 and in short, by every possible circumstance of terror, which could testify 
 and inflict upon man the vengeance of an incensed God. From scenes like 
 these we learn to form an idea of that power, which discomfited the infer- 
 nal host ; raised Christ from the dead ; vanquished opposition and persecu-; 
 tion ; subdued the world to the obedience of faith ; supports and protects 
 the church ; will overthrow antichrist ; raise the dead : cast the wicked, 
 with death and Satan, into the lake of fire ; and exalt the righteous, to sing, 
 ■with angels in heaven, the "song of Moses and of the Lamb." See Rev. 
 XV. 3. 
 
 " 19. Thy way is in the sea, and thy paths in the great waters, and thy 
 footsteps are not known." 
 
 The dispensations and ways of God, like the passage through the Red 
 
 19* 
 
222 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXXVni. 
 
 Sea, are all full of mercy to his people; but they are also, like that, often 
 unusual, marvellous, inscrutable ; and we can no more trace his footsteps, 
 than we could have done those of Israel, after the waters had returned to 
 their place again. Let us resolve, therefore, to trust in him at all times ; 
 and let us think we hear Moses saying to us, as he did to the Israelites, 
 when seemingly reduced to the last extremity ; " Fear ye not, stand still, 
 and see the salvation of Jehovah," Exod. xiv. 13. 
 
 " 20. Thou leddest thy people like a flock, by the hand of Moses and 
 Aaron." 
 
 The loving-kindness of God towards Israel did not stop at the Red Sea, 
 but he conducted his chosen flock, by the guidance of faithful pastors, 
 through all the perils of the wilderness, to the land of promise. We like- 
 wise, through thy mercy, O blessed Lord Jesus, have passed the Red Sea 
 at our baptism : and are now journeying in the wilderness. Give us those 
 meek, and lowly, and tractable dispositions, which become the sheep of 
 thy pasture ; set over us skilful and vigilant shepherds : and be thou ever 
 both with them and with us; until, having surmounted all difficulties and 
 dangers, led by thy grace, and supported by thy providence, we all come in 
 perfect safety to the land of everlasting rest ; there to live with thee, one 
 fold under one shepherd, world without end. 
 
 FIFTEENTH DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM LXXVIII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm contahieth a declaration of God's dealings with his people, and of 
 their behaviour to him in Eg^^pt, in tlie wilderness, and after their settle- 
 ment in Canaan, to the days of David. It is written for die use and admoni- 
 tion of Chi'istians; who may here view, as in a glass, the mei'cies they have 
 received, and the retui-ns which, alas, they have but too often made for 
 them. 
 
 " 1, Give ear, O my people to my law: incline your ears to the words 
 of my mouth." 
 
 In this verse the Psalmist opens his commission, and speaks as one 
 having authority from above to instruct the world. He demands a large 
 and attentive audience, while, by a series of examples, he sets forth the 
 goodness of God, and the ingratitude of man, for the admonition of succeed- 
 ing ages, to the end of time. St. Paul, speaking of the very transactions 
 related in our Psalm, saith of them, " Now all these things happened unto 
 them for ensamples, Gr. ruTrot, types ; and they are written for our admo- 
 nition, upon whom the ends of the world are come," 1 Cor. x. 11. We 
 Christians, therefore, must consider ourselves as the "people" who are to 
 "give ear to the law," or "doctrine," inculcated by the following epitome 
 of the Israelitish history : we must "incline our ears to the words of" the 
 prophet's " mouth." 
 
 " 2. I will open my mouth in a parable : I will utter dark sayings of old ; 
 3. Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us." 
 
 The Psalm, being in itself a plain narrative of facts, can contain nothing 
 parabolical or enigmatical in it, unless those facts were what St. Paul 
 affirms them to have been, " ensamples," types, or representations of other 
 facts relative to the Christian church. As facts, they were " heard and 
 known," and handed down from father to son : but with respect to the 
 instructions and admonitions comprehended in them, and to be extracted by 
 an application to parallel times and circumstances, they had the nature of a 
 *' parable," requiring wisdom and attention so to understand and apply 
 
Day XV. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 223 
 
 them. It is observable that our Lord is, by St. Matthew, said to have 
 spoken to the multitude altogether in parables, "that it might be fulfilled 
 which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in para- 
 bles," &c. citing the second verse of the Psalm now before us. Matt, 
 xiii. 35. If it doth not follow from this citation, that the prophet actually 
 speaks the Psalm in the person of Christ, yet thus much at least is evident 
 from it, that the history of old Israel somewhat resembles the letter of the 
 gospel parables, and contains, shadowed out under it, the history of a cor- 
 respondent state of things in the new Israel, or church Christian.* And 
 although the Psalm, like a large and capacious palace, be laid out into a 
 multitude of different apartments: yet, perhaps, we may find that the Scrip- 
 tures of Jthe New Testament will furnish us with a key which will gain us 
 admission into every one of them, and put us in possession of the treasures 
 of divine wisdom therein deposited. 
 
 "4. We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation 
 to come, Heb, the latter generation, the praises of the Lord and his strength, 
 and his wonderful works that he hath done." 
 
 The writer of this Psalm is desirous that "the praises of Jehovah, his 
 strength, and the wonderful works that he hath done," an account of which 
 had reached his own time, should be transmitted through all the periods 
 of the Jewish economy, down to the pinx "111, the " latter generation," or 
 generation to arise in the " latter days ;" the generation of the faithful to be 
 begotten unto God from among the Gentiles, through the Gospel. Of this 
 generation are we, who now in these words of the holy Psalmist, do from 
 age to age " show the praises of the Lord," our Saviour, " and his strength, 
 and his wondrous works that he hath done" for us, as he promised and 
 foreshowed in his dispensations of old time. The glorious theme was de- 
 livered by the Israelitish to the Christian church, and will be resumed in 
 heaven, there for ever to employ the tongues of saints, and the harps of 
 angels. 
 
 " 5. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in 
 Israel, which he commanded our fathers that they should make them known 
 to their children ; 6. That the generation to come, or, latter generation, 
 might know them, even the children which should be born ; who should 
 arise, and declare them to their children." 
 
 The account of God's dealings with his people, to be celebrated in oar 
 Psalm, begins with the "law," or "testimony, appointed and established 
 in Israel," by the hand of Moses. Under these names are comprehended 
 not only the precepts and ceremonies, but the several transactions to which 
 they referred, and in commemoration of which they were instituted : as also 
 that future salvation, to which they, as well as the transactions, had an 
 aspect. Thus the passover, for instance, looked backward to the redemp- 
 tion by Moses, and forward to that by Messiah. The law thus considered, 
 as involving the Gospel within it, was, to understanding and pious Israel- 
 ites, the fountain of wisdom, and source of delight. They were to meditate 
 therein day and night, and teach their children to do likewise; until, with 
 its types realized, and its prophecies accomplished in the Redeemer, it 
 should go forth out of Sion in perfect beauty, and run and be glorified 
 among the nations. The " law" and the " testimony" are now become 
 ours ; and it is our duty to transmit them down to latest posterity, until 
 Jesus shall return to judgment. 
 
 " 7. That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of 
 God ; but keep his commandments : 8. And might not be as their fathers, 
 a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation /Aa< set not their heart 
 aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God." 
 
 The reason is here assigned why God gave Israel a law, and commanded 
 
 *"In paraholis"— Aliiid decit; aliiid inniiit: ac praeteritoruni specie futura pitesagit. Id 
 quoque ex persoua CUristj, Matt. 5111. 35. Baasuet. 
 
224 A COMMENTARY Psaim LXXVIII. 
 
 that fathers should teach it to their children, and their children's children ; 
 and the same reason holds with regard to the Gospel; namely, that the 
 chosen people, renouncing the world, with its idols and lusts, should be- 
 lieve and " set their hope in" the true " God," the only Saviour; that they 
 should " not forget the works" which he hath wrought for their redemp- 
 tion : and that, ever-mindful of those works, they should love him, and 
 " keep his commandments;" not following the examples of the fathers of 
 Israel, who proved "faithless," and "rebellious" in the wilderness, when 
 God had brought them out of Egypt. This is the very use St. Paul makes 
 of those examples. " With some of them," says he, " God was not well 
 pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things 
 were our examples," tw^-c/ )\[xm " to the intent we should not lust after 
 evil things, or be idolaters, or commit fornication," &c. &c. " as did some 
 of them," 1 Cor. x. 5. 
 
 "9. The children of Ephraim hdng armed, and carrying bows, turned 
 back in the day of battle." 
 
 As the context treats concerning the behaviour of Israel in general, upon 
 their coming out of Egypt ; and as the cowardice of the tribe of Ephraim in 
 particular, at that time, is nowhere mentioned; it is therefore most probable, 
 that one tribe is here put for all the rest ; and that under the figure of men, 
 when prepared for battle, turning their backs at sight of an enemy, is 
 pointed out that disposition of the Israelites, after all their promises, reso- 
 lutions, and vows of serving and obeying God, to fall away, and relapse into 
 sin, upon the first temptation. How often is this the case with the Chris- 
 tian soldier? Let not him, who hath but just put on his spiritual armour, 
 boast, like him who is putting it off, when the fight is over, and the victory 
 obtained. 
 
 " 10. They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law ; 
 
 11. And forgot his works, and his wonders that he had showed them. 
 
 12. Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers in the land of 
 Egypt, in the field of Zoan." 
 
 These verses, it is apprehended, describe in plain terms, what was meta- 
 phorically expressed in the verse preceding, namely, the proneness of the 
 Israelites to break the "covenant," transgress the "law," and forget the 
 " works" of God, even those astonishing works wrought in " Egypt," and 
 in " Zoan," its capital city. Let the Christian, who perhaps is amazed at 
 the frequent rebellions of stiff-necked Israel, reflect a little within himself, 
 how he has observed the baptismal " covenant;" how he has "walked in 
 the law," and with what gratitude he has remembered ' the "marvellous 
 vrorks" of Jesus. 
 
 " 13. He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through ; and he 
 made the waters to stand as an heap." 
 
 From the miracles wrought in Egypt, the Psalmist proceeds to what 
 happened at the exodus. And here he fails not to mention that great work 
 of Almighty power, the division of the Red Sea, which was ever uppermost 
 in the thoughts of a devout Israelite ; as the passage of the church, in 
 Christ her Saviour, through the grave and gate of death, ought never to de- 
 part from the memory of a Christian. 
 
 " 14. In the day-time also he led them with a cloud, and all the night 
 with a light fire." 
 
 During the forty years' pilgrimage of Israel in the wilderness, a preter- 
 natural column of fire and cloud attended the camp. It rested with them, 
 and moved on before them, directing and conducting them in their jour- 
 neys ; in the night season it was a bright and shining light; and in the 
 day-time it afforded a grateful cooling shade from the burning heat of those 
 sultry deserts. Thus is Christ present with his church, while she sojourns 
 upon earth, by his word and his .Spirit, guiding her steps, enlightening her 
 darkness, and mitigating her sorrows. 
 
 " 15. He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave than drink as out of 
 
DAT XV. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 225 
 
 the ^eat depths. 16. He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused 
 waters to run down like rivers." 
 
 " Let us," saith bishop Taylor, " by the aids of memory and fancy, con- 
 sider the children of Israel in the wilderness, in a barren and dry land 
 where no water was, marching in dust and fire, 'not wet with the dew of 
 heaven, but wholly without moisture, save only what dropped from their 
 own brows. The air was fire, and the vermin was fire; the flying serpents 
 were of the same kindred with the firmament; their sting was a flame, their 
 venom was a fever, and the fever a calenture ; and the whole state of the 
 Israelites' abode and travel was a little image of the day of judgment, when 
 tlie elements shall melt with fervent heat. These men, like salamanders 
 walking in fire, dry with heat, scorched with thirst, and made yet more 
 thirsty by calling upon God for water; suppose, I say, these thirsty souls, 
 hearing Moses promise that he would smite the rock, and that a river 
 should break forth from thence ; observe how presently they run to the foot 
 of the springing stone ; thrusting forth their heads and tongues to m.eet the 
 water, impatient of delay, crying out that the water did not move, like light, 
 all at once ; and then suppose the pleasure of their drink, the insatiableness 
 of their desire, the immensity of their appetite : they took in as much as 
 tliey could, and they desired much more. This was their sacrament, and 
 this was their manner of receiving it. And if that water was a type of oar 
 sacrament, or a sacrament of the same secret blessing, then is their thirst a 
 signification of our duty."* 
 
 " 17. And they sinned yet more against him, by provoking the Most 
 High in the wilderness. 18. And they tempted God in their hearts, by 
 asking meat for their lust. 19. Yea, they spake against God : they said, 
 Can God furnish a table in the wilderness] 20. Behold, he smote the rock, 
 tliat the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed ; can he give bread 
 also 1 can he provide flesh for his people V 
 
 These frequent rebellions of Israel, with the presence of God in the midst 
 of them, and his miracles before their eyes, would seem incredible, had they 
 been related, any where but in the oracles of truth; and did not the heart 
 of every self-knowing Christian at once acknowledge the picture which is 
 here drawn of human nature, its incredulity and perverseness. For hath not 
 God delivered us from the house of bondage, and supported us in the wil- 
 derness? Is not Jesus present in the church, and are not his miracles of 
 love and mercy continually before our eyes, in the word and in the sacrar 
 menf? Yet, who does not still "provoke" and "tempt the Most HighT' 
 who does not ask provision for his "lust," when his necessities are satis- 
 fied ] and who, after all the proofs he has had of God's power and goodness, 
 is not apt, upon every appearance of danger, to be diffident and distrustful 
 of his providence? Before we condemn others, let us try ourselves, and 
 judge righteous judgment. When David pronounced the words, "The man 
 that hath done this thing shall surely die," little did he think of being told, 
 by his faithful monitor, "Thou art the man." Conscience, if duly interro- 
 gated, will be a Nathan to every one, and show him his own transgressions 
 in those of old Israel. 
 
 "21. Therefore the Lord heard this, and was wroth; so a fire was kindled 
 against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel ; 22. Because they 
 believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation: 23. Though he had 
 commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, 24. 
 And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the 
 corn of heaven. 25. Man did eat ano-el's food : he sent them meat to the 
 full." 
 
 The discontents, mentioned above in verse 17, &c. were posterior not only 
 to the miracle at the rock, but also to the gift of " manna," which, after 
 some little time, the people "loathed," and demanded "flesh," repenting 
 
 ■ * Worthy Communicant, p. 92. 
 
226 A COMMENTARY Psalm I.XXVin. 
 
 that they had forsaken Egypt, where they fared more to their satisfaction. 
 See Numb. xi. The cause of the discontents was infidelity, and the effect 
 of them a display of God's indignation ; " The Lord was wroth — because 
 they believed not," &c. Now as St Paul styles the water, " spiritual," or, 
 sacramental " drink" proceeding from a " spiritual Rock," which Rock was 
 Christ;" so he terms the manna " spiritual," or sacramental "meat;" they 
 "did all eat the same spiritual meat," 1 Cor. x. 3. And our Lord, in John 
 vi. discourses at large upon the subject, to convince the Jews, that God, who 
 gave to their fathers manna in the wilderness, had in him given them " the 
 true bread" of eternal life, which the manna was intended to represent. " I 
 am the living bread which came down from heaven ; if any man eat of this 
 bread, he shall live for ever ; and the bread that I will give, is my flesh, 
 which I will give for the life of the world." Christ crucified is the sup- 
 port of spiritual and eternal life ; faith is the mouth by which this support 
 is received ; manna was an outward and visible sign of it to the Israelites 
 in the wilderness ; the eucharistic bread is such to Christians in the world. 
 When that holy ordinance is celebrated, " the doors of heaven are opened," 
 spiritual food is given from above, "and man eats lD''T3X lIDVh the bread 
 of the mighty ones ;" whether by " mighty ones" we understand those who 
 «at the bread, and are invigorated thereby; or the blessed persons who give 
 the bread to man. Such is our manna, our sustenance in the wilderness, 
 our viaticum, while on the road to Canaan. But how is it " loathed" and 
 despised, in comparison with the flesh-pots of Egypt, by men " who be- 
 lieve not in God, and trust not in his salvation !" Will not the same cause 
 produce the same effect? "Will not Jehovah hear this, and be wroth?" 
 Will not " a fire be kindled against Jacob, and anger also come up against 
 Israel ? For this cause," saith an apostle to the irreverent Corinthian re- 
 ceivers, " many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep," 1 Cor. 
 xi. 30. 
 
 "26. He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven : and by his power 
 he brought in the south wind. 27. He rained flesh also upon them as dust, 
 and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea ; 28. And he let it fall in the 
 midst of their camp, round about their habitations. 29. So they did eat, and 
 were well filled : for he gave them their own desire ; 30. They were not 
 estranged from their lust: but while their meat luus yet in their mouths, 
 31. The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and 
 smote down the chosen me?i of Israel." 
 
 The people, discontented with manna, asked, in a tumultuous and rebel- 
 lious way for flesh, at the same time distrusting the power of God to give 
 it them in the wilderness. Flesh, however, was procured. A wind, proper 
 for the occasion, went forthpfrom Jehovah, and brought a cloud of quails, 
 which furnished the whole camp with a most delicious kind of flesh food, 
 for the space of an entire month. But from the event we learn, that inor- 
 dinate desires, though sometimes complied with, and satisfied by heaven, 
 do not therefore go unpunished ; on the contrary, they are often punished 
 by being complied with. The blessings cliosen for us by God are blessings 
 indeed, and, like the manna, bring no sorrow with them : but when we 
 choose for ourselves, and are so unhappy as to be gratified in that choice, 
 our portion too often proves a curse ; and while the much-loved morsel is 
 between the teeth, "the wrath of God comes upon us," for making a wrong 
 choice. This will always be the case in the end, whenever earth is pre- 
 ferred to heaven, and sense to faith. 
 
 " 32. For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous 
 works. 33. Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years 
 in trouble." 
 
 Mercies are followed by provocations ; provocations are punished with 
 judgments; to judgments succeed repeated provocations, which call down 
 fresh judgments. Immediately after the history of the quails, we read of a 
 sedition stirred up by Aaron and Miriam, and of new murmurs at the report 
 
Day XV. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 
 
 2,27 
 
 brought by the spies concerning the promised land ; in consequence of which 
 last, the nation had been destroyed, but for the intercession of Moses; and 
 the whole generation of those who came out of Egypt, except Joshua and 
 Caleb, actually fell in the wilderness, wasted and consumed by various 
 plagues and calamities, during a forty years' peregrination. See Numb. 
 sii. xiii. xiv. St. Jude makes mention of such a generation in the early 
 days of the Christian church, speakers "of hard speeches against Christ, 
 murmurers, complainers, walking ofter their own lusts ;" and he therefore 
 puts converts in remembrance, how that the Lord, "having saved the 
 people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed 
 not," Jude, verse 5. and 15. Because, notwithstanding all that Jesus has 
 done, and continues to do for the church, men " sin yet more, and believe 
 not for his wondrous works," but either despise the heavenly country, or 
 despair of obtaining it, therefore is the hand of God heavy upon the world ; 
 " vanity, and trouble" wear out the life of man ; and they who have passed 
 the waters of baptism, fall short of the promised rest. 
 
 "34. When he slew them, then they sought him : and they returned and 
 inquired early after God : 35. And they remembered that God was their 
 rock, and the high God their Redeemer. 30. Nevertheless they did flatter 
 him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues. 37. For 
 their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his cove- 
 nant." 
 
 Several instances of this behaviour occur in the history of Korah's rebel- 
 lion and punishment, of the fiery serpents, and of Israel and Moab. See 
 Numb. xvi. xx. xxi. xxv. The Israelites, in this particular, resembled their 
 great persecutor, Pharaoh ; their repentance, which came with the Divine 
 judgments, went also away with them, and appeared no more. By night 
 the dew falleth from heaven, and refresheth the weary ground, and causeth 
 the green herb and the flower of the field to revive and spring; but in the 
 morning the sun ariseth with a burning heat, and presently the dew is 
 evaporated, the grass withereth, the flower fadeth, and the ground again 
 becometh parched and dry as before. Thus it is with man. Adversity is 
 the night, and grace is the dew by which his heart is made tender and reli- 
 gious, and good resolutions are formed and begin to shoot; but returning 
 prosperity has the force and efTect of a summer sun ; at its presence piety 
 vanisheth, resolutions come to nothing, and the heart is once more hardened. 
 "O Ephraim," exclaims Jehovah by his prophet, "what shall I do unto 
 thee 1 O Judah, what shall I do unto thee ] for your goodness is as a morn- 
 ing cloud, and as the early dew it passes away," Hos. vi. 4. Who that 
 hath been conversant in the house of mourning, and about the bed of sick- 
 ness, but must have seen frequent instances of a temporary and deceitful 
 repentance 1 Whose heart doth not reproach him with some of these back- 
 slidings of Israel? In the day therefore of health, and strength, and pros- 
 perity, before the indignation of heaven break forth, and the right-aiming 
 thunder-bolts fly abroad, from a motive of love not of fear, let us "seek 
 early after God, and return from our sins, remembering the Rock of our 
 salvation, and the High God our Redeemer." Thus may we entertain some 
 hope that our conversion is sincere ; that we do not " flatter and lie" unto 
 our Maker; that our "heart is right with him," and we shall continue 
 "steadfast in his covenant." And then, a plant that is set and lives in the 
 heat of day, how will it thrive and flourish under the cool and moist influ- 
 ences of night ■? 
 
 "38. But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and de- 
 stroyed them not : yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not 
 stir up all his wrath. 39. For he remembered that they were but flesh; a 
 wind, or, breath, that passeth away, and cometh not again." 
 
 Had~God "stirred up all his wrath," the Israelites must have been exter- 
 minated in the wilderness. But then the promises made to Abraham, of 
 mercy and " compassion" to them, and by them to all mankind, had failed. 
 
228 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXXVIU. 
 
 Therefore they were " forgiven," and not " destroyed :" judgment was exe- 
 cuted from time to time upon the persons of offenders; but still a remnant 
 was left; the nation subsisted until the Seed came, to whom the promise 
 was made. Nay, although in consequence of their last and greatest crime, 
 their polity was subverted with their city and temple, the race is yet mar- 
 vellously preserved : and, we trust, preserved for mercy to be shown them 
 in the last days. Be not angry, Lord Jesus, for ever, with them, or with 
 us ; but remember of what materials we are made, and into what a state we 
 are fallen ; how weak and how frail we are; how liable to be seduced into 
 sin and blinded by error: remember this, O Lord, and forgive us; and 
 teach us to remember it, that we may forgive one another. 
 
 " 40. How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him 
 in the desert ! 41. Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited 
 the Holy One of Israel. 42. They remembered not his hand, nor the day 
 when he delivered them from the hand of the enemy : 43. How he had 
 wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan." 
 
 The question which the Psalmist here asks, concerning Israel in the wil- 
 derness, is elsewhere asked by him concerning mankind in general : " Who 
 can tell how oft he offendeth ]" Psalm xix. 12. God informs Moses, who 
 had interceded for the people, and in the name of the great Mediator ob- 
 tained their pardon, that "• those men which had seen his glory, and his 
 miracles which he did in Egypt and in the wilderness, had tempted him 
 ten times, and had not hearkened to his voice," Numb. xiv. 22. Forget- 
 fulness of the mercies of redemption is the beginning of sin; and though 
 every one knows how to resent and detest the crime of ingratitude in an- 
 other, he yet thinks that his best benefactor will overlook the most flagrant 
 instances of it in himself. 
 
 " 44. And had turned their rivers into blood; and their floods, that they 
 could not drink. 45. He sent divers sorts of flies, Heb. a mixture, whether 
 of beasts or insects, noisome and destructive, among them, which devoured 
 them ; and frogs, which destroyed them. 46. He gave also their increase 
 unto the caterpillar, and their labour unto the locust. 47. He destroyed 
 their vines with hail, and their sycamore-trees with frost. 48. He gave up 
 their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts, or, flashes 
 of lightning." 
 
 The Psalm goes back to the subject of Israelitish ingratitude, mentidned 
 at the beginning, verses 11, 12. in order to introduce an account of the mira- 
 cles wrought in Egypt, previous to the exodus. These miracles were in- 
 tended to evince the superiority of Jehovah over the elements and powers 
 of nature, which at that time were objects of worship amongst the Egyp- 
 tians, but plainly appeared to act at the command of Moses, in subordina- 
 tion to their great Creator, the God of the Hebrews. In the heavens, on 
 the earth, and in the waters, supremacy and independency were demonstrated 
 to belong to him only : fire and air, thunder and lightning, wind, rain, and 
 hail, obeyed his word : rivers became blood, and their inhabitants perished ; 
 insects and animals left their wonted habitations, to destroy vegetables, or 
 torment man : so that wherever the gods of Egypt were supposed to reside, 
 and to exert their influences in favour of their votaries in all places, and all 
 circumstances, victory declareth for Jehovah. Hence modern as well as 
 ancient idolaters may learn, not to put their trust in the world, but in him 
 who made, and who can and will destroy it; whose power can render the 
 most insignificant of his creatures instruments of his vengeance, and, in a 
 moment, arm all the elements against sinners; and whose mercy will em- 
 ploy that power in the final salvation of the church, when, as the author 
 of the book of Wisdom expresseth it, " he shall make the creature his 
 weapon for the revenge of his enemies, and the world shall fight for him 
 against the unwise," Wisd. v. 17. 20. The curious and striking reflections 
 which that author makes on the plagues of Egypt, in chap. xi. xvii. xviii. 
 xix. are well worthy an attentive perusal. It is also to be observed, that St. 
 
Day XV. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 229 
 
 John describes the judgments of the last da3's in terms plainly alludintr.to 
 those poured out upon the Egyptians, " as locusts and frogs; blood and 
 darkness," &c. See Rev. ix. and xvi. et al. Under these images are repre- 
 sented, false teachers and erroneous doctrines, carnality and ignorance, and, 
 in a word, whatever contributes to ravage the moral or spiritual world, to 
 deface the beauty of holiness, and destroy the fruits of faith. And of all 
 the divine judgments, these are by far the most dreadful, though generally 
 the least dreaded. 
 
 " 49. He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath and indigna- 
 tion, and trouble, by sending evil angels among fhem.^^ 
 
 Some of the Egyptian plagues have been specified in the foregoing verses, 
 others of them are here thrown together, and the whole scene is affirmed 
 to have been a full display of wrath and vengeance, executed upon the op- 
 pressors of the church by □V"' CD'';]N'7r3, " evil angels, agents, or mes- 
 sengers;" whether by this expression we understand the material instru- 
 ments of divine displeasure ; or angels employed as ministers of vengeance; 
 or the actual appearance and ministration of evil spirits, suffered to torment 
 the wicked in this world, as they certainly will do in the next. Tradition 
 seems to have favoured this last opinion, since the author of the book of 
 Wisdom above referred to, describes the Egyptian darkness as a kind of 
 temporary hell, in which there appeared to the wicked, whose consciences 
 suggested to them every thing that was horribe, " a fire kindled of itself 
 very dreadful; they were scared with wild beasts that passed by, and his- 
 sing of serpents ; and they were vexed with monstrous apparitions, so that 
 they fainted, and died for fear; while over them was spread a heavj' night, 
 an image of that darkness which should afterwards receive them." Wisd. 
 xvii. 
 
 »' 50. He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, 
 but gave their life over to the pestilence ; 51. And smote all the first-born 
 in Egypt; the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham." 
 
 The last plague was the death of the first-born both of man and beast ; 
 Exod. xii. 29. when God, having removed every obstacle that mercy had 
 thrown in the path of justice, " made away to his indignation," which then 
 rushed forth like a fiery stream. An unlimited commission was given to 
 the destroyer, who at midnight passed through the land, and gave the fatal 
 stroke in every house. " While all things, O Lord, were in quiet silence, 
 and that night was in the midst of her swift course, thine almighty word 
 leapt down from heaven out of thy royal throne, as a fierce man of war, into 
 the midst of a land of destruction, and brought thine unfeigned command- 
 ment as a sharp sword, and standing up, filled all things with death : and 
 it touched the heaven, but it stood upon the earth," Wisdom xviii. 14. 
 Pharaoh and all his servants rose up in the night ; there was a great cry 
 throughout all the land of Egypt; and universal consternation reigned, in- 
 ferior only to that which is to extend its empire over the world, when " the 
 trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised." May we be saved, 
 like Israel, in that hour, through the blood of the true paschal Lamb, slain 
 to take away the sins of the world. " W"hen 1 see the blood," says Jeho- 
 vah to his people, " I will pass over you." 
 
 "52. But he made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided 
 them in the wilderness like a flock. 53. And he led them on safely, so 
 that they feared not ; but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. 54. And he 
 brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain, lohick 
 his right hand had purchased. 55. He cast out the heathen also before 
 them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Is- 
 rael to dwell in their tents." 
 
 Having related the punishments inflicted on Egypt, the Psalmist returns 
 to those mercies experienced by the Israelites, when God overthrew their 
 enemies, took them under his protection, fed and conducted them in the 
 wilderness, brought them to the promised land, expelled the heathen, set- 
 
 20 
 
230 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXXVIII. 
 
 tied his people, and at length fixed his residence on mount Sion, which is 
 represented as the conquest and acquisition of his own arm ; since the vic- 
 tories of Joshua, &c. were all owing to the Divine presence and assistance. 
 The Christian church, after her redemption by " the blood of the Lamb," 
 passed 300 years in a state of minority, as it were, and under persecution, 
 which, with allusion to what befell Israel of old, is called in the Revelation, 
 her flight and abode in the wilderness. Rev. xii. 6. At length the true 
 " Joshua," or Jesus, " brought" her " into the possession of the Gentiles ;" 
 see Acts vii. 45. and she enjoyed a temporary rest and prosperity. But no 
 terrestrial Canaan, no secular advantages, should make us forget, as the 
 Jews did, and as Christians are apt to do, that the church is in the wilder- 
 ness, while she is in the world ; and that *' there remaineth yet" another 
 and far more glorious " rest for the people of God," after which they ought 
 ever to be aspiring. See Heb. iv. 9. 
 
 " 56. Yet they teinpted and provoked the most high God, and kept not 
 his testimonies ; 57. But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fa- 
 thers : they were turned aside like a deceitful bow. 58. For they provoked 
 him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their 
 graven images." 
 
 The Israelites, when settled in the promised land, soon showed them- 
 selves to be the genuine descendants of those men, who tempted God in the 
 desert. We can hardly read two chapters in the book of Judges, but we 
 meet with the words, " And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight 
 of the Lord." For this their frequent revolving, they are compared to " a 
 deceitful bow," which when put to the trial, is sure to disappoint the 
 archer, either dropping the arrow at his feet, or carrying it wide of the mark. 
 Their zeal and love were either wholly relaxed and enervated by sensuality 
 and indolence, or else turned aside, and misplaced on false objects of wor- 
 ship. Thus, in the present decline of religion, the devotion of the Ro- 
 manists hath attached itself to saints, angels, and images ; while that of 
 Protestants sleepeth, and must be awakened. In what manner, is known 
 to God only. 
 
 "59. When God heard this he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel: 
 60. So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent luhich he placed 
 among men; 61. And delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory 
 into the enemy's hand." 
 
 Rebellion against God will, sooner or latter, draw down his vengeance, 
 and cause the most beloved nation to be "adhorred" by him: he will for- 
 sake the place of his residence, " the tent placed among men" where he 
 dwelleth by his Spirit; and the church, by which his "strength" and his 
 "glory" are manifested to the world, shall go " into captivity, and the 
 enemy's hand." All this we are taught by that which came to pass in 
 Israel, when for the sins of priests and people, the ark of God, which then 
 abode in Shiloh, was suffered to fall into the hands of the Philistines, 1 
 Sam. iv. The present state of Jerusalem, and of all the once-flourishing 
 Eastern and African churches, speaks aloud the same awful and important 
 truth. " He that hath his ears to hear, let him hear." 
 
 " 62. He gave his people over also to the sword ; and was wroth v.-ith 
 his inheritance. 63. The fire consumed their young men ; and itheir 
 maidens were not given to marriage. 61. Their priests fell by the sword; 
 and their widows made no lamentation." 
 
 These verses refer to the slaughter of Israel by the Philistines, which 
 was an effect of divine wrath, compared here, as elsewhere, to "a consu- 
 ming fire ;" they refer likewise to the death of old Eli, of Hophni and Phin- 
 ehas and the widow of Phinehas. who expired in child-bed, on hearing the 
 mournful news, 1 Sam. iv. History abounds with the tragical stories of 
 wars and captivities. Scripture informs us they are the judgments of God 
 against sin ; but calamities affect us not, till they become our own : it is well 
 if they reform us, even when they do become so. 
 
DAT XV. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 231 
 
 " 65. Then the Lord awakened as one out of sleep, and like a mio-hty 
 man that shouteth by reason of wine." 
 
 While, by God's permission, the Philistines were chastising^ his people 
 for their sins, he held his peace, and seemed unconcerned, as one asleep. 
 But when due chastisement had brought the delinquents to themselves, the 
 cries of penitent Israel awakened, as it were, and called forth the zeal of the 
 Lord of hosts, to vindicate his honour, and deliver his servants : and then 
 the vigour of his operations was such as might be compared to the alacrity 
 and courage of a mighty champion, when, refreshed and inspirited by wine, 
 he attacks his adversaries, and bears down all before him. Under all our 
 suflerings let us rest contented with this assurance, that God acts the part 
 of a father ; and will therefore remove the rod, when it has answered the 
 end proposed. 
 
 " ^G. And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts ; he put them to a 
 perpetual reproach." 
 
 The former clause of this verse may be rendered, " And he repulsed, or, 
 drove his enemies back ;" as Psalm ix. .3. " When mine enemies are 
 turned back ;" the word TltlN being the same in both places. But as that part 
 of the sacred history is here alluded to, in which the Philistines are said to 
 have been plagued with " emerods," or, " hemorrhoids," while the ark 
 was amongst them, the passage is generally rendered, as in our translation, 
 and supposed to intend that particular plague. Thus much, however, is 
 certain, that Dagon fell before the ark, which his worshippers were glad to 
 send back, with acknowledgments of the vengeance inflicted on them by the 
 superior power of the God of Israel, who could punish where, and when, 
 and how he pleased. See 1 Sam. v. vi. 
 
 " 67. Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the 
 tribe of Ephraim ; 68. But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which 
 he loved. 69. And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth 
 which he hath established for ever." 
 
 The ark, after its return, went no more to Shiloh, which was in the tribe 
 of Ephraim, the son of Joseph, but was brought first to Kiriathaim, 1 Sam. 
 vi. 21. a city of the tribe of Judah, and from thence, after a short stay at the 
 house of Obed-Edom, to mount Sion, 1 Chron. xiv. and xv. which was the 
 chosen and highly f3,voured mount : where was afterwards erected by Solo- 
 mon a magnificent and permanent habitation for the God of Jacob, during 
 the continuance of the old dispensation ; a resemblance of that eternal tem- 
 ple, in which all the fulness of the Godhead hath since dwelt bodily. The 
 Divine presence removed at this time to the tribe of Judah, because out of 
 that tribe, after the rejection of Saul, came the great representative, as well 
 as progenitor, of King Messiah. 
 
 "70. He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds : 
 71. From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed 
 Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. 73. So he fed them according 
 to the integrity of his heart ; and guided them by the skilfulness of his 
 hands." 
 
 The call of David from the sheepfold to a throne, teacheth us, that he 
 who hath showed himself faithful in a few and small concerns, is worthy 
 of promotion to more and more important cares ; that the qualifications, re- 
 quisite for the due discharge of high oflices, are best learned, at first, in an 
 inferior station, especially if it be one that will inure to labour and vigi- 
 lance ; and that kings are to consider themselves as "shepherds;" which 
 considf rjtion would perhaps teach them their duty better than all the pre- 
 cepts in th ? world. From the last verse, relative to David's manner of con- 
 ducting himself after his advancement, we learn, that integrity and discre- 
 tion, when they meet in the same person, form a complete ruler, and one fit 
 to represent that blessed Person, who entered, like his father David, through 
 ' sufferings into his glory ; who governeth his church in wisdom and right- 
 eousness ; and of whom it is said, by the evangelical prophet, " lie shall 
 
232 A COMMENTARY Psal5i LXXIX. 
 
 feed his flock like a shepherd, he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and 
 carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young," 
 Isa. xl. 11. 
 
 SIXTEENTH DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM LXXIX. 
 
 ARGUJIENT. 
 
 The argument of this Psalm is nearly the same with that of the Ixxlvth. The 
 church, persecuted and afflicted, sets forth, 1 — 3. the sacrilegious devastation 
 and cruel slaughter made by the enemy, with 4. the reproacii occasioned 
 thereby ; 5 — 6. she prayeth for redress and deliverance ; 8, 9. confessetli and 
 entreateth forgiveness of the sins whicli had brought these calamities upon 
 her; and then, 10 — 12. asketh a removal of her reproach and misery ; promi- 
 sing, 13. endless gratitude and praise for the same. We meet with pas- 
 sages of this Psalm, Jer. x. 25. 1 Mace. vii. 17. but when it was composed 
 is not known. 
 
 "1.0 God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance ; thy holy temple 
 have they defiled ; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps." 
 
 Three deplorable calamities are here enumerated by the faithful ; the 
 alienation of God's inheritance, the profanation of the sanctuary, and the 
 desolation of the beloved city. When we represent in our prayers the suf- 
 ferings and humiliation of the church, we take an effectual method of 
 awakening the compassion, and recalling the favour of heaven. Every 
 redeemed soul is the inheritance, the temple, the city of God. When sin 
 enters and takes possession, the inheritance is alienated, the temple defiled, 
 the city desolated. 
 
 " 2. The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to he meat unto the 
 fowls of heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth. 3. Their 
 blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there wasnoxiQ 
 to bury them.''^ 
 
 That horrible carnage which attends the siege and capture of a city, is the 
 fourth of those calamities bewailed in our Psalm. To behold, or even to 
 imagine, heaps of slaughtered bodies lying unburied, and exposed to birds 
 and beasts of prey, is inexpressibly shocking to humanity. But with what 
 unconcern are we accustomed to view, on all sides of us, multitudes "dead 
 in trespasses and sins," torn in pieces, and devoured by wild passions, 
 filthy lusts, and infernal spirits, those dogs and vultures of the moral world "? 
 Yet to a discerning eye and a thinking mind, the latter is by far the more 
 melancholy sight of the two. 
 
 " 4. We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to 
 them that are round about us." 
 
 A fifth calamity incident to an afflicted church, is to become like captive 
 Israel, the "scorn and derision" of infidels, who fail not, at such seasons, 
 to reproach her and blaspheme her God. We know how to answer those 
 who reproach us with our sulTerings, for so their predecessors reproached 
 our Master; but what shall we say if we have given the enemy occasion to 
 reproach us with our sins ] The only real disgrace of religion is the wick- 
 edness of its professors. 
 
 "5. How long, Lord, wilt thou be angry 1 for ever? shall thy jealousy 
 burn like fire?" 
 
 Parched and exhausted amidst the flames of persecution, we behold Sion 
 panting for the comforts of redemption. The extent and continuance of her 
 troubles cause her to fear a total extermination; and, by the questions here 
 asked, she tacitly reminds God of his promises not to give her up and de- 
 
DAT XVI. M. p. ON THE PSALMS. 233 
 
 stroy her "for ever," on account of Messias, whom she was in the fuhiess of 
 thne to bring forth. 
 
 " 6. Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and 
 upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name. 7. For they have 
 devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling-place." 
 
 Tliis, though uttered in the form of a wish, or prayer, is to be considered, 
 like many other passages of the same nature, as a prediction of what would 
 afterwards come to pass. Pagan ambition and cruelty were often employed 
 to chastise offending Israel ; but were themselves, notwithstanding, justly 
 punished in their turn by other powers raised up for that end. That rela- 
 tion, in which the church stands to God, causes him, upon her repentance, 
 to appear in her behalf, and to execute vengeance on her oppressors, who 
 " know him not, nor call upon his name." " We arc thine," saith Isaiah, 
 " thou never bearest rule over them, they were not called by thy name," 
 Ixiii. 19. The church, for her sins, may deserve to suffer ; but her enemies 
 are not therefore without guilt, nor will they escape without punishment. 
 
 " 8. O remember not against us former iniquities : let thy,tender mercies 
 speedily prevent us ; for we are brought very low. 9. Help us, O God of 
 our salvation, for the glory of thy name ; and deliver us, and purge away 
 our sins, for thy name's sake." 
 
 Affliction hath then wrought its intended effect, when it hath convinced 
 us of sin, and led us to repentance; when, brought back by it, like the re- 
 turning prodigal, to the house and presence of our heavenly Father, ^we 
 acknowledge our guilt as the cause of our misery, and entreat forgiveness 
 oftheone, in order to obtain a release from the other: not pleading our 
 own merits, but the mercies of God our Saviour, and the glory of his name, 
 
 " 10. Wherefore should the heathen say. Where is their God 1 Let him 
 be known among the heathen in our sight, by the revenging of the blood of 
 thy servants ivkich is shed. Or, Let the vengeance of thy servant's blood 
 that is shed, be known among the heathen that is in our sight." 
 
 It is for " the glory of God's name," to deliver his church ; because, 
 while she is in trouble, that name is blasphemed by the enemy, as if he 
 wanted either power or will, to prevent or remove the calamities of his 
 servants. Prayer is therefore here made by the faithful, that God, not to 
 gratify any vindictive spirit of theirs, but to vindicate his own attributes, 
 would break the teeth of the oppressor, and work a public and glorious 
 salvation for his chosen ; at beholding which, the very adversaries them- 
 selves might possibly be converted. 
 
 ♦'11. Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee : according to the 
 greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die." 
 
 Next to those who had been slain, the case of such as groaned in cap- 
 tivity, lying bound in chains and fetters, under sentence of death, to be in- 
 flicted at the will of their cruel and insulting conquerors, is recommended 
 to God. The Christian, though he may at present be subject to none of 
 these external calamities, forgets not that he is often persecuted, and led 
 captive by his own desires, and bound in the chains of his sins; that the 
 world to him is a prison; that sentence of death is passed upon him, and 
 he knoweth not how soon that sentence may be executed. How properly, 
 therefore, and how fervently may he at all times pray, " O let the sighing 
 of the prisoner come before thee ; according to the greatness of thy power 
 preserve thou those that are appointed to die." 
 
 " 12. And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their re- 
 proach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord." 
 
 That is, as they have reproached thee with weakness, so manifest to 
 others their weakness, who are but sinful dust and ashes ; as they have 
 endeavoured to make thee contemptible, so let the world have just cause to 
 despise them, who have thus presumptuously offended ; according as it is 
 written, "Them that honour me 1 will honour, and they that despise me 
 shall be lightly esteemed," 1 Sam. ii. 30 And however different the ap- 
 
 20* 
 
234 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXXX. 
 
 pearance of things may now be, this will certainly be found true, in every 
 instance, at the last day. 
 
 " 13. So we thy people, and sheep of thy pasture, will give thee thanks 
 for ever; we will shew forth thy praise to all generations." 
 
 Such is the resolution of a church under persecution; and such ought to 
 be the practice of every church when delivered out of it, and restored to the 
 favour and protection of her God. The same is the duty of every soul 
 with regard to afflictions and mercies of a private kind. But how glorious 
 will be the day, when triumphant over sin and sorrow, over everything that 
 exalteth and opposeth itself, the church universal shall behold the adver- 
 sary disarmed for ever; while she herself, placed in pastures of joy, and 
 led to the waters of eternal comfort, shall, from age to age, incessantly sing 
 the praises of her great Shepherd and Bishop, her King and her God I 
 
 PSALM LXXX. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The church, still in captivity, 1 — 3. crieth unto God for help and redemption ; 
 4 — 7. complaineth of her gi-ievous affliction ; 8 — 13. describeth her former 
 exaltation, and present depression, under the beautiful figui'eof a vine ; 14^ 
 16. returneth again to her supplications, and, 17 — 19. prayeth for the advent 
 of Messiah, to quicken and comfort her, vowing all loyal obedience, adora- 
 tion, and praise to him, as the author of her salvation. 
 
 "1. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock ; 
 thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth." 
 
 The Christian church is now become the " Israel" of God; Jesus Christ 
 is the "Shepherd" of this Israel, who leadeth his people "like a flock :" 
 he dwelleth in the midst of them by his Spirit, as of old he dwelt in the 
 holy places, "between the cherubim." Let us beseech him to hearken to 
 our prayers, and to manifest the glory of his power in our defence and de- 
 liverance. 
 
 "2. Before Ephraim, and Benjamin, and Manasseh, stir up thy strength, 
 and come and save us." 
 
 God is entreated to go forth, in his strength and his salvation, before the 
 tribes of Israel, as formerly in the wilderness. Ephraim, Benjamin, and 
 Manasseh, are particularly mentioned, perhaps, because, according to the 
 established order, those three tribes immediately followed the ark and 
 cherubim, the symbols of the Divine presence. See Numb. ii. 18. 
 
 " 3. Turn, or, restore, us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and 
 we shall be saved." 
 
 This verse is a kind of ^chorus, occuring three times in the course of our 
 Psalm. It implies that the church is in captivity, from which she prayed 
 to be "restored" to her former freedom and prosperity; that she expecteth 
 such restoration, not from any might or merit of her own, but from the grace 
 and mercy of her Saviour; as well knowing, that her night can be turned 
 into day, and her winter give place to spring, only by the Sun of righteous- 
 ness rising and causing his face to shine upon her desolations. This ought, 
 therefore, to be the wish and the prayer of every persecuted church, and of 
 every persecuted soul. 
 
 " 4. O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer 
 of thy people?" 
 
 The sins of a people may for a time " separate between them and their 
 God, and hide his face from them that he will not hear ;" Isa. lix. 2. he may 
 cover himself with a cloud, that " their prayers should not pass through ;" 
 Lam. iii. 44. and seem to reject even the devotions of his distressed ser- 
 vants, while he is proving the strength of their faith, and the sincerity of 
 their repentance. But if the former be strong, and the latter sincere, they 
 
DAT XVI. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 2 35 
 
 will continue to ask till they have obtained ; nor cease to knock till the 
 door be opened. 
 
 " 5. Thou feedest them with the bread of tears, or, of weeping ; and givest 
 them tears to drink in great measure." 
 
 There cannot be a more striking picture of Sion in captivity ! Her bread 
 is dipped in tears, and her cup is filled to the brim with them : no time is 
 free from grief and lamentation. They who sin, must submit to penance ; 
 which if a man does not impose on himself, God will impose it on him : 
 whereas, if we judged ourselves, we should not be thus judged of the Lord. 
 The Church hath appointed seasons, and given directions fur this purpose ; 
 but who observes either the one or the other. 
 
 " G. Thou makest us a strife unto her neighbours; and out enemies laugh 
 among themselves." 
 
 Israel, when forsaken by her God, was a prey, for which all the neigh- 
 bouring nations contended, exulting over her, and scoffing at that condition 
 to which, not their counsels or armies, but her own inicjaiities, had reduced 
 her. Hence let us learn to form a just estimate of the real state both of 
 communities and individuals. Righteousness alone exalteth man ; sin is 
 his reproach, and will be his destruction. 
 
 " 7. Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we 
 shall be saved." See above, ver. 3. 
 
 " 8. Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt ; thou hast cast out the 
 heathen, and planted it." 
 
 God is reminded of the favour once shown by him to the church of Israel, 
 and of that prosperity which she once enjoyed. She is compared to a "vine," 
 removed from the unkindly soil of Egypt, to the happier regions of Canaan, 
 and there planted by Jehovah, in the place of nations extirpated from their 
 unfruitfulnesp. The vine is a plant, weak, and lowly, and needing support; 
 when supported, wild and luxuriant, unless restrained by the pruning knife; 
 capable of producing the most valuable fruit; but, if barren, the most un- 
 profitable among trees, and fit only for the flames. In all these respects it 
 is a lively emblem of the church, and used as such by Isaiah, v. 7. by 
 Ezekiel, xv. xvii. xix. and by our Lord himself. Matt. xxi. 33. The 
 Christian church, after her redemption by the death and resurrection of 
 Jesus, was planted in the heathen world, as Israel had been in Canaan; 
 and the description suits one as well as the other. 
 
 " 9. Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, 
 and it filled the land. 10. The hills were covered with the shadow of it, 
 and the boughs thereof wtre like the goodly cedars ; or, and the goodly 
 cedars were covered with the boughs thereof." 
 
 As the vine striketh its roots deep into the soil prepared for it, and then 
 diffuseth its numerous branches all around, covering the fertile hills, by the 
 sides of which it is planted, or running up the lofty cedars to the bodies of 
 which it is joined; such was the growth and fruitfulness of the Israelitish 
 church : but much greater was that of the church Christian. Her roots 
 were fast fixed in the hearts and affections of the faithful, and her boughs 
 shot forth abundantl)'' ; they often felt the knife, but increased under it, both 
 in number and vigour ; till, at length, she overshadowed the Roman empire 
 with her branches, and replenished the earth with her fruit, grateful to God 
 and man. 
 
 "11. She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the 
 river." 
 
 This relates to the extent of Palestine, which was occupied by the tribes 
 of Israel, even from the Mediterranean Sea, westward, to the river Eu- 
 phrates, eastward. This was promised, Deut. xi. 24. "From the river 
 Euphrates to the uttermost sea shall your coast be;" and fulfilled in the 
 days of Solomon. See 1 Kings iv. 31. Psalm Ixxii. 8. To the Christian 
 church the whole earth was the land of promise, and the Gospel was 
 preached to all nations. " I will give thee," saith Jehovah to Christ, 
 
236 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXXX- 
 
 " the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for 
 thy possession," Psalm ii. 8. 
 
 " 12. Why has thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which 
 pass b}'' the way do pluck herl" 
 
 The Psalmist, having described the exaltation of Israel, under the figure 
 of a vine, proceeds under the same figure to lament her depression. She is 
 now represented as deprived of the protection of God, the counsels of the 
 wise, and the arms of the valiant; of all her bulwarks and fortifications, 
 and whatever else could contribute to her defence and security; so that, 
 like a vineyard without a fence, she lay open on every side to ths incur- 
 sions and ravages of her neighbouring adversaries ; who soon stripped her 
 of all that was valuable, and trod her under foot. 
 
 " 13. The boar out of _^the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the 
 field doth devour it." 
 
 Fierce and unrelenting, her heathen persecutor issued, at different times, 
 from his abode, like a " wild boar" out of the forest, resolved not only to 
 spoil and plunder, but to eradicate and extirpate her for ever. Nor let the 
 church Christian imagine that these things relate to her elder sister. 
 Greater mercies and more excellent gifts, should excite in her greater thank- 
 fulness, and call forth more excellent virtues ; otherwise, they will serve 
 only to enhance her account and multiply her sorrows. If she sin, and fall 
 after the same example of unbelief, she must not think to be distinguished 
 in her punishment, unless by the severity of it. She may expect to see the 
 favour of heaven withdrawn, and the secular arm, instead of supporting, 
 employed to crush her; her discipline may be annihilated, her unity broken, 
 her doctrines perverted, her worship deformed, her practice corrupted,' her 
 possessions alienated, and her revenues seized; till at length the word be 
 given from above, and some antichristian power be unchained, to execute 
 upon her the full vengeance due to her crimes. Unclean desires, and 
 furious passions, are the enemies of the soul, which deface her beauty, and 
 devour all the productions of grace, in that lesser vineyard of God. 
 
 " 14. Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, 
 and behold, and visit this vine! 15. And the vineyard which thy right 
 hand hath planted, and the Branch that thou madest strong for thyself." 
 
 The church, thus distressed and desolated, oflTereth a prayer for the return 
 of the Divine favour, and for a gracious visitation from on high ; she be- 
 seecheth God to look down, with an eye of pity, from heaven, on the vine- 
 yard, which his own hands had "planted," and on that royal branch, the 
 family of David, in particular, which he had raised and established for him- 
 self, to accomplish his eternal purpose of saving mankind by Messiah, who 
 was one day to spring from the root of Jesse. The Chaldee Paraphrast 
 expounds " the branch," of Messiah himself, ><n'tyo ND^n by, " On King 
 Messiah, whom thou hast established," &c. So do the rabbles, AbenEzra, 
 and Obadiah, cited by Dr. Hammond. And the LXX, instead of supposing 
 the word \D, "a son," to refer to "vine," and to signify a "branch," 
 ■which, in the Hebrew style, is, " a son of the vine," have rendered the pas- 
 sage, (TTi uiov AvbpceTTu, " ou thc SOU of mau ;" an expression actually used 
 by the Psalmist, to verses below. To the advent of this Son of man, Israel 
 was ever accustomed to look forward in time of affliction ; on his second 
 and glorious advent the Christian church must fix her eye, in the day of her 
 calamities. 
 
 " 16. If is burnt with fire ; it is cut down, or, dug up : they perish at the 
 rebuke of thy countenance." 
 
 The sad estate of thy vineyard is yet again set forth, to excite the com- 
 passion of heaven. As to the latter clause of this verse, if it be rendered, as 
 our translators have rendered it, in the present time, it seems to relate to 
 the Israelites, and the destruction made amongst them by the wrath of God. 
 If it have a future rendering, " they shall perish at the rebuke of thy 
 
DAT XVI. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 037 
 
 countenance," it may be supposed to predict the fate of the adversaries, 
 when God should deliver his people out of their hands. 
 
 " 17. Let thy hand be upon the Man of thy right hand, upon the Son of 
 man whotn thou madest strong for thyself." 
 
 These phrases, " the man of thy right hand," and " the son of man," if 
 at all applicable in a lower and subordinate sense to a temj)oral kino- of 
 Israel, considered as a representative of Messiah, are most certainly, in their 
 full and prophetical acceptation, intended to denote King Messiah himself.* 
 Assured of his coming, the church prayeth that the " hand," the protec- 
 tion, and the power of Jehovah, might be " upon" him, over him, and with 
 him, in his great undertaking, finally to deliver her out of all her troubles, 
 and to " lead her captivity captive." 
 
 " 18. So will not we go back from thee : quicken us, and we will call 
 upon thy name." 
 
 The end of our redemption is, that we should serve him who bath 
 redeemed us, and " go back" no more to our old sins. That soul which 
 hath been "quickened" and made alive by Christ, should live to his 
 honour and glory ; that mouth which hath been opened by him, can do no 
 less than show forth his praise, and "call upon his" saving " name." 
 
 " 12. Turn us again, Lord God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and 
 we shall be saved." See ver. 3. 
 
 ' PSALM LXXXL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 Tliis Psalm, whensoever, or by whomsoever composed, was probably intended 
 to be sung at the feast of trumpets, as also at any other feast time. It con- 
 tains, 1 — 3. an exhortation duly to observe the festivals of the church, 4, 5. 
 as God had appointed, who is introduced expostulating with his people on ac- 
 count, 6 — 10. of his mercies, and, 11, 12. their ingratitude, and, 13 — 16. un- 
 der the form of a most affectionate wish, renewing Ids promises, on condition 
 of their obedience. 
 
 " I. Sing aloud unto God our strength : make a joyful noise unto the God 
 of Jacob. 2. Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant 
 harp with the psaltery." 
 
 If Israelites were thus exhorted to keep their feast days with joy and 
 gladness of heart; to exalt their voices, and join together all their sweetest 
 instruments of music, in honour of him who had rescued them from Egyp- 
 tian bondage, and given them a law from Sinai ; in what exulting strains 
 ought we to celebrate the festivals of the Christian church? With what 
 triumph of soul, and harmony of affections, are we bound to "sing aloud to 
 God our strength," who hath redeemed us from death, and published the 
 Gospel from Sion ? Since, as the Apostle saith, " holy-days, new moons, 
 and sabbath-days," of old, "were" only " a shadow of things to come ; 
 but the body is of Christ." Col. ii. IG. 
 
 "3. Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on 
 our solemn feast-day." 
 
 In the Jewish church, notice was given of feasts, jubilees, &c, by sound 
 of trumpet. All the new moons, or beginning of months, were observed in 
 this manner; see Numb. x. 1. but on the September new moon, or first day 
 of the seventh month, was kept a great festival, called "the feast of trum- 
 pets;" Lev. xxiii. 24. Numb. xxix. I. which, probably, is here intended. 
 This September new moon had a particular regard paid to it, because accord- 
 ing to the old calculation before Israel came out of Egypt, it was the first 
 
 * " Virum dexterfE tuae." Daviilein a te designatum et confirmatum regem, et in ejus figura 
 Christum. Bossuet. 
 
238 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXXXI. 
 
 new moon in the year, which began upon this day, the first of the (after- 
 wards) seventh month. The tenth of the same month was the great day of 
 atonement ; and on the fifteenth was celebrated the feast of tabernacles. 
 See Lev. xxiii. 27. and 34. Our Psalm therefore seems to have been designed 
 for the purpose of awakening and stirring up the devotion of the people, upon 
 the solemn entrance of a month in which they were to commemorate so 
 many past blessings, prefigurative of much greater blessings to come. We 
 have now our feast-days, our Christmas, Easter, Whitsuntide, &c. On 
 these, and all other solemn occasions, let the evangelical trumpet give a 
 sound of victory, of liberty, of joy, and rejoicing; of victory over death, of 
 liberty from sin, of joy and rejoicing in Christ Jesus our Saviour. 
 
 "4. For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. 
 5. This he ordained in Joseph /or a testimony, when he went out, through, 
 or, against, the land of Egypt; lohere I heard a language that I understood 
 not." 
 
 The meaning is, that the observation of feasts, with blowing of trumpets, 
 was a statute law, or testimony, ordained in Joseph, or Israel, by God him- 
 self, after he had destroyed the Egyptians, and brought his people into the 
 wilderness, where the lav/ was given. Concerning the words, " I heard a 
 language that I understood not," it is diflacult to account for the change of 
 person; but the sense seems to be, that the children of Israel received the 
 law when they had been in bondage under a people of strange and barba- 
 rous language, or dialect. The passage is exactly parallel to that in Psalm 
 cxiv. 1. "When Israel went out of Egypt, and the house of Jacob from a 
 people of strange language ;" &c. The new law, with its sacraments and ' 
 ordinances, was promulged after the spiritual redemption by Christ, as the 
 old law, with its rites and ceremonies, was published after the temporal 
 deliverance by Moses. 
 
 " 6. I removed his shoulder from the burthen: his hands were delivered 
 from the pots." 
 
 From this verse to the end, it is plain that God is the speaker. He re- 
 minds Israel of their redemption, by his mercy and power, from the bur- 
 thens and the drudgery imposed on them in Egypt. Moses describeth their 
 then state of servitude by saying, "The Egyptians made their lives bitter 
 with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in 
 the field ;" Exod. i. 14. that is, probably, in making vessels of clay, as this 
 verse seems to imply. Let us remember that we have been eased of far 
 heavier burthens, delivered from severer task-masters, and freed from a 
 baser drudgery; the intolerable load of sin, the cruel tyranny of Satan, the 
 vile service and bitter bondage of concupiscence. 
 
 " 7. Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee ; I answered thee in 
 the secret place of thunder : I proved thee at the waters of Meribah." 
 
 God declares his readiness at all times to hear the prayers and relieve 
 the distresses of his people, as he did when they cried unto hira in Egypt, 
 and in the wilderness, and received answers from the cloudy pillar. In 
 that deep recess he had fixed his awful throne, and from thence, on proper 
 occasions, he manifested his power and glory, protecting Israel, and con- 
 founding their adversaries. In Psalm xxix. 6. it is said of " Moses, Aaron," 
 &c. "They called upon the Lord, and he answered them : he spake unto 
 them in the cloudy pillar;" which passage seems exactly parallel to that 
 in the verse under consideration — "Thou calledst, and — I answered thee 
 in the secret place of thunder." He who spake unto Israel in the cloudy 
 pillar, i..uh since spoken to us by his Son: he who " proved them at the 
 waters cf Meribah," Exod. xvii. G. 7. now proves us by various trials in 
 the world. 
 
 " 8. Hear, my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou 
 wilt hearken unto me; 9. There shall no strange god be in thee; neither 
 shall thou worship any strange God. 10. I am the Lord thy God, which 
 
Day XVI. M. P. ON THE PSA.LMS. 239 
 
 brought thee out of the land of Egy]^i: open thy mouth wide, and I will 
 fill it." 
 
 God here addresseth himself to the Israelites, putting' them in reniem- 
 brance of that first and great commandment against idolatry ; of his claim 
 to their obedience, as their God and Saviour; and of his being both able 
 and willing to satisfy the utmost desires and wishes of such as would ap- 
 ply to him for blessing and comfort. Behold, then, the rebellion, the in- 
 gratitude, and the folly of that man, who saith to any creature, " Thou art 
 my God," who bestoweth on the world that fear, love, and adoration, which 
 are due only to its Creator and Redeemer; who wasteth his days in seek- 
 ing after happiness, where all, by their inquietude, acknowledge that it is 
 not to be found. 
 
 "11. But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would 
 none of me. 12. So I gave them up unto their own heart's lust ; and they 
 walked in their own counsels." 
 
 By the subject of an earthly prince, it is justly deemed a great honour 
 for his sovereign to converse with him, to counsel and advise him : but 
 from sinful dust and ashes, we hear the Majesty of heaven complaining, 
 that he cannot obtain an audience; no one will attend to, or observe his sa- 
 lutary admonitions. When we see men enabled, by wealth and power, to 
 accomplish the inordinate desires of their hearts, and carry their worldly 
 schemes into execution, without meeting with any obstructions in their 
 way, we are apt to envy their felicity: whereas such prosperity in wicked- 
 ness is the surest mark of divine displeasure, the heaviest punishment of 
 disobedience, both in individuals and communities. " My people would 
 not hearken to my voice, and Israel would none of me : so I gave them up 
 unto their own heart's lust: and they walked in their own counsels." 
 
 " 13. O that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in 
 my ways ! 14. I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my 
 hand against their adversaries." 
 
 Such are the tender mercies of our God, that he is not only careful to 
 provide for us the means of salvation, but represents himself as mourning 
 with a paternal affection over his children, when their frowardness and ob- 
 stinacy disappoint the efforts of his love. One cannot help observing the 
 similitude between the complaint here uttered, and one which hath been 
 since breathed forth over the same people ; " O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how 
 often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth 
 her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" 
 
 " 15. The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto 
 him, or, should have failed, or, been subdued to him : but their time, i. e. the 
 time (if his people, should have endured for ever." 
 
 The transgressions of the church give her enemies all their power against 
 her, calling the avenger from afar, and setting an edge on the sword of the 
 persecutor. "Where the carcass is," where the spirit of religion is de- 
 parted, and has left the body to corrupt and decay, " there the eagles are 
 gathered together:" all the instruments of vengeance, terrestrial and infer- 
 nal, flock, by permission, to the prey. Had not this been the case with 
 regard to Israel, Jerusalem had continued to be, through all ages, what she 
 was in the days of Solomon, the delight of the nations, and the joy of the 
 whole earth. 
 
 " 16, He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and 
 with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee." 
 
 That is, the Israelites, if obedient, woujd still have enjoyed the sweets 
 of that good land in which the Lord thcir'God had ])Iaced them, where the 
 fruits of the earth were produced in the highest perfection, and honey 
 streamed from the very rocks, so that no part of the country was without 
 its increase. Upon the same conditions of faith and obedience, do Chris- 
 tians hold those spiritual and eternal good things, of which the pleasant 
 fields and fertile hills of Canaan were sacramental. Christ is the " bread" 
 
240 A COMMENTARY Psami LXXXU. 
 
 of life, he is the " rock" of salvation, and his promises are as " honey" to 
 f ious minds. But they who reject him, as their Lord and Master, must 
 also lose him as their Saviour and their reward. 
 
 SIXTEENTH DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM LXXXII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The Psalmist addresseth himself to judges and magistrates: 1. he remlndeth 
 them of the presence of that God whom they represent, and to whom they 
 are accountable; 2 — 4. he exliorteth them to the due discharge of their of- 
 fice; 5. reproveth the ignorance and corruption among tliem; 6, 7. threat- 
 eneth their fall and punishment; 8, prayetli for tlie manifestation of Mes- 
 siah, and the estabhshment of Iiis righteous kingdom. 
 
 " 1. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among 
 the gods." 
 
 Earthly judicatories are the appointment of God. All magistrates act in 
 his name, and by virtue of his commission. He is invisibly present in their 
 assemblies, and superintends their proceedings. He receives appeals from 
 their wrongful decisions ; he will one day rehear all causes at his own tri- 
 bunal, and reverse every iniquitous sentence, before the great congregation 
 of men and angels. Unjust judges must either disbelieve or forget all this. 
 God is, in like manner, present to the heart of each individual ; he is privy 
 to the various reasonings and pleadings of grace and nature, of principal 
 and interest, in that lesser court; and he is a witness of its determinations ; 
 which also will by him be manifested to the world, and openly canvassed, 
 when he sitteth in judgment. 
 
 " 2. How long Avill ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the 
 wicked 1 3. Defend the poor and fatherless : do justice to the afflicted and 
 needy. 4. Deliver the poor and needy : rid tke?n out of the hand of the 
 wicked." 
 
 A charge is here given, by the Spirit of God, to all magistrates, much 
 like that which king Jehoshaphat gave to his judges; 2 Chron. xix. C, 7. 
 " Take heed what ye do ; for ye judge not for man, but for the Lord, who 
 is with you in the judgment. Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be 
 upon you, take heed, and do it: for there is no iniquity with the Lord our 
 God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts." It is the glory of Jeho- 
 vah and his Christ, to " accept no man's person" in judgment; to regard 
 neither the quality nor the station of the offender; but to give to every man, 
 of whatever rank or degree in the world, according to his works. AH the 
 sons of Adam were once " poor and fatherless, needy and afflicted," when 
 God took their cause into his own hands, and by a method consistent with 
 the strictest justice, " delivered them out of the hand of the wicked one." 
 Every oppressor of the poor is a likeness of " that wicked one," and every 
 upright judge will endeavour to resemble the Redeemer. For this purpose 
 he will be always willing to admit, diligent to discuss, solicitous to expe- 
 dite, the cause of a poor and injured person, and to afford such a one the 
 speediest, the cheapest, and the most effectual redress, equally contemning 
 the offers of opulence, and the frowns of power. A judge, who acts in this 
 manner, takes the readiest way to obtain the favour of God ; and the peo- 
 ple will be sure to bless him. 
 
 " 5. They know not, neither will they understand ; they walk on in dark- 
 ness; ail the foundations of the earth, or, the land, are out of course, or, 
 nod, or, shake." 
 
 We here find the prophet deploring, in magistrates, a method of proceed- 
 
Daxxvi. e.p. on the psalms. 241 
 
 ing contrary to that above described. He laments their voluntary ignorance 
 in the ways of righteousness, and their choosing to " walk in darkness." 
 In judges this is occasioned by "presents and gifts," which, as saith the 
 son of Sirach, "blind the eyes of the wise," Ecckis, xx. 2'J. And if once 
 the ".pillars" and " foundations" are moved from their integrity, and " sha- 
 ken" to and fro by every blast of fear and favour, what shall become of the 
 political fabric erected upon them? Verily it must fall, and great and ter- 
 rible will be the fall thereof. A community, whether ecclesiastical or civil, 
 consisteth of great numbers ; but its well-being dependeth on a few, in 
 whose hands the administration is placed. When the salt hath lost its sa- 
 vour, the mass must putrify ; when the light becometh darkness, how great 
 must be that darkness ! 
 
 " 6. I have said, Ye are gods ; and' all of you are children of the Most 
 High: 7. But ye shall die like men, or, Adam, and fall like one of the 
 princes." 
 
 It is true, then, that magistrates are exalted above other men ; that they 
 are dignified with a commission from above ; appointed to be the vicege- 
 rents of heaven upon earth ; and therefore called by the name of him in 
 whose name they act. But it is likewise as true, that notwithstanding all 
 this honour conferred upon them, for the good of others and of themselves, 
 if they use it aright, they still continue to be mortal sons of mortal 
 "Adam ;" like him, they must fall and perish : God can, at any time, cast 
 them down from their high estate, as he did the heathen "princes," who 
 misbehaA'^ed themselves, and opposed his counsels : death certainly will 
 strip them of all their authority, and lay them low in the grave ; from thence 
 the last trumpet shall call them forth, to stand, with the rest of their 
 brethren, before the judgment-seat of Christ, there to take their trial, and 
 receive their everlasting sentence. How necessary oftentimes is this con- 
 sideration, to check the spirit of tyranny and injustice, to qualify the pride 
 and insolence of office ! 
 
 " 8. Arise, God, judge the earth : for thou shalt inherit all nations." 
 
 A view of that disorder and confusion in which frequently the Jewish 
 nation, as well as the rest of the world, was involved, caused the prophets 
 most earnestly to wish and pray for the coming of that time, when " God" 
 should "arise" in the person of Messiah, to visit and "judge the earth;" to 
 deliver it from the powers of darkness, and the tyranny of sin; to "inherit 
 all nations," as purchased and redeemed by him ; to establish his church 
 among them ; and to rule with a sceptre of righteousness, in the hearts of 
 his people. " Arise," yet once again, O Lord Jesus, from thy throne, where 
 thou sittest at the right hand of the Father; "judge the earth," again cor- 
 rupted and overwhelmed with iniquity ; do away sin, and put an end for 
 ever to the power of Satan; "inherit all nations," redeemed from death, 
 and ransomed from the grave : and reign to eternity, King of Righteous- 
 ness, Peace, and Glory. 
 
 PSALM LXXXIII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In this Psalm the church, 1 — 8. complaineth to God of tlie insolence, subtility, 
 rage, and malice of her enemies, united in close confederacy against her ; 
 9 — 12. she prayeth for a manifestation of that power which formerly discom- 
 fited Jabin, Sisera, and the Midianites ; that so the hostile nations, 13 — 15. 
 made sensible of the superiority of Israel's God, 16 — 18. might cither them- 
 selves be induced to acknowledge him, or else, by their destruction, become 
 a warning and admonition to others. As, while the world endureth there will 
 be a church, and while there is a church she will have her enemies, who are 
 to increase upon her as the end approacheth, this Psalm can never be out of 
 date. And to the spiritual adversaries of his soul, every private Christian may 
 apply it at all times. 
 
 21 
 
242 -^ COMMENTARY Psalm LXXXIII. 
 
 " 1. Keep not thou silence, God : hold not thy peace, and be not still, 
 O God. 2. For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult ; and they that hate thee 
 have lift up their head." 
 
 The church entreateth God again and again to hear and help her in 
 the day of trouble. Her enemies and haters are here said to be the ene- 
 mies and haters of God, because Christ and the church, like man and wife, 
 are one : they have one common interest ; they have the same friends and 
 the same foes. To him, therefore, she applielh, terrified by the tumultuous 
 noise of confederated nations, roaring against her like the roaring of the sea, 
 "lifting up their heads," as so many monsters of the deep, to devour her at 
 once. When temptations are urgent upon the soul, and the passions rise in 
 arms against her peace and innocence, then do " the enemies of God make 
 a tumult, and they that hate him lift up their heads ;" and then is the 
 time for her to be instant in prayer. 
 
 " 3. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted 
 ao-ainst thy hidden ones. 4. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off 
 from being a nation ; thafthe name of Israel may be no more in remem- 
 brance." 
 
 The combination, so much dreaded, is described as having been formed 
 upon the best principles of secular policy, with much subtility, and the 
 most determined malice, against the " people" of God, and his " hidden 
 ones," that is, his peculiar nation, separated from the world, and taken 
 under the cover and protection of his wings. To root up the plantations of 
 paradise, to extirpate the holy seed, to extinguish the very " name of Israel," 
 was the scheme intended by these associated adversaries of Sion. Such 
 are our spiritual enemies ; such is their cunning, their rage, and their reso- 
 lution: what prudence, what vigilance, what courage, are necessary, that 
 we may oppose them with success ! 
 
 "5. For they have consulted together with one consent; they are con- 
 federate against thee." 
 
 When Christ was about to be crucified, it is observed by St. Luke, that 
 " the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together ; for before 
 they were at enmity between themselves," Luke xxiii. 12. And however 
 the enemies of the church may quarrel with one another, when they have 
 nothing else to do, yet if a favourable opportunity offer itself for making an 
 attack^upon her, they lay aside their differences, and unite as one man ; by 
 no means refusing the friendly aid even of infidels and atheists, who are 
 always ready to join in carrying on the war against the common adversary. 
 
 "6. The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab and the 
 Hagarenes ; 7. Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek ; the Philistines, with 
 thelnhabitants of Tyre; 8. Assur also is joined with them: they have 
 holpen the children of Lot." 
 
 These are the names of the confederates. The Edomites were descended 
 from Esau, that old original enemy of Jacob ; the Ishmaelites from Ish- 
 mael, the son of the bond-woman, and sworn foe to Isaac, heir of the pro- 
 mises ; the Moabites sprang from Moab, one of the incestuous children of 
 Lot; the Hagarenes were other descendants of Hagar; who the Gebalites 
 were is uncertain ; the Ammonites came from Ammon, the son of Lot, and 
 incestuous brother of IMoab ; the Amalekites were of the progeny of Amalek, 
 the grandson of Esau; Gen. xxxvi. 16. ; the Philistines and Tyrians are 
 welf known ; and to complete all, Assur, or the power of Assyria, was called 
 in by the children of Lot, the Moabites and Ammonites, to assist in the 
 great work of exterminating Israel from the face of the earth. These were 
 the ten nations, banded together by a solemn league and covenant, against 
 the people of God. And as Israel was the grand figure of the Christian 
 church, which is now " the Israel of God," so her enemies are often repre- 
 sented by the above recited nations, and in prophetical language are called 
 by their names. Every age has its Edomites, and its Ishmaelites, &c. &c. 
 
Day XVI. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 243 
 
 The actors are changed, and the scenes are shifted ; but the stage and the 
 drama continue the same. 
 
 " 9. Do unto them as unto the Midianites ; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the 
 brook of Kison : 10. Tf'^JcA perished at Endor: they became «« the dung 
 of the earth. 11. Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb ; yea, all their 
 princes like as Zeba and as Zalmunna : 12. Who said, Let us take to our- 
 selves the houses of God in possession." 
 
 The church, having recounted the enemies which compassed her about on 
 every side, looks up for succour to that Almighty povirer which had of old so 
 graciously interposed on her behalf, and rescued her from her persecutors, 
 in the day of Deborah, Barak, and Gideon. See Judges iv. — viii. Fully 
 sensible that those deliverances were wrought by the immediate hand of 
 Jehovah, she offers the prayer of faith for a like manifestation of his glory, 
 and a like victory over those who intended, in the same manner, to seize 
 and devour his inheritance. Of how great use and comfort are the Old Tes- 
 tament histories to us, in all our afflictions ! 
 
 " 13. O my God, make them like a wheel ; or, like thistle-down ; as the 
 stubble before the wind. 14. As the fire burneth the wood, and as the 
 flame setteth the mountains on fire ; 15. So persecute, or, thou shalt pursue, 
 them with thy tempest, and make, or, thou shalt make, them afraid with 
 thy storm." 
 
 The fate of those is here predicted, who invade the inheritance of Jeho- 
 vah, and say, " Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession." 
 The inconstancy and mutability of their fortunes is resembled to " thistle- 
 down," or some such light revolving body, and to " stubble," or chaff, 
 whirled about and dissipated by the " wind :" the suddenness, horror, and 
 universality of their destruction, are set forth by the similitude of a " fire" 
 consuming the dry trees in a " forest," or some combustible matter on the 
 " mountains." Such is the storm and tempest of God's indignation, which 
 pursues and terrifies the sacrilegious and ungodly. 
 
 " 16. Fill their faces with shame ; that they may seek thy name, Lord. 
 17. Let them, or, they shall, be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let 
 them or, they shall, be put to shame and perish : 18. That men may know 
 that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the Most High over all the 
 earth." 
 
 The punishments inflicted by Heaven upon wicked men, are primarily 
 intended to humble and convert them. If they continue incorrigible under 
 every dispensation of merciful severity, they are at last cut off, and finally 
 destroyed ; that others, admonished by their example, may repent, and 
 return, and give glory to God. Salutary are the afflictions, which bring 
 men, and happy the men who are brought by them, to an acknowledgment 
 of " Jehovah our Righteousness," our exalted and glorified Redeemer, " the 
 Most High over all the earth;" whom all must acknowledge, and before 
 whom all must appear to be judged, in the great and terrible day. 
 
 PSALM LXXXIV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm, for the subject matter of it, bears a resemblance to the xliid. 
 Under the flg-ure of an Israelite, deprived of aU access to Jerusalem and the 
 sanctuary, (whether it were David when driven away by Absalom, or any 
 other person in like circumstances at a different time,) we are presented 
 with, 1, 2. the earnest longing of a devout soul after the house and presence 
 of God ; 3 — 7. a beautiful and passionate eulogy on the blessedness of his 
 ministers and servants ; 8 — 10. a fervent prayer for a participation of that 
 blessedness ; and, 11, 12, an act of faith in his power and goodness, which 
 render him both able and willing to grant requests of tliis nature. 
 
 " 1. How amiable are thy tabernacles, Lord of hosts!" 
 
244 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXXXR'. 
 
 Thus ardently doth a banished Israelite express his love for Sion, his 
 admiration of the beauty of holiness. Nay, Balaam himself, when from 
 the top of Peor, he saw the children of Israel abiding in their tents, with 
 the glory in the midst of them, could not help exclaiming', "How goodly 
 are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, Israel !" Numb. xxiv. 5. 
 " How amiable," then, may the Christian say, are those eternal mansions, 
 from whence sin and sorrow are excluded ; how goodly that camp of the 
 saints, and that beloved city, where righteousnessand joy reign triumphant, 
 and peace and unity are violated no more ; where thou, blessed Jesu, 
 " Lord of hosts," King of men and angels, dv/ellest in glorious majesty, 
 constituting by thy presence the felicity of thy chosen ! 
 
 "2. My soul longeth, j'^ea, even faiuteth, for the courts of the Lord : my 
 heart and my flesh crieth out, or, shouteth for the living God." 
 
 It is said of the queen of Sheba, that upon beholding the pleasantness of 
 .Jerusalem, the splendour of Solomon's court, and, above all, the magnifi- 
 cence of the temple, with the services therein performed, " there was no 
 mors spirit in her," 1 Kings x. 5. What wonder, therefore, if the soul 
 should be affected, even to sickness and fainting, while, from this land of 
 her captivity, she beholdeth by faith the heavenly Jerusalem, the city and 
 court of the great King, with all the transporting glories of the church 
 triumphant ; while in her meditations she draweth the comparison between 
 her wretched state of exile upon earth, and the unspeakable blessedness of 
 being delivered from temptation and affliction, and admitted into the ever- 
 lasting "courts of Jehovah]" Whose " heart and flesh" doth not exult, 
 and " shout" aloud for joy, at a prospect of rising from the bed of death, to 
 dwell with " the living God ;" to see the face of him, " in whom is life, 
 and the life is the light of men?" John i. 4. Did the Israelites, from all 
 parts of Judea, go up, with the voice of jubilee, to keep a feast at Jerusa- 
 lem; and shall Christians grieve when the time is come for them to ascend, 
 and to celebrate an eternal festival in heaven 1 
 
 " 3. Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow, or, ring- 
 dove, a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, 
 Lord of hosts, my King and my God." 
 
 The Psalmist is generally supposed, in this verse, to lament his unhappi- 
 ness, in being deprived of all access to the tabernacle, or temple, a privi- 
 lege enjoyed even by the birds, who were allov.-ed to build their nests in the 
 neighbourhood of the sanctuary. It is evidently the design of this passage 
 to intimate to us, that in the house, and at the altar of God, a faithful soul 
 findeth freedom from care and sorrow, quiet of mind, and gladness of spirit; 
 like a bird that has secured a little mansion for the reception and education 
 of her young. And there is no heart, endued with sensibility, which doth 
 not bear its testimony to the exquisite beauty and propriety of this affecting 
 image. 
 
 " 4. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house : they will be, or, are, still 
 praising thee." 
 
 Here the metaphor is dropped, and the former sentiment expressed in 
 plain language. " Blessed are," not the mighty and opulent of the earth, 
 but " they that dwell in thy house," the ministers of the eternal temple iu 
 heaven, the angels and the spirits of just men made perfect; their every 
 passion is resolved into love, every duty into praise ; hallelujah succeeds 
 hallelujah; "they are still," still for ever, "praising thee." And blessed, 
 next to them, are those ministers and members of the church here below, 
 who, in disposition as well as employment, do most resemble them. 
 
 "5. Blessed is the man whose strength is in tliee ; in whose heart are the 
 ways of them ,- Heb. the ways are in the heart of them." 
 
 Not only are they pronounced blessed, who "dwell" in the temple, but 
 all they also who are " travelling" thitherward, (as the whole Jewish nation 
 was wont to do three times in a year,) and who are therefore meditating on 
 their "journey," and on the "way" which leadeth to the holy city, trusting 
 
Day XVI. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 245 
 
 in God to " strengthen," and prosper, and conduct them to the house of his 
 habitation, the place where his glory dwelleth. Such a company of sojourn- 
 ers are Christians, going up to the heavenly Jerusalem; such ought to be 
 their trust in God, and such the subject of their thoughts.* 
 
 "6. IVho, passing through the valley of Baca, make it a well; the rain 
 .also filleth the pools. 7. They go from strength to strength ; every one of 
 them in Zion appeareth before God ; or, the God of gods appeareth, i. e, to 
 them in Zion." 
 
 After numberless uncertain conjectures offered by commentators upon the 
 construction of these two verses, it seemeth impossible for us to attain to any 
 other than a general idea of their true import ; which is this, that the Israel- 
 ites, or some of them, passed in their way to Jerusalem, through a valley 
 that had the name of " Baca," a noun derived from a verb which signifies 
 to " weep ;" that in this valley they were refreshed by plenty of water ; 
 that with renewed vigour they proceeded from stage to stage, until they 
 presented themselves before God in Sion. The present world is to us this 
 valley of weeping: in our passage through it, we are refreshed by the streams 
 of divine grace, flowing down from the great fountain of consolation; and 
 thus we are enabled to proceed from one degree of holiness to another, until 
 we come to the glorified vision of God in heaven itself. Mr. Merrick's 
 poetical version of this passage is extremely beautiful, and applies at once 
 to the case of the Israelite, and to that of the Christian. 
 
 Blest, who, their strength on thee reclin'd, 
 Thy seat explore with constant mind, 
 And, Salem's distant towrs in view, 
 With active zeal their way pursue: 
 Secure the thirsty vale they tread, 
 While, call'd from out their sandy bed, 
 (As down in grateful showers distill'd 
 The heav'ns their kindliest moisture yield) 
 The copious springs their steps beguile, 
 And bid the cheerless desert smile. 
 From stage to stage advancing still. 
 Behold them reach fair Sion's hill. 
 And prostrate at her hallowed shrine, 
 Adore the Majesty divine. 
 
 " 8. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer : give ear, O God of Jacob. 
 9. Behold, God, our Shield, and look upon the face of thine Anointed." 
 
 After extolling the happiness of those who dwelt in the temple, and of 
 those who had access to it, the Psalmist breaks forth into a most ardent 
 prayer to his God, for a share in that happiness. He addresseth him as 
 " the Lord of hosts," almighty in power ; as " the God of Jacob," infinite 
 in mercy and goodness to his people; as their " shield," the object of all 
 their trust, for defence and protection ; and beseechelh him to " look upon 
 tlie face of his anointed," that is, of David, if he were king of Israel when 
 this Psalm was written ; or rather of Messiah, j in whom God is always 
 well pleased ; for whose sake he hath mercy upon us ; through whose name 
 and merits our prayers are excepted, and the kingdom of heaven is opened 
 to all believers. 
 
 " 10. For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand : I had rather be 
 a door-keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wicked- 
 ness." 
 
 One day spent in meditation and devotion, affordeth a pleasure, far, far 
 
 * In ejus animo versantur semitae ferentes ad templum quo properat. Morali sensu ; quicun- 
 que san'ctus est. quotidie in priora e.vtenditur, et prreteritorum obliviscitur, cum Paulo, Phil. iii. 
 13. Bossuct. Jerusalem is represented in the New Testament as a type of heaven. I see no- 
 thing irrational, therefore, in supposing, that the inspired writer, in describing the ascent to 
 Jerusalem, might have in view also that spiritual progress, leading to the city which is above, 
 the mother of us all. The words before us are certainly very applicable to the advances made, 
 in this progress, from strength to strength, from one stage of Christian perfection to another. 
 Merrick. 
 
 \ "Christi tui;" regis, qui Christi figura. Bossuct. 
 21* 
 
246 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXXXV. 
 
 superior to that which an age of worldly prosperity could give. Happier is 
 the least and lowest of the servants of Jesus, than the greatest and most ex- 
 alted potentate, who knoweth him not. And he is no proper judge of bless- 
 edness, who hesitates a moment to prefer the condition of a penitent in the 
 porch, to that of a sinner on the throne. If this be the case upon earth, how 
 much more in heaven 1 O come that one glorious day, whose sun shall never 
 go down, nor any cloud obscure the lustre of his beams ; that day, when the 
 temple of God shall be opened in heaven, and we shall be admitted to serve 
 him for ever therein ! 
 
 "11. For the Lord God is a sun and shield ; the Lord will give grace 
 and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk up- 
 rightly." 
 
 Jesus Christ is our " Lord," and our " God ;" he is a " sun" to enlighten 
 and direct us in the way, and a " shield" to protect us against the enemies 
 of our salvation ; he will give " grace" to carry us on " from strength to 
 strength," and " glory" to crown us when we " appear before him in Zion :" 
 he will "withhold" nothing that is "good" and profitable for us in the 
 course of our journey, and will himself be our reward when we come to the 
 end of it. 
 
 " 12. O LoKD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee." 
 
 While, therefore, we are strangers and sojourners here below, far from 
 that heavenly country where we would be, in whom should we trust to bring 
 us to the holy city, new Jerusalem, of which the Lord God and the Lamb 
 are the temple, but in thee, O Saviour and Redeemer, who art the Head of 
 every creature, the Captain of the armies of heaven and earth, the Lord of 
 hosts, and the King of glory] " Blessed," thrice "blessed, is the man that 
 trusteth in thee." 
 
 PSALM LXXXV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm, appointed by the church to be used on Christmas-day, 1 — 3. cele- 
 brateth the redemption of the Israel of God from their spiritual captivity 
 under sin and death; 4 — 7. teacheth us pray for the full accomplishment of 
 that redemption in ourselves; S — 11. describeth the incarnation of Christ, 
 with the joyful meeting of Alercy and Truth, Righteousness and Peace, at 
 his birth, and, 12, 13. the blessed effects of his advent. 
 
 " 1. Lord, thou hast been favourable unto thy land : thou hast brought 
 back the captivity of Jacob. 2. Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy 
 people : thou hast covered all their sin. 3. Thou hast taken away all thy 
 wrath : thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger." 
 
 These three verses speak of the deliverance from captivity, as already 
 brought about; whereas, in the subsequent parts of the Psalm, it is prayed 
 for and predicted as a thing future. To account for this, some suppose that 
 the Psalmist first returns thanks for a temporal redemption, and then pro- 
 phesies of the spiritual salvation by Messiah. Others are of opinion, that 
 the same eternal redemption is spoken of throughout, but represented, in the 
 beginning of the Psalm, as already accomplished in the Divine decree, though 
 the eventful completion was yet to come. The difficulty, perhaps, may be 
 removed, by rendering these three first verses in the present time; " Lord, 
 thou art favourable to thy land, thou bringest back the captivity of thy peo- 
 ple;" &c. that is, Thou art the God whose property it is to do this, and to 
 show such mercy to thy people, who therefore call upon thee for the same. 
 But, indeed, to us Christians, who now use the Psalm, the difference is not 
 material : since a part of our redemption is past, and a part of it is yet to 
 come, for the hastening of which latter we daily pray. God hath already 
 been exceedingly gracious and " favourable" to the whole " earth," in 
 
Day XM. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 247 
 
 " bringing back," by Ibe resurrection of Jesus, the spiritual "captivity of" 
 his people : he hath himself, in Christ, "borne," and so taken away, " the 
 iniquity of his people;" he hath "covered all their sins," that they should 
 no more appear in judgment against them: propitiated by the Son of his 
 love, he hath removed his " wrath," and " turned himself from the fierceness 
 of his anger." So exactly and literally do these words describe the means 
 and method of gospel salvation, that a Christian can hardly affix any other 
 ideas to them. 
 
 " 4. Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger towards us 
 to cease. 5. Wilt thou be angry with us for over ] Wilt thou draw out thine 
 anger to all generations? 6. VVilt thou not revive us again, that thy people 
 may rejoice in thee? 7. Shew us thy mercy, Lord, and grant us thy 
 salvation." 
 
 The ancient church is here introduced as petitioning for the continuation 
 and completion of those blessings which had been mentioned in the fore- 
 going verses, namely, that God would " turn" his people from their capti- 
 vity, " and cause his anger towards them to cease ;" that he would " revive" 
 them from sin and sorrow, and give them occasion to " rejoice in him," 
 tlieir mighty deliverer ; that he would " show them" openly that " mercy" 
 of which they had so often heard, and " grant them that salvation," or that 
 " Saviour," that Jesus, who had been so long promised to mankind. And 
 tliough it be true, that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, and hath virtually 
 procured all these blessings for the church, yet do " we" still continue to 
 pray, in the same words, for the actual application of them all to ourselves, 
 by the conversion of our hearts, the justification of our persons, the sancti- 
 fication of our souls, and the glorification of our bodies. For this last 
 blessing of redemption, " the whole creation waiteth, groaning and travail- 
 ing in pain together, until now," Rom. viii. 23. 
 
 " 8. I will hear what God the Lord will speak : for he will speak peace 
 unto his people, and to his saints; but let them not turn again to folly ; or, 
 that they may not turn again to folly." 
 
 The prophet having prayed, in the name of the church, that Jehovah 
 would " show them his mercy, and grant them his salvation," declares 
 himself resolved, concerning this " salvation, to inquire and search dili- 
 gently, what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in 
 him did signify, when it testified beforehand the coming of Christ, and the 
 glory that should follow:" see 1 Pet. i. 10. he would attend to " what God 
 the Lord should say," and report it to the world. Now, what was the mes- 
 sage which the prophets had commission to deliver from God, but that he 
 would " speak peace," or reconciliation through a Saviour, " to his people, 
 and to his saints?" The Gospel is accordingly styled by St. Peter, "the 
 word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching Peace by Jesus 
 Christ," Acts x. 36. And what was the end of this reconciliation between 
 God and men, but that men should become and continue the servants of 
 God ; that, being washed from their sins by the blood of Christ, and re- 
 newed in their minds by the grace of Christ, they should walk in the paths 
 of wisdom and holiness, and " turn not again to the folly" they had re- 
 nounced. 
 
 •» 9. Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may 
 dwell in our land." 
 
 God, who " calleth things that be not as though they were," teacheth his 
 prophets to do likewise. The Psalmist therefore speaks with assurance of 
 the " Saviour," as if he then saw him before his eyes, healing, by the word 
 of his power, the bodies and the souls of men upon earth, and manifesting 
 forth his " glory," in human nature, to all such as with an holy " fear," 
 and filial reverence, believe on him. St. John himself hardly useth plainer 
 language when he saith, "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt, or taber- 
 nacled among us : and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begot- 
 ten of the Father, full of grace and truth," John i. 14. The body of Christ 
 
248 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXXXV. 
 
 was the true "tabernacle, or temple;" his divinity was the glory which 
 resided there, and filled that holy place. The church is his mystical 
 "body;" by his Spirit he now and ever "dwelleth in our land; and his sal- 
 vation is always nigh them that fear him :" as saith the holy Virgin in her 
 song, " His mercy is on them that fear him throughout all generations." 
 
 "10. Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have 
 kissed each other, 11, Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteous- 
 ness shall look down from heaven." 
 
 These four divine attributes parted at the fall of Adam, and met again at 
 the birth of Christ. Mercy was ever inclined to serve man, and Peace 
 could not be his enemy ; but Truth exacted the performance of God's threat, 
 " The soul that sinnelh it shall die;" and Righteousness could not but give 
 to every one his due. Jehovah must be true in all his ways, atid righteous 
 in all his works. Now there is no religion upon earth, except the Chris- 
 tian, which can satisfy the demands of all these claimants, and restore a 
 union between them; which can show how God's word can be true, and 
 his work just, and the sinner, notwithstanding, find mercy, and obtain peace. 
 Mahomet's prayer, were it the prayer of a righteous man and a prophet, 
 could not satisfy divine justice; the blood of bulls and goats was always 
 insufficient for that purpose, being a figure only for the time then present, 
 which ceased of course when the reality appeared. " Sacrifice and burnt- 
 ofiering thou wouldest not ; then said I, Lo, I come." A God incarnate 
 reconciled all things in heaven and earth. When Christ appeared in our 
 nature, the promise was fulfilled, and "Truth sprang out of the earth." 
 And now Righteousness, "looking down from heaven," beheld in him 
 everything that she required ; an undefiled birth, a holy life, an innocent 
 death ; a spirit and a mouth without guile, a soul and a body without sin. 
 She saw, and was satisfied, and returned to earth. Thus all the four par- 
 ties met again in perfect harmony: Truth ran to Mercy, and embraced her; 
 Righteousness to Peace, and kissed her. And this could only happen at the 
 birth of Jesus, in whom " the tender Mercy of our God visited us, and 
 who is the Truth ; who is made unto us Righteousness, and who is our 
 Peace." See Luke i. 78. John xiv. 6. 1 Cor. i. 30. Eph. ii. 14. Those 
 that are thus joined, as attributes, in Christ, ought not, as virtues, to be 
 separated in a Christian, who may learn how to resemble his blessed Lord 
 and Master, by observing that short, but complete rule of life, comprehended 
 in the few following words : Show Mercy, and speak Truth ; do Righteous- 
 ness, and follow Peace. See St. Bernard, in his Sermon on the Annuncia- 
 tion, and, from him, Bishop Andrews on these two verses of our Psalm.* 
 
 " 12. Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good : and our land shall 
 yield her increase." 
 
 Unless God vouchsafe a gracious rain from above, the earth cannot 
 " yield her increase." The eflfects of the incarnation of Christ, the descent 
 of the Spirit, and the publication of the Gospel among men, are frequently 
 set forth in Scripture under images borrowed from that fruitfulness caused 
 in the earth by the rain of heaven. Thus Isaiah : " Drop down ye heavens 
 from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, 
 and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together, 
 xlv. 8. I will pour water on him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry 
 ground; I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine 
 offspring. And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by 
 the water-courses, xliv. 3, 4. As the rain cometh down from heaven, and 
 watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud ; so shall my word 
 be," &c. Iv. 10. Give us evermore, O Lord, " that which is good, that our 
 land may yield her increase;" give us that good gift, the gift of thy Spirit, 
 
 * Solutacaptivitate.felicem popiili statum designat, omnihonorumcopiaet virttitibtis floren- 
 tis ; quae maxime impleta euut, postquam Cbristus, ipsa Veritas, idcmque pax nostra, e terra 
 onus est. Bossuet. 
 
Day XVn. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 249 
 
 that we be "neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ," 2 Pet. i. 8, 
 
 " 13, Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of 
 his steps; or, and shall set his steps in the way," 
 
 Upon the appearance of tiie Redeemer, " Rioliteousness" is represented 
 "as going before him," like his harbinger the Baptist, to prepare and make 
 read}' his way. In that way, the way of righteousness, " he set his steps," 
 and walked therein, without the least deviation, until he had finished his 
 appointed course. Draw us, blessed Jesus, and we will run after thee in 
 the path of life; let thy mercy pardon us, tliy truth enlighten us, thy righ- 
 teousness direct us to follow thee, O Lamb of God, whithersoever thoQ 
 goest, through poverty, affliction, persecution, and death itself; that our 
 portion may be for ever in thy kingdom of peace and love. 
 
 SEVENTEENTH DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM LXXXVL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm is entitled a payer of David, and supposed to have been written in 
 some of his great distresses. like otiiers of the same kind, it is calculated 
 for the use of the chui'ch duringf her suffering's here below, by which she is 
 conformed to the image of tlie true David, tliat man of sorrows. It contains, 
 1. an earnest supplication, grounded on the poverty, 2. the holiness, faith, 
 3. importunity, and 4. devotion of the suppliant ; and on, 5 — 7. the goodness, 
 and, 8. power of God, 9, 10. tobeoneday acknowledged by all nations, at their 
 conversion. After this follows, 11. a petition for wisdom, strength, and sin- 
 gleness of heart: 12, 13. a thanksg-iving for redemption ; 14. a complaint of 
 joersecution from the wicked ; 15. an actof faitli ; 16, 17. a prayer for help 
 and salvation. 
 
 " 1, Bow down thine ear, O Lord, and hear me: for I am poor and 
 needy." 
 
 All prayer is founded on a sense of our wants, and God's ability to sup 
 ply them. In the sight of his Maker, every sinner is "poor and needy;" 
 and he must become so in his own, that his petitions may be regarded; he 
 must pray with the humility and importunity of a starving beggar, at the 
 gate of heaven, if he expect the great King to " bow down his ear and 
 hear him." " The prayer of the humble," saith the wise son of Sirach, 
 " pierceth the clouds ; and till it come nigh, he will not be comforted ; and 
 will not depart till the Most High shall behold," Ecclus. xxxv. 17. The 
 blessed Jesus, " though he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, and 
 had not where to lay his head ; nor is it to be doubted, but that in his state 
 of humiliation, he oftentimes made his prayer to the Father in these very 
 words ; " Bow down thine ear, O Lord, and hear me; for I am poor and 
 needy." If he sued, in such a form of words for us, shall we think of 
 suing in any other form for ourselves ] 
 
 " 2. Preserve thou my soul ; for I a)n holy : O thou my God, save thy 
 servant that trusteth in thee." 
 
 The word here translated " holy," is *l'Dn the same which is used in 
 tlie xvith Psalm ; « Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." 
 And indeed, if we understand " holiness" in its strict sense, no one but 
 " he whom the Father sanctified, and sent into the world," to redeem lost 
 man, could say to him, " Preserve my soul, for I am holy." But the 
 word properly signifies "good, merciful, pious, devoted to the service of 
 God," &c. The Christian, therefore, only pleads, in this expression, his 
 relation to Christ, as being a member of Christ's body, the church, and a 
 
250 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXXXVI. 
 
 partaker of the gifts, which, by virtue of that membership, he has received 
 through the Spirit of holiness. So that this first part of the verse, " Pre- 
 serve my soul, for I am holy," when repeated by us, is equivalent to an- 
 other passage in the Psalms, " I am thine, save me," cxix. 94. The 
 latter member of the verse under consideration teaches us to pray for 
 help and salvation, as the "servants" of God, whose eyes therefore look 
 natarally to him, " as the eyes of servants," in affliction, " look unto the 
 hand of their masters," Psalm cxxiii. 2. And happy, surely, are we in a 
 Master, who, himself, for our salvation, once lived, and prayed, and suf- 
 fered, and died, in "the form of a servant," Phil. ii. 7. 
 
 " 3. Be merciful unto me, Lord, for I cry unto thee daily." 
 There is no man upon earth, but needeth " mercy ;" he who is truly sen- 
 sible of his need, will " cry daily" for it ; and who doth so, may comfort 
 himself with the hope of obtaining it. The prayers of Jesus, poured forth 
 for the salvation of his mystical body, in the days of his flesh, were fre- 
 quent and mighty : his intercession for us in heaven is continual. Does 
 the man believe this, who prays not at all, or who prays without devotion ] 
 "4. Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up 
 my soul." 
 
 Sorrow was the portion of Christ in the world, and the church hath no 
 reason to expect any other from it. He that would have real "joy" in his 
 heart, must beseech God to give it him, for no creature hath it to give. 
 Nay, the love of the world must be renounced, before this divine^gift can even 
 be "received." The affections must be loosened from earth, and "lifted 
 up" to heaven, on wings of faith and love : for in the soul that is full of 
 sensual pleasures and indulgences, there is neither room nor taste for spi- 
 ritual delights. 
 
 "5. For thou. Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in 
 mercy unto all them that call upon thee." 
 
 We are encouraged to " lift up our souls to God" in prayer, because his 
 "goodness" and the "plenteousness of his mercy" in Christ Jesus, incline 
 him to give his holy Spirit of peace and comfort to "all that call upon 
 him." His favour is no longer confined to Judea ; there is now no distinc- 
 tion of age, condition, or country ; but the sinner, whoever, or wherever he 
 be, if he call upon the saving name of Jesus, is heard, pardoned, and 
 accepted, upon the terms of the evangelical covenant. 
 
 " 6. Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer : and attend to the voice of my 
 supplication. 7. In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee : for thou 
 wilt answer me." 
 
 In confidence of an " answer" nourished and strengthened by all the 
 foregoing considerations, the suppliant renews his prayer, while ^.the " day 
 of trouble" lasts ; and that day will not end but with this mortal pil- 
 grimage ; since he who loves his country, will ever be uneasy while he is 
 detained among strangers and enemies, perils and temptations. But the 
 trouble is overpaid with profit, which rendereth us adepts in the practice of 
 devotion, which convinceth us that we are abroad, and maketh us to wish 
 and sigh for our true and only home. 
 
 " 8. Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord ; neither are 
 there any works like unto thy works." 
 
 Another reason why application should be made unto Jehovah, is his 
 infinite superiority over all those that, by infatuated men, were even called 
 " gods." From the ancient idolatry, which taught adoration to the sun, 
 moon, and stars, to the light and the air, we have been delivered by the 
 Gospel ; nor do we any longer profess to worship Jupiter, and the other 
 heathen gods and goddesses : but do not many still trust in idols'? and have 
 they not, in effect, other objects of worship, from whose hands they expect 
 their reward 1 Are not the hearts of the covetous, the ambitious, the volup- 
 tuous, so many temples of Mammon or Plutus, of Jupiter or Mars, of Bac- 
 chus, Comus, and Venus ] But what are these deities ; what is their 
 
Day XVn. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 
 
 251 
 
 power; and what are their gifts? What is the whole world and all that is 
 therein, when compared with its Maker and Redeemer I what is it, whea 
 applied to, for the ease and comfort of a wounded spirit 1 — " Amono- the 
 gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord ; neither are there any works 
 like unto thy works!" 
 
 "9. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before 
 thee, O Lord ; and shall glorify thy name." 
 
 The Psalmist predicteth, that this superiority of Jehovah should one day 
 be acknowledged throughout all the earth, when " neither in Jerusalem only, 
 nor ia the mount of the Samaritans," but in every place, " should men 
 worship the Father;" John iv. 21, when he who "made all nations" by 
 his Son, should by that Son redeem all nations, bringing them from the 
 world to the church, there to " worship before the true God, and in songs 
 of praise to glorify his holy name." If in these our times, we behold the 
 nations again falling away from God, departing from the purity of their 
 faith, and leaving their first love, let us comfort ourselves with looking for- 
 ward to that scene of things described by St. John, in which we hope to 
 bear a part hereafter. " I beheld, and lo, a great multitude which no man. 
 could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood 
 before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms 
 in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying. Salvation unto our God 
 which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." Rev. vii. 9. 
 
 " 10. For thou art great, and dost wondrous things: thou ar< God alone." 
 
 "Great" is Jehovah in his power, in his wisdom, in his mercy ; wonder- 
 ful in the creation of the world, wonderful in the preservation and the 
 government of it, wonderful in its redemption ; wonderful in the incarna- 
 tion, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus ; in the descent of the 
 Spirit, the propagation of the Gospel, the sufferings of saints, and the con- 
 version of sinners : most wonderful will he be, when he shall raise the 
 dead, judge the world, condemn the wicked, and glorify the righteous. 
 And then shall every tongue confess, " Thou art God alone !" 
 
 "11. Teach me thy way, Lord ; I will walk in thy truth : unite my 
 heart to fear thy name." 
 
 It is the continual subject of the Mediator's intercession above, and of our 
 prayers below, that we may be "taught the way of Jehovah," the way to 
 life eternal, prepared for us through faith and love which is in Christ Jesus ; 
 that being so taught, we may likewise be enabled " to walk in the truth," 
 without error in doctrine, or deviation from duty ; believing all things 
 which God hath revealed, and doing whatsoever he hath commanded us ; 
 that the affections of the "heart" may be withdrawn from other objects; 
 and being no longer divided between God and the world, become "united" 
 in the filial " fear of his name," as the grand principle of action. 
 
 " 12. I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart; and I will 
 glorify thy name for evermore. 13. For great is thy mercy toward me ; 
 and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell." 
 
 Gratitude for mercies already received, will obtain a continuance and in- 
 crease of those mercies. The church is never in so afflicted a state, but she 
 hath still reason to intermingle hullelujahs with her hosannas, and in the 
 midst of her most fervent prayers, to " praise the Lord, her God, with all 
 her heart, and to glorify his name for evermore ;" since, whatever she may 
 suffer upon earth (and even those sufferings will turn to her advantage) 
 " great," most undoubtedly, hath his mercy been toward her, in delivering 
 her, by the resurrection of Jesus, from the bondage of sin, the dominion of 
 death, and the bottomless pit of "hell." 
 
 " 14. O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent 
 men have sought after my soul, and have not set thee before them, or, before 
 their eyes." 
 
 From praises we return again to prayers. When Christ was upon earth, 
 we know the treatment he raet with from " proud and violent men, who had 
 
252 A COMMENTARY Psaim LXXXVIl. 
 
 not set God before their eyes ;" from self-righteous Jews and conceited 
 Gentiles, who rose up, and took counsel tojjefher against him. What his 
 church afterwards suffered at the hands of the same enemies, is likewise 
 well known. How much more she is to undergo in the latter days, we 
 know not as yet; but this we do know, that the spirit of the world stands, 
 now and ever, in opposition to the Spirit of God ; its design is always the 
 same, although its method of working be divers. Nor can we be ignorant 
 of those domestic adversaries, that assembly of haughty and turbulent pas- 
 sions, which are continually making insurrections, and destroying the peace 
 of the soul. So that either from without, or from within, every one who is 
 a Christian indeed, shall be sure to have his portion of tribulation. 
 
 " 15. But thou, Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious ; long- 
 suffering, and plenteous in goodness and truth." 
 
 Having taken a view of those that are against us, it is now time to look 
 up to those that are Vv'ith us. And can we have better friends, than all 
 these gracious and favourable attributes of heaven 1 Can more comfortable 
 and joyful tidings be brought us, than that God lovetb us with a father's 
 love; that he is ready to pardon, slow to anger; and that we have his truth 
 pledged for the performance of his mercy? What a fountain of consolation 
 is here opened for the afflicted Christian? "Let him drink, and forget his 
 poverty, and remember his misery no more," Prov. xxxi. 7. 
 
 " 16. O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me : give thy strength unto 
 thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid." 
 
 On the consideration of the above mentioned attributes, a petition is in 
 this verse put up to God, that he would " turn" his face towards us ; that 
 he would of his " mercy" pardon us, by his grace " strengthen" us, and by 
 his power "save" us from all our adversaries. Every Christian is the 
 "servant" of God, and "the son of the handmaid," the church, which may 
 say, in the same spirit of humility and obedience, with the blessed Virgia, 
 " Eehold the handmaid of the Lord." 
 
 " 17. vShew me a token for good ; that they which hate me may see it, and 
 be ashamed ; because thou. Lord, hast holpen me, and comforted me." 
 
 Many outward "signs" and " tokens" of the Divine favour were in old 
 time vouchsafed to patriarchs, prophets, and kings of Israel. The law itself 
 was a collection of external and sacramental figures of grace and mercy. 
 All these centred, and had their accomplishment in that grand and ever- 
 lasting sign and token of God's love to man, the incarnation of Christ, which 
 all faithful people from the beginning wished and prayed for. On this sign 
 the Christian looks with joy, as the great proof that God has "holpen him 
 and comforted him ;" while his faith in it doth not fail, he hath the wit- 
 ness in himself, and his actions declare as much to all around him; " that 
 they which hate him may be ashamed" and converted, before that day come, 
 when shame shall be fruitless, and conversion impossible. 
 
 PSALM LXXXVn. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The prophet, 1 — 3. celebrates the stability and felicity of Sion ; 4, 5. foretells 
 the accession of the Gentiles to her, and 6. their enrolment among her citi- 
 zens ; 7, extols her as the fountain of grace and salvation. Tlie Psalm was 
 probably penned on a survey of the city of David, just aftei* tlie building of 
 it were finished. 
 
 "1. His foundation is in the holy mountains : or. It is his, ?'. e. God''s, 
 foundation in the mountains of holiness.* 2. The Lord loveth the gates of 
 Sion more than all the dwellings of Jacob." 
 
 * Some comtnfintatnrs suppose tliis verse to be a part of the title, which will then run thus; 
 " For the sons of Koruh, a Psalm; a song wheu be laid the foundatiou on the holy moun- 
 tains." 
 
DATX\^I. M.P. ON THE PSALMS. 253 
 
 The Psalmist, after having meditated on the strength, the beauty, and tlie 
 glory of Jerusalem, being smitten with the love of the holy city, and 
 imagining the thoughts of his hearers, or readers, to have been employed 
 on the same subject, breaks forth at once in this abrupt manner: " It is his 
 foundation on the holy mountains." By " the holy mountains" are meant 
 those hills of Judea, which Jehovah had chosen, and separated to himself 
 from all others, whereon to construct the highly favoured city and temple. 
 As the dwellings of Jacob, in the promised land, were beloved by him more 
 than the dwellings of other nations, so he "loved the gates of Sion more 
 than all the dwellings of Jacob." Jerusalem was exalted and fortified by its 
 situation, but much more so by the protection of the Almighty. What Jeru- 
 salem was, the Christian church is ; " built" by God "on the foundations of 
 the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone ; 
 in whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy tem- 
 ple in the Lord," Eph. ii. 20. "It is his foundation in the holy moun- 
 tains ;" she is beloved of God above the kingdoms and empires of the earth, 
 which rise and fall only to fulfil the Divine counsels concerning her. When 
 those counsels shall be fulfilled, in the salvation of all believers, the world, 
 which subsists only for their sake, will be at an end. 
 
 " 3. Glorious things are spoken of thee, thou city of God." 
 
 As the prophet began in a rapture to speak of the holy city, so now, in 
 fresh transport, he changes the person, and suddenly addresses himself to 
 it. The old Jerusalem was "the city of God, and glorious things were 
 therefore said of it" by the Spirit. Pleasant for situation, and magnificent 
 in its buildings, it was the delight of nations, the joy of the whole earth ; 
 there was the royal residence of the kings of Judah ; there was the temple 
 and the ark, and the glory, and the King of heaven dwelling in the midst 
 of her ; her streets were honoured with the footsteps of the Redeemer of 
 men ; there he preached, and wrought his miracles, lived, died, and rose 
 again ; thither he sent down the Spirit, and there he first laid the founda- 
 tions of his church. To know what glorious things are said of the new 
 Jerusalem, the reader must peruse, Isa. Ix. and Rev. xxi. xxii. 
 
 "4. I will make mention of Rahab, or, Egypt, and Babylon, to them that 
 know me: behold, Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia, or, Arabia, this man 
 was born there. 5. And of Sion it shall be said. This and that man was 
 born in her ; and the Highest himself shall establish her." 
 
 The accession of the nations to the church is generally supposed to be 
 here predicted. God declares by his prophet, " I will make mention of," 
 or "cause to be remembered, Egypt and Babylon," the old enemies of 
 Israel, to, or, " among them that know me," that is, in the number of my 
 worshippers; "behold" also "Philistia, and Tyre, with Arabia;" these 
 are become mine ; " this," or each of these, " is born there ;" i. e. in the 
 city of God ; they are become children of God, and citizens of Sion ; so that 
 " of Sion," or the church, " It shall be said. This man and that man," Heb. 
 a man and a man,* i. e. great numbers of men in succession, "are born in 
 her ;" alluding to the multitude of converts under the Gospel, the sons of 
 that Jerusalem, "which is the mother of us all;" Gal. iv. 35. "and the 
 Highest himself shall establish her;" as he saith, " Upon this rock will I 
 build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it," ^latt. 
 xvi. 18. 
 
 " 6. The Lord shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man 
 was born there." 
 
 * Dr. Diirell renders tJ^'J^l IJ^'N " The man, even the man," that is, " the man of men ; or, 
 "the greatest of all men." The reduplication, he thinks, accordine to the oriental phraseology, 
 must mean the superlative, or highest degree. He adds— According to this interpretation, 
 every one will see who this eminent personage was to he, from whose birth Zion (used by a 
 synecdoche for .Tudea) was to acquire so much glory. The latter hemistic— " And the Highest 
 himself shall establish her"— seems to me to have reference, not to God the Father, but to his 
 Son : it appearing to be e.vegetical of the preceding one, and to describe his divine, as the other 
 does his human nature. Critical Remarlis, p 167. 
 
 22 
 
254 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXXXVIH. 
 
 In the book of life, that register of heaven, kept by God himself, our 
 names are entered, not as born of flesh and blood by the will of man, but as 
 born of water and the Spirit by the will of God ; of each person it is written, 
 " that he was born there," in the church and city of God. That is the only 
 birth which ■we ought to value ourselves upon, because that alone gives us 
 our title to " the inheritance of the saints in light. In Jesus Christ there is 
 neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircurocision, barbarian, Scy- 
 thian," noble or ignoble, " bond or free : but Christ is all, and in all," Col. 
 iii. 11.* 
 
 " 7. As well the singers as the players on instruments shall ie there .• all 
 my springs are in thee." 
 
 The literal version or the words, as Dr. Chandler observes, seems to be 
 — Cantantes erunt, sicut choream ducentes ; omnes fontesmei inte. They 
 shall sing like those that lead up the dance, i. e. most joyfully ; singing 
 and dancing frequently accompanying one another. And the burden of the 
 song, thus joyfully sung in praise of Sion, was to be this ; " All ray 
 springs," or fountains, "are in thee." And if such be indeed the incom- 
 parable excellence of the church, and such the benefits of her communion, 
 as they have been set forth in the foregoing verses, what anthem better 
 deserves to be performed by all her choirs ? In thee, O Sion, is the foun- 
 tain of salvation, and from thee are derived all those springs of grace, which 
 flow, by the Divine appointment, while the world lasts, for the purification 
 and refreshment of mankind upon earth. 
 
 PSALM LXXXVIII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 Tliis Psalm, as Mr. Mudge observes, may well be said to be composed, accor- 
 ding to its title, niDi/'^ to create dejection, to raise a pensive gloom or me- 
 lancholy in the mind ; the whole subject of it being quite throughout heavy, 
 and full of the most dismal complaints. The nature and degree of the suffer- 
 ings related in it ; the strength of the expressions used to describe them ; the 
 consent of ancient expositors ; the appointment of the Psalm by the church 
 to be read on Good Friday ; all these circumstances concur in directing an 
 application of the whole to our blessed Lord. His unexampled sorrows, 
 both in body and soul ; his desertion in the day of trouble ; his bitter passion, 
 and approaching death ; with his frequent and fervent prayers for the ac- 
 complishment of the promises, for the salvation of the church through him, 
 and for the manifestation of God's glory ; these are the particulars treated of 
 in tliis instructive and most affecting composition!! 
 
 "1.0 Lord God of my salvation, I have cried dayc/irf night before thee. 
 2. Let my prayer come before thee : incline thine ear unto my cry." 
 
 We hear in these words the voice of our suffering Redeemer. As man, 
 he addresseth himself to his Father, the Lord God of his salvation, from 
 whom he expected, according to the promises, a joyful and triumphant 
 resurrection ; he pleadeth the fervency and importunity of his prayers, 
 offered up continually day and night, during the time of his humiliation and 
 sufferings ; and he entreateth to be heard in these his supplications for his 
 body mystical, as well as his body natural ; for himself, and for us all. 
 
 "3. For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draweth nigh to the 
 grave." 
 
 * Dr. Durell thinks the verse relates to the pedigree of our Lord, recorded among the Jews, 
 and given us by the evangelists—" The Lord will have this recorded," in " registering the 
 people, that he," the jyxi K^'X mentioned above, " was born tliere." 
 
 t Cum Psalmis xxii. et l.xix. ad omnia convenit Psalnnis Ixxxviii. quod argumento est, eum 
 eodem niodo a nobis esse explicandum. Continet igitur pariteroratioiiem Christi ad Patrera e 
 cruce fusam. Auctor hujus Cantici non alium in finem illi titulum dedit '7'' JK^/D " erudientis," 
 fjuam ut Ecclesia posteriorum temporum ex eo disceret ultima iiSEC Messiffi fata. Fitringa, 
 Observat. Sacr. Lib. II. Cap. 9. 
 
DatXMI. M. p. ON THE PSALMS. 255 
 
 Is not this exactly parallel to what he said in the garden, "My soul is 
 exceeding sorrowful, even unto death"?" " full," indeed, "of troubles" was 
 thy soul, O blessed Jesus, in that dreadful hour, when, under the united 
 weight of our sins and sorrows, thou wert sinking into " the grave," in 
 order to raise us out of it. Let us judge of thy love by thy sufferings, and of 
 both by the impossibility of our fully comprehending either. 
 
 "4. I am counted with them that go down into the pit : I am as a man 
 that haih no strength." 
 
 Next to the troubles of Christ's soul, are mentioned the disgrace and 
 ignominy to which he submitted. He who was the fountain of immor- 
 tality, he from whom no one could take his life, who could in a moment 
 have commanded twelve legions of angels to his aid, or have caused heaven 
 and earth, at a word speaking, to fly away before him, he was " counted 
 with them that go down into the pit;" he died, to all appearance, like the 
 rest of mankind ; nay, he was forcibly put to death as a malefactor ; and 
 seemed, in the hands of his executioners, "as aman that had no streno-th," 
 no power, or might, to help and save himself. " His strength went from 
 him ; he became weak, and like another man." The people shook their 
 heads at him, saying, "He saved others, himself he cannot save." 
 
 " 5. Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou 
 rememberest no more : and they are cut off from thy hand." 
 
 " Free among the dead;" that is, set at liberty, or dismissed from the 
 world, and separated from all communication with its affairs, as dead bodies 
 are; like other corpses that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no 
 more, i. e. as living objects of providence upon earth ; in this sense, they are 
 "cut off from God's hand," which held and supported them in life. And 
 in no other sense can these expressions be understood ; since to imagine 
 that the Psalniist, who so often speaks in plain terms of the resurrection, 
 should here, when personating Messiah, deny that doctrine, would be a 
 conceit equally absurd and impious. 
 
 "6. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. 7. 
 Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted vie with all thy 
 waves." 
 
 The sufferings of Jesus are represented by his being plunged into a dark 
 and horrible abyss, with the indignation of God, due to our sins, resting 
 upon him, and all the waves of affliction rolling over him. The same 
 image is used in Psalm Ixix., and many other places. 
 
 " 8. Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me ; thou hast 
 made me an abomination to them : I ani, shut up, and I cannot come forth." 
 
 At the apprehension of Christ, "All his disciples forsook him and fled," 
 Matt. xxvi. 56. Peter denied and abjured his Master, as if his acquaintance 
 had been a disgrace, and an abomination : at the crucifixion, it is observed 
 by St. Luke, that " all his acquaintance stood afar off beholding these things ;" 
 xxiii. 49. beholding the innocent victim environed by his enemies, and 
 at length shut up in the sepulchre. The day must come, when each per- 
 son who reads this, shall be forsaken by the whole world ; when relations, 
 friends, and acquaintance, shall all retire, unable to afford him any help 
 and assistance ; when he must die and be confined in the prison of the grave, 
 no more to come forth, until that great Easter of the world, the general 
 resurrection. In the solitary and awful hour of our departure hence, let us 
 remember to think on the desertion, the death, the burial, and the resur- 
 rection, of our Redeemer. 
 
 " y. Mine eye rnourneth by reason of affliction : Lord, I have called daily 
 upon thee ; I have stretched out my hands unto thee." 
 
 This verse contains a reiteration of the complaint and prayer made at the 
 beginning of the Psalm. These are some of the " strong cryings with 
 tears," which, during the course of his intercessions for us upon earth, the 
 Son of God pniired forth in the days of his flesh, Heb. v. 7. 
 
 "10. Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead ] Shall the dead rise a«f/ 
 
256 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXXXVIIL 
 
 praise thee 1 11. Shall thy loving-kindness he declared in the grave 1 or, 
 thy faithfulness in destruction 1 12. Shall thy wonders be known in the 
 dark 1 and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness ]" 
 
 It hath sometimes been thought, that these verses imply a denial, or at 
 least a doubt, of the resurrection from the dead ; whereas they contain, isi 
 reality, the most powerful plea that Christ himself, in his prayers to the 
 Father, could urge for it; namely, that, otherwise, man would be deprived 
 of his salvation, and God of the glory thence accruing. " Wilt thou show 
 wonders to the dead," while they continue in that state? or if thou 
 shouldst, will they be sensible of those wonders, and make thee due returns 
 of thankfulness 1 " shall the dead rise up" in the congregation, " and praise 
 thee ?" Must they not live again to do that 1 " Shall thy loving-kindness" 
 to the sons of Adam, in me their Redeemer, " be declared "?" shall the Gos- 
 pel be preached " in the grave ■?" " or thy faithfulness," in accomplishing 
 the promises concerning this loving-kindness, shall it be manifested "in 
 that destruction" wrought by death upon the bodies of men? "Shall thy 
 wonders," the wonders of light and life, and salvation, "be known in the 
 dark" tomb 1 " and thy righteousness," which characterizes all thy dispen- 
 sations, shall it be remembered and proclaimed "in the land" of silence and 
 " forgetfulness]" A Christian, upon the bed of sickness, may undoubtedly 
 plead with God in this manner for a longer continuance of life, to glorify 
 him here on earth. But every respite of that kind can be only temporary : 
 all men, sooner or later, must die ; and then they can never more experience 
 the mercies, or sing the praises of God, unless they rise again. So that if 
 the argument hold in one case, it certainly holdeth still stronger in the other. 
 
 " 13. But unto thee have 1 cried, O Lord; and in the morning shall my 
 prayer prevent me. 14. Lord, why casteth thou off my soul] why hidest 
 thou thy face from me ?" 
 
 Since therefore the wonders, the loving-kindness, the faithfulness, and 
 the righteousness of God, cannot be manifested by man's redemption, if 
 Messiah be left under the dominion of death, he redoubles his prayers for 
 the promised deliverance ; and speaks of his redemption in the hour of sor- 
 row, as in Psalm xxii. 1. " My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken 
 me ]" &c. 
 
 " 15. lam afflicted and ready to die from my youth up : tvhile I suffer thy 
 terrors I am distracted : Htb. I am distressed, not knowing which way to 
 turn myself.* 16. Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut 
 me off. 17. They came round about me daily like water: they compassed 
 me about together." 
 
 We are not to imagine that the holy Jesus suffered for us only at Gethse- 
 mane, and on mount Calvary. His whole life was one continued passion ; 
 a scene of labour and sorrow, of contradiction and persecution; "he was 
 afflicted," as never man was, " from his youth up," from the hour of his 
 birth, when, thrust out from the society of men, he made his bed in the stable 
 at Bethlehem ; he was " ready to die ;" a victim destined and prepared for 
 that death which, by anticipation, he tasted through life; he saw the 
 flaming sword of God's "fierce wrath" waiting to cut him off from the 
 land of the living; the " terrors" of the Almighty set themselves in array 
 against him, threatening, like the mountainous waves of a tempestuous sea, 
 to overwhelm his amazed soul. Let not the churrh be offended, or despond, 
 but rather let her rejoice in her sufferings, by which, through every period 
 of her existence, from youth to age, she "filleth up that which is behind of 
 the afflictions of Christ," who suffers and will be glorified in his people, as 
 he hath already suffered and been glorified for them. See Col. i. 24. 
 
 " 18. Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance 
 into darkness." 
 
 * Dominus ip?e <\c se, Ts. Ixxwiii. 16. " Fero teriores tuos ; animi linquor." Loquitor de 
 e.Ttremis suis angoribus, el doloribus. Vitriitga in Jesai. ii. COT. 
 
Dir XVII. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 257 
 
 It is mentioned again, as a most affecting circumstance of Christ's pas- 
 sion, that he was entirely forsaken, and left all alone, in that dreadful day. 
 The bitter cup was presented, filled to the brim, and he drank it off to the 
 dregs. No man could share in those sufferings by which all other men 
 were to be redeemed. His " lovers and friends," his disciples and ac- 
 quaintance, " were put far from him ;" they all "forsook him, and fled," 
 to hide themselves from the fury of the Jews, " in darkness," in dark, i. e. 
 secret places. Thus it is wrtten in the Psalms, and thus in the Gospels it 
 is recorded to have happened. Oftentimes, O blessed Jesus, do we forsake 
 thee ; but do not thou forsake us, or take thy holy Spirit from us. 
 
 SEVENTEENTH DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM LXXXIX. 
 
 AHGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm is appointed by the church to be read on Christmas-day. It cele- 
 brates, ver. 1 — 4. the mercies of God in Christ, promised to David; 5 — 13. 
 tiie almighty power of Jehovah, manifested in his works and dispensations ; 
 14. his justice, mercy, and truth ; 15 — 18. the happiness and security of his 
 people ; 19 — o7. his covenant made with David, as the repi-esentative of 
 Messiah, who should com.e of his seed ; 38 — 45. the church lamenteth her 
 di.stressful state, at the time when this Psalm was penned;"* 46 — 51. she 
 prayeth for the accomplishment of the promise ; and, in the mean time, 53, 
 blesseth Jehovah. 
 
 " I. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever; with my mouth will 
 I make known thy faithfulness to all generations." 
 
 The "mercies of Jehovah" have ever employed the voices of believers to 
 celebrate them. These were promises to the human race, in their great 
 representative and surety, before the world began, 2 Tim. i. J). Tit. i. 2. ; 
 they were prefigured by ancient dispensations; and, in part, fulfilled at the 
 incarnation of Christ. The "faithfulness of God, in so fulfilling them, is 
 now " made known," by the holy services of the Christian church, "to all 
 generations." 
 
 "2. For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever; thy faithfulness 
 shalt thou establish in the very heavens." 
 
 Whatever be at any time the state of the church on earth, she knoweth 
 that the foundation of God standeth sure ; that the sacred edifice, raised 
 thereon, will be incorruptible and eternal as " heaven" itself, where only 
 mercy and truth are to have their perfect work, in the everlasting felicity of 
 the redeemed. Of this felicity, which is to be the consummation of God's 
 promises, and our hopes, we behold some faint resemblance, as often as we 
 view the stability, the beauty, and the glory of the invisible material 
 " heavens." 
 
 " 3. I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David 
 my servant, 4. Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne 
 to all generations." 
 
 The two former verses set forth a profession of faith in God's mercy : 
 these two assign the ground of such faith ; namely the covenant which 
 God is here introduced as declaring that he had made with David, and 
 which he did make with him by the prophet Nathan, 2 Sam. vii. 12, &c. 
 The covenant relates to David's " seed," and to the " establishment of his 
 
 * Sedecia capto, dnmoDavide solio (ieturhatii, promissiones Dei irritas viilpri Prnphetaqiieri- 
 tnr, lu'cdiim adKsscCliristiim. Bo<suct. Dr. Kcnjiicntt iiuagini's il to liave bwii composed by 
 Isaiah, as a solemn and public address to God, at the time vvlieu Reziu and I'ekuh were ad- 
 vancing ajainst Jerusalem. 
 
 22* 
 
258 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXXXIX. 
 
 throne" in that seed; literally in Solomon for a time; spiritually, in Christ 
 for ever. " When thy days shall be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy 
 fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy 
 bowels, and will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my 
 name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be 
 his father, and he shall be my son." These last words are cited by the 
 Apostle, Heb. i. 5. as spoken of Christ, to evince his superiority over the 
 angels. Yet that the whole passage does, in the letter, relate to Solomon, 
 can admit of no doubt, he being the seed and immediate successor of David, 
 and the person appointed to build a house for God's name. Here then we 
 have an incontestible proof, that the covenant with David had Messiah for 
 its object; that Solomon was a figure of him; and that the Scripture hath 
 sometimes a double sense.* It is moreover to be observed, that the cove- 
 nants made with Abraham, David, &c. all had their original and foundation 
 in the covenant made with Messiah, who was the true Father of the faith- 
 ful, the Beloved and Chosen of God ; the great Prophet, Priest, and King; 
 the only person qualified to be a sponsor, and to engage in a covenant with 
 the Father for mankind. His sufferings were the price of our redemption : 
 and because he suffered in the flesh, as " the Son of David," therefore is he 
 "established for ever, and his throne built up to all generations." Remark- 
 able are the words of the angel to Mary; " The Lord God shall give unto 
 him the throne of his father David ; and he shall reign over the house of 
 Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end," Luke i. 32. 
 
 " 5. And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord, thy faithfulness 
 also in the congregation of the saints : or. The heavens shall praise thy 
 wonders, Lord; and the saints thy faithfulness in the congregation." 
 
 Did not "the heavens praise the wonders of Jehovah," when a choir of 
 angels descended from above, to sing an anthem at the birth of Christ ? 
 And how must the celestial courts have resounded with the hallelujahs of 
 those 'blessed spirits, when they again received their King, returning in 
 triumph from the conquest of his enemies ■? Nor " do the saints" omit to 
 celebrate God's "faithfulness in the congregation" upon earth, while 
 " with angels and archangels, and all the company of heaven, they laud and 
 magnify his glorious name, evermore praising him, and saying. Holy, holy, 
 holy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Glory be 
 to thee, O Lord most high." 
 
 " 6. For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord 1 who among 
 the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord 1 7. God is greatly to 
 be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all 
 tliem that are about him. 8. O Lord, God of hosts, who is a strong Lord 
 like unto thee i or to thy faithfulness round about thee 1 or, and thy faith- 
 fulness is roundabout thee." 
 
 These verses proclaim that right and title which Jehovah hath to the 
 praises of all his creatures in "heaven and earth." No one of them, how- 
 ever excellent and glorious, however deified and adored by fond and foolish 
 man, can enter the lists, and contest the superiority with his Maker. High 
 over all is the throne of God ; before him angels veil their faces, saints 
 prostrate themselves with the lowest reverence, and created nature trembles 
 at his word. His power is Almighty, and derived from none ; and with 
 "truth" he is on all sides invested as with a garment: the former enables 
 him, the latter (if we may so express it) binds him, to perform those gra- 
 cious promises, which mercy prompted him to make, concerning our eter- 
 nzJ redemption. 
 
 " 9. Thou nilest the raging of the sea : when the waves thereof arise, 
 thou stillest them." 
 
 The extent of the ocean, the multitude of its waves, and their fury, when 
 
 * " Disposui testamentum ;" percussi foedus cum electo meo ; id est, Davide et Christo. 
 Bosiuet. 
 
DAT XVn. E. p. ON THE PSALMS. 259 
 
 excited by a storm, render it, in that state, the most tremendous object in 
 nature; nor doth anything which man beholds, give him so just an idea of 
 human impotence, and of that divine pow^er, which can excite and calm so 
 boisterous an element at pleasure. God himself therefore frequently ap- 
 peals to this instance of his omnipotence ; see Job xxxviii. 11. Jer. v. 22 ; 
 an attribute, of which our Lord showed himself to have been possessed, 
 when, being with his disciples in the ship, he arose and rebuked a tem- 
 pestuous wind and a raging sea, and there was instantly a calm. In all 
 our troubles and temptations, be thou, blessed Jesus, with us, and then they 
 shall never finally overwhelm us. 
 
 " 10. Thou has) broken Rahab, i. e. Es:ypt, in pieces, as one that is 
 slain ; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm." 
 
 The destruction of Pharaoh and the Egyptians is here mentioned, as an- 
 other instance of God's mighty power. And it is probable, that the for&. 
 going verse was intended to allude more particularly to that miraculous 
 exertion of God's sovereignty over the waters, the devision of the Red Sea, 
 which happened at the same time; as these two events are generally spoken 
 of together. Thus Isaiah; "Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab," i. e. 
 Egypt, " and wounded the dragon," i. e. Pharaoh ] " Art thou not it 
 which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep, that hath made the 
 depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over]" li. 9. The same 
 power which effected all this, hath since, in Christ Jesus, overcome the 
 world, destroyed the works of the devil, and ransomed mankind from the 
 depths of the grave. 
 
 "11. The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine : as /or the world, 
 and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. 12. The north and the 
 south, thou hast created them : Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy 
 name." 
 
 The " heavens," and all the glorious bodies there ranged in beautiful 
 order: the "earth." with its rich furniture, and the unnumbered tribes of 
 its inhabitants, through its whole extent, from "north to south," and from 
 east to west ; all these are so many evidences of that wisdom and power, 
 which at the beginning contrived and formed them : all, in their respective 
 ways, declare the glory, and speak the praises of their great Creator ; but 
 chiefly the holy land, and the fruitful hills which adorned it. "Tabor" in 
 one part, and "Hermon" in another, formerly seemed, as it were, to 
 " rejoice" and sing, for the abundant favours showered down upon them by 
 the God of Israel, who hath since caused all nations no less to exalt and 
 triumph in his saving name. 
 
 " 13. Thou hast a mighty arm : strong is thy hz.nd,and high is thy right 
 hand." 
 
 The Psalmist, having produced and meditated on some eminent instances 
 of divine power, draws this general conclusion fiom the premises. To- 
 wards the Christian church " the arm of Jehovah" hath been revealed in 
 a still more extraordinary manner. She reflecteth on the wonders wrought 
 by Jesus : a conquest over more formidable enemies than Pharaoh and his 
 Egyptians ; a redemption from more cruel bondage ; salvation from sin and 
 death : a new creation, new heavens, and new earth, a new Jerusalem, and 
 a spiritual Sion. With additional conviction may she therefore exclaini, 
 " Thou hast a mighty arm ; strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand." 
 
 " 14. Justice and judgment are the habitation, Heb. the establishment, of 
 thy throne : mercy and truth shall go before thy face." 
 
 Although the power of God be infinite, yet it is never exerted but under 
 the direction of other attributes. When he goeth, as a judge, to his tribu- 
 nal, " mercy and truth go before his face;" they are represented as preced- 
 ing him, to give notice of his advent, and to prepare his way. " All the 
 ways," or dispensations "of the Lord," as it is elsewhere observed, "are 
 mercy and truth," Psalm xxv. 10.; they are the substance of all his reve- 
 lations, which either promise salvation, or relate the performance of such 
 
260 A COMMENTARY Psalm LXXXIX. 
 
 promises. By these is man warned and prepared for "judgment," which is 
 to be the last and finishing scene. And when the great Judge of all the 
 earth shall from his throne pronounce the irreversible sentence, not a crea- 
 ture then present shall be able to accuse that sentence of injustice. After 
 this model should the thrones of princes, and the tribunals of earthly ma- 
 gistrates, be constituted in "justice and judgment," adorned with " mercy 
 and truth." 
 
 " 15. Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound : they shall walk, 
 O Lord, in the light of thy countenance." 
 
 Next to the praises of Jehovah, is declared the happiness of those who 
 have him for their God; who "know the joyful sound, or sound of the 
 trumpet," by which the festivals of the Jewish church were proclaimed, 
 and the people were called together to the offices of devotion; who enjoy 
 the " light" of truth, and through grace are enabled to " walk" therein. 
 These blessings are now become our own ; the evangelical trumpet hath 
 sounded through the once heathen world; the Sun of righteousness hath 
 risen upon all nations. Let us attend to the " joyful sound ;" let us " walk" 
 in the glorious " light." 
 
 " 16. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day; and in thy righteous- 
 ness shall they be exalted. 17. For thou art the glory of their strength; 
 and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted. 18. For the Lord is our de- 
 fence; and the Holy One of Israel is our King." 
 
 It is the duty of Christians, as it was that of Israelites, to ascribe all 
 their strength, their success, and their glory, whether in matters temporal 
 or spiritual, to Jehovah alone. Having heard the sound, and experienced 
 the illuminating and reviving influences of the Gospel, in the name and in 
 the salvation of God we rejoice all the day, and in his righteousness only 
 we trust to be exalted to heaven : to him we attribute the glory of that 
 strength, with which, in time of temptation, we may find ourselves happily 
 endued; and in his favour, or grace, our horn, or the efforts of our power, 
 shall be exalted, and crowned with victory; our defence in all dangers is 
 from Jehovah, who was ever the shield of his ancient people ; and the Holy 
 One of Israel is our Redeemer, and our King. 
 
 " 19. Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have 
 laid, or, placed, help upon, or, in, one that is mighty; I have exalted one 
 chosen out of the people." 
 
 The covenant made with David was mentioned in general terms above, at 
 verses 4, 5. But a more particular account is now given of God's dispen- 
 sations, relative to the son of Jesse, and his posterity. We are presented 
 with the substance of the revelation made upon this subject, " in vision," 
 to one of the prophets, perhaps Samuel, or Nathan, here styled a "holy 
 one," or religious person, one favoured and accepted by God, who is in- 
 troduced as manifesting to this his prophet the Divine counsels concerning 
 David. " I have placed help upon, or in one, who shall become an emi- 
 nent and mighty Saviour of Israel ; from among all the people I have 
 chosen, and determined to exalt him, for that purpose, to the throne." Thus 
 was Messiah foretold, in prophetical visions and revelations, as the person 
 designed to be the mighty Redeemer of his church; thus, in the fulness of 
 time, was he chosen from among all the children of men, and exalted, 
 through sufferings, to an eternal throne. 
 
 " 20. I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed 
 him: 21. With whom my hand shall be established; mine arm shall also 
 strengthen him." 
 
 David was the servant of God ; he was by the prophet Samuel anointed 
 with oil; he was strengthened and established in his kingdom, by the hand 
 and arm of Jehovah. But never let Christians fail, in this eminently figu- 
 rative character, to contemplate that true David (for so he is called, Ezek. 
 xxxiv. 23. xxxvii.25.) the beloved Son of God : "the servant and elect of 
 Jehovah, in whom his soul delighted, and on whom he put his Spirit," Isa. 
 
DatX\TI. E. p. on the psalms. 261 
 
 xlii. 1; whom he "anointed with his holy oil, with the oil of gfladness, 
 with the Holy Ghost and with power," Psalm xlv. 7. Actsx. 38. whom he 
 strengthened and established in his spiritual kingdom, with his hand and 
 arm, and the might of his omnipotence. 
 
 " 22. The enemy shall not exact upon, or, deceive him ; nor the son of 
 wickedness afflict, or, subdue, him. 23. And I will beat down his foes be- 
 fore his face, and plague them that hate him. 24. But my faithfulness and 
 my mercy shall he with him; and in my name shall his horn be exalted." 
 
 These promises were fulfilled to David, when God delivered him out of 
 the hand of Saul, and of all his other adversaries. See 2 Sam. xxii. 1. 
 And in what a full, perfect, and divine sense were they verified in Christ! 
 That subtle enemy, " which deceiveth the whole world," was not able to 
 deceive him ; neither the sons nor the father of wickedness could overthrow 
 and subdue him ; all opposition fell before him, and they who hated him 
 suflTered unparalleled desolation : the promised faithfulness and mercy of 
 Jehovah were ever with him, and his kingdom was exalted with glory and 
 honour. 
 
 »' 25. I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the 
 rivers." 
 
 The dominions of David and his son Solomon extended from the Medi- 
 terranean "sea" to the "rivers" Euphrates, &c. ; the empire of Christ is 
 universal, over Jews and Gentiles, throughout all the earth. See Psalm 
 Ixxii. 8, &c. 
 
 " 26. He shall cry unto me. Thou art my Father, my God, and the Rock 
 of my salvation. 27. Also I will make him my first-born, higher than the 
 kings of the earth." 
 
 All this, if in some respects true of David, is much more emphatically 
 so of our Lord Jesus Christ. " Son of God" is one of his distinguished 
 titles ; of " the Father" he continually spoke, and to the Father he addressed 
 his prayers and cries in the days of his flesh ; as man, he was raised and 
 exalted by the power and glory of the Divinity ; he was " the first-born of 
 every creature, the first begotten from the dead, and the Prince of the kings 
 of the earth." Col. i. 15. Rev. i. L Make us, blessed Lord, the sons of 
 God, and teach us to cry, Abba, Father ; give us victory and dominion over 
 sin and death, that we may live and reign with thee for ever. 
 
 "28. My mercy will I keep for, or, to, him for evermore, and my cove- 
 nant shall stand fast with him. 29. His seed also will I make to endure 
 for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven." 
 
 God kept his mercy and covenant with David, by preserving the line of 
 his posterity, until his great antitype, Messiah, the subject of all the pro- 
 mises, came, by whom the kingdom was established for ever, being changed 
 into a spiritual one, which is to be transferred from earth to heaven, and 
 rendered coeval with those eternal mansions of the blessed. 
 
 "30. If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; 
 3L If they break, or, profane, my statutes, and keep not my command- 
 ments; 32. Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their ini- 
 quity with stripes. 33, Nevertheless, my lovina--kindness will I not utterly 
 take from him, nor suflfer my faithfulness to fail. 31. My covenant will I 
 not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips." 
 
 The posterity of David were to enjoy God's favour, or be deprived of it, 
 as they proved obedient or disobedient to his " law ;" as they executed or 
 perverted its civil "judgments:" as they observed or neglected its ceremo- 
 nial " statutes," or religious institutions; as they kept or broke its "com- 
 mandments" or moral precepts. When they became rebellious, idolatrous, 
 and profligate, the rod was lifted up, and due chastisement inflicted, some- 
 times by the immediate hand of Heaven, sometimes by the instrumentality 
 of their heathen adversaries; famine and pestilence, war and captivity, 
 were at different times employed to reclaim backsliding Israel. But still, 
 the "covenant" of God in Christ stood sure; the Jewish nation was pre- 
 
262 A. COMMENTARY Psalm LXXXIX. 
 
 served through all changes and revolutions, " until the Seed came to whom 
 the promise was made;" nor was Jerusalem destroyed before the new and 
 spiritual kingdom of Messiah was set up in the earth. Christian commu- 
 nities, and the individuals that compose them, are in like manner corrected 
 ajid punished for their offences. "Nevertheless, God's loving-kindness 
 will he not utterly take from us, nor suffer his faithfulness to fail. His co- 
 venant will he not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of his lips." 
 So — " I am with you always," says the Redeemer, " even to the end of the 
 world; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against my church," Matt, 
 xxviii. !20. xvi. 18. Nor shall the world be destroyed until Christ come 
 again, and his glorious kingdom be ready to appear. 
 
 "35. Once have I sworn by my holiness, that I will not lie unto David. 
 
 36. His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. 
 
 37. It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in 
 heaven." 
 
 The promise, covenant, and oath of God, which he declareth shall never 
 fail, are here repeated. They relate to Christ, that " Seed," or " Son of 
 David," who "endureth for ever:" His throne is resplendent as the "sun," 
 and shall continue after that luminary is extinguished : his church is perma- 
 nent as the "moon," though like her, subject to vicissitudes, and liable for a 
 time to be obscured by eclipses, during her present state upon earth. And 
 while the rainbow shall be seen in the clouds, man has " a faithful witness 
 in heaven" of the immutable truth of God's word, and the infallible accom- 
 plishment of what he promises. " Look upon the rainbow," saith the wise 
 son of Sirach, " and praise him who made it : very beautiful it is in the 
 brightness thereof: it compasseth the heaven about with a glorious circle, 
 and the hands of the Most High have bended it," Eccles. xlviii. 11. But 
 let us not forget likewise, when we look upon the rainbow, to praise him 
 who made it to be a sign and sacred symbol of mercy: in which capacity 
 we behold it, to our great and endless comfort, compassing the throne of 
 Christ with a gracious, as well as glorious circle. " There was a rainbow 
 round about the throne," Rev. iv. 3. Ezek. i. 28. 
 
 " 38. But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with 
 tliine anointed. 39. Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant ; 
 thou hast profaned his crown, by casthig it to the ground." 
 
 In the former part of our psalm, we have seen what the Divine promises 
 were, which had been made to the house of David. By the latter part, upon 
 which we are entering, it appears that the Psalm was written at a time 
 when the church of Israel was in such a manner oppressed and reduced by 
 her enemies, that her members began almost to despair of those promises 
 receiving their accomplishment. God seemed to have " cast off" and " ab- 
 horred" his "annointed" and "servant," that is, David, or rather the prince 
 of his family, who was upon the throne, when this captivity and desolation 
 happened ; the " covenant" seemed to be overturned and " made void," 
 when the " crown" of Israel was defiled in the dust. 
 
 " 40. Thou hast broken down all his hedges ; thou hast brought his 
 strong-holds to ruin. 41. All that pass by the way spoil him : he is a 
 reproach to his neighbours. 42. Thou hast set up the right hand of his 
 adversaries; thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice. 43. Thou hast 
 also turned the edge of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the 
 battle. 44. Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down 
 to the ground. 45. The days of his youth hast thou shortened : thou hast 
 covered him with shame." 
 
 The manifold calamities of Sion are in these verses enumerated ; the demo- 
 lition offences and fortifications : the cruel ravages consequent thereupon ; 
 the shame of defeats; the reproaches and insults of victorious adversaries; 
 the dishonours of violent and untimely death. In days like these here des- 
 scribed, when the church and the king are permitted to fall into the hands 
 of those who hate them, and to drink thus deeply of the cup of affliction, dis- 
 
DaxXVII. E. p. ON THE PSALMS. 063 
 
 trust and despondency are apt to seize upon the minds of men. Nay, when 
 the faithful few behold the true "Son of David," and " Annointed" of Jeho- 
 vah, in the day of his sutierings ; when they saw him, without help or 
 defence, " spoiled and reproached by his neighbours ;" when they viewed 
 "the right hand of his adversaries setup," and all his "enemies rejoicing" 
 over him ; his "glory made to cease," and his "crown profaned intliedusit; 
 tlie days of his youth shortened," and himself delivered over to a "shame- 
 ful" as well as painful death ; they then began to think " the covenant made 
 void," and the promises at an end. " We trusted," said they, " that it had 
 been he who should have redeemed Israel !" Luke xxiv. 21. And although 
 Christ be long since risen from the dead, and ascended into heaven, yet Ihe 
 prevalence of iniquity, and the oppressions of the church, have been, and in 
 tlie last days will be such, as to put the faith and hope of his servants to a 
 sore trial, while they wait for his second, as the ancient Jews did for his 
 first advent. 
 
 "46. How long. Lord, wilt thou hide thyself 1 for ever'? shall thy wrath 
 burn like fire 1 47. Remember how short my time is : wherefore hast thou 
 made all men in vain 1 Or, as Ainsitwrth translates the verse. Remember how 
 transitory I am ; unto what vanity thou hast created all the sons of Adam ? 
 48. What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death ] shall he deliver 
 his soul, or, animal frame, from the hand of the grave 1 49. Lord, where 
 are thy former loving-kindnesses, tuhich thou swarest unto David in thy 
 truth r' 
 
 This is the humble and dutiful expostulation of the church with God in 
 all her distresses upon the earth. By asking, " How long Lord, wilt thou 
 be angry for ever]" She tacitly pleadeth his promise not to be so : she 
 urgeth the shortness of man's life here below, the universality of the fatal 
 sentence, the impossibility of avoiding death, and if nothing farther was to 
 happen, the frustration of the Divine counsels concerning man. From 
 thence she entreateth God to remember the " loving-kindness" once pro- 
 mised by him with an oath to David, as related in the former part of the 
 Psalm. These "loving-kindnesses" are called, in Isaiah Iv. 3. "the sure 
 mercies of David ;" which " sure mercies of David" are affirmed by St. 
 Paul, Acts xiii. 34. to have been then confirmed on Israel, when, in the per- 
 son of Jesus, God raised our nature from the grave. To a resurrection, 
 therefore, believers have ever aspired ; thither have they directed their 
 wishes, and on that event have they fixed their hopes, as the end of tempo- 
 ral sorrows, and the beginning of eternal joys. 
 
 "50. Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear in 
 my bosom the reproach o/ all the mighty people; 51. Wherewith thine 
 enemies have reproached, O Lord ; wherewith they have reproached the 
 footsteps of thine anointed." 
 
 The last argument urged by the church, in her expostulation with God 
 for a speedy redemption, is the continual reproach to which she was subject, 
 on account of the promise being delayed. The " mighty people" or heathen 
 nations, who held her in captivity, and were witnesses of her wretched and 
 forlorn estate, ridiculed her pretentions to perpetuity of empire in the house 
 of David ; they blasphemed the God who was said to have made such pro- 
 mises ; and " reproached his footsteps," or mocked at the tardy advent of 
 his Messiah,* who was to establish in Israel his everlasting throne. All 
 these cruel taunts and insults she was obliged to bear in her bosom, and 
 there to suppress them in silence, having nothing to answer in the day of 
 her calamity and seeming destitution. St. Peter gives us a like account of 
 the state of the Christian church in the latter days ; he exhorts us to be 
 "mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and 
 of the commandments of the Apostles of the Lord and Saviour, because there 
 
 * " Exprobraverunt vestigio Chiisli tui :" tarditatem vestigiorum Christi IvA.—Chald. Irri- 
 debant nos quod non adveniret expcictalus ille Liberator, sive Cyrus, sive potius Christus de 
 semi lie Davidis, regno ejusinstaurando, et in teternum flrmando.— JoMwet. 
 
264 A COMMENTARY Psalm XC. 
 
 shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and say- 
 ing, Where is the promise of his coming ■?" 2 Pet. iii. 4. 
 
 " 52. Blessed be the Lord for evermore. Amen and Amen." 
 But whatever be at any time our distress, either as a community or as 
 individuals, still are we to believe, still to hope, still to bless and praise 
 Jehovah, whose word is true, whose works are faithful, whose chastise- 
 ments are mercies, and all whose promises are, in Christ Jesus, yea, and 
 amen, for evermore. 
 
 EIGHTEENTH DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM XC. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm is called in its title, " A prayer of Moses, the man of God." By him 
 it is imagined to have been composed, when God shortened the days of the 
 mui-muring Israelites in the wilderness. See Numb. xiv. It is, however, a 
 Psalm of general use, and is made by the church a part of her funeral service. 
 It containeth, 1, 2. an address to the eternal and unchangeable God, the Sa- 
 viour and Preserver of his people ; 2 — 10. a most affectuig description of 
 man's mortal and transitory state on earth since tlie fall ; 11. a complaint, 
 tliat few meditate in such a manner upon death, as to prepare themselves for 
 it ; 12. a prayer for grace so to do ; 13 — 17. and for the mercies of redemp- 
 tion. 
 
 " 1. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations. 2. Before 
 the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and 
 the world ; even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." 
 
 The Psalmist, about to describe man's fleeting and transitory state, first 
 directeth us to contemplate the unchangeable nature and attributes of God, 
 who hath always been a " dwelling-place," or place of defence and refuge, 
 affording protection and comfort to his people in the world, as he promised to 
 be before the world began, and will in a more glorious manner continue to 
 be after its dissolution. See, for a parallel. Psalm cii. 25, &c. with St. Paul's 
 application, Heb. i. 10. 
 
 " 3. Thou turnest man to destruction ; and sayest. Return, ye children of 
 men." 
 
 Death was the penalty inflicted on man for sin. The latter part of the 
 verse alludes to the fatal sentence. Gen. iii. 19. "Dust thou art, and unto 
 dust shalt thou return." How apt are we to forget both our original and 
 our end. 
 
 " 4. For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday, when it is 
 past, and as a watch in the night." 
 
 The connection between the verse preceding and the verse now before 
 us, seems to be this : God sentenced man to death. It is true, the execu- 
 tion of the sentence was at first deferred, and the term of human life suffered 
 to extend to near a thousand years. But what was even that, what is any 
 period of time, or time itself, if compared with the duration of the Eternal ; 
 all time is equal when it is past ; a thousand years, when gone, are forgot- 
 ten as yesterday ; and the longest life of man, to a person who looks back 
 upon it, may appear only as three hours, or one quarter of the night. 
 
 " 5. Thou carriest them away as with a flood ; they are as a sleep : in the 
 morning they are like grass tvkich groweth up ; or, as grass iliat changeth. 
 .6. In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up ; in the evening it is cut 
 down, and withereth." 
 
 The shortness of life, and the suddenness of our departure hence, are 
 illustrated by three similitudes. The first is that of a "flood," or torrent 
 pouring unexpectedly and impetuously from the mountains, and sweeping 
 all before it in an instant. The second is that of sleep, from which when a 
 
Day XVIIT. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 265 
 
 man awaketh, he thinketh the time passed in it to have been nothing. In 
 the third similitude, man is compared to " grass" of the field. In the morn- 
 ing oC youth, fair and beautiful, he groweth tip and ilourishoth ; in the 
 evening of old age, (and how often before that evening) he is cut down by 
 the stroke of death ; all his juices, to the circulation of which ho stood in- 
 debted for life, health, and strength, are dried up; he withereth, and 
 turneth again to his earth. " Surely all flesh is grass, and all the goodliness 
 thereof is as the flower of the field !" Isa. xl. 6. Of this trutii, the word of 
 God, the voice of nature, and daily experience, join to assure us : yet who 
 ordereth his life and conversation as if he believed if? 
 
 " 7. For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we trou- 
 bled. 8. Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the 
 light of thy countenance." 
 
 The generations of men are troubled and consumed by divers diseases, 
 and sundry kinds of death, through the displeasure of God ; his displeasure 
 is occasioned by their sins, all of which he seeth and punisheth. If Moses 
 wrote this Psalm, the provocations and chastisements of Israel are here 
 alluded to. But the case of the Israelites in the wilderness is the case of 
 Christians in the world, and the same thing is true both in them and in us. 
 "9. For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years 
 as a tale that is told," 
 
 Life is compared to a " tale" that is told and forgotten ; to a " word" 
 which is but air, or breath, and vanishes into nothing, as soon as spoken ; 
 or, perhaps, as the original generally signifies, to a " meditation, a thought," 
 which is of a nature still more fleeting and transient. 
 
 "10. The days of our years «re threescore years and ten ; and if by rea- 
 son of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and 
 sorrow: for it is soon cut off and we fly away." 
 
 This again might be primarily spoken by Moses concerning Israel. The 
 generation of those who came out of Egypt, from twenty years old and up- 
 waids, fell within the space of forty years in the wilderness; Numb. 
 xxiv. 29. and they who lived longest experienced only labour and sorrow, 
 until they were cut off", like grass, and, by the breath of God's displeasure, 
 blown away from the face of the earth. Like the Israelites, we have been 
 brought out of Egypt, and sojourn in the wilderness; like them we mur- 
 mur, and offend God our Saviour; like them we fall and perish. To the 
 age of seventy years few of us can hope to attain ; labour and sorrow are 
 our portion in the world ; we are mowed down, as this year's grass of the 
 field ; we fly away, and are no more seen in the land of the living. 
 
 "11. Who knowelh the power of thine anger? even according to thy 
 fear, so is thy wrath." 
 
 Houbigant renders the verse thus ; " Quis novit vim irae tuae ; et, prout 
 terribilis es, furorem tuum?" — "Who knoweth," or considereth, "the 
 power of thine anger: and thy wrath in proportion as thou art terrible?" 
 That is, in other words. Notwithstanding all the manifestations of God's 
 indignation against sin, which introduced death and every other calamity 
 among men, who is there that knoweth, who that duly considereth and 
 layeth to heart the almighty pov/er of that indignation] who that is induced 
 by beholding the mortality of his neighbours, to prepare himself for his own 
 departure hence? Such holy consideration is the gift of God, from whom 
 the Psalmist, in the next verse, directeth us to request it. 
 
 " 13. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto 
 wisdom." 
 
 He who " numbereth his days," or taketh a right account of the short- 
 ness of this present life, compared with the unnumbered ages of that 
 eternity which is future, will soon become a proficient in the school of true 
 wisdom. He will learn to give the preference where it is due : to do good, 
 and suff'er evil, upon earth, expecting the reward of both in heaven. Make 
 us wise, blessed Lord, but wise unto salvation. 
 
 23 
 
266 A COMMENTARY Psalm XCI. 
 
 "13. Return, Lord, how lonor? and let it repent thee concerning', or, 
 be propitiated towards, thy servants." 
 
 During the reign of death over poor mankind, God is represented as 
 absent; he is therefore by the faithful entreated to "return" and to satisfy 
 their longing desires after salvation ; to hasten the day when Messiah 
 should make a "propitiation" for sin, when he should redeem his servants 
 from death, and ransom them from the power of the grave. The Christian, 
 who knoweth that his Lord is risen indeed, looks forward to the resurrec- 
 tion of the just, when death shall be finally swallowed up in victory. 
 
 " 14. O satisfy us early, or, in tlie morning, with thy mercy ; that we 
 may rejoice and be glad all our days. 15. Make us glad according to the 
 days wherein thou hast afflicted us, a7id the years wherein we have seen 
 evil." 
 
 The church prayeth for the dawning of that glorious morning, when 
 every cloud shall vanish at the rising of the Sun of Righteousness, and 
 night and darkness shall be no more. Then only shall we be " satisfied, 
 or saturated with the mercy" of Jehovah ; then only shall we "rejoice and 
 be glad all our days." The time of our pilgrimage upon earth is a time of 
 sorrow ; we grieve for our departed friends; and our surviving friends must 
 soon grieve for us ; these are " the days wherein God afflicted us, these 
 the years wherein we see evil;" but he will hereafter " make us glad 
 according to them ; in proportion to our sufferings, if rightly we bear those 
 sufferings, will be our reward ; nay, " these light afflictions, which are but 
 for a moment, work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
 glory." Then shall our joy be increased, and receive an additional relish 
 from the remembrance of our former sorrow; then shall we bless the days 
 and the years which exercised our faith, and perfected our patience ; and 
 then shall we bless God, who chastised us for a season, that he might save 
 us for ever. 
 
 "16. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their 
 children. 17. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and 
 establish thou the work of our hands upon us ; yea, the work of our hands 
 establish thou it." 
 
 The redemption of man is that " work" of God, whereby his " glory" is 
 manifested to all generations, and which all generations do therefore long 
 to behold accomplished. For this purpose, the faithful beseech God to let 
 his " beauty," his splendour, the light of his countenance, his grace and 
 favour, be upon them: to "establish the work of their hands," to bless, 
 prosper, and perfect them in their Christian course and warfare; until, 
 through him, they shall be enabled to subdue sin, and triumph over death. 
 
 PSALM XCL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The prophet, 1 — 10. declareth the security of the righteous man under the 
 care and protection of Heaven, in times of danger, 11, 12. a guard of angels, 
 is set about him. 13. His final victory over tlie enemies of his salvation is 
 foretold, and, 14 — 16. God himself is introduced, promising liim deliverance, 
 exaltation, glory, and immortality. The Psalm is addressed primarily to 
 Messiah. That it relatetli to him, Jews and Cliristians are agreed ; and the 
 devil, Matt. iv. 6. cited two verses from it, as universally known, and allowed 
 to have been spoken of him. 
 
 " 1. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide 
 under the shadow of the Almighty. 2. I will say of the Lord, He is my 
 refuge and my fortress : my God ; in him will I trust. 3. Surely he shall 
 deliver thee from the snare of tlie fowler, and from the noisome pestilence." 
 
Day XVIII. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 267 
 
 In these verses, as they now stand, there is much obscurity and confu- 
 sion. Bishop Lowth, in his twenty-sixth Lecture, seemeth to have given 
 their true construction. " He who dwelleth in the secret place of the Most 
 High ; who abideth under the shadow of the Almighty; who saith of the 
 Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I will trust;" — 
 leavino- the sentence thus imperfect, the Psalmist maketh a beautiful apos- 
 Irophe^to that person whom he has been describing — " Surely he shall de- 
 liver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence." 
 The description is eminently applicable to the man Christ Jesus.* He is 
 represented as dwelling, like the ark in the holy of holies, under the imme- 
 diate "shadow" and protection of the Almighty, who was his "refuge and 
 fortress" against the open attacks of his enemies; his preserver from the 
 " snares" of the devil, and from the universal contagion of sin, that spiritual 
 " pestilence." In all dangers, whether spiritual or coporeal, the members 
 of Christ's mystical body may reflect with comfort that they are under the 
 same almighty Protector. 
 
 "4. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt 
 thou trust : his truth shall be thy shield and buckler." 
 
 The security afforded by a superintending Providence to those who trust 
 therein, is here, with the utmost beauty and elegance, compared to that 
 shelter, which the young of birds are always sure to find under the " wings" 
 of their dam, when fear causeth them to fly thither for refuge. See 
 Deut. xxxii. IL Matt, xxiii. 37. The " truth" of God's word, wherein he 
 promiseth to be our defence, is to a believer his " shield and buckler" in 
 the day of battle and war. 
 
 " 5. Thou shalt not not be afraid for the terror by night ; nor for the 
 arrow that flieth by day : 6, Nor for the pestilence that walketh in dark- 
 ness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noon-day." 
 
 How much man standeth in need of the above-mentioned protection of 
 Heaven, appeareth from a survey of the dangers to which he is continually 
 exposed. Various are the terrors of the night; manifold the perils of the 
 day ; from diseases, whose infection maketh its progress unobserved; from 
 assaults, casualties, and accidents, which can neither be foreseen nor 
 guarded against. The soul hath likewise her enemies, ready to attack and 
 surprise her at all hours. Avarice and ambition are abroad watching for 
 her in the day; while concupiscence, like a pestilence, " walketh in dark- 
 ness." In adversity she is disturbed by terrors ; m prosperity, still more 
 endangered by pleasures. But Jesus Christ has overcome the world, to 
 prevent us from being overcome by it. 
 
 "7. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right 
 hand ; hut it shall not come nigh thee." 
 
 This promise has oftentimes, in a wonderful manner, been verified to 
 those faithful servants of God, whom the pestilence itself hath not deterred 
 from doing the duties of their station. The bishop and some of the inten- 
 dants of Marseilles, who continued to perform their respective offices during 
 the whole time of the plague there in 1730, are signal and well-known in- 
 stances. Sin is a pestilence, the contagion of which no son of Adam ever 
 escaped, but the blessed Jesus. He stood alone untouched by its venom; 
 thousands and ten thousands, all the myriads of mankind, fell around him; 
 " but it did not come nigh Him." Heal us of this our distemper, O thou Phy- 
 sician of souls, and let it not prove our everlasting destruction ; " stand 
 like thy representative of old, between the dead and the living, and let the 
 plague be stayed," Numb. xvi. 47, 48. 
 
 "8. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold, and see the reward of the 
 wicked." 
 
 The meaning is, that the righteous person, all along spoken of, himself 
 
 * Ode Davirtica insignia xci. agit directe et primo locode tegmine et defensione quain Deus 
 Christo Jesu Doctoriet apostolisipsius prss'aret. Vttringa, Comment, inJcsai. ii.Sbo- 
 
268 A COMMENTARY Psalm XCf. 
 
 secure from the judgments of God, should in safety behold the destruction 
 wrought by them upon impenitent and incorrigible sinners. This will be 
 the case with the church, as well as her glorious Head, at the last day. 
 
 "9. Because thou hast made the honii,ivhich is my refuge, even the Most 
 High, thy habitation ; 10. There shall not evil befall thee, neither shall 
 any plague come nigh they dwelling." 
 
 The sentiment in these verses is evidently the same with that in verses 
 5, 6. namely, that God preserveth such as trust in him, after the pattern of 
 the holy Jesus, from those evils, and from that perdition, which are reserved 
 for the ungodly. Dr. Durell translates the 9th verse in the way of apos- 
 trophe, literally thus — "Surely, thou, O Lord, art my refuge; O Most 
 High, thou hast fixed thine habitation," i. e. in Sion, to be the protector of 
 his servant. 
 
 "11. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all 
 thy ways. 12. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy 
 foot against a stone." 
 
 This passage was cited by the devil, who tempted our Lord to cast 
 himself from a pinnacle of the temple, upon presumption of the promise 
 here made, that angels should guard and support him in all dangers. But 
 Christ, in his answer, at once detccteth and exposeth the sophistry of the 
 grand deceiver, by showing that the promise belonged only to those who 
 fell unavoidably into danger, in the course of duty ; such might hope for the 
 help and protection of Heaven ; but that he who should wantonly and 
 absurdly throw himself into peril, merely to try whether Providence would 
 bring him out of it, must expect to perish for his pains. " Jesus saith unto 
 him, It is written again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God," Matt. 
 iv. 7. 
 
 " 13. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder ; the young lion and 
 the dragon shalt thou trample under thy feet." 
 
 The fury and the venom of our spiritual enemies are often in Scripture 
 portrayed by the natural qualities of "lions and serpents." Messiah's com- 
 plete victory over those enemies seemed hero to be predicted. Through, 
 grace he maketh us more than conquerors in our conflicts with the same 
 adversaries. " The God of peace," saith St. Paul, "shall bruise Satan 
 under your feet shortly," Rom. xvi. 20. And it is observable, that when 
 the seventy disciples return to Christ with joy, saying, "Lord, even the 
 devils are subject unto us through thy name;" he answers in the metaphori- 
 cal language of our Psalm; " Behold, I give unto you power to tread on 
 scorpions, and serpents, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing 
 shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that 
 the SPIRITS are subject unto you," &c. Luke x. 17. Give us, O Lord, 
 courage to resist the " lion's" rage, and wisdom to elude the wiles of the 
 "serpent." 
 
 " 14. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: 
 I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. 15. He shall 
 call upon me, and 1 will answer him : I ivill be with him in trouble ; I will 
 deliver him, and honour, or, glorify, him. IG. With long life will 1 satisfy 
 him, and show him my salvation." 
 
 Lr the former part of our Psalm the prophet had spoken in his own per- 
 son ; here God himself is plainly introduced as the speaker. And O how 
 sweet, how delightful and comfortable are his words, addressed eminently 
 to his beloved Son, Messiah ; and in him to all of us, his adopted children, 
 and the heirs of eternal life; to all who love God, and have "known his 
 name !" To such are promised, an answer to their prayers; the presence 
 of their heavenly Father with them ; in the day of trouble, protection and 
 deliverance ; salvation, and honour, and glory, and immortality. All these 
 promises have already been made good to our gracious Head and Represen- 
 tative. His prayers have been heard ; his sulferings are over ; he is risen 
 and ascended; and behold, he liveth and reigueth for evermore. Swift fly 
 the intermediate years, and rise that long-expected morning, when He who 
 
DatXMII. M. p. on the psalms. 269 
 
 is gfone " to prepare a place for us, shall come again, and take us to him- 
 self, that where he is we may be also !" 
 
 PSALM xcn. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The title of this Psalm is " A Psalm or Song-, for the Sabbath-day." It teacheth, 
 1 5. the duty, time, and manner of giving thanks for the works and dispen- 
 sations of God. Thoughtless men are admonished, 6. to reflect upon the 
 filial issue of all these works and dispensations ; namely, 7 — 9. the utter per- 
 dition of the ungodly, and, 10 — 14. the exaltation of the church in Christ 
 Jesus, 15. to the praise and glory of God most high. 
 
 "1. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises 
 unto thy name, O Most High : 2. To show forth thy loving-kindness in 
 the morning, and thy faithfulness every night; 3. Upon an instrument of 
 ten strings, and upon the psaltery ; upon the harp and with a solemn 
 sound." 
 
 "Thanksgiving" is the duty, and ought to be the delight, of a Christian. 
 It is his duty, as being the least return he can make to his great Benefac- 
 tor : it ought to be his delight, for it is that of angels, and will be that of 
 every grateful heart, whether in heaven or on earth. The " mercy" of God 
 in promising salvation, and his " faithfulness" in accomplishing it, are 
 inexhaustible subjects for " morning and evening" praises ; every instru- 
 ment should be strung, and every voice tuned to celebrate them, until day 
 and night come to an end. But more especially should this be done on the 
 "sabbath-day ;" which, when so employed, affords a lively resemblance of 
 that eternal sabbath, to be hereafter kept by the redeemed in the kingdom 
 of God. 
 
 " 4. For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work : I will 
 triumph in the works of thy hands." 
 
 A prospect of creation, in the vernal season, fallen as it is, inspires the 
 mind with a joy which no words can express. But how doth the regene- 
 rate soul exult and triumph at beholding that]" work" of God's " hand," 
 whereby he hath created all things anew in Christ Jesus ! If we can be 
 pleased with such a world as this, where sin and death have fixed their 
 habitation ; shall we not much rather admire those other heavens, and that 
 other earth, wherein dwell righteousness and life % What are we to think 
 of the palace, since even the prison is not without its charms ! 
 
 " 5. O Lord, how great are thy works ! and thy thoughts are very deep. 
 G. A brutish man knoweth not ; neither doth a fool understand this." 
 
 Glorious are the works, profound the counsels, marvellous the dispensa- 
 tions of God, in nature, in providence, in grace. But all are lost to the man 
 void of spiritual discernment; who, like his fellow "brutes," is bowed 
 down to the earth, and knoweth no pleasures but those of sense. Here he 
 hath chosen his paradise, and set up his tabernacle : not considering, that 
 his tabernacle must shortly be taken down, and he must remove hence for 
 ever. 
 
 " 7. When the wicked spring as the grass, when all the workers of 
 iniquity do flourish ; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever. 8. But 
 thou. Lord, art most high for evermore." 
 
 It is not improbable, that these verses should be connected with that 
 preceding, thus — "A brutish man knoweth not ; neither doth a fool under- 
 stand this ;" namely, that " When the wicked spring as the grass, and 
 when all the workers of iniquity do flourish ; it is that they shall be de- 
 stroyed for ever :" they are only nourishing themselves like senseless cattle 
 in plentiful pastures, for the approaching day of slaughter. He who is 
 ignorant of the final issue of things, who attendeth not to his eternal interest, 
 
 23* 
 
270 A COxMMENTARY Psaim XCII. 
 
 he is, in scripture language, " the brutish man," and the " fool," whoknoweth 
 not the works, neither understandeth the designs of Heaven. When the 
 " grass" hath attained to its most flourishing estate, and all the flowers of 
 the field are in perfect beauty, then the mower entereth with his scythe. 
 "What a beautiful and instructive emblem is here held forth to us? what a 
 forcible admonition to trust only in him, who, without " variableness or 
 shadow of turning," is " most high for evermore !" 
 
 " 9, For lo, thine enemies, O Lord, lo, thine enemies shall perish ; all 
 the workers of iniquity shall he scattered. 10. But my horn shalt thou 
 exalt like the horn of an unicorn : I shall be, or, I am, anointed with fresh 
 oil." 
 
 The " workers of iniquity" are the " enemies of Jehovah," and will be 
 scattered by the breath of his displeasure, as grass, after it is cut down, 
 dried up and withered, is driven away by the whirlwind of heaven. " But 
 my horn," saith the Psalmist, (it is likely in the person of Messiah,) " my 
 horn," that is, the strength and power of my kingdom, " shalt thou exalt 
 like the horn of the unicorn,"* like the power of the strongest creatures, to 
 which that of states and empires is often compared : " I shall be," or, "I 
 am anointed with fresh oil ;" I am appointed and consecrated king by the 
 holy unction. Christians have "an unction from the Holy One ;" by which 
 they are enabled to subdue their spiritual enemies ; they reign over their 
 passions and affections ; they are exalted in the Redeemer ; they are "made 
 onto their God kings and priests," 1 John ii. 20. Rev. v. 10. 
 
 " II. Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies; andmme ears 
 shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me." 
 
 The words, " my desire," are twice inserted by our translators. But 
 would it not be better, if we were to supply the ellipsis in this manner: 
 " Mine eye shall behold the fall of mine enemies ; and mine ear shall hear 
 the destruction of the wicked, that rise up against me." The sense of the 
 verse is plain. It is intended to express an assurance of faith, an humble 
 confidence in the promises of God, that our efforts shall at length be 
 Clowned with victory over everything which resisteth and opposeth itself; 
 and that the day is coming, when we shall view all the enemies of our sal- 
 vation dead at our feet. 
 
 " 12. The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree; he shall grow like 
 a cedar in Lebanon." 
 
 The momentary prosperity of the wicked was compared above to the 
 transient verdure of " grass." The durable felicity of the righteous is here 
 likened to the lasting strength and beauty of palms and cedars. But chiefly 
 is the comparison applicable to that Just One, the King of Righteousness, 
 and Tree of Life; eminent and upright; ever verdant and fragrant; under 
 the greatest pressure and weight of sufferings, still ascending towards 
 heaven; affording both fruit and protection; incorruptible and immortal. 
 " I sat down," saith the church, " under his shadow with great delight, and 
 his fruit was sweet to my taste," Song ii. 3. 
 
 " 13. Those that he planted in the house of the Lord, shall flourish in 
 the courts of our God," 
 
 Believers are styled by Isaiah, " Trees of righteousness, the planting of 
 Jehovah," ch. Ixi. 3. They are planted by the living waters of comfort, 
 " in the house of God;" where, under the means of grace, they " flourish" 
 in the hope of glory; " fenced and enclosed by the discipline and orders of 
 the church, and by the consequent favour and protection of Heaven ; their 
 verdure is conspicuous, and ever constant, whether in the summer of pros- 
 perity, or the winter of adversity : their actions and principles are ever 
 upright and fair; yea, their very leaf exhales a delightful perfume, by a 
 holy example and conversation ; their affections and desires are ever aseend- 
 
 * Hcl). O'lX, an eastern animal of the "stag" or "deer" kind, remarkable for its height, 
 Ktrengtli, and fierceness. 
 
Day XMII. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 07I 
 
 ing towards the noblest and most sublime objects, the things that are above, 
 the glorious things of heaven."* 
 
 " U. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and 
 flourishing." 
 
 Happy the man whose goodness is always progressive, and whose vir- 
 tues increase with his years; who loseth not, in multiplicity of worldly 
 cares or pleasures: the holy fervours of his first love, but goeth on burning 
 and shining more and more to the end of his days. The church, like her 
 representative Sarah, is now "well stricken in years;" but we hope that, 
 like her, she will " still bring forth fruit in her old age ;" we look for many 
 more " children of promise" to be born unto Christ, both from among the 
 Jews and Gentiles. 
 
 " 15. To shew that the Lord is npright: ke is my rock, and there is no 
 unrighteousness in him," 
 
 The fruit brought forth in the church redounds to the glory of God, by 
 whom the trees, in this his new paradise, were planted; it shows to all the 
 world, that he is just and upright in his dealings; that he is true to his 
 promises; immoveable as a " rock" in his counsels; determined to punish 
 the wicked, and to reward the good ; so that when his proceedings shall 
 come to be unfolded at the last day, it will appear to men and angels that 
 " there is no unrighteousness in him." 
 
 EIGHTEENTH DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM XCIIL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The Jews actnowledg'e, that the king-dom of Messiah is prophesied of in this 
 Psalm, and in all those which follow, to the hundredth. 1, 2. The church 
 celebrates the majesty, power, and glory, of the eternal King'; 3. describes 
 tlie danger she is often in from persecutions, &c. but, 4. strengtheneth her- 
 self in God her Saviour, whose house, 5. ought to be, hke himself, fuU of 
 truth and holiness. 
 
 "1. The Lord reigneth ; he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed 
 with strength; ivherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is esta- 
 blished, that it cannot be moved." 
 
 From the beginning, God, as Creator, was Sovereign Lord of the uni- 
 verse. He was also formerly, in a more especial manner, King of Israel. 
 But since that time, a new and spiritual kingdom hath been erected by 
 Jesus Christ, as Redeemer, whom the church now celebrates, and whose 
 praises she sings continually. Risen from the dead, and ascended into 
 heaven, the Lord Jesus reigneth, and shall reign, " till he hath put all ene- 
 mies under his feet," 1 Cor. xv. 25. By the glorification of his human 
 nature, he is " clothed with majesty : All power is given unto him in heaven 
 and in earth;" Matt, xxviii. 18. so that he is girded with strength; and 
 through that strength, he hath " established" the new " world," that is to 
 say, his church, that it " cannot be moved," or subverted, by all the powers 
 of earth and hell. 
 
 " 2. Thy throne is established of old : thou art from everlasting." 
 Earthly thrones are temporary; they are set up and cast down again, 
 neither is any trust to be reposed in them. But the throne of Christ is eter- 
 nal and unchangeable. Constituted before the foundation of the world, it 
 is to endure when no traces of such a system having once existed, shall 
 any more be found. 
 
 * Essay on the Proper Lessons, by Mr. Wogan, vol. iii. p. 49. 
 
272 A COMMENTARY Psalm XCIV. 
 
 "3. The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their 
 voice; the floods lift up their waves. 4. The Lord on high is mightier 
 than the noise of many waters, i/ea, than the mighty waves of the sea." 
 
 In the first of these verses, the church appears like a ship in a stormy 
 sea, to which she is often compared. Persecutions and afflictions are those 
 " floods," those " waves" of this troublesome Avorld, which threaten every 
 moment to overwhelm and sink her. With a fearful and desponding tone 
 of voice, therefore, she crieth out, " The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the 
 floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves !" But im- 
 mediately she strengtheneth and comforteth herself in the Lord her God : 
 "The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than 
 mighty waves of the sea:" He can say to sorrows and temptations, as he 
 doth to the waters of the ocean, " Peace, be still ; hitherto shall ye come, 
 but no farther;" and his word is with equal power in both cases. 
 
 "5. Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O 
 Lord, for ever." 
 
 God's "testimonies" are the promises made in Scripture to the church, 
 that he will be with her during the afflictions which befall her here below, 
 and will in time deliver her out of all her troubles. These " testimonies 
 are very sure;" these promises do not, they cannot, fail. "Holiness," 
 therefore, which consisteth in obedience and patience, " becometh," is the 
 proper ornament, grace, and beauty, of "his house," and of Christians, 
 those living stones that compose it. Sacred and inviolable is the word of 
 our King; sacred and inviolable should be the loyalty of his subjects. 
 
 PSALM XCIV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The Psalmist, complaining' of corrupt and troublous times, in the person of the 
 church, 1 — 4. prayeth for the downfall of prosperous wickedness; 5, 6. he 
 describeth the cruelty, and 7 — 11. reproveth the atheistical folly of those 
 who persecute God's people; 12, 13. he extolleth the blessedness of the 
 persecuted, if they are endued with faith and patience, inasmuch as, 14, 15. 
 the Divine promise and their future reward are certain; he therefore, 16 — 19. 
 throweth himself wholly upon God, whose mercies never fail, who, 20, 21. 
 cannot be on the side of iniquity, but, 22, 23. will preserve his saints, and 
 destroy tlieir enemies. 
 
 " 1. O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom ven- 
 geance belongeth, shew thyself. 2. Lift up tliyself, thou Judge of the earth : 
 render a reward to the proud." 
 
 The church, however unjustly oppressed and afflicted, rememhereth that 
 " vengeance belongeth" not to her, had she the power to inflict it, but " to 
 God" only, who hath said, " Vengeance is mine, I will repay," liom. xii. 
 19. To him, therefore, she maketh her supplication, that he would mani- 
 fest his glory in her salvation ; that he would ascend the tribunal, as " Judge 
 of the earth," try her cause, and avenge her of her insolent and cruel per- 
 secutors. 
 
 "3. Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked tri- 
 umph] 4. How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the 
 workers of iniquity boast themselves ]" 
 
 Tlie " triumphs" of wickedness, the "hard speeches," taunts, and scofl^s 
 of infidelity, against Christ, and all who belong to him, are a continual 
 grief of heart to the faithful in the world, who desire nothing so much as 
 to see the empire of sin at an end, and the kingdom of righteousness esta- 
 blished. But for this great event they must wait with patience, until tlie 
 time appointed by the Father, when the iniquities of the world and the suf- 
 ferings of the church shall be full. " I saw under the altar," saiih the well- 
 beloved John, " the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and 
 
Day XVIII. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 273 
 
 for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, say- 
 ing, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge 
 our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given 
 unto every one of them, and it was said unto them, that they should rest 
 yet for a little season, until their fellow-servants also, and their brethren, 
 that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled," Rev. vi. 9, &c. 
 
 " 5. They break in pieces thy people, Lord, and afflict thine heritage. 
 G. They slay the widow and stranger, and murder the fatherless." 
 
 Some instances of cruelty, exercised by the enemies against the "people 
 and heritage" of God, are here specified. " Widows, strangers, and 
 orphans," are destitute of the help and protection afforded by husbands, 
 friends, and fathers. Christ is become a husband to the church, a father 
 to her children, and the only friend to both in time of need. Else 
 were we all in the state of strangers and orphans, exposed with our 
 widowed mother to the unrelenting malice and fury of the great oppressor 
 and murderer. 
 
 " 7. Yet they say. The Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of 
 Jacob regard (7. 8. Understand, ye brutish among the people; and^e fools, 
 when will ye he wise 1 9. He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he 
 that formed the eye, shall he not see ] 10. He that chastiseth the heathen, 
 shall not he correct ? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he knoiu ? 
 Or, He that instructeth the nations, shall he not rebuke ; even he that 
 teacheth man knowledge?" 
 
 The Psalmist informeth us that men are encouraged in their injustice and 
 villany by a persuasion, that God doth not behold or regard what they do to 
 his people. The absurdity of such a conceit is shown from these consi- 
 derations; that it is God who bestowelh on man the powers of seeing and 
 hearing, and therefore that he himself must needs be possessed of those 
 powers in the highest perfection; that it is God who hath instructed the 
 world by his revelations in religious knowledge, and consequently, without 
 all doubt, he cannot be ignorant of the use and abuse which men make of 
 that his unspeakable gift. 
 
 "11. The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity." 
 So far is God from being a stranger to the actions, that he is privy to the 
 first "thoughts" of men, from whence those actions flow ; he is acquainted 
 with all their counsels against his church, and knoweth them to he vain as 
 the imagination that he is ignorant of them. The wicked can no more 
 escape the hand, than they can elude the eye, of Heaven. 
 
 " 12. Blessed is the man whom thou chasteneth, or, instructeth, O Lord, 
 and teacheth him out of thy law; 13. That thou mayest give him rest from 
 the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked." 
 
 Since, therefore, the schemes of the adversary are vain, and the counsels 
 of Jehovah shall infallibly stand, happy is the man, who having learned 
 from the Scriptures of truth, the lessons of faith and patience, enjoys tran- 
 quillity of mind in time of trouble, while destruction is preparing for the 
 impenitent. Then, when " the days of adversity" are over, shall pain and 
 sorrow take a final leave of the righteous, to go and dwell with the wicked 
 to eternal ages. The former shall enter into the rest and joy of their Lord, 
 the latter into the fire prepared originally for the devil and his angels. 
 
 " 14. For the Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake 
 his inheritance. 15. But judgment shall return unto righteousness; and 
 all the upright in heart shall follow it." 
 
 The faith and patience of the saints are built upon the foundation of 
 God's promise not to " cast off and forsake," how^ever he may chasten and 
 correct, his "people and inheritance." At a fit time, "judgment shall 
 return to righteousness," which it might seem to have forsaken: iniqui- 
 tous oppressors shall not meet with the punishment they have deserved, and 
 the faithful shall experience the promised redemption. For thus Dr. Hani- 
 mond renders and expounds the last clause of the two verses under consi- 
 
274 A COMMENTARY Psaim XCIV. 
 
 deration — " and after this," i. e. after "judgment" shall have " returned to 
 rig'hteousness, all the upright in heart;" i. e. it shall be their time; they 
 shall succeed and flourish. Such were those halcyon days enjoyed by the 
 Jews, after the fall of Babylon, and their return to their own land; such 
 those times of refreshment to the church Christian, when the Pagan perse- 
 cutions were at an end, and the Roman empire became Christian. Far 
 transcendent is the felicity of a soul when it exchanges the miseries of the 
 world for the delights of paradise, there to wait, with its sister spirits, 
 until the bodies of saints shall pass from the dishonours of the grave to the 
 glories of immortality. 
 
 " 16. Who will rise up for me against the evil-doers'? or who will stand 
 up for me against the workers of iniquity 1 17. Unless the Lord had been 
 my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence." 
 
 But in the mean season, while "evil-doers" are permitted to prosper, 
 and "the workers of iniquity" carry on their designs, the prophet asks, in 
 the person of the church, Who is there that will, or can protect, defend, and 
 deliver 1 The answer is, God only can do it ; " Uidess the Lord had been 
 my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence," or, I had almost been in 
 the state of death. How often have our spiritual enemies arisen against 
 us, threatening to bring us into a state of eternal death ! but the Lord Jesus 
 was our help and our salvation. 
 " 18. When I said. My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Loud, held me up." 
 When the child of God, walking in the slippery paths of life, finding 
 himself falling into temptation, if he confesseth his inability to stand his 
 ground, and crieth out like Peter on the water, to his heavenly Father, 
 " Lord, save me, I perish ;" a merciful, gracious and powerful hand will 
 immediately be stretched out, to support his steps, and establish his goings. 
 " ID. In the multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comforts delight 
 my soul." 
 
 The excellent Norris, in a masterly sermon on this verse, has given us 
 the following elegant and affecting paraphrase of it — "When my mind sal- 
 lies out into a multitude of thoughts, and those thoughts make me sad and 
 heavy, anxious and solicitous, as presenting to my view my own weakness 
 and infirmity, and the universal vanity of all those seeming props and stays, 
 upon which my deluded soul was apt to lean ; the many great calamities 
 of life, and the much greater terrors of death ; the known miseries of the 
 present state, and the darkness and uncertainty of the future; still urging 
 me with fresh arguments of sorrow, and opening new and new scenes of 
 melancholy, till my soul begins to faint and sink under the burthen she has 
 laid upon herself: when I am thus thoughtful, and thus sorrowful, then it 
 is, O my God, that I feel the relief of thy divine refreshments ; I find my- 
 self supported and borne up by the strong tide of thy consolations, which 
 raise my drooping head, strike a light into my soul, and make me not only 
 dismiss, but even forget that sorrow and melancholy which niy thoughlful- 
 ness had brought upon me." Who, that reads this, will not thankfully 
 take and follow the advice offered in another part of the same discourse 1 
 " Whenever, therefore, thoughts arise in thy heart, and troubles from those 
 thoughts ; when thy mind is dark and cloudy, and all the regions of the 
 soul are overcast ; then betake thyself to thy oratory, either to thy closet, 
 or the church, and there entertain thy soul with the pleasures of religion, 
 and the satisfaction of a clear conscience." See Norris's Practical Dis- 
 courses, vol. iii. Serm. 4. 
 
 "20. Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which 
 frameth mischief by a law ]" 
 
 One consideration which affordeth comfort to the faithful under persecu- 
 tion and affliction, is this, that God can never be on the side of oppression 
 and injustice, though to answer wise and salutary purposes, he may for a 
 time, suffer them to have the dominion, and to establish iniquity by law. 
 
Day XIX. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 075 
 
 A distinction there certainly must be between right and wrong; and the 
 former must as certainly triumph at the last day. 
 
 " 21. They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, 
 and condemn the innocent blood." 
 
 Righteousness and innocence are most atrocious crimes in the eyes of 
 wickedness and guilt. For these crimes Cain slew his brother Abel, the 
 Jews crucified Christ, the Pagans tortured and murdered his disciples, and 
 bad men in all ages have persecuted the good. " Marvel not, my brethren, 
 if the world hate you." 1 John iii. 13. 
 
 " 22. But the Lord is my defence ; and my God is the rock of my refuge. 
 23, And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them 
 off in their own wickedness ; yea, the Lord our God shall cut them off." 
 
 Jehovah is our " defence ;" we fear not the fiery darts of the enemy : He 
 is " the rock of our refuge ;" we bid defiance to the rage and malice of 
 earth and hell. Armed with the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit, 
 we rise superior to every effort of diabolical malice and secular power ; 
 waiting in patience and hope for the coming of that day, when He who 
 hateth unrighteousness, and with whom the throne of iniquity can have no 
 fellowship, shall visit the wickedness of the wicked upon them ; when the 
 world of the ungodly shall share the fate of apostate Jerusalem, and the 
 righteous shall be g-lorified with their Lord and Saviour. 
 
 NINETEENTH DAY— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM XCV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm hath been long used in the Christian Church, as a proper introduc- 
 tion to her holy sei-vices. It containeth, 1, 2. an exhortation to praise Jeho- 
 vah, 3. for his g-reatness, 4, 5. and for his works of creation ; 6. men are 
 invited to worship him, as their Maker, and, 7. as their Preserver ; 8 — 11. 
 they are warned ag'ainst tempting' and provoking liini, by the example of the 
 Israelites in the wilderness. The author of the epistle in the Hebrews hath 
 taught us to consider the Psalm as an address to believers under the Gospel. 
 
 "1.0 come, let us sing unto the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to 
 the rock of our salvation." 
 
 In the first verse, Christians now exhort and stir up each other, as the 
 Jews did of old, to employ their voices in honour of Jehovah, to celebrate 
 the "rock of their salvation." Jesus, by redeeming us from our enemies, 
 hath opened our lips, and our mouths ought, therefore, to show forth his 
 praise. He is the Rock of ages, to which is opened a fountain for sin and 
 uncleanness ; the Rock which attends the church in the wilderness, pouring 
 forth the water of life for her use and comfort; the Rock which is our for- 
 tress against every enemy, shadowing and refreshing a weary land. " O 
 come, then, let us sing unto this our Lord; let us make a joyful noise unto 
 this Rock of our salvation." 
 
 " 2. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joy- 
 ful noise unto him with psalms." 
 
 The " presence" of Jehovah dwelt formerly between the cherubim, in a 
 tabernacle, or temple, made with hands, whither the Israelites v/ere to 
 resort, until God became manifest in the flesh. After that time, the Divine 
 presence left the synagogue, and removed into the Christian church ; by 
 her we are now invited to " come before that presence with thanksgiving," 
 and, while we " make a joyful noise," by chanting these divine "psalms," 
 to imitate in some measure, the heavenly choirs, who " rest not" from their 
 blessed employment of praising God, "day nor night," Rev. iv. 8. 
 
276 A COMMENTARY Psam XCV. 
 
 " 3. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods." 
 
 It is not without reason, that we are exhorted to give thanks and praise 
 unto our God and King; for he is " worthy to receive glory and blessing," 
 Rev. V. 12. ; he is a God above all that are called by that name; above 
 those deities, which were once worshipped by the ancient heathen; above 
 the world, which still continues to be an object of adoration among infa- 
 tuated mortals. His throne is over all, and power and dominion are his. 
 
 " 4. In his hand are the deep places of the earth ; the strength of the 
 hills is his also. 5. The sea is his, and he made it : and his hands formed 
 the dry land.'''' 
 
 The treasures, which lie hid in the "deep places" of the earth beneath ; 
 the majestic pride and " strength of the hills," which tower above, and 
 lift up their heads to heaven ; the unnumbered waves of the great and 
 wide "sea," which roll in perpetual motion round the world; the rich 
 and variegated produce of the " dry land," crowned with verdure and 
 beauty ; together with everything that liveth in the waters or on the earth; 
 all are under the government of our God ; by him were all things created ; 
 by him have all things been redeemed^ 
 
 " 6. come, let us worship and bow down : let us kneel before the Lord 
 our Maker." 
 
 As in the beginning of the Psalm we are called upon to "praise" Jeho- 
 vah, so here we are invited to humble ourselves before him in "prayer." 
 From him we had our being ; him therefore we are to supplicate for every 
 other blessing, both in this life and that which is to come. And since he 
 made our bodies as well as our souls, it is meet and right that they should 
 bear their part in his service, and that internal worship should be accompa- 
 nied and signified by that which is external. 
 
 " 7. For he is our God ; and we are the people of his pasture, and the 
 sheep of his hand." 
 
 An additional reason why we should both praise Jehovah and pray to 
 him, is the peculiar relation into which he hath been pleased to put him- 
 self by the covenant of grace ; " he is our God :" we are the objects of his 
 tender care and unspeakable love ; we are his " people !" and his " sheep ;" 
 his chosen flock, which he hath purchased with his blood, which he feeds 
 with his word, and refreshes with his Spirit, in fair and pleasant pastures. 
 From these pastures, O thou good Shepherd ! suffer us not to stray ; or, if 
 we do stray, bring us speedily back again, by any means, which thou, ia 
 thine infinite wisdom, shalt think fit. Wholesome is the discipline which 
 drives us into the fold, and keeps us there. 
 
 " To-day if ye will hear his voice, 8. Harden not your heart, as in 
 the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness ; 9. 
 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work." 
 
 The first clause of these two verses may be joined to the preceding 
 verse, thus, " He is our God, we are the people of his pasture and the sheep 
 • of his hand, if ye will hear his voice to-day," that is, if ye will be his obe- 
 dient people, he will continue to be your God. Or else, the word ON, trans- 
 lated " if," may be rendered in the optative form — " that you would hear 
 his voice to-day," sayihg unto you, " Harden not," &c. However this be, 
 what follows, to the end of the Psalm, is undoubtedly spoken in the person 
 of God himself, who may be considered as addressing us, in these latter 
 days, by the Gospel of his Son ; for so the Apostle teaches us to apply the 
 whole passage, Heb. iii. 4. The Israelites, when they came out of Egypt, 
 had a day of probation, and a promised rest to succeed it; but by unbelief 
 and disobedience, they to whom it was promised, that is, the generation of 
 those who came out of Egypt fell short of it, and died in the wilderness. 
 The Gospel, in like manner, offers, both to Jew and Gentile, another day of 
 probation in this world, and another promised rest to succeed it, w-hich 
 remaineth for the people of God in heaven. All whom it concerns are, 
 therefore, exhorted to beware, lest they forfeit the second rest, as murmur- 
 
DAT XIX. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 277 
 
 ing and rebellious Israel came short of tlie firsi. The verses now before us 
 allude to what passed at the place called " Massah," and " Meribah," from 
 the people there " tempting'," and striving with their God, notwithstanding 
 all the mighty works which he had wrought for them before their eyes. 
 Exod. xvii. 7. 
 
 " 10. Forty years long was I grieved, or, disgusted, with this generation, 
 and said, It jsa people that do err in their hearts, and they have not known 
 my ways." 
 
 O the desperate presumption of man, that he should offend hrs Maker 
 "forty years!" O the patience and long-suffering of his Maker, that he 
 should allow him forty years to offend in ! Sin begins in the " heart," by 
 its desires, " wandering" and going astray after forbidden objects ; whence 
 follows inattention to the " ways" of God ; to his dispensations, and our own 
 duty. Lust in the heart, like vapour in the stomach, soon affects the head, 
 and clouds the understanding. 
 
 "11. Unto whom I sware in my wrath, that they should not enter into 
 my rest." 
 
 Exclusion from Canaan was the punishment of Israelitish contumacy; 
 exclusion from heaven is to be the punishment of disobedience among 
 Christians. To take vengeance on those who reject the gospel terms, is no 
 less a part of the covenant and oath of God, than it is to save and glorify 
 those who accept them. Yet men continue deliberately to commit those 
 sins, which the Almighty standeth thus engaged to punish with destruc- 
 tion !* " Take heed," therefore, " brethren, lest there be in any of you 
 an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one 
 another, daily; while it is called to-day, lest any of you be hardened 
 through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if 
 we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end ; while it is 
 said. To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts as in the 
 provocation. For some when they had heard, did provoke; howbeit, not 
 all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved 
 forty years'? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell 
 in the wilderness % And to whom sware he that they should not enter into 
 his rest, but to them that believed not ? So we see that they could not 
 enter in because of unbelief. Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being 
 made us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of 
 it. For unto us was the Gospel preached, as well as unto them ; but the 
 word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that 
 heard it." Heb. iii. 12, &c. 
 
 PSALM XCVI. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 By common consent of Jews and Christians, we apply this Psalm to the times of 
 Messiah, 1 — 4. Men are exhorted to sing his praises ; to declare his salvation ; 
 4, 5. to acknowledge his supremacy over the gods of the nations, with, 6. 
 the glory and beauty of his sanctuary ; 7 — 9. to give him tlie honour, the 
 worship, and the obedience due unto him, and, 10. to publish the glad tidings 
 of his kingdom being established : 11 — 13. the whole creation is called upon to 
 rejoice at this great event. We find, by 1 Chron. xvi. that David delivered 
 out this Psalm, to be sung on occasion of temporal blessings, prefigurative of 
 future spiritual ones. 
 
 *Sensu3 hujusloci ex Paulo sicconcinnandus: nempe requiem a Deo Israelitisesse promis- 
 sam in terra Clianaricefi ;omnestaraen interim in (iesertocecidisse hac requie frustrates : quare 
 Spiritum Sanctum per Davidem ad novam requiem invitasse ; ad novum illud sabbatum ab ipso 
 mundi exordio diei septimac requie figuratum, novumque indivisse diem quo sub Christo, in 
 Ecclesia, ac coelesti patria quiesceremus, nisi essemus increduli : unde sic concludit Faulus: 
 " Festinemus ingredi in illam requiem." Bossuet. 
 
 24 
 
278 A COMMENTARY Psaim XCVI. 
 
 "1. O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the 
 earth." 
 
 Jehovah, our Redeemer, is the person whose praises are to^ be sung. 
 They are to be sung in a " new" song ; a song calculated to celebrate new 
 mercies, prefigured by old ones wrought for Israel in former times; a song 
 fit for the voices of renewed and regenerate men to sing in a new Jerusalem, 
 in those new heavens and that new earth, which constitute the new crea- 
 tion, or kingdom of Jesus Christ. And as the mercies of God are universal, 
 extending themselves not only to the Jews, but to all the nations of the 
 earth, all the nations of the earth are therefore exhorted to bearapart in this 
 new song; "Sing unto the Lord a new song : sing unto the Lord, all the 
 earth." Thus !St. John, after reckoning up the 144,000, or full number of 
 those who were sealed to salvation from among the tribes of Israel, pro- 
 ceeds to tell us, that he " beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man 
 could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood 
 before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and 
 
 f>alms in their hands." All these sung a new song, which none could 
 earn but the redeemed; they "cried with a loud voice, saying. Salvation 
 to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb." See Rev. v. 
 vii. xiv. 
 
 " 2. Sing unto the Lord, bless his name ; shew forth his salvation from 
 day to day." 
 
 Again are we excited to sing unto the Lord Jesus, and in Psalms, and 
 hymns, and spiritual songs, to bless his saving name. The latter clause 
 of the verse is very expressive in the original, ^2\if2, " preach," or " evan-i 
 gelize his salvation from day to day;" let it be the constant theme of all 
 your discourses ; publish it to the world in every possible way, by your 
 words, and by your actions ; and while God allows you breath and life, let 
 one day transmit the glorious employment to another, until it be resumed 
 and continued in heaven to all eternity. 
 
 " 3. Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all peo- 
 ple." 
 
 The "glory" of Messiah in his incarnation, his life, his death, resurrec- 
 tion, ascension, and kingdom; the " wonders" or miracles by him wrought 
 upon the bodies and souls of men; these were the things "declared among 
 the heathen," even "among all people," by the apostles and their succes- 
 sors; these things are still declared, by the Scriptures read, and sermons 
 preached in the church, which was gathered originally from among the 
 Gentiles. 
 
 " 4. For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised : he is to be feared 
 above all gods. 5, For all the gods of the nations are idols, or, things of 
 nought: but the Lord made the heavens." 
 
 Christ is to he celebrated, his glory and wonders are to be declared, be- 
 cause he is, in every possible sense, " great;" great in dignity, in power, 
 in mercy; and, therefore, " greatly to be praised" by every creature. The 
 heavens and heavenly bodies, adored by the nations, were no gods, but the 
 works of his hands, who hath fixed his everlasting throne high above them 
 all. At the publication of the Gospel, idolatry fell before it; and what is 
 the world itself but one great idol, which is to fall and disappear in like 
 manner? 
 
 " 6. Honour and majesty are before him ; strength and beauty are in liis 
 sanctuary." 
 
 What are the splendour and the magnificence of earthly courts, when 
 compared with that glory and majesty, the unutterable brightness of which 
 fills the court of the heavenly King] some portion of this celestial light is 
 communicated through grace to the Christian church, which is described by 
 St. John, under images borrowed from the figurative sanctuary, and the earthly 
 Jerusalem, as an edifice composed of gold and precious stones, illuminated 
 by the glory of God and the Lamb, residing in the midst of it. See Rev. xxi. 
 
Day XIX. M. p. ON THE PSALMS. 279 
 
 " 7. Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds, or, families, or, tribes, of the 
 people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. 8. Give unto the Lord the 
 glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. 9. 
 worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness : fear before him all the 
 earth." 
 
 \\\ these three verses, the tribes of the spiritual Israel are enjoined to as- 
 cribe to their Redeemer all " glory and strength," as essentially inherent la 
 him, and by him communicated to his people; to give him the entire " glory 
 of his name," and of that salvation imported by it; to bring the " sacri- 
 fices" of the new law, and to assemble in the " courts" of his house ; to 
 worship him in that " beauty of holiness," which is constituted by the re- 
 gular and solemn services of the church; to fear and obey him, as the sub- 
 jects of a King, invested with plenitude of power in heaven and earth. 
 
 "10. 8ay among the heathen, That the Lord reigneth: the world also 
 shall be established that it shall not be moved: he shall judge the people 
 righteously." 
 
 In other words — Make proclamation, therefore, O ye apostles and preachers 
 of the Gospel, that a new and eternal kingdom is erected; the usurped em- 
 pire of Satan is overthrown, and the Lord Jesus having redeemed mankind, 
 reigneth in the hearts of his people by faith; a community is formed, not 
 upon the plan of secular policy, out upon the divine principle of heavenly 
 love ; it is established on immoveable foundations, nor shall the gates of 
 hell prevail against it ; righteousness shall dwell in it, since He, who is 
 the King of Righteousness, presides, directs, and determines all things, by 
 his word and his Spirit. 
 
 " U. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, 
 and the fulness thereof. 13. Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it: 
 then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord." 
 
 Transported with a view of these grand events, and beholding in spirit 
 the advent of King Messiah, the Psalmist exults in most jubilant and tri- 
 umphant strains, calling the whole creation to break forth into joy, and to 
 celebrate the glories of redemption. The heavens, with the innumerable 
 orbs fixed in them, which, while they roll and shine, declare the glory of 
 beatified saints ; the earth, which, made fertile by celestial influences, 
 showeth the work of grace on the hearts of men here below ; the field, 
 which, crowned with a produce of a hundred fold, displayeth an emblem 
 of the fruit yielded by the seed of the Word, in the church: the trees of 
 the wood, lofty, verdant, and diffusive, apt representatives of holy persons, 
 those " trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah," (Isa. Ixi. 3.) 
 whose examples are eminent, fair, and extensive ; all these are by the pro- 
 phet excited to join in a chorus of thanksgiving to the Maker and Redeemer 
 of the world. 
 
 " 13. For he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth : he shall judge 
 the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth." 
 
 The coming of Christ is twofold ; first, he came to sanctify the creature, 
 and he will come again to glorify it. Either of his kingdoms, that of grace, 
 or that of glory, may be signified by his "judging the world in righteous- 
 ness and truth." If creation be represented as rejoicing at the establish- 
 ment of the former, how much greater will the joy be at the approach of the 
 latter, seeing that, notwithstanding Christ be long since come in the flesh, 
 though he be ascended into heaven, and hath sent the Spirit from thence, 
 yet the whole creation, as the Apostle speaks, Rom. viii. 2'2. " groaneth 
 and travaileth in pain together until now, expecting to be delivered from the 
 bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. And 
 not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, 
 even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, 
 the redemption of the body;" when, at the renovation of all things, njan, 
 new made, shall return to the days of his youth, to begin an immortal 
 spring, and be for ever young. 
 
2S0 A COMMENTARY Psalm XCVII. 
 
 PSALM XCVII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In this Psalm, 1, the reign of Christ is again celebrated, and the nations are 
 again called to rejoice on that account: 2 — 7. he is described as taking ven- 
 geance on his enemies, overthrowing idolatry in the heathen world, com- 
 manding adoration from all creatures, and 8, 9. inspiring gladness into the 
 the church, by subduing her enemies: 10 — 12. The duties of holiness, thank- 
 fulness, and rehgious joy, are inculcated. 
 
 " 1. The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of the 
 isles be glad thereof." 
 
 Triumphant over death and hell, the Lord Jesus is gone up on high, and 
 " reigneth." What greater cause can the whole earth have to " rejoice;" 
 yea, even the most distant isles of the Gentiles to " be glad," and to sing 
 for joy; since they are all become his subjects, and share the unspeakable 
 blessing's of so gracious a reign. We Britons, as inhabiting one of those 
 heathen isles, and enjoying so fair a portion of evangelical blessings, have 
 reason to repeat this verse with a particular pleasure and energy. The He- 
 brews called by the name of " isles," □"}<, not only countries surrounded 
 by the sea, but all the countries which the sea divided from them ; so that 
 the terra became synonymous with Gentiles. Thus, it is said, Isa. xlii. 
 4. "The ISLES shall wait for his law;" which passage, Matt. xii. 21. is 
 expounded as follows, " In him shall the Gentiles trust." 
 
 " 2. Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judg- 
 ment are the habitation, or, establishment, of his throne." 
 
 When the mercy and grace of our heavenly King are to be described, he 
 is likened to the sun shining in a clear firmament, and gladdening universal 
 nature with his beneficent rays. But when we are to conceive an idea of 
 him, as going forth, in "justice and judgment" to discomfit and punish his 
 adversaries, the imagery is then borrowed from a troubled sky; he is pic- 
 tured as surrounded by " clouds and darkness;" from whence issue light- 
 nings and thunders, storms and tempests, affrighting and confounding the 
 wicked and impenitent. 
 
 " 3. A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about. 
 4. His lightnings enlightened the world : the earth saw and trembled. 5. 
 The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of 
 the Lord of the whole earth." 
 
 The judgments of God, and their effects upon the world, are here set 
 forth under the usual similitude of lightning and fire from heaven, causing 
 the earth to tremble, and the mountains to melt and dissolve away. The 
 exaltation of Christ to the throne of his kingdom, was followed by a dread- 
 ful display of that vengeance, which broke in pieces the Jewish nation, and 
 brought their civil and religious polity to an utter dissolution. In the 
 history of their destruction, the world of the ungodly may view a striking 
 picture of the great and terrible day, when the Lord Jesus shall render a 
 recompense to all his enemies. He is then to descend in flaming fire; light- 
 nings shall be his harbingers; the earth shall tremble; and the hills shall, 
 literally, " melt like wax at the presence of Jehovah." 
 
 " 6. The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his 
 glory." 
 
 " The heavens," by the manifestation of vengeance from thence, reveal, 
 declare, and proclaim, the "righteous" judgments of Messiah; and "all 
 the people" upon earth are witnesses of the "glory" of his victory over 
 everything that opposeth itself to the establishment of his kingdom. This 
 will be more eminently the case at the second advent, when the trumpet of 
 the archangel shall proclaim his approach in the clouds of heaven, and all 
 
Day XIX. M. P, ON THE PSALMS. 
 
 281 
 
 the tribes of the earth shall see him coming in the glory of his Father, with 
 the holy angels. 
 
 " 7. Confounded be, or, shall be, all they that serve graven imao-es, that 
 boast themselves of idols : worship him all ye gods." 
 
 When Jesus was exalted, his Gospel published, and his power and glory 
 made known in the heathen world, men grew " ashamed" of their " imao-es, 
 and boasted themselves in their idols" no more. The last clause of "our 
 verse, " Worship him, all ye gods," declares the supremacy of Christ, 
 over all that are called gods, !ID'n'7N, in heaven and in eartli, who are en- 
 joined to pay adoration unto him, instead of claiming it for themselves. 
 
 "8. Zion heard, and was glad ; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced, be- 
 cause of thy judgments, O Lord. 9. For thou, Lord, art high above all 
 the earth ; thou art exalted far above all gods." 
 
 The inhabitants of the new " Sion," or the people of God, " heard" the 
 tidings, that idolaters and idols were fallen, and the Lord Jesus reio-ned 
 triumphant; they heard, "and were glad; the daughters of Judah," or 
 Christian churches, "rejoiced" in the Holy Ghost, and joy unspeakable, 
 " because of these judgments" of their God upon his enemies, whereby he 
 evinced himself superior to the powers of the earth, and the gods of the 
 nations. Thus at the fall of Babylon, it is said. Rev. xviii. 20. "Rejoice 
 over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets, for God hath 
 avenged you on her." And Eusebius speaks in the following terms of the 
 times under Constantine, which succeeded the overthrow of Maxentius and 
 Maximin ; "A bright and glorious day, no cloud overshadowing it, did 
 enlighten with rays of heavenly light the churches of Christ ove" all the 
 earth: — and among all Christians there was an inexpressible joy, and a 
 kind of celestial gladness." Ecclesiast. Hist. B. x. 
 
 " 10. Ye that love the Lord, hate evil : he preserveth the souls of his 
 saints ; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked." 
 
 Having sung the glory of the Redeemer, the Psalmist delineates the duty 
 of the redeemed. They are characterized by their " love to God ;" they are 
 enjoined to " hate evil;" this hatred is, indeed, a consequence, and a sure 
 proof of that love, when it is genuine and sincere. Religion must be rooted 
 in the heart, and spring from thence. A Christian must not oniy serve 
 God outwardly, but must inwardly love him; he must not content himself 
 with abstaining from overt acts of sin, but must truly hate it. They who 
 do so, are "the saints of God, whose souls he preserveth" from evil, and 
 will finally deliver them from the evil one and his associates, by a happy 
 death, and a glorious resurrection. 
 
 "11. Light is Sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in 
 heart." 
 
 However gloomy our prospect may at any time be, let us wait patiently, 
 as the husbandman doth all the winter, in expectation of a future crop from 
 the seed which lieth buried in the earth. " Light and gladness are sown 
 for the righteous and true-liearted," though they may not yet appear; the 
 seed-time is in this world; the harvest will be in that to come. "Indue 
 season we shall reap, if we faint not." Gal. vi. 9. 
 
 " 13. Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remem^ 
 brance of his holiness." 
 
 Tribulation itself, therefore, should not prevent our "rejoicing in Jehovah 
 our righteousness," who justifieth us from our sins; no adversity ought to 
 make us negligent in celebrating, with thanksgiving, the "commemorations 
 of his holiness," which the church hath appointed to be observed ; to the 
 end that we may always remember with gratitude how great things he hath 
 done for us already, and reflect with comfort on those much greater things 
 which he hath promised to do for us hereafter. 
 
 3-1* 
 
282 ' A COMMENTARY Psalm XCVIH. 
 
 NINETEENTH DAY-— EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM XCVIII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In tliis evang'elical hymn, the Prophet, 1 — 3. extols the miracles, the victory, 
 the salvation, the righteousness, the mercy, and truth of the Redeemer ; on 
 account of which, 4 — 9. calls upon man and the whole creation, to rejoice, 
 and praise Jehovah. 
 
 " 1. O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous 
 things : his right hand and his holy arm hath gotten him the victory." 
 
 NevF mercies and wonders demand new songs. And what mercies, what 
 wonders can be compared with those wrought by the holy Jesus 1 " Go and 
 tell John," saith he to John's disciples; go and tell all the world, saith he 
 to his own disciples, "the things which ye see, and hear;" the marvellous 
 things which I do to the bodies and to the souls of men. "The blind 
 receive their sight," and the ignorant minds are enlightened with know- 
 ledge; "the lame walk," and strength is communicated to impotent souls; 
 *' the lepers are cleansed," and the lascivious rendered chaste ; " the deaf 
 hear," and the obstinate listen to instruction and reproof; " the dead are 
 raised," and sinners justified; "the Gospel is preached," and the world 
 converted. "His own right hand, and his holy arm," hath done these 
 marvellous things, without and against all worldly power; not by spear and 
 sword, but by patience and charity, he hath "gotten the victory," and 
 gained the glorious day. 
 
 " 2. The Lord hath made known his salvation : his righteousness hath 
 he openly showed in the sight of the heathen." 
 
 The "salvation" of Jehovah was made known by the preaching of 
 Christ himself in Judea, for the space of three years; " his righteousness," 
 whereby sinners are justified, was " openly showed," by the sermons of 
 his apostles, " in the sight of the heathen." Still let that salvation be 
 made known, still let that righteousness be openly showed, by the mi- 
 nisters of the Gospel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in, and the 
 remnant of the Jews converted ; until antichrist be overthrown, and death 
 himself fallen before the all-conquering cross. 
 
 " 3. He hath remembered his mercy and truth toward the house of 
 Israel : all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God." 
 
 In sending the Messiah, God showed himself mindful of the promises, 
 which "mercy" prompted him to make, and " truth" required him to per- 
 form. These promises were made to "the house of Israel;" to the lost 
 sheep of that house, Christ declared himself sent ; and the apostles oflfered 
 salvation first to the Jews ; but to them it was never intended that evan- 
 gelical blessings should be confined. The prophets spake in plain terms 
 of the call of the Gentiles, who were to be adopted into the holy family, and 
 mside the children of Abraham. The Gospel was accordingly preached to 
 the nations, the apostles made their progress through the world, and " all 
 the ends of the earth saw the salvation of God." The Jews fell from the 
 faith of their fathers, and, to this day, continue in their apostacy. And are 
 not the Gentiles, in their turn, falling away, after the same example of un- 
 belief? " Remember," yet once again, O Lord, thy " mercy and truth 
 towards the house of Israel; yet once again let "all the ends of the earth 
 see thy salvation." 
 
 " 4. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth : make a loud noise, 
 and rejoice, and sing praise. 5. Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with 
 the harp and voice of a psalm. G. With trumpets and sound of cornet, 
 make a joyful noise before the Lord the King." 
 
Day XIX. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 283 
 
 The Psalmist, beholding in spirit the accomplishment of the promises, 
 the advent of Christ, and the glory of his kingdom, thinks it criminal in any 
 creature to be silent; he bids the whole earth break forth into joy, and exult 
 in God her Saviour, virith every token of gratitude and thankfulness; with 
 voices, and instruments of all kinds, in perfect harmony, with tempers and 
 affections according in like manner, men are enjoined to sound aloud the 
 praises of their great Redeemer. 
 
 " 7. Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that 
 dwell therein. 8. Let the floods clap their hands : let the hills be joyful 
 together, 9. Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth; with 
 righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity." 
 
 The inanimate parts of creation are called upon to bear their parts in the 
 new song, and to fill up the universal chorus of praise and thanksgiving, ia 
 honour of him that sitteth upon the throne. Or, perhaps, the converted 
 heathen nations are intended under the figures of the " sea," the "rivers," 
 and "the hills," and their exultations expressed by the noise of many 
 waters, their beauty and fruitfulness by those of the hills, when, crowned 
 with plenty, they, as it were, laugh and sing at the approach of harvest. 
 The subject of this general joy is, as before, in Psalm xcvi. 13. the advent 
 of Messiah to reform the world, to execute judgment upon the wicked, and 
 to establish a kingdom of righteousness upon the earth. We expect his 
 second advent to restore all things, to judge the world, to condemn his 
 enemies, and to begin his glorious reign. Then shall heaven and earth 
 rejoice, and the joy of the redeemed shall be full. 
 
 PSALM XCIX. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 Under images borrowed from the old dispensation, the Prophet celebrates, 1. 
 the reign of Messiah, and the submission of his enemies ; 2 — 4. his exaltation, 
 holiness, power, and justice; which, 5. men are exhorted to acknowledge 
 and adore. 6 — 9. The examples of Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, are intro- 
 duced, to encourage us in worshipping and serving our God and Saviour. 
 
 *' 1. The Lord reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the 
 cherubims ; let the earth be moved, or, bow." 
 
 Jehovah reigneth in the Christian church, as he did of old in the Jewish 
 temple; when he appeared between the cherubims in the holy of holies, ia 
 the form and likeness of a man, encompassed with glory, Ezek. i. 26. 
 Numb. vii. 89. he subdued the enemies of Israel, when they raged most 
 furiously against his people : he will also bring into subjection the adver- 
 saries of the Gospel, and finally render us victorious over the powers of 
 darkness. The passions and affections may mutiny and rebel ; but if Christ 
 reign in the heart by faith, they must soon tremble and submit. 
 
 " 2. The Lord is great in Zion, and he is high above all people. 3. Let 
 them praise thy great and terrible name ; for it is holy." 
 
 The power and pre-eminence of the Redeemer, whom no creature is able 
 to resist, are reasons why all should save themselves, by yielding in time 
 to his sceptre; by taking the benefit of his protection, insteadof incurring 
 his displeasure; by "praising his great, terrible, and holy name," instead 
 of suflfering the almighty vengeance, which he who owns that name can 
 inflict. 
 
 "4. The King's strength also loveth judgment: thou dost establish 
 equity; thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob. 5. Exalt ye 
 the Lord our God, and worship at his footstool ; for he is holy." 
 
 For although the "strength" of our King be infinite, yet is it never ex- 
 erted but in "righteousness" and just "judgment," which are his delight; 
 they compose the firm basis of his throne, and direct his whole administra- 
 
234 A COMMENTARY Psalm C 
 
 tion. Impenitent rebels must feel the weitrht of his arm, and none can 
 accuse the justice of their punishment ; but in all other cases, he is " mighty 
 only to save," Isa. Ixiii. 1. This holiness of his proceedings, this due tem- 
 perament of justice with mercy, the redeemed are exhorted to acknowledge 
 and to proclaim, falling down before the tlirone, and uttering the angelical 
 trisagion, " Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and 
 is to come." 
 
 " 6. Moses and Aaron among his priests, or, chief rulers, and Samuel 
 among them that call upon his name; they called upon the Lord, and he 
 answered them. 7. He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept 
 his testimonies, and the ordinances fhat he gave them." 
 
 To encourage the faithful in the worship of God, the examples of Moses, 
 Aaron, and Samuel, are adduced, men of like infirmities with ourselves, 
 whose prayers were heard both for themselves and others, and answers 
 were returned to them from the mystic cloud, that symbol of the Divine 
 presence, which, for awhile, was intinerant with the camp in the wilder- 
 ness, and then became fixed in the tabernacle at Shiloh,till its last removal 
 to mount Sion. These men were heard through the intercession of the 
 great Mediator, whom they represented. Through that same intercession, 
 our prayers also are heard, if we " keep his testimonies, and the ordinances 
 that he hath given us." 
 
 "8. Thou answerest them, O Lord our God : thou wast a God that for- 
 gavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions." 
 
 The construction of the verse seems to be this : " O Lord our God, thou 
 didst hear or answer them," that is, the aforementioned typical mediators, 
 Moses, Aaron, and Samuel; "thou becamest a forbearing God for them," 
 or, at their intercession: and that, even when punishing, or, when thou 
 hadst begun to punish the wicked deeds of them, that is, not of Moses, 
 Aaron, and Samuel, but of the people who had transgressed, and for whom 
 they interceded. This was the case, when Moses interceded for the idola- 
 ters, Exod. xxxii. 32. ; Aaron for tlie schismatics. Numb. xvi. 47. ; and 
 Samuel for the whole nation, 1 Sam. vii. 9. " Pray one for another," saith 
 an apostle to Christians, "that ye may be healed: the effectual fervent 
 prayer of a righteous man availeth much," James v. 16. 
 
 " 9. Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy hill : for the Lord 
 our God is holy." 
 
 The Psalmist repeats his exhortation, enforced by the preceding examples 
 of Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, and again invites all people to worship a 
 holy God in a holy place, and to adore the consummate rectitude of all his 
 proceedings, singing, with the spirits above, " Great and marvellous are thy 
 works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of 
 saints," Rev. xv. 3. 
 
 PSALM C. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The Psalmist invites all the world to join with the Isr.ielites in the service of 
 him who was kind and gracious to them beyond expression. Accordingly, 
 we Christians now properly use this Psalm in acknowledg-ment of God's 
 wonderful love to us in Clirist ; by whom we offer up continually spiritual 
 sacrifices, for redeeming" us by the sacrifice which he made of himself; for 
 making tlie world anew, and creating us again unto good works ; according 
 to his faithful promises, wliich we may depend upon for ever. — Pathick. 
 
 " 1. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands, 2. Serve the 
 Lord with gladness; come before his presence with singing." 
 
 The prophet addresseth himself to " all lands," or to " all the earth ;" to 
 Gentiles as well as Jews. He exhorteth them to "make a joyful noise, a 
 noise" like that of the trumpets at the time of jubilee, a sound of universal 
 
Day XIX. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 285 
 
 triumph and exultation, in honour of Jehovah, now become their Lord and 
 Saviour. The service of this our Master is perfect freedom; it is a service 
 of love, and freedom from Pharaoh and the task-masters, from Satan and 
 our own imperious lusts ; it is a redemption from the most cruel bondage, 
 into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. Let us thererefore do as we 
 are commanded ; let us "serve the Lord with gladness;" and when we 
 come "before his presence" in the temple, let it be with singing to the 
 praise and glory of our Redeemer. Thus he is served in heaven, and thus 
 he delighteth to be served on earth. 
 
 " 3. Know ye that the Lord he is God : it is he that hath made us, and 
 not we ourselves : we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture : or, he 
 hath made us, and we are his,* his people, and the sheep of his pasture." 
 
 The motives here urged for serving and praising Jehovah, are the same 
 with those above, in Psalm xcv. 6, 7. namely, that he is " our God," 
 engaged by covenant on our behalf; that his hands created us, and have 
 since new created us ; that we stand in the peculiar relation of " his peo- 
 ple," whom he hath chosen to himself, and over whom he presideth as 
 King; that we are "the sheep of his pasture," for whom the good Shep- 
 herd laid down his life, and whom he nourisheth by the word and sacra- 
 ments unto eternal life. These are points which every Christian ought to 
 know and believe, unto his soul's health. And whoever doth know them 
 aright, will ever be ready with heart and voice to obey the injunction which 
 followeth in the next verse. 
 
 "4. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with 
 praise : be thankful unto him, and bless his name." 
 
 The Christian church is a temple, whose " gates" stand continually 
 open for the admission of the nations, from all the four quarters of the 
 world, Rev. xxi. 13. 25. Into the " courts" of this temple, which are now 
 truly " courts of the Gentiles," all men are invited to come, and offer their 
 evangelical sacrifices of" confession and praise ;" to express their gratitude 
 to their Saviour, and " bless" his gracious and hallowed " name." How glo- 
 rious will be that day which shall behold the everlasting gates of heaven 
 lifting up their heads, and disclosing to view those courts above, into which 
 the children of the resurrection are to enter, there with angels and archan- 
 gels to dwell and sing for evermore ! 
 
 "5. For the Lord js good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth en- 
 dureth to all generations." 
 
 " Jehovah is good ;" he is the source of all beauty and perfection in the 
 creature; how altogether lovely must he needs be in himself! "His 
 mercy is everlasting," extending through time into eternity; "and his 
 truth," or fidelity, in accomplishing his promises, " endureth to all genera- 
 tions," evidenced to the whole race of mankind from Adam to his last born 
 son. The Psalms, which celebrate these attributes, will never, therefore, 
 be out of date, but each successive generation will chant them with fresh 
 propriety, and fresh delight, until by saints and angels they are sung new 
 in the kingdom of God. 
 
 PSALM CL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In the person of David, advanced to the throne of Israel, we hear King Mes- 
 siah declaring how he intended to walk, and to govern his household the 
 church, and also describing the qualifications which he should require in his 
 ministers and servants. 
 
 * " I am persuaded that the Masoretical correction tbi (and we are his) is right : the conBtrue- 
 tion and parallelism both favour it." —Bishop LmMh. A correspondent suggests— Might nol the 
 clause be rendered interrogatively—" Are not we his people, and the sheep of bis pasture 3" 
 
286 A. COMMENTARY Psalm CI. 
 
 " 1. I will sing of mercy and judgment : unto thee, Lord, will I sing." 
 
 David, having determined to sing unto Jehovah, chooseth for his theme 
 " mercy and judgment :" either that mercy which God had shown to him, 
 and that judgment which had been inflicted on his enemies; or else, that 
 upright administration of mercy and judgment, with which he himself in- 
 tended to bless his people. The righteous administration of mercy and 
 judgment in the kingdom of Messiah, is a topic on which his subjects 
 always expatiate with pleasure and profit. His mercy encourageth the 
 greatest of sinners to hope ; his judgments forbid the best of men to pre- 
 sume. 
 
 " 2. I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou 
 come unto me ] I will walk within my house v/ith a perfect heart." 
 
 In return for the favours of Heaven, we hear the Israelitish monarch 
 declaring his resolution to set his court and kingdom an example of true 
 wisdom, and unshaken integrity ; at the same time, sighing for that visita- 
 tion of divine grace, which alone could enable him to put his resolution in 
 practice — " O when will thou come unto me 1" This was ever the voice 
 of the church, longing for the presence of God in human nature, " O when 
 wilt thou come unto me ]" And this must ever be the wish of a Christian, 
 who knoweth that though in himself he be nothing, yet that he can do all 
 things through Christ, who strengthenelh him by his Spirit in the inner 
 man. Messiah was the only King of Israel whose life held forth to his 
 subjects a perfect pattern of wisdom and righteousness, and whose death 
 procured them grace, in their different measures and degrees, to follow it. 
 
 " 3. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes : I hate the work of 
 them that turn aside; it shall not cleave unto me." 
 
 " I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes ;" that is, I will not propose 
 to myself, or think of carrying into execution, any iniquitous scheme of 
 politics, however advantageous and tempting it may appear ; I will turn away 
 my eyes and my attention, and reject it at once : " I hate the work of them 
 tliat turn aside ;" of them who, in their counsels and their actions, deviate 
 from the Divine law, to serve their own interest: " it shall not cleave unto 
 me;" no such corrupt principle shall adhere to my soul, or find a place in 
 my affections. How noble a resolution for a king to make; but how diffi- 
 cult a one for a king to keepi Thou only, O King of Righteousness, didst 
 never set any wicked thing before thine eyes ; thou only hadst a perfect 
 aversion to the ways of transgressors. 
 
 "4. A froward heart shall depart from me; I will not know a wicked 
 person.'''' 
 
 As is the king, so will be the court; as is the master of tlie house, such 
 will be those of his household. David, having resolved to " walk within 
 his house with a perfect," a sincere and upright "heart," determines at the 
 same time to expel from thence all whose hearts were perverted and de- 
 praved ; as he %vould " set no wicked thing before his eyes," so neither 
 would he form any connexions with " wicked persons;" they should not be 
 of his acquaintance, much less should they be his favourites. In the same 
 manner speaketh our heavenly King, with regard to the appointment of 
 his ministers and servants — " I know you not, whence you are ; depart from 
 me, all ye workers of iniquity," Luke xiii, 27. 
 
 " 5. Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him 
 that hath an high look, and a proud, or, extended, and therefore insatiable 
 heart, will not I suffer." 
 
 Detraction, ambition, and avarice, are three weeds which spring and flou- 
 rish in the rich soil of a court. The Psalmist declareth his resolution to 
 undertake the diflicult task of eradicating them, for the benefit of his people, 
 that Israelites might not be harassed by informers, or oppressed by insolent 
 and rapacious ministers. Shall we imagine these vices less odious in the 
 eyes of that King, whose character was composed of humility and charity ; 
 
Dai XX. M. P. ON THE PSAI.MS. 287 
 
 or will Christ admit those tempers into the court of heaven, which David 
 determined to exclude from his court upon earth? 
 
 " 6. Mine eyes shall he upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell 
 with me : he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me." 
 
 The " eyes" of princes cannot be better employed, than in looking- around 
 them, in order to choose from among their own subjects, fit and able men 
 to transact the public business; men of inviolable "fidelity" and unshaken 
 integrity; men who know how to think aright, and how to speak what they 
 tliink; men likewise who "walk in the perfect way" of holiness, who do 
 not disgrace their politics by their lives, or prejudice their master's cause 
 by their sins, more than they can ever advance it by their abilities. Bishops 
 may be called the eyes of Christ; they are to overlook his people, and we 
 pray him at the seasons of ordination, " so to guide and govern their minds, 
 that they may faithfully and wisely make choice of fit persons to serve in 
 the sacred ministry of the church." 
 
 " 7. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house : he that 
 telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight." 
 
 To purge a court of "deceit and falsehood," was a resolution worthy 
 king David, worthy the representative of him who styleth himself the 
 TRUTH, from whose heavenly palace and city will be for ever excluded, as 
 St. John inforraeth us, "whosoever loveth and maketh a lie," Rev. xsii. 
 15. 
 
 " 8. I will early destroy all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off all 
 wicked doers from the city of the Lord." 
 
 Every earthly prince should consider himself as raised to a throne, and 
 invested with power, "for the punishment of wickedness and vice, and the 
 maintenance of God's true religion and virtue." " Early," therefore, in 
 the " morning" of his reign, he should set about the work of reformation, 
 that so the blessings of heaven may descend upon himself and his people, 
 according to the infallible promises of the Most High. And let each indi- 
 vidual, in like manner, and for the same reason, be zealous and diligent to 
 reform his own heart and ways, ever mindful of that future most awful 
 morning, when the King of Righteousness shall cut off, with the sword of 
 eternal judgment, all wicked doers from that city of Jehovah, the new and 
 heavenly Jerusalem. 
 
 TWENTIETH DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM CII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalrn is entitled, " A prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and 
 poureth out his complaint before tlie Lord." It seems to have been written 
 during- the captivity, by one of the prophets, wlio, like Daniel in parellel 
 circumstances, 1, 2. maketh supplication before his God; 3 — 11. setteth 
 forth, in the most affecting- strains, Jiis wretched and sorrowftd estate, or ra- 
 ther, perhaps, that of Jerusalem, which he personates; 12. he comfcrteth 
 himself, by reflecting- on the eternity and immutability of Jehovah; 13 — 24. 
 he predicteth and describcth the restoration of Sion, with lier enlargement 
 by the accession of the Gentiles, when Messiah sliall have visited and re- 
 deemed her; 23, 24. he returneth ag-ain to his lamentations: but, 25 — 28. 
 ag-ain reposeth his confidence on him who created all things, and who would 
 not fail to make good his word and promise, if not to the generation then 
 present, yet to their posterity. This is the fiftii of those styled Penitential 
 Psalms; and St. Paul, Heb. i. 10. hath asserted, that it is addressed to the 
 eternal Son of God, and Saviour of the world. 
 
288 -A- COMMENTARY Psalm CH. 
 
 " 1. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto thee. 2. Hide 
 not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble ; incline thine ear unto 
 me : in the day when I call answer me speedily." 
 
 Sin and sorrow force prayers and cries from the sons of Adam. The 
 first petition here preferred is, that these prayers and cries may be " heard" 
 in heaven. The day of human life is a " day of trouble," a day of dark- 
 ness and gloominess, which nothing can brighten but the light of God's 
 countenance; nothing can render comfortable but a " speedy answer" of 
 mercy and peace from above. 
 
 " 3. For my days are consumed like, or, in, smoke, and my bones are 
 burnt as an hearth, or, a fire-brand." 
 
 The effects of extreme grief on the human frame are compared to those 
 which fire produceth upon fuel. It exhausts the radical moisture, and, by so 
 doing, soon consumes the substance. A man's time and his strength eva- 
 porate in melancholy, and his bones, those pillars and supports of his body, 
 become like wood, on which the fire hath done its work, and left it without 
 6ap, and without cohesion. A single penitent, or a whole church, bewail- 
 ing their respective transgressions, when under the rod of God, may use 
 these words, and will understand the force of them. 
 
 " 4. My heart is smitten, and withered like grass ; so that I forget to eat 
 my bread." 
 
 The metaphor is continued, and the heart itself, out of which flow the 
 streams of life, is represented as suffering that from grief, which the grass 
 of the field suffers from the burning heat of the sun : it is " smitten and 
 withered." And when grief hath thus dejected the spirits, the man has 
 no appetite for that food which is to recruit and elevate them. Ahab, smit- 
 ten with one kind of grief, David with another, Daniel with a third, all 
 *' forgot" or refused " to eat their bread," 1 Kings xxi. 4. 2 Sam. xii. 16. 
 Dan. x. 3. Such natural companions are mourning and fasting. 
 
 " 5. By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones cleave to my 
 skin." 
 
 Extremity of sorrow causeth the flesh to waste, and the bones to press 
 upon the skin, through which they are ready to force their way. Sickness 
 is the chastisement of Heaven, inflicted often upon us to supply the want 
 of that discipline which we should exercise upon ourselves. " For if we 
 would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, 
 we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the 
 world," 1 Cor. xi. 31. 
 
 " 6. I am like the pelican of the wilderness ; I am like an owl, or, bit- 
 tern, of the desert, or, of waste ruinous places. 7. I watch, and am as a 
 sparrow alone upon the house-top." 
 
 The sorrowful man is naturally desirous of retiring from the world, to 
 vent his complaints in solitude, and to pass the nights in watchfulness and 
 prayer. In such a situation the true penitent placeth himself, worthily to 
 bewail his sins, and deprecate the judgments of his God. And in such a 
 situation did captivity place the daughter of Zion, that she might do like- 
 wise. The use which Daniel made of it for this purpose may be seen in 
 the ninth chapter of his book. 
 
 " 8. Mine enemies reproach me all the day ; and they that are mad 
 against me are sworn against me." 
 
 The scoffs and reproaches of men are generally added to the chastise- 
 ments of God ; or rather, perhaps, are a part, and sometimes the bitterest 
 part of them. How the enemies of Jerusalem behaved in the day of her 
 calamity is well known. How carnal and ungodly men behave to a peni' 
 tent, when mourning for his sins under the afilicting hand of Heaven, is as 
 well known. 
 
 " 9. For, or, therefore, I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my 
 drink with weeping. 10. Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for 
 thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down." 
 
Dat XX. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. ogg 
 
 By " eating ashes, and drinking tears," we may understand the same as 
 if it had been said, " I have eaten the bread of humiliation, and drank the 
 water of affliction;" ashes being the emblem of the one, and tears the con- 
 sequence of the other; while the actions of eating and drinking intimate to 
 us the fulness and satiety which the sufferer had experienced of both, from 
 *'the wrath and indignation of God." Prosperity and adversity are from 
 him; " he lifteth up, and he casteth down ;" he lifted up Jerusalem above 
 all the earth, and cast her down to be trodden under foot by the Gentiles. 
 
 " 11. My days are like a shadow that declineth ; and I am withered like 
 grass. 12. But thou, O Lord, shalt endure for ever; and thy remembrance 
 unto all generations." 
 
 A " shadow" never continueth in one stay, but is still gliding impercep- 
 tibly on, lengthening as it goes, and at last vanisheth into darkness. The 
 period of its existence is limited to a day at farthest. The rising sun gives 
 it birth, and in that moment when the sun sets it is no more. The " grass" 
 of the field, in like manner, hath a being of the same duration. In the 
 morning, clothed with verdure and beauty, it refresheth and delighteth the 
 eye of the beholder; but the evening findeth it cut down, dried up, and 
 withered. Such is the life of man, sojourning in this land of his captivity, 
 and doing penance for his sins. But the eternity of Jehovah, the infallibi- 
 lity of his promises, and the remembrance of his former works and mer- 
 cies, comfort our hearts, and encourage us to hope, nay, even to rejoice, in 
 the midst of sorrow and tribulation. 
 
 " 13. Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion : for the time to 
 favour her, yea, the set time is come. 14. For thy servants take pleasure 
 in her stones, and favour the dust thereof." 
 
 From this passage and what follows, it appears, that the suppliant, in 
 this Psalm, bewails not only his own miseries, but those of the church. 
 Israel was in captivity, and Sion a desolation. A "time" notwithstandino-, 
 a " set time" there was at hand, when God had promised to " arise and to 
 have mercy upon her." The bowels of her children yearned over her ruins : 
 they longed to see her rebuilt, and were ready, whenever the word of com- 
 mand should be given, to set heart and hand to the blessed work. Such 
 ought to be our affection towards our Sion, however afflicted and destitute 
 she may at anytime appear to be; such should be our faith in the promises 
 of God concerning the future glorification of his church, af the lime ap- 
 pointed. 
 
 " 15. So the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings 
 of the earth thy glory. 16. When the Lord shall build up Sion, he shall 
 appear in his glory. 17. He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and 
 not despise their prayer." 
 
 The object to which the prophets of old had chiefly respect, was not only 
 the deliverance of Israel from Babylon, and the rebuilding of the material 
 temple, but the salvation of sinners, and the erection of the Christian church 
 in the days of Messiah's kingdom. " When the Lord" Jesus thus " built up 
 Sion, he appeared in his glory ; the heathen feared his name, and all the kings 
 of the earth" adored his majesty, because he had " regarded the prayer of 
 the destitute" sons of Adam, in their worse than Babylonish captivity, and 
 had arisen himself to be their Saviour and mighty Deliverer. We in these 
 latter days look and pray for the second appearance of the same Redeemer, 
 with power and great glory, to raise the dead, and to build up from the 
 dust a Jerusalem which shall experience no more vicissitudes, but continue 
 for ever in unchangeable beauty and brightness. 
 
 " 18. This shall be written for the generation to come; and the people 
 which shall be created shall praise the Lord." 
 
 The history of "this" redemption and restoration by Messiah, thus fore- 
 told, had been " written" in the Gospel for the benefit of " after genera- 
 tions," to the end that " the people who are created" anew in Christ Jesus, 
 may from age to age praise Jehovah, in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual 
 
290 A COMMENTARY Psalm CII. 
 
 songs : as it is done at this day in the church, and ever will continue to be 
 done, till the choirs of heaven and earth shall be united before the throne of 
 the Lamb. 
 
 " 19. For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from 
 heaven did the Lord behold the earth ; 20. To hear the groaning of the 
 prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death; 21. To declare the 
 name of the Lord in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem ; 22. When the peo- 
 ple are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the Lord." 
 
 Redemption is the subject of praise in the Christian church; and the pro- 
 cess of that great work is here described by images borrowed from the tem- 
 poral deliverance and restoration of Israel. God is represented as looking 
 with an eye of pity from heaven upon poor mankind ; as hearing the groans • 
 of sinners, fast bound in the chains of their sins, and sentenced to death 
 eternal; as coming down to forgive and release them; that being so for- 
 given and released, they might cause the church to resound with his 
 praises, when, upon the preaching of the Gospel, it should be filled with 
 converts, assembled from every people and kingdom of the world. Look 
 down, O Lord Jesus, yet once again upon thy servants, still under the 
 dominion of death, and the bondage of corruption ; loose these chains, even 
 these also, O Lord, and bring us forth into the glorious liberty of thy chil- 
 dren; that with the whole assembly of the redeemed, in the heavenly Jeru- 
 salem, we may bless and praise thy name for ever and ever. 
 
 "23. He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days." 
 
 The prophet, in the person of captive Sion, having, from verse 13, to 
 verse 22, expressed his faith and hope in the promised redemption, now 
 returns to his mournful complaints, as at verse^ 11. Israel doubteth not of 
 God's veracity, but feareih lest his heavy hand should crush the generation 
 then in being before they should behold the expiration of their troubles. 
 They were in "the way," but their "strength was so weakened," and 
 their" days shortened," that they almost despaired of holding out to their 
 journey's end. A sore trial hath the Christian church to undergo in the 
 last days, before the second advent of her Lord and Saviour. Strong faith 
 and invincible patience will be necessary to enable her to endure until the 
 end shall come. 
 
 "24. And I said, my God, take me not away in the midstof my days: 
 thy years are throughout all generations." 
 
 Israel prayeth that the holy seed might not be extirpated, and perish by a 
 kind of untimely death, ere yet the promise had been made good, and Sion 
 had seen the salvation of her God. Every man hath reason to pray, that God 
 would " not take him away in the midst of his days," or call upon him 
 when unprepared ; but that time may be allowed him, to perfect his 
 repentance, and work out his salvation. 
 
 " 25. Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth ; and the heavens 
 are the work of thy hands. 26. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure ; 
 yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment: as a vesture shalt thou 
 change them, and they shall be changed : 27. But thou art the same, and 
 thy years shall have no end." 
 
 Amidst the changes and chances of this mortal life, one topic of consola- 
 tion will ever remain, namely, the eternity and immutability of God our 
 Saviour ; of him who was, and is, and is to come. Kingdoms and empires 
 may rise and fall ; nay, the heavens and the earth, as the}'- were originally 
 produced and formed by the Word of God, the Son, or second Person in 
 the Trinity, to whom the Psalmist here addresseth himself; (see Heb. 
 i. 10.) so will they at the day appointed, be folded up, and laid aside, as an 
 old and worn-out garment ; or, if the substance remain, the present form 
 and fashion of them will perish, and they will he utterly changed and 
 altered from the state in which they now are. But Jehovah is ever the 
 same : his years have no end,' nor can his promise fail, any more than him- 
 self. " Heaven and earth," saith he, " shall pass away ; but my words 
 shall not pass away," INIatt. xxiv. 35. 
 
DAT XX. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 091 
 
 "28. The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be 
 established before thee." 
 
 Whatever be the fate of the present generations, whether they may live 
 to see the accomplishment of all that has been foretold or not, yet the word 
 of God standeth sure ; there shall be always a church, and a holy seed, to 
 whom the promises shall be made good. They have already been fulfilled 
 with regard to the advent of Messiah, and the vocation of the Gentiles. 
 The events which are behind, will be brought forward and come to pass in 
 their seasons, until the counsel of God shall be finished, and every pre- 
 diction receive its full accomplishment in the glorification of the redeemed, 
 
 PSALM cm. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In this evangelical and most comfortable hymn, David, after, 1, 2. exciting him- 
 self to the work, 3 — 5. praiseth Jehovah for the mercies of redemption ; 6, 7. 
 celebrateth his goodness to Moses and Israel ; 8 — 13. settetli forth the Divine 
 philanthropy, under various beautiful expressions and images ; 14 — 16. de- 
 scribeth, in a manner wonderfully affecting, man's frail and perishable state; 
 but, 17, 18. leadeth him, for consolation, to the everlasting mercy of God in 
 Christ, the stability of whose throne and kingdom, 19. he declareth, and, 
 20 — 22. calleth upon heaven and earth to join with him in blessing and 
 praising his holy name. 
 
 " 1. Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, hless his 
 holy name." 
 
 The Psalmist, about to utter a song of praise, first endeavours to awaken 
 and stir up his " soul" to the joyful task. He calleth forth all his powers 
 and faculties, " all that is withm him," that every part of his frame may 
 glorify its Saviour; that the understanding may know him, the will choose 
 him, the affections delight in him, the heart believe in him, and the tongue 
 confess him. " Bless the Lord, O my soul ; and all that is within me 
 bless his holy name." 
 
 "2. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." 
 
 Thanksgiving cannot be sincere and hearty, unless a man bear impressed 
 upon his mind, at the time, a quick sense of the " benefits" received ; and 
 benefits we are most apt to " forget;" those especially, which are conferred 
 upon us by God. Therefore David repeateth his self-awakening call, and 
 summoneth all his powers of recollection, that none of the Divine favours 
 might continue unnoticed and unacknowledged. A catalogue of such parti- 
 cular mercies, temporal and spiritual, as each individual hath experienced 
 through life, might be of service to refresh the memory upon this important 
 head. 
 
 "3. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thine infirmi* 
 ties." 
 
 At the head of God's mercies must for ever stand " remission of sin," or 
 that full and free) pardon purchased for us by Jesus Christ, whereby, if we 
 truly repent and believe in him, our transgressions, though ever so many, 
 and ever so great, are done away, and become as if they had never been; 
 from a state of guilt we pass into one of justification, from a state of 
 enmity into one of reconciliation, from a state of servitude into one of 
 liberty and sonship. Next to the pardon of sin, considered as a crime, 
 we are to commemorate the cure of it, considered as a disease, or indeed 
 as a complication of diseases — " Who healeth all thine infirmities." 
 The body experienceth the melancholy consequences of Adam's offence, 
 and is subject to many infirmities, but the soul is subject to as many. 
 What is pride, but lunacy l what is anger, but a fever ] what is avarice, 
 but a dropsy ? what is lust, but a leprosy 1 what is sloth, but a dead palsy ? 
 Perhaps there are spiritual maladies similar to all corporeal ones. When 
 
292 A COMMENTARY Psalm CIU. 
 
 Jesus Christ was upon earth, he proved himself the Physician of men's 
 souls by the cures which he wrouofht upon their bodies. It is he alone 
 who "forgiveth all our iniquities;" it is he alone who "healeth all our 
 infirmities." And the person who findeth his sin cured, hath a well- 
 grounded assurance that it is forgiven. 
 
 " 4. Who redeemeth thy life from destruction ; who crowneth, or, en- 
 circleth, thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies." 
 
 Man hath two lives ; he is therefore subject to a double destruction ; and, 
 consequently, capable of a twofold redemption. He, who is recovered 
 from sickness, and thereby " redeemed" from that " destruction" which 
 natural death bringeth upon the body, will undoubtedly sing this strain in 
 transports of gratitude ; and he ought so to do. But what will be the sen- 
 sations of him, who celebrates, in the same words, the spiritual redemption 
 of his soul from death and destruction everlasting? How is he "crowned" 
 with the "loving-kindness" of Jehovah, how is he encircled by the arms of 
 mercy ! " Length of days is in her right hand, and in her left hand riches 
 and honour ;" never-ending length of days ; true riches that abide forever; 
 and the honour which cometh from God only. 
 
 " 5. Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things ,• so that thy youth is 
 renewed like the eagle's." 
 
 It is God who giveth us the " good things" of this world, and who giveth 
 us likewise an appetite and a taste to enjoy them. It is God who restoreth 
 a body, emaciated by sickness, to bloom, vigour, and agility. And he doth 
 greater things than these: He "satisfieth" all the desires of the soul with 
 a banquet of spiritual dainties, and bestoweth on her a relish for the same. 
 By the renovating power of his Spirit, he restoreth her from decrepitude to the 
 health and strength of a young "eagle;"* so that she can ascend up on 
 high, and contemplate the splendour of the son of righteousness. Thus, at 
 the day of the resurrection, clothed anew with salvation and glory, the body 
 likewise shall arise from earth, and fly away ae an eagle towards heaven, 
 to begin an immortal life, and be for ever young. 
 
 " 6. The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are 
 oppressed. 7. He made knov/n his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the 
 children of Israel." 
 
 From a consideration of his own particular case, the Psalmist maketh 
 a general reflection on that attribute of God, which inclineth him to deliver 
 his people, and to punish their oppressors, of what kind soever they be. And 
 here, that grand display of the "ways" and "works" of Jehovah, the 
 redemption of " Israel" by the hand of " Moses," immediately occurs, and 
 is celebrated. Thus each private mercy, whether of a temporal or spiri- 
 tual nature, should remind us of that public and universal blessing of 
 redemption by Jesus Christ, from which every other blessing floweth, as a 
 stream from its fountain, and for which God ought, therefore, upon all occa- 
 sions to be praised and glorified. 
 
 " 8. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in 
 mercy." 
 
 W^hen Moses desired Jehovah to show him his way, and his glory, 
 (Exod. xxxii. 13. 18.) Jehovah passed by, and proclaimed himself, as here, 
 "Jehovah, merciful, and gracious," &c. Exod. xxxiii. 6. How full of con- 
 solation to the penitent soul are all the words of this verse ! The Lord is 
 " merciful," mn"j, the bowels of his tender compassion yearn over us, as 
 those of a mother yearn over the child of her womb ; "yea, a woman may 
 forget her sucking child, yet can he not forget us," Isa. xlix. 15. He is 
 
 * Of all birds it is known, th;it tlipy havo yearly their moulting times, when they shed their old, 
 and are afresh furnished vvitli a new stock of feathers, Tliis is most observable of hawks and 
 vultures, anil especially of " eagles, " whicli when ihey arc a hundred years old, cast their 
 feathers, and bccnnie bald, and like young ones, and then new feathers sprout forth. Thus St. 
 Ambrose. " Afpiila longama?tatem ducit, dum vetustis plumis fatisceniibus, nova pennarum 
 successione juvenescil." Dr. Hammond. 
 
DAT XX. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 293 
 
 "gracious," pjn, ready to give us freely all things that are needful for our 
 salvation. He is " slow to anger," bearing with the frowardness of his 
 children, with their provocations and relapses, for 40, 50, GO, 70 years 
 together, before he strikes the blow, giving them, by his long-suffering, 
 time for repentance. And he is "plenteous in mercy," nonm, great, 
 mighty in mercy, placing his chief glory in his attribute, and hereby teach- 
 ing us how to estimate true greatness. 
 
 " 9. He will not always chide ; neither will he keep his anger for ever. 
 10. He hath not dealt with us after our sins ; nor rewarded us according to 
 our iniquities." 
 
 God's chastisements are some of the most eminent proofs of his mercy. 
 They are sent to reclaim us, and to save us from eternal punishment. They 
 continue not " always," but are removed when they have done their work; 
 and while they last, are as nothing, in comparison of those heavy stripes 
 which our sins have deserved." 
 
 "11. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy 
 towards them that fear him. 12. As far as the east is from the west, so far 
 hath he removed our transgressions from us. -^ 13. Like as a father pitieth 
 his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." 
 
 We are here presented with three of the most beautiful, apposite, and 
 comforting similitudes in the world. When we lift up our eyes and behold 
 around us the lofty and stupendous vault of heaven, encircling, protecting, 
 enlightening, refreshing, and cherishing the earth, and all things that are 
 therein, we are bidden to contemplate in this glass the immeasurable 
 height, the boundless extent, and the salutary influences of that mercy, 
 which, as it were, embraceth the creation, and is over all the works of God. 
 Often as we view the sun rising in the east, and darkness flying away from 
 before his face towards the opposite quarter of the heavens, we may see an 
 image of that goodness of Jehovah, whereby we are placed in the regions of 
 illumination, and our sins are removed and put far away out of his sight. 
 And that our hearts may, at all times, have confidence towards God, he is 
 represented as bearing towards us the fond and tender affection of a father, 
 ever ready to defend, to nourish, and provide for us, to bear with us, to 
 forgive us, and receive us in the paternal arms of everlasting love. 
 
 " 14. For he knoweth our frame ; he remembereth that we are dust. 15. 
 As for m^n, his days are as grass ; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. 
 16. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof 
 shall know it no more." 
 
 The consideration of man's frail and perishable estate weighs with the 
 Almighty, and prevails upon him to spare his creature. And doth not the 
 tear of compassion start in the eye of him, who reads the description 
 which David hath given of it in these verses ? " Man," fallen, mortal man, 
 " his days are as grass ;" like that, he cometh out of the earth, and con- 
 tinueth but a short time upon it ; " as a flower of the field," fair but tran- 
 sient, " so he" unfoldeth his beauty in youth, and "flourisheth" a while in 
 the vigour of manhood ; but lo, in a moment, the breath of Heaven's displea- 
 sure, as a blighting " wind, passeth over him, and he is gone ;" he boweth 
 his drooping head, and mingleth again with his native dust ; his friends and 
 his companions look for him at the accustomed spot, which he once adorned 
 — but in vain — the earth has opened her mouth to receive him, and "his 
 place shall know him no more." 
 
 " 17. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting, upon 
 them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children ; 18. To 
 such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments 
 to do them." 
 
 Let not man presume, who withereth like the green herb ; but then, let not 
 man despair, whose nature, with all its infirmities, the Son of God hath 
 taken upon him. The flower which fadeth in Adam, blooms anew in 
 Christ, never to fade again. " The mercy of Jehovah," in his Messiah, " is 
 
 35* 
 
294 A COMMENTARY PsaimCIV. 
 
 everlasting;" and of that everlasting mercy poor frail man is the bbject. 
 It extendeth to all the generations of the faithful servants of God. Death 
 shall not deprive them of its benefits, nor shall the grave hide them from 
 the efficacious influence of its all-enlivening beams, which shall pierce even 
 unto those regions of desolation, and awaken the sleepers of six thousand 
 years. Man must pay to justice the temporal penalty of his sins ; but mercy 
 shall raise him again, to receive the eternal reward, purchased by his Sa- 
 viour's righteousness. A passage in the first epistle of St. Peter doth most 
 admirably illustrate this part of our Psalm : " We are born again, not of 
 corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and 
 abideth for ever. For all flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the 
 flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away ; 
 but the WORD of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which 
 by the Gospel is preached unto you." 1 Pet. i. 23, &c. 
 
 " 19. The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens ; and his kingdom 
 ruleth over all." 
 
 The glorious person who worketh all these wonders of mercy for his 
 people, the word of God, and Saviour of the world, is triumphantly seated 
 upon his " throne in heaven," and is possessed of all power to accomplish 
 his will, even until all things shall be subdued unto him. The glories of 
 his throne, the brightness of his excellent majesty, and the might of his 
 irresistible power, are described at large by St. John, Rev. iv. v. xix. 
 
 "20. Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his 
 commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. 21. Bless ye the 
 Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. 22. Bless 
 the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion : bless the Lord, O 
 my soul." 
 
 Joy is observed to be of a diff"usive and communicative nature. The 
 heart of the Psalmist is full, and overfloweth with it. Unable worthily to 
 praise Jehovah for his mercies vouchsafed to the church, he inviteth heaven 
 and earth to join with him, and to celebrate in full chorus the redemption 
 of man. St. John saw the throne of Messiah prepared ; he beheld the uni- 
 versal band assembled ; and he heard when " all the angels round about the 
 throne, ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, with 
 every creature in heaven, earth, and sea," lifted up their voices, and sang 
 together, " Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that 
 sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever." 
 
 TWENTIETH DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM CIV. 
 
 argument. 
 
 This is a eucharistic hymn, full of majesty and sweetness, addressed to Jeho- 
 vah as Creator of the world. It setteth forth his glory, wisdom, goodness, 
 and power, displayed, 1 — 9, in the formation of the heavens and earth ; 10 — 
 18. in the various provision made for beasts and birds, and for man, the lord 
 of all ; 19 — 24. in the revolutions of the celestial bodies, and the consequent 
 interchanges of daj- and night, of labour and rest ; 25, 26. in the sea, and 
 everything that moveth in, or upon the waters. 27 — 30. The dependence of 
 the whole creation upon God for its being and well-being, is beautifully re- 
 presented, with, 31, 32. the gloiy which the Creator receiveth from his 
 works, the pleasure which he taketh in them, and the power which he hath 
 over them. 'io. The Psalmist declareth his resolution ever to praise Jehovah, 
 and, 34. predicteth the destruction of those who refuse, or neglect so to do. 
 As there is a similitude between the natural and the spiritual creation, allu- 
 sions of that sort are frequently made in the ensuing comment, which may 
 perhaps point out the reason why the church hath appointed tids Psalm to 
 be used on Whitsunday. 
 
DatXX. E.P, ON THE PSALMS. 295 
 
 " 1. Bless the Lord, my soul : O Lord my God, thou art very great; 
 thou art clothed with honour and majesty ; Heh. with glory and beauty. 
 2. Who covetasi thyself w\i\i light as 2y«7A a garment; who stretchest out 
 the heavens like a curtain^; i. e. of a tent, or pavilion." 
 
 The Scriptures inform us, that the same person who redeemed the world 
 did also create it. In the ciid Psalm, as we are assured by St. Paul, "to 
 the Sun of it is said. Thou, Lord, in the beginning, hast laid the foundation 
 of the earth, and the heavens are the works of thy hands." To him, there- 
 fore, as Creator, is the civth Psalm likewise addressed. He is described as 
 invested with "the glory which he had with the father before the world 
 was :" a glimpse of which he vouchsafed to the three disciples, who were 
 present at his transligaration, when " his face did shine as the sun, and his 
 raiment was white as the light." The first instance of his creating power 
 is afforded us by the " heavens," which form a magnificent " canopy, or 
 pavilion," comprehending within it the earth and all the inhabitants thereof. 
 It is enlightened by the celestial orbs suspended in it, as the holy taberna- 
 cle was by the lamps of the golden candlestick. And it was originally 
 framed, erected, and furnished by its Maker, with more ease than man can 
 construct a " tent" for his own temporary abode. Yet must this noble pavilion 
 also be taken down ; these resplendent and beautiful heavens must pass 
 away and come to an end. How glorious then shall be those new heavens, 
 which are to succeed them, and to endure for ever ! 
 
 "3. Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters; who maketh 
 the clouds his chariot ; who walketh upon the wings of the wind." 
 
 The Divine architect is here represented as " laying the beams of his 
 chambers," as compacting his lofts, or stories, " in the waters." Some 
 think the formation of the terrestrial strata in the waters, which at the be- 
 ginning covered all things, is here allued to. If it be objected, that the 
 Psalmist, in the course of his description, is not yet arrived at the forma- 
 tion of the earth, but is still in the upper regions of the air; may we not 
 suppose that the subject is, in this particular, a little anticipated, which is 
 no uncommon case in the sacred writings I The generality of expositors, 
 however, interpret the passage of those "dark waters, compacted into thick 
 clouds of the skies," which the Almighty is elsewhere said to make the 
 " secret place," or chamber of his residence, and a kind of " footstool" to 
 his throne, Psalm xviii. 9. 11. And thus, indeed, the former part of our 
 verse is plainly and immediately connected with what follows : " Who 
 maketh the clouds his chariots, and walketh upon the wings of the wind." 
 How astonishingly magnificent and tremendous is the idea which these 
 words convey to us of the great King, riding upon the heavens, encompass- 
 ed with clouds and darkness, attended by the lightnings, those ready execu- 
 tioners of his vengeance, and causing the world to resound and tremble at 
 the thunder of his power, and the noise of his chariot wheels. By these 
 ensigns of royalty, these emblems of omnipotence, and instruments of his 
 displeasure, doth Jehovah manifest his presence, when he visiteth rebel- 
 lious man, to make him own and adore his neglected and insulted Lord. 
 See and compare Psalm xviii. 10. and the context. 
 
 "4. Who maketh his angels spirits, his ministers a flaming fire." 
 From the manner in which these words are introduced, and the place 
 •where they stand, one should conceive the meaning of them to be, that God 
 employeth the elements of air and fire, the winds, mnn, and the lightnings, 
 as his messengers, VDx'to, and ministers to execute his commands upon 
 the earth.* But the Apostle, Heb. i. 7. informeth us, that they have a 
 further reference to immaterial angels ; either because those angels often 
 appeared in the likeness, or because they were endued with the properties, 
 of "wind and flame." Intellectual beings of the highest order in the realms 
 
 * In the French translation it is—" Who maketh the winds his angels, the flaming fire his 
 ministers." 
 
296 A COMMENTARY Psalm CIV. 
 
 above, are as ready to fulfil the word of Jehovah, as are the elements of this 
 lower world. Both teach a lesson of obedience to the sons of men ; to those 
 of them more especially, who are appointed " angels" of the churches, and 
 <' ministers" of Christ. 
 
 "5. Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed 
 for ever." 
 
 In the original it is, " Who hath founded the earth upon its basis." The 
 formation of this globe, on which we tread, is a wonderful instance of di- 
 vine wisdom and power, whether we consider the manner in which the 
 parts of it are put and kept together, or its suspension in the circumambient 
 fluid, which, as some philosophers suppose, by pressing upon it on every 
 side, forms so many columns, as it were, to support and keep it balanced. 
 The words, " that it should not be removed for ever, do by no means imply, 
 that the earth is stationary, or that it is eternal; but only thus much, that 
 it is so constructed, as to answer the end, and to last the time, for which it 
 was created and intended. It shall continue the same in itself, and with 
 relation to other bodies, neither altering its shape, nor changing its course, 
 till the day appointed for its dissolution ; after which, as there are to be 
 " new heavens," so will there also be a " new earth." 
 
 " 6. Tliou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment : the waters stood 
 above the mountains. 7. At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thun- 
 der they hasted away. 8. They go, or, went, up by the mountains ; they 
 go, or, went, down by the vallies, unto the place which thou hadst founded 
 for them. 9. Thou hast seta bound that they may not pass over; they 
 turn not again to cover the earth." 
 
 Most interpreters suppose this to be a description of the situation of 
 things, and of what was effected by the power of God, on the third day of 
 the creation, when he said, "Let the waters be gathered together into one 
 place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so." Indeed, the process at 
 the creation was so exactly similar to that at the deluge, with regard to the 
 circumstances here mentioned, that it matters not to which we apply the 
 beautiful and truly poetical passage before us. In both cases, the earth 
 was covered with the waters as with a garment, in every part ; in both 
 cases, they fled at the Almighty word, like the scattered remains of a routed 
 army; from the heights of mountains, whither they had ascended, they 
 sunk down into the valleys; from the valleys they retired to the bed of 
 the ocean, and a part of them descended from thence into the great deep, 
 that lieth beneath. Bounds were set them, beyond which they should never 
 pass, to overwhelm us any more for ever. And the experience of 4000 
 years hath taught us, that where the Creator hath laid his commands, plain 
 sand is a sufficient barrier. Thus the church hath been delivered from her 
 spiritual enemies ; and she hath a promise, on which she may with full con- 
 fidence rely, that " the gates of hell shall never prevail against her." 
 
 " 10. He sendeth the springs into the vallies, ivhich run among the hills. 
 II. They give drink to every beast of the field : the wild asses quench their 
 thirst." 
 
 The waters of the sea are not only prevented from destroying the earth, 
 but by a wonderful machinery are rendered the means of preserving every 
 living thing which moveth thereon. Partly ascending from the great deep 
 through the strata of the earrh, partly exhaled in vapour from the surface 
 of the ocean into the air, and from thence falling in rain, especially on the 
 tops and by the sides of the mountains, they break forth in fresh " springs," 
 having left their salts behind them ; they trickle through the " valleys, be- 
 tween the hills," receiving new supplies as they go ; they become large 
 rivers, and after watering, by their innumerable turnings and windings, im- 
 mense tracts of country, they return to the place from whence they came. 
 Thus every animal hath an opportunity of " quenching" that thirst, which 
 must otherwise soon put a period to its existence. The " wild asses" are 
 particularly mentioned, because they live in remote and sandy deserts ; yet 
 
DAT XX. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 297 
 
 even such creatures, in such places, are by the God of nature taught the 
 way to the waters; insomuch that the parched traveller, when in search of 
 a fountain, findeth them to be the best guides in the world, and needeth 
 only to observe and follow the herds of them descending to the streams. 
 In the spiritual system, or new creation, there are wells of salvation, living 
 springs, waters of comfort, of which all nations, even the most savage and 
 barbarous, are invited to come and drink freely. They flow among the 
 churches; they descend into the hearts of the lowly; and they refresh us 
 in our passage through the wilderness ; for even there "do waters break 
 out, and streams in the desert," Isa. xxxv. 6. 
 
 " 12. By them shall the fowls of the air have their habitation, which sing 
 among the branches." 
 
 " By them," that is, " by springs of water in the valleys," the birds de- 
 light to have their habitations, and to sing amidst the verdant branches, 
 which conceal them from our sight. "The music of birds," as one hath 
 well observed, " was the first song of thanksgiving which was offered on 
 earth before man was formed. All their sounds are different, but all har- 
 monious, and all together compose a choir which we cannot imitate."* If 
 these little choristers of the air, when refreshed by the streams, near which 
 they dwell, express their gratitude by chanting, in their way, the praises of 
 their Maker and Preserver, how ought Christians to blush, who, beside the 
 comforts and conveniences of this world, are indulged with copious draughts 
 of the water of eternal life, if, for so great blessings, they pay not their tribute 
 of thanksgiving, and sing not unto the Lord the songs of Sion ! " He that at 
 midnight, when the very labourer sleeps securely, should hear, as I have 
 often done, the clear airs, the sweet descants, the natural rising and falling, 
 tlie doubling and redoubling of the nightingale's voice, might well be lifted 
 above earth, and say. Lord, what music hast thou provided for the saints in 
 heaven, when thou affordest bad men such music upon earth !" Walton's 
 Complete Angler, p. 9. 
 
 " 13. He watereth the hills from his chambers : the earth is satisfied 
 with the fruit of thy works. 14. He causeth the grass to grow for the cat- 
 tle, and herb for the service of man; that he may bring forth food out of 
 the earth ; 15. And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, a7id oil to make 
 his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart." 
 
 The fertility of the earth is owing to God, who for that purpose " wa- 
 tereth" it, rpr"7yD, from his " chambers," whether the word has a refe- 
 rence to the clouds above, or the depths below, for both are concerned in 
 the operation. Hence all the glory and beauty of the vegetable world ; 
 hence the grass, which nourisheth the cattle that they may nourish the hu- 
 man race; hence the green herb, for food and for medicine; hence fields 
 covered with corn, for the support of life; hence vines and olive-trees laden 
 with fruits, whose juices exhilarate the heart, and brighten the countenance. 
 Nor let us forget the spiritual benedictions corresponding to these external 
 ones; the fruitfulness of the church through grace, the bread of everlasting 
 life, the cup of salvation, and the oil of gladness. 
 
 " 16. The trees of the Lord are full of sap ,• the cedars of Lebanon, 
 which he hath planted." 
 
 The whole earth is a garden, planted by the hand, and watered by the 
 care of Jehovah. But in a more especial manner is his glory set forth by 
 the lofty and magnificent cedars, which, growing wild on the mountain and 
 in the forest, owe nothing to the skill and industry of man. The moisture 
 of the earth, rarified by the heat of the sun, enters their roots, ascends in 
 their tubes, and by due degrees expands and increases them, till they arrive 
 at their growth. God hath also another garden in which there are other 
 trees of his planting, called by Isaiah, ch. Ixi. 3. " trees of righteousness." 
 These are his faithful servants, who through the Spirit which is given unto 
 
 * Wesley's Survey of the Wisdom of God in the Creation, vol. i. p. 143. 
 
298 A COMMENTARY Psalm CIV. 
 
 them, become eminent and steady in goodness ; their examples are fragrant, 
 and their charity diffusive. 
 
 " 17. Where the birds make their nests : as for the stork, the firtrees are 
 her house." 
 
 Most admirable is that wisdom and understanding, which the Creator 
 hath imparted to the birds of the air, whereby they distinguish times and 
 seasons, choose the properest places, construct their nests with an art and 
 exactness unattainable by man, and secure and provide for their young. — 
 *' Is it for the birds, Lord, who have no knowledge thereof, that thou 
 hast joined together so many miracles T Is it for the men who give no at- 
 tention to them] Is it for those who admire them, without thinking of thee ? 
 Rather, is it not thy design, by all these wonders, to call us to thyself; to 
 make us sensible of thy wisdom, and fill us with confidence in thy bounty, 
 who watchest so carefully over these inconsiderable creatures, two of which 
 are sold for a farthing 1"* 
 
 " 18. The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats, and the rocks for the 
 conies." 
 
 The same force of what we call instinct, prevails in terrestrial animals, 
 and directs them to places of refuge, where they may be safe from their 
 enemies. Thus the wild goats climb with ease to the tops and crags of 
 mountains, where they deposit their young. And thus animals of another 
 kind, which are more defenceless than the goats, and not able to climb 
 like them, yet have a way of entrenching themselves in a situation perfectly 
 impregnable among the rocks ;"(" we find them on that account, numbered 
 by Solomon among the four kinds of animals, which, though little upon the 
 earth, are exceeding wise : " The CD'JiJty are but a feeble folk, yet make 
 they their houses in the rocks," Prov. xxx. 26. They who in themselves 
 are feeble and helpless, should look out betimes for a mountain of refuge, 
 and a rock of safety. 
 
 " 19. He appointeth the moon for seasons : the sun knoweth his going 
 down." 
 
 From a survey of the works of God upon earth, the Psalmist proceedeth 
 to extol that divine wisdom, which is manifested in the motions and revo- 
 lutions of the heavenly bodies, and in the grateful vicissitude of day and 
 night, occasioned thereby. A beautiful passage in the book of Ecclesias- 
 ticus will, perhaps, be the best comment on the former part of this verse. 
 " He- made the moon to serve in her season, for a declaration of times, and 
 a sign to the world. From the moon is the sign of feasts, a light that 
 decreaseth in her perfection. The month is called after her name, in- 
 creasing wonderfully in her changing, being an instrument of the armies 
 above, shining in the firmament of heaven ; the beauty of heaven, the glory 
 of the stars, an ornament giving light in the highest places of the Lord," 
 eh. xlii. 6. The latter part of the verse expresseth the obedience of the 
 " sun," or solar light, to the law of its Creator ; it seemeth to " know" 
 the exact time of its coming on, and going off, and fulfiUeth the course pre- 
 scribed to it, without the least deviation. O that we, who are endowed 
 with sense and reason, could in like manner fulfil our course; and that 
 God's will were "done on earth, as it is" even in this lower and material 
 " heaven !" 
 
 " 20. Thou makest darkness, and it is night; wherein all the beasts of 
 the forest do creep forth. 21, The young lions roar after their prey, and 
 seek their meat from God." 
 
 Night and darkness invite the wild beasts of the forest and desert from 
 their dens and recesses, to "seek" the "prey" allotted them by the pro- 
 vidence of that God, who feedeth the young lions, as well as the young 
 
 * Weslej', as above. 
 
 t It is uncertain what species of animals is here intended by the word uID'Jflty. But it is 
 enough for our purpose, that they are creatures remarkable for securing themselves in the man- 
 ner here mentioned. 
 
DAT XX. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 299 
 
 ravens, when hunger enforceth them, as it were, to call upon him. Thus, 
 when a nation hath filled up the measure of its iniquities, the Sun of 
 Righteousness knoweth the time of his departure from it ; the light of the 
 Gospel is darkened, and a horrible night succeeds ; the executioners of ven- 
 geance are in motion, and a commission from above is given them to seize 
 upon the prey. 
 
 " 22. The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them 
 down in their dens. 23. Man goeth forth to his work and to his labour, 
 until the evening." 
 
 At the return of day the sons of ravage retire and skulk away to their 
 several hiding-places, that man, the lord of the creation, may arise and per- 
 form, unmolested, the task which his Maker hath appointed him. When 
 the light of truth and righteousness shineth, error and iniquity fly away 
 before it, and the "roaring lion" himself departeth for a time. Then the 
 Christian goeth forth to the work of his salvation, and to his labour of love, 
 until the evening of old age warns him to prepare for his last repose, in faith 
 of a joyful resurrection. 
 
 " 24. Lord, how manifold are thy works ! in wisdom hast thou made 
 them all : the earth is full of thy riches." 
 
 Transported with a survey of the wonders which present themselves in 
 heaven above, and on earth below, the Psalmist breaks forth into an excla- 
 mation (and what heart hath not already anticipated him) on the variety 
 and magnificence, the harmony and proportion of the works of God, in this 
 outward, and visible, and perishable world. What then are the miracles 
 of grace and glory 1 What are those invisible and eternal things, which 
 God hath prepared for them that love him, in another and a better world, 
 and of which the things visible and temporary are no more than shadows % 
 Admitted to that place, where we shall at once be indulged with a view 
 of all the Divine dispensations, and of that beatitude in which they 
 terminate, shall we not, with angels and archangels, cry out, " O Lord, 
 how manifold are thy works ! in wisdom hast thou made them all ; heaven 
 and earth are full of thy riches, and of thy glory." 
 
 " 25. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innume- 
 rable, both small and great beasts, or, living creatures. 26. There go the 
 ships : there is that leviathan, luhom thou hast made to play therein." 
 
 There is not in all nature a more august and striking object than the 
 ocean. Its inhabitants are as numerous as those upon the land ; nor is the 
 wisdom and power of the Creator less displayed, perhaps, in their formation 
 and preservation, from the smallest fish that swims, to the enormous tyrant 
 of the deep, the leviathan himself. By means of navigation, Providence 
 hath opened a communication between the most distant parts of the globe; 
 the largest solid bodies are wafted with incredible swiftness, upon one 
 fluid, by the impulse of anotlier, and seas join the countries which they 
 appear to divide. In the ocean we behold an emblem of the world : under 
 a smooth deceitful surface it conceals dangerous rocks and devouring mon- 
 sters ; its waves are ever restless, and oftentimes it is all over storm and 
 tempest, threatening to overwhelm the helpless despairing mariner in a mo- 
 ment. Such is the voyage we all have to make, ere we can reach the 
 desired haven and attain that happy climate, where, as we are told, " there 
 is no more sea." Rev. xxi. 1. 
 
 "27. These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in 
 due season. 28. That thou givest them, they gather : thou openest thine 
 hand, they are filled with good." 
 
 In various ways hath God provided food for the support of all living crea- 
 tures, and directed them to seek and to find it. How pleasing a speculation 
 is it, to consider the whole family of air, earth and sea, as " waiting upon" 
 the Father and Lord of all things, expecting when he should "open his 
 hand," and distribute to each member his "portion of meat indue season !" 
 The case is the same with regard to beings intellectual and spiritual, of 
 
300 A. COMMENTARY Psaim CIV. 
 
 which is composed the church and family of Christ in heaven and earth ; 
 these wait all upon Him, by whom Jehovah hath opened the hand of 
 mercy, and abundantly supplied all our needs, through the riches of his 
 grace. 
 
 "29. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their 
 breath, they die, and return to their dust. 30. Thou sendest forth thy 
 Spirit, they are created : and thou renewest the face of the earth." 
 
 Wiien God, in the season of winter, seemeth to hide his face, and to have 
 withdrawn liis beneficent influences, we hear the cries of the creation in 
 distress; if he recall the breath of life from any creature to v.'hich he had 
 communicated it, that creature presently ceaseth to be what it was ; sense 
 and motion are at an end ; the form and figure of it perish ; and it is 
 resolved into its original dust. But again he exerteth his quickening power, 
 and lo, fresh generations of animals are produced; fresh crops of vegetables 
 shoot forth to nourish them ; and there is a renovation of universal nature. 
 The presence of God, in like manner, is the life, his absence is the death, 
 of the soul. If he withdraw his grace, we perish everlastingly ; but when 
 he "sendeth forth his Spirit," as he did on the day of Pentecost, " old 
 things pass away, and all things become new ;" the winter is over, and 
 spring succeeds in its place. Nay, the hour is coming, when through the 
 same Spirit, he shall also quicken our mortal bodies, and thus, in a more 
 evident and wonderful manner, " renew the face of the earth." 
 
 "31. The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall 
 rejoice in his works. 33. He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth ; he 
 toucheth the hills, and they smoke." 
 
 Such being the works of God, so manifold and so marvellous, the pro- 
 phet foretelleth that his "glory," displayed and declared by the same, 
 should endure for ever;" that creatures would never be wanting, to give 
 him the praise and honour due unto him ; insomuch that, graciously 
 accepting this their tribute, and pleased to find a proper return made him, 
 Jehovah should, as at the first creation, acquiesce and rejoice in all his 
 works and dispensations. In the mean time, let the unruly and disobedient 
 reflect upon tlie greatness of his power, and the terrors of his vengeance, 
 who with a look can shake the earth, and with a touch can fire the moun- 
 tains, as when he once descended on Sinai. 
 
 "33. I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise 
 unto my God while I have my being. 34. My meditation of him sliall be 
 sweet: I will be glad in the Lord." 
 
 And who, O divine Psalmist, will not sing with thee, that hath an under- 
 standing to apprehend, and a tongue to celebrate the works of his Maker 
 and Redeemer! To whom will not thy heavenly meditations be sv.-eet as 
 honey, fragrant as the breath of spring, pleasant and cheering as the fruit of 
 the vinel Who doth not long to partake of thy spiritual joy and holy 
 gladness 1 
 
 " 35. Let the sinners, or, the sinners shall, be consumed out of the earth, 
 and let the wicked, or, the wicked shall, be no more. Bless thou the Lord, 
 O my soul. Praise ye the Lord." 
 
 " Tlie sinners," and "the wicked," are they of whom it is elsewhere 
 said, that they "consider not the Vv'orks of Jehovah, nor regard the opera- 
 tions of his hands," to give him praise and glory for them. These shall 
 one day experience the power of that God, whose wisdom and goodness 
 they would never acknowledge. They shall be "consumed," and "pe- 
 rish from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power, when 
 he ariseth to shake terribly the earth." The Psalmist, therefore, endeth as 
 he began ; " Bless thou the Lord. my soul ; adding by way of exhorta- 
 tion to us, and to all the world, "Praise ye the Lord." Lotus, then, with 
 "the four and twenty elders, fall down before him that sitteth upon the 
 throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, saying. Thou art 
 worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power; for thou hast 
 
Day XXI. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 301 
 
 created all things, and for thy pleasure they are, and were created," 
 Rev. iv. 10, 11. 
 
 TWENTY-FIRST DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM CV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm, the first part of it, at least, to ver. 15. we know, from 1 Chron. xvi. 
 to have been composed by David, and given out on occasion of his placing 
 tlie ark of God in Sion. It containeth, 1 — 8. an exhortation to praise Jeho- 
 vah for his works of mercy and power, wrought in favour of Israel. 9 — 44. 
 These are traced from their source, namely, the covenant made with Abra- 
 ham, througli the patriarchal history, to the deliverance of the nation from 
 the Egyptians, and its settlement in Canaan; the end of all which, 45, is de- 
 clared to have been, that God might have a people to serve him. The same 
 is true of our redemption by Jesus Christ, which was the grand subject of the 
 promise made to Abraham, and of which the temporal mercies, vouchsafed 
 to the patriarchs and theu- posterity, were so many pledges and figures. 
 
 "1.0 give thanks unto the Lord ; call upon his name ; make known his 
 deeds among the people." 
 
 God, who formerly resided in mount Zion, vouchsafing his presence in a 
 tabernacle made with hands, hath since blessed the church with his ap- 
 pearance in the flesh; and we Christians are bound to "make known his 
 deeds," and the mercies which he wrought for us, " among the people ;" 
 that so all the world may know him, and love him, and partake of his sal- 
 vation. 
 
 " 2. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him : talk ye of his wondrous 
 works." 
 
 Music and conversation are two things by which the mind of man re- 
 ceiveth much good, or a great deal of harm. They who make Jehovah 
 and his wondrous works the subjects of both, enjoy a heaven upon earth. 
 And they who do in reality love their Saviour, will always find themselves 
 inclined to " sing to him," and to " talk of him." 
 
 " 3. Glory ye in his holy name : let the heart of them rejoice that seek 
 the Lord." 
 
 In whom should the redeemed " glory," exult, and triumph, but in their 
 Redeemer, who hath made himself one with them, that they may be one 
 with him? They who " seek" the Lord Jesus by prayer, should do it with 
 a cheerful and joyous heart, because better is it to seek him, than to find 
 all things else; and the soul that is brought to seek him, will soon exchange 
 the galling cares and tormenting desires of the world, for the light yoke 
 and easy burthen of her Saviour, in whom she will find rest, and peace, 
 and comfort. Therefore, 
 
 " 4. Seek the Lord, and his strength : seek his face evermore." 
 
 By faith we find our Redeemer in this life, and experience the power and 
 comfort of his grace ; but hope and love still seek, and wish, and aspire 
 after the sight and enjoyment of him in heaven, whither he is ascended. 
 
 " 5. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and 
 the judgments of his mouth, 6. O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye 
 children of Jacob his chosen." 
 
 As an encouragement to seek " Jehovah evermore, the seed of Abraham, 
 and the children of Jacob," are exhorted to bear in mind the marvellous 
 " works which he hath done" for them from the beginning, to protect and to 
 deliver them; as also "the judgments of his mouth," whether by this 
 phrase we understand the righteous laws given to his people, or the denan- 
 
 26 
 
302 A COMMENTARY Psalm CV. 
 
 ciations and executions of vengeance against their enemies. But, alas! the 
 " seed of Abraham" kept not the faith of their great progenitor; the " chil- 
 dren of Jacob" have forfeited the blessing which their father obtained* 
 We Gentiles have been, for a long season, the adopted seed of Abraham, 
 and have inherited the benediction of Jacob. Let us not forget the " mar- 
 vellous works" of God in Christ, and " the judgments of his mouth." 
 
 " 7. He is the Lord our God : his judgments are in all the earth." 
 
 If Jehovah were the God of Israel, on account of what, in covenant, he 
 promised and performed for them, he is now the God of us all, on account 
 of what he promised and hath performed, in Christ Jesus, for them and for 
 us. If, when he settled Israel in Canaan, " his judgments" were mani- 
 fested to " all the earth," were they not manifested also, when the Chris- 
 tian church was established, and the idolatrous powers of the world were 
 overthrown by the Gospel 1 
 
 " 6. He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he com- 
 manded to a thousand generations : 9. Which cuvenant he made with Abra- 
 ham, and his oath unto Isaac; 10. And confirmed the same unto Jacob for 
 a law, and io Israel /or an everlasting covenant: 11. Saying, Unto thee will 
 I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance." 
 
 LIpon bringing the ark to mount Sion, David teacheth Israel to bless and 
 praise God for having " remembered his covenant," made with an " oath" 
 to their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would in due time 
 settle his people in the land of Canaan. Now, it is very observable, that 
 in the hymn uttered by Zacharias, the Father of St. John the Baptist, on 
 the subject of our redemption by Christ, thanks are given to the Lord God 
 of Israel, because he had " remembered his holy covenant, and performed 
 tlie oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham." And what was that ? 
 Why, " that we, being delivered out of the hand of our, enemies, should 
 serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness." But when, or where 
 did God promise any such thing to Abraham, except when he told him, 
 " that his seed should be in bondage four hundred years," but that " the 
 nation," which detained them in bondage, should afterwards be "judged," 
 and that they should be " brought out," and come to Canaan, (Gen. xv. 13.) 
 where they were to "serve" him? The case seems to be this : Zacharias, 
 under the immediate influence and direction of the Holy Spirit, transfers 
 the language of the old dispensation to the affairs of the new one ; he ce- 
 lebrates the redemption of the world by Christ from sin and death, in words 
 which literally describe the redemption of Israel from Egypt by Moses; to 
 teach us, that we should regard one as a sacramental pledge and figure of 
 the other ; that there is another bondage, in which the people of God are 
 held ; another Moses, who is to deliver them ; another land of promise and 
 rest, where they are to be settled. This the Hebrews might have known, 
 as St. Paul tells them, Heb. iv. from a passage in the xcvth Psalm, where, 
 long after they had been in possession of Canaan, David speaks of another 
 day of probation, and " another rest." The Jews have since had a melan- 
 choly proof of the same thing, by being dispossessed of that earthly inhe- 
 ritance which they falsely deemed to have been perpetual, and vainly re- 
 garded as the end of all the promises, made to a " thousand generations," 
 that is, (a definite number being put for an indefinite) to them and to us, 
 and to "as many as the Lord our God shall call," while the world shall 
 last. 
 
 " 12. When they were hut a iev7 men in number; yea, very few, and 
 strangers in it. 13. When they went from one nation to another, from one 
 kingdom to another people." 
 
 How wonderful was the display of God's wisdom and power, in his 
 choosing a single family, and that a small one, the members of which were 
 literally "strangers and pilgrims upon earth;" in his promising to that fa- 
 mily, in those circumstances, a large and fertile country, where the thrones of 
 many princes were then firmly established ; and, lastly, in his putting them 
 
DAT XXI. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 303 
 
 into actual possession of it at the time appointed ! Thus the family of the 
 holy Jesus was at first but small ; the members of it were a " few, yea, a 
 very few ;" they were sojourners in a land not theirs ; " they went from one 
 nation to another ;" nay, they were accounted the " refuse of the world, 
 and the offscouring of all things." But, " P'ear not, little flock," saith he 
 unto them, " for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom," 
 Luke xii. 32. Let us view Israel brought into Canaan, nor doubt but that 
 believers shall inherit the kingdom of heaven, and succeed to the thrones 
 of apostate angels. 
 
 "14. He suffered no man to do them wrong; yea, he reproved kings for 
 their sakes: 15. Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do ray prophets no 
 harm." 
 
 The patriarchs, during their peregrinations, were often in imminent dan- 
 ger; as Abraham on account of Sarah, Gen. xx. ; Isaac, in a similar case, 
 Gen. xxvi.; Jacob from Laban, Gen. xxxi. and from his brother Esau, Gen. 
 xsxiii. Yet, destitute as they were of earthly help, the mightiest kings 
 could not hurt them. Their " ways pleased the Lord, and he made even 
 their enemies to be at peace with them," Prov. xvi. 7. They were the ty- 
 pical prophets and Messiahs, or Christs,* of Jehovah; and kings were 
 forbidden to lift up a hand against them. How doth the same kind Pro- 
 vidence watch over the body and the members of the true Christ! how 
 often hath it interposed to protect and preserve them from the powers of the 
 world ! 
 
 " 16. Moreover, he called for a famine upon the land : he brake the whole 
 staff of bread." 
 
 When Jacob had escaped other perils, we find him and his family likely 
 to perish with hunger. Gen. xlii. " Famine" is here finely represented as 
 a servant, ready to come and go at the call and command of God ; for 
 calamities, whether public or private, are the messengers of divine justice. 
 "Bread" is the staff which supports life; when that staff is " broken" the 
 body fails, and sinks to the earth. The word of God is the staff of spiri- 
 tual life, the food and support of the soul ; and the sorest of Heaven's judg- 
 ments is that mentioned by the prophet Amos, eh. viii. 11. " Behold, the 
 days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land; not 
 a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but of hearing the words of the 
 Lord." Such a famine was sore in all lands, when Christ made his ap- 
 pearance in the flesh, viiiose advent, with the blessed effects of it, is won- 
 derfully shadowed forth in the prophetical history of the patriarch Joseph. 
 " 17. He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a ser- 
 vant; 18. Whose feet they hurt with fetters; he was laid in iron." 
 
 Joseph and Jesus were both envied, hated, and sold by their brethren ; 
 both suffered by a false accusation ; the former was laid in irons, the latter 
 crucified, and confined in the prison of the grave, fast bound with the bands 
 of death. The wickedness of man, in working its own will, did unwittingly 
 accomplish the counsels of God. " As for you," saith Joseph to his bre- 
 thren, Gen. 1. 20. " ye thought evil against me ; but God meant it unto good, 
 to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive." And how 
 doth St. Peter address the brethren of that other Joseph? " Him, being 
 delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have 
 taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain — And now brethren, I 
 wot that through ignorance ye did it — But those things which God before 
 had shown by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he 
 hath so fulfilled," Acts, ii. 23. and iii. 17. 
 
 * Ideoaiitem Christ! sive Uncti dicuntur, quodessent et sacordotes etreges; gumma quippa 
 potestate pr.-editi, nullique obnoxii. Hiiic fhederaajquojure pacta cum regilius: hinc bella sus- 
 ceptaet quidem nutusuo, auspiciis, ut auint, suis, Gen. xiv. 21. Hinc Hethoai ad Abrahamiim: 
 " Audi nos, Domine: Princeps Dei es apud nos." Ibid, xxiii. 6. nemini obnovius, nisie Deo. 
 Q.ua jure Isaacus et Jacobus usi sunt. Gen. xxvi., &c. Ad iiffic Proplieta; erant; ut liic, et. 
 Gen. XX. 7. (iuos omnes titulos unu;n Christi nomen complectitur. Cbristi autem dicuntur, 
 in typo Christi ipsius ab eis orituri. Bossuet. 
 
304 A COMMENTARY Psalm CV. 
 
 "19. Until that time that his word came : the word of the Lord tried 
 him." 
 
 Joseph continued in prison, " until the time that his word, or cause T31, 
 came" before the king, and was known, (according to our old translation ;) 
 or, "until his word," or prediction concerning the chief butler's promotion, 
 " came to pass," for this was the means of Joseph's enlargement and justi- 
 fication; since a person, guilty of the crime with which he stood charged, 
 would not have been inspired to foretell future events. " Can we tind," said 
 Pharaoh, " such an one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is I" 
 Gen.xli. 31. In the mean time, the " word," commandment, or decree, r\1!0N, 
 " of the Lord tried him," in the furnace of affliction, there refining and , 
 preparing him for his approaching exaltation to glory and honour. Thus 
 was there a time appointed for the abode of Jesus in the grave, at the expi- 
 ration of which, all his promises and predictions were fulfilled : he came 
 forth, made "perfect through sufferings," and ready to "enter into his 
 glory." 
 
 " 20. The king sent and loosed him ; even the ruler of the people, and let 
 him go free. 21. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his sub- 
 stance : 22. To bind his princes at his pleasure, and teach his senators wis- 
 dom." 
 
 The circumstances of Joseph's advancement, here alluded to, are related, 
 Gen. xli. &c. Those of our Lord's resurrection and glorification afford a 
 marvellous parallel. At the determined hour, " the King" of heaven 
 " sent" his angel, " and loosed him" from the bands of death ; " the Ru- 
 ler" of the world "let him go free" from the penalty which he had under- 
 taken to pay, and had now fully paid. " He made him Lord of his house," the 
 church, and "Ruler of all his substance" in heaven and in earth, that he 
 might by his holy discipline, "bind princes at his pleasure," and by his 
 Gospel " teach true wisdom" to the " senators" and politicians of the 
 world : he was clothed with the robes of majesty, he was adorned with all 
 the ensigns of royalty, and to him it was ordained that " every knee should 
 bow." The store-houses of grace and salvation were opened ; the nations 
 came to be supplied by him with the bread of life ; and we look for that 
 happy day when the Jews shall do the same, and "Joseph shall be made 
 known to his brethren." 
 
 "23. Israel also came into Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of 
 Ham. 24. And he increased his people greatly, and made them stronger 
 than their enemies. 25. He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal 
 subtily with his servants." 
 
 The Psalmist now exhibiteth to our view a fresh scene of tribulation and 
 affliction, which occasioned repeated mercies, and a new deliverance. 
 Israel, by means of Joseph, obtained an establishment in Egypt. But in 
 process of time, the increase and prosperity of Israel excited the envy and 
 jealousy of Egypt, and brought on a persecution. The kindness and love 
 of God to his people, "turned the hearts of the Egyptians against them," 
 and caused animosity to take the place of friendship. A king arose who 
 knew not Joseph, and measures were concerted to keep the Hebrews under; 
 a royal edict was issued to prevent their increase, by putting the males to 
 death ; and the generation then in being was reduced to a state of the most 
 abject servitude and cruel bondage. Such usage the people of God have 
 often experienced from the world, at the instigation of him, who in Scrip- 
 ture is styled the " prince of the world." 
 
 " 26. He sent Moses his servant, and Aaron whom he had chosen. 27. 
 They showed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham." 
 
 When the tyranny and oppression of Pharaoh were at the highest, ^and 
 Israel cried unto Jehovah because of the bondage, he remembered his pro- 
 mise to Abraham, and sent Moses, ^^h Aaron, to effect that mighty deliver- 
 ance, which was to be the grand pledge and figure of our salvation by 
 Jesus Christ. Of him Moses prophesied, when he said, "A prophet shall 
 
Dat XXr. M. p. ON THE PSALMS. 305 
 
 the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me," Deut. 
 xviii. 15. (cited and applied, Acts iii. 22.) He came to rescue mankind 
 . from a spiritual bondage, and to deliver all who were oppressed by the 
 devil. Acts X. 38.; he came at a time when that oppression was most 
 grievous among- Jews and Gentiles : his birth was signalized by an 
 order from another Pharaoh, to slay the infants ; and Egypt afforded him 
 a refuge from the tyrant's fury : he wrought innumerable signs and won- 
 ders ; but they were all signs of mercy, and wonders of love. Those of 
 terror and vengeance were reserved for a future advent, foreshowed in 
 the destruction of Jerusalem. 
 
 "28. He sent darkness, and made it dark ; and they rebelled not ao-ainst 
 his word : or, and did they not still rebel against his word? 29. He turned 
 their waters into blood, and slew their fish. 30. Their land brought forth 
 frogs in abundance in the chambers of their kings. 31. He spake, and 
 there came divers sorts of flies, Heb, a mixture came, and lice in all their 
 coasts. 32. He gave theni hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land. 33. 
 He smote their vines also, and fig-trees ; and break the trees of their coasts. 
 34. He spake, and the locusts came; and caterpillars, and that without 
 number. 35. And did eat up all herbs in their land, and devoured the 
 fruit of their ground. 36. He smote also the first-born in their land, the 
 chief of all their strength." 
 
 Who can behold this army of divine judgments thus passing in dreadful 
 array before him, without trembling very exceedingly at that power which 
 is able to send them, singly or in conjunction, upon a sinful land ? Who 
 can reflect upon their number and variety, without adoring that goodness, 
 patience, and long-suffering, which tried so many different methods, and 
 waited so long to lead the offenders to repentance 1 For more particulars, 
 see the comment on Psalm Ixxviii. 43 — 51. 
 
 " 37. He brought them?, e. the people of Israel, forth also with silver and 
 gold: and there was not one ieehle person among their tribes. 38. Egypt 
 was glad when they departed : for the fear of them fell upon them." 
 
 The Israelites not only came forth from Egypt, but came forth laden 
 with the spoils of their enemies, which they were commanded to take, by 
 him who is the absolute Lord of all property, and who, as a righteous Judge, 
 did award to his people the wages due to their incredible labours, The 
 Egyptians being now willing and ready to furnish them with anythinor 
 required, in order to dismiss them. " The Egyptians were urgent upon the 
 people, that they might send them out of the land in haste : for they said. 
 We be all dead men," Exod. xii. 33. And what was very extraordinary, 
 among such a number of men, women, children, and cattle, nothino- was 
 weak and " feeble," nothing unable to perform the journey. The order was, 
 that "not a hoof should be left behind," Exod. x. 26. and he who com- 
 manded, gave strength to obey. Thou hast also enjoined us, they servants, 
 O Lord, to quit Egypt, and march for Canaan ; let thy grace invigorate us 
 from time to time, that so we faint not by the way. 
 
 " 39. He spread a cloud for a covering ; and fire to give light in the night, 
 40. The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with^the 
 bread of heaven. 41. He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out ; they 
 ran in the dry places like a river." 
 
 " Brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our 
 fathers were under the cloud ; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud ; 
 and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual 
 drink : for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them ; and that 
 Rock was Christ," 1 Cor. x. 1 — 4. In our passage through this wilderness 
 of life, over barren sands, and amidst fiery serpents, be thou, blessed Lord our 
 guide and our guard ; protected by thy nrovidence, supported by thy word, 
 and refreshed by thy Spirit, lead us evj^where and in what manner it shall 
 seem good to thee ; only do not now forsake us, and we ask no more. 
 ♦' 42. For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant, 
 26* 
 
306 A COMMENTARY Psalm CVI. 
 
 43. And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with glad- 
 ness." 
 
 The same God hath since "remembered" again "his promise; to Abra- 
 ham;" he hath visited his people, and redeemed them from the bondage of 
 sin, under the tyranny of Satan : which redemption they daily celebrate in 
 the church with "joy and gladness," waiting for their final deliverance 
 from death and the grave, when they are to sing in heaven " the song of 
 Moses and of the Lamb," Rev. xv. 3. 
 
 "44. And gave them the lands of the heathen : and they inherited the 
 labour of the people ; 45. That they might observe his statutes, and keep 
 his laws. Praise ye the Lord." 
 
 It was not, therefore, intended, that the Israelites should regard Canaan 
 as their Paradise, and look no farther ; but that being rescued from their 
 enemies, and settled in peace and plenty, they should improve the opportu- 
 nity thereby afforded them, of serving the Lord their God, and of securing 
 to themselves, through the obedience of faith, an inheritance in a " better 
 country, that is to say, an heavenly." And let all the children of faithful 
 Abraham, whose lot hath fallen in " a land flowing with milk and honey," 
 upon earth, reflect, that God hath given them riches, and the leisure which 
 riches procure, not for the purpose of indulging and corrupting themselves 
 and others, but that they may glorify him, benefit their neighbours, and 
 save their own souls ; " that they may observe his statutes, and keep his 
 laws." Israel was delivered by Moses, and the church redeemed by Christ, 
 that God might "purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good 
 works." Titus ii. 14. 
 
 TWENTY-FIRST DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM CVI. 
 
 AKGUMENT. 
 
 The Psalmist here again commemorates the Divine benefits, upbraiding withal 
 the ingratitude of those who I'cceived them. 1, 2. He exhorteth men to the 
 praise of Jehovah; 3 — 5. proclaimeth the blessedness, and longeth for the 
 felicity of the saints ; 6. confesseth the sins of Israel, and giveth a detail of 
 then- rebellions, 7 — 12. at the Red Sea ; 13 — 15. when they lusted for flesh 
 in the wilderness; 16 — 18. in the matter of Korah; 19 — 23. in that of the 
 golden calf; 24 — 27. at the report of the spies; 28 — 31. in the affair of Baal 
 Peor; 32, 33. at the waters of Meribah; 34 — 39. in not destroying idolatry, 
 but being seduced by it. 40 — 46. God's frequent judgments, and as frequent 
 mercies, are related; 47. a prayer is made, that Jehovah would gather Israel 
 from among the heathen, which shows the Psalm to have been written 
 during some captivity, or dispersion. The last verse contains an act of 
 blessing and praise. 
 
 " 1. O give thanks unto the Lord ; for he is good : for his mercy 
 endureth for ever." 
 
 In the person of a penitent nation, the prophet invites mankind to " give 
 thanks unto Jehovah," for that "goodness" which preventeth us with 
 blessings, and for that " mercy" which forgiveth our transgressions ; that 
 mercy which was shown to our forefathers, upon their repentance, and will 
 " ever" be shown, upon the same condition, to us and our posterity ; that 
 mercy, which will bring sin and misery to an end, itself continuing eternal 
 and unchangeable. 
 
 " 2. Who can utter the mighty acts of the LordI who can shew forth all 
 his praise V 
 
 But who is sufficient for a work, which demandeth the tongues and harps 
 of angels 1 " When you glorify the Lord," saith the son of Sirach, " exalt 
 
DAT XXI. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 307 
 
 him as much as you can ; for even yet will he far exceed : and when you 
 exalt him, put forth all your strength, and be not weary; for you can never 
 go far enough," Eccl. xliii. 30. 
 
 " 3. Blessed are they that keep judgment ; and he that doeth righteous- 
 ness at all times." 
 
 Next to angels, they are blessed and qualified to praise God with the 
 voice, who glorify him in their lives ; who having experienced in them- 
 selves the " mighty acts" of mercy, pardoning the guilt, and breaking the 
 power of sin, are become the servants of Jesus, and render to their Saviour, 
 "at all times," in adversity no less than iu prosperity, the due tribute of 
 unfeigned love and obedience. 
 
 " "1. Remember me, O Lord, with the favour which thou hearest unto thy 
 people : visit me with thy salvation ; 5. That I may see the good of thy 
 chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation; that I may glory 
 with thine inheritance." 
 
 The Psalmist offereth a prayer for himself, or rather for the church of 
 Israel, that she, with 'himself, might partake of such blessedness. The 
 words might have a reference to a temporal restoration and felicity: but 
 they certainly extend much farther, and form the most spiritual and heavenly 
 petition that the devoutest Christian can prefer to the throne of grace. 
 " Remember me, O Lord, with the favour" which thou hast always shown 
 to "thy people," in whom thou hast delighted from the foundation of the 
 world, and on whom it is thy good pleasure to confer a glorious kingdom. 
 " O visit me with thy salvation," with which so many patriarchs, prophets, 
 and kings, have desired to be visited, the salvation of thy Christ, the justi- 
 fier of all them that believe, and the rewarder of his saints : " that I may 
 see the good of thy chosen," their felicity in beholding thy countenance, 
 and living for ever in thy presence ; " that I may rejoice in the gladness of 
 thy nation," the unspeakable gladness of those who enter into the joy of 
 their Lord: "and glory with thine inheritance," singing hallelujahs before 
 thine everlasting throne, in the Jerusalem which is above. The Israelitish 
 church, when in peace and tranquillity serving her God, and chanting the 
 songs of Sion, afforded a very lively representation of this eternal felicity. 
 
 " 6. We have sinned with our fathers : we have committed iniquity, we 
 have done wickedly." 
 
 They who have joined with the prophet, in his affectionate aspiration 
 after the Divine favour, may here learn the surest way to attain it ; namely, 
 by confessing their own sins, and those of their ancestors. " We have 
 sinned with our fathers," that is, after their example of unbelief and disobe- 
 dience, of which an account immediately followeth. The father's sins are 
 often reflected in their children, and each new reflection, instead of beinor 
 weaker, is stronger than the foregoing; as in the case of the Jews. 
 
 "7. Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt: they remem- 
 bered not the multitude of thy mercies ; but provoked Am at the sea, even 
 at the Red Sea." 
 
 The Israelites did not profit, as they should have done, by the miracles 
 wrought for them in Egypt ; they increased not in the wisdom and know- 
 ledge of God their Saviour; but when they saw themselves ])ursued by 
 Pharaoh, their faith failed, they murmured against Moses, and wished 
 themselves again in the bondage from which they were just delivered, 
 Exod. xiv. 10, &c. Thus when the penitent findeth himself beset with 
 difficulties and dangers ; when he seeth before him that death unto sin, 
 tlirough which he must pass to a life of righteousness, while the devil and 
 the world follow hard after him, to destroy or bring him back to a more 
 cruel bondage; how apt is he to forget all that Christ hath done for him ! 
 Fear puts out the light of faith, and hides the prospect of the promised 
 land ; imagination recalls the former gratification of sense ; he is tempted 
 to regret the desertion of Egypt, and to wish for a return to it again. 
 " 8. Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake : that he might 
 
308 A COMMENTARY Psalm CVI. 
 
 make his mighty power to be known. 9. He rebuked the Red Sea also, 
 and it was dried up : so he led them through the depths, as through the 
 ■wilderness. 10. And he saved them from the hand of him that hated 
 them- and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. 11. And the 
 waters covered their enemies : there was not one of them left. 12. Then 
 believed they his words ; they sang his praise." 
 
 Comforted and encouraged by Moses, the armies of Israel advanced to 
 the shore ; and lo, the waves, at the lifting up of the powerful rod, instantly 
 parted, and, like so many well-disciplined troops, arranging themselves in 
 two columns, disclosed a new and strange path, by which the people of 
 God were conducted, in perfect security, to the opposite shore: when the 
 waters, falling down, and reassuming their ancient habitation, overwhelmed 
 the infidel host, and left not a man to carry the news to Egypt. Through 
 all the difficulties and dangers of the Christian course, faith will ever find a 
 w"ay opened, by the power of Jesus, from sin to righteousness, and from 
 death to life; the enemies of our salvation, how formidable soever, shall 
 disappear, and be no more: and we shall sing, like Israel a song of 
 triumph to the Lord our God. 
 
 " 13. They soon forgat his works ; Heb. They made haste, they forgat 
 his works; they waited not for his counsel. 14. But lusted exceedingly 
 in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. 15. And he gave them 
 their request; but sent leanness into their souls." 
 
 Soon after the Israelites had experienced the power and goodness of 
 Jehovah at the Red Sea, we find them murmuring against him, Exod. 
 XV. 22. They grew impatient, they looked upon themselves as forgotten, 
 and given over to destruction. They loathed manna, and required flesh ; 
 flesh was sent them, on which they surfeited themselves ; the wrath of God 
 smote them, and many were carried off by a grievous plague. Numb. 
 ix. 4. 33. Let us learn to wait God's time and counsel for the supply of 
 necessaries, much more of conveniences; remembering that he hath given 
 us his Son : and therefore will not deny us such inferior corporeal blessings 
 as he foreseeth will really prove blessings to us. Let us be duly thankful 
 for that " bread which cometh down from heaven," cautious how we request 
 the good things of this world, and strictly temperate in the use of them 
 when given. 
 
 " 16. They envied Moses also in the camp, and Azrou the saint of the 
 Lord. 17. The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the 
 company of Abiram. 18. And a fire was kindled in their company ; the 
 flame burnt up the wicked." 
 
 Moses and Aaron were the divinely appointed governors of Israel, in 
 church and state. Envy and ambition led Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, to 
 accuse the former of tyranny, and the latter of priestcraft. Jehovah was 
 appealed to, a day appointed, and a decision made. One body of the male- 
 contents went down alive into the pit, another was consumed by fire from 
 heaven, Numb. xvi. Let schismatics and rebels beware of that "pit" 
 which is bottomless, and of that "fire" which shall never be quenched. 
 
 " 19. They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image. 
 20. Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth 
 grass. 21. They forgat God their Saviour, which had done great things in 
 Egypt. 22. Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by 
 the Red Sea." 
 
 While the terrible presence of God abode upon Mount Sinai, and Moses 
 was gone up thither to receive the law, even then and there, "at Horeb," 
 the people apostatized to the old favourite sin of idolatry, and persuaded 
 Aaron to make them a "calf," or "ox," before which they prostrated 
 themselves, acknowledging it, or the power represented by it, whatever that 
 was, to have been the author of their deliverance from Egypt; Exod. xxxii. 
 for "as to Moses, they knew not what was become of him," nor ever 
 expected to see him any more. Thus they exchanged their glory, the glory 
 
Day XXI. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 309 
 
 which had accompanied them in the mystic cloud, nay, which was then 
 present before their eyes on the top of the mount, for " an image made 
 like a four-footed beast," as it is said of the heatlien in their worst estate ; 
 Rom. i. 23. and thus they forgat Jehovah, who had wrought his works and 
 wonders for them in Egypt, and at the Red Sea. It is to be hoped we shall 
 never live to see a time, when the miracles of our redemption shall be for- 
 gotten ; when the return of Jesus Christ from heaven shall be despaired of; 
 and when the people shall solicit their teachers to fabricate a new philoso- 
 phical deity for them to worship, instead of the God of their ancestors, to 
 whom glory hath been ascribed from generation to generation. 
 
 " 23. Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his 
 chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he 
 should destroy them.'''' 
 
 When we hear Jehovah saying to Moses, on account of his people's mon- 
 strous ingratitude, and atrocious wickedness, " Let me alone, that my wrath 
 may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them ; and I will make 
 of thee a great nation;" when we hear Moses, notwithstanding this, inter- 
 ceding for his countrymen with the offended Majesty of heaven ; urging to 
 God the glory of his name; the relation in which he stood to Israel, the 
 covenant he had made with their fathers; and if he must be cast off, de- 
 siring himself to perish with them — " If thou wilt, forgive their sin ; and 
 if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written !" — 
 how are we astonished at an instance of such invincible fortitude, fervent 
 piety, unadulterated patriotism, triumphant faith, and unbounded charity! 
 Once, and but once, was this instance exceeded, by Him, in whose name 
 the intercession of Moses was made and accepted ; who, really taking upon 
 himself the sins of his people, suffered the vengeance due to them; and 
 who is now at the right hand of God, interceding for us all. See Exod. 
 xsxii. 10—14, 32. 
 
 " 24. Yea, they despised the pleasant land : they believed not his word; 
 25. But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the 
 Lord. 2G. Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them 
 in the wilderness. 27. To overthrow their seed also among the nations, 
 and to scatter them in the lands." 
 
 The history here alluded to is contained in Numb. xiii. and xiv. The 
 spies brought back a favourable account of the promised land, and its pro- 
 ductions, but communicated to the people those terrible apprehensions, with 
 which themselves were possessed, concerning the power of the Anakims, 
 and other inhabitants of Canaan. Infidelity presently discovered itself, by 
 its usual fruit, disobedience. They thought they should never be able to 
 surmount all these difficulties, but should become a prey, with their wives 
 and children, to the sword ; and a return to Egypt was once morethe cry of 
 tlie camp of Israel. Therefore did Jehovah " lift up his hand against them ;" 
 he declared, that none of the generation then in being, Joshua and Caleb 
 only excepted, should enter into his rest, but that they should fall in the 
 wilderness, without setting foot in that pleasant and most desirable land. 
 Discomfiture and dispersion were also threatened to their posterity, that is, 
 if they should go on in the same spirit of rebellion, and fill up the measure 
 of their father's iniquities ; which they have since done, and are accordingly 
 " overthrown among the nations, and scattered among the lands" to this day. 
 But do not thou sutler us, O Lord, to despise that " pleasant land," which 
 thou designedst to be the inheritance of thy saints; whatever obstructions 
 may be thrown in our way, suffer us not, through sloth and cowardice, to 
 "disbelieve thy word," to doubt the accomplishment of thy promises, or to 
 " murmur" against thy dispensations. 
 
 " 28. They joined themselves also unto Baal Peor, and ate the sacrifices 
 of the dead. 29. Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions; 
 and the plague brake in upon them. 30. Then stood up Phinehas, and 
 
310 A COxMMENTARY PsAtM CVI. 
 
 executed judgment; and so the plague vrns stayed, 31. And that was 
 counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore." 
 
 By Balaam's advice, Numb. xxxi. 16, the Moabites and Midianites sent 
 their daughters among the people of Israel, who soon yielded to the temp- 
 tation, and fornication ended in idolatry; nay, perhaps it might be a part of 
 tlie Moabitish ritual ; as we know it was among the religious services paid 
 by the latter heathens to some of their deities. By the " sacrifices of the 
 dead," may be meant sacrifices which were offered either to dead idols, or 
 to men deified after death. To punish this apostacy, the wrath of Jehovah 
 went forth, and 24,000 perished by the plague, which at length ceased, when 
 Phinehas had "executed judgment" upon Zimri and Coshbi, who seemed, 
 indeed, to call aloud for it, by indulging their lawless passions in the midst 
 of so grievous a calamity, at a time when the whole congregation were 
 humbling themselves before God, at the door of the tabernacle. " Where- 
 fore," saith God, " behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace; and he 
 shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting 
 priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for 
 the children of Israel," Numb. xxv. 12. It is most probable, as Dr. Ham- 
 mond observes, that Phinehas, being the son of Eleazar, the son of Aarbn, 
 was one of the judges of Israel; and if so, he had a clear commission, for 
 what he did, from Moses, who had " said to the judges of Israel, Slay ye 
 every one his man that were joined to Baal Peor;" Numb. xxv. 5. The 
 case of Phinehas, therefore, is no precedent for uncommissioned zealots. 
 In general, we learn from this part of the sacred history, how acceptable to 
 God is a well-timed zeal for his service; as also, how dangerous it is to 
 converse too freely with those of the other sex, especially when they have 
 been educated in a false religion, or in no religion at all. 
 
 " 32. They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill 
 with IMoses for their sakes : 33. Because they provoked his spirit, so that 
 he spake unadvisedly with his lips." 
 
 This instance of disobedience was, in point of time, prior to that men- 
 tioned in the preceding verses. It is related. Numb. xx. 2 — 13. The spirit 
 of IMoses, though he was the meekest man upon earth, was so exasperated 
 and imbittered by continual murmurings and rebellions, that he is charged 
 with " not having believed God, to sanctify him in the eyes of the children 
 of Israel ;" and he was, on that account, denied the honour of bringing them 
 into the land of promise. He had been commanded to smite the rock, that 
 water might come forth. In anger he smote it twice, thus upbraiding the 
 people ; " Hear now, ye rebels ; must we fetch you water out of this rock ■?" 
 He shoAved not that afliance in God, that disposition to glorify him before 
 his people, which became him in the execution of his office. " The wrath 
 of man" found admission, and that " worketh not the righteousness of 
 God." Thou, blessed Jesus, art the only perfect pattern of patience and 
 love: grant to all, but above all, to the pastors of thy flock, a " spirit" 
 not easy to be "provoked," and lips not hasty to " speak unadvisedly." 
 
 " 34. They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the Lord com- 
 manded them ; 35. But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their 
 works. 36. And they served their idols; which were a snare unto them." 
 
 When the iniquity of the Canaanites was full, it pleased God to extirpate 
 the race, and Israel was commissioned to execute upon them the vengeance 
 determined. But the conquerors suffered themselves frequently to be se- 
 duced into all the abominations of the conquered, and spared their idola- 
 trous altars, till themselves came to bow down before them. Judges ii. 2, 3. 
 The Canaanites, against whom we Christians militate, are our lusts, which, 
 if tliey are spared and treated with, will prove " a snare" to us, and in time 
 become our masters. Mercy shown to them, its cruely to ourselves, and 
 will always be found so in the end. 
 
 " 37. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils : 38. 
 And shed innocent blood, eve7i the blood of their sons and of their daughters, 
 
Dat XXI. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 311 
 
 whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan : and the land was polluted 
 with blood." 
 
 It is plain, that the devils, mentioned in the former of these two verses, 
 are " the idols of Canaan" mentioned in the latter. The word translated 
 " devils," is □nty, literally, " The pourers forth;" by which it is hinrhly, 
 probable, that the idolaters meant the great agents of nature, or the heavens, 
 considered as giving rain, causing the earth to send out springs, and put 
 forth her increase, vegetables to yield and nourish their fruit, and animals 
 to abound with milk, for the subsistence of their young.* Idolatry being 
 a work of the devil, it is true, in fact, that what is offered to an idol, is 
 offered to the devil; though the word, □'"ity, doth by no means imply it. 
 We stand astonished, doubtless, at this horrid, barbarous, and unnatural 
 impiety, of offering children by fire to a Moloch : but how little is it consi- 
 dered, that children brought up in the ways of ignorance, error, vanity, 
 folly, and vice, are more effectually sacrificed to the great adversary of 
 mankind! 
 
 " 39. Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a-whoring 
 with their own inventions. 40. Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kiiv 
 died against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance. 
 4L And he gave them into the hand of the heathen ; and they that hated 
 them ruled over them. 42. Their enemies also oppressed them, and they 
 were brought into subjection under their hand. 43. Many times did he 
 deliver them : but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought 
 low for their iniquity. 44. Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when 
 he heard their cry : 45. And he remembered for them his covenant, and re- 
 pented according to the multitude of his mercies, 46. He made them also 
 to be pitied of all those that carried them captives." 
 
 This is an epitome of the history of the Israelites, from the time when 
 they took possession of Canaan, downwards. Transgressions brought on 
 chastisements ; chastisements produced repentance ; and repentance obtained 
 mercy. For the last and grand rebellion against the Son of God, and their 
 King Messiah, whom they murdered, the sore burden of Heaven's displea- 
 sure hath now rested upon the nation these seventeen hundred years ; but 
 their eyes are not yet opened ; their hearts have not, hitherto, relented. 
 How hath the " wrath of Jehovah been kindled against his people, insomuch 
 that he hath abhorred his own inheritance !" How hath he "given them 
 into the hand of the heathen," and " caused them that hated them to rule 
 over them!" How have " their enemies oppressed them;" how have they 
 been " brought into subjection under their hand ! Nevertheless, O Lord, re- 
 gard their afflictions, when thou hearest their cry;" grant them repentance 
 first, and then pardon ; " remember, for them thy covenant," let them change 
 their mind, and do thou change thy purpose, "according to the multitude 
 of thy mercies ; make them also to be pitied of all those that have carried 
 them captives;" cause them, upon their conversion, to find favour in the 
 eyes of the nations ; and do Thou, who hast so long been " a light to lighten 
 the Gentiles," become once more " the glory of thy people Israel." 
 
 " 47. Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen, 
 to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise." 
 
 It appears from this verse, that the Psalm was written at a time when 
 Israel was in captivity " among the heathen." Such will be the petition 
 of the Jews hereafter to him whom they crucified ; and such is now the 
 petition of the Christian church, that the elect may be finally gathered 
 together, and united in one congregation, " to give thanks unto the name, 
 and triumph for ever in the praises of Jesus." 
 
 " 48, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting : 
 and let all the people say. Amen, Praise ye the Lord," 
 
 *See the account given of the word by the learned and ingenious Mr. Parkburst, in his excel- 
 lent Hebrew-English Lexicon. 
 
312 A COMMENTARY Psalm CVII. 
 
 At all times, in all places, and by all persons, on earth and heaven, in 
 prosperity and adversity, peace or persecution, •' the Lord God of Israel," 
 the Saviour and Redeemer of his church, is to be " blessed :" nor can any 
 situation exempt a believer from saying, " Amen, Hallelujah," that is, 
 firom blessing God, himself, and exciting others to do the same. 
 
 TWENTY-SECOND DAY.—MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM CVIL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The redeemed of the Lord are exhorted, in this Psalm, 1 — 3. to praise him for 
 his goodness in redeeming', and gathering them from the four quarters of the 
 world. Their danger and their deliverance are represented under the four 
 striking images, 4 — 9. of travellers lost in a wilderness, but directed and con- 
 ducted home; 10 — 16. of prisoners rescued from captivity; 17 — 22. of sick 
 and dying men restored to health; 23 — 32. of mariners preserved in a storm 
 at sea, and brought safe into port. 33 — 41, Some other instances of God's 
 providence in the government of the world, and of the church, are adduced 
 and insisted on, for, 42. the consolation of the righteous, and, 43. the in- 
 struction of all. 
 
 "1. give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy 
 endureth for ever. 2. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath 
 redeemed from the hand of the enemy ; 3. And gathered them out of the 
 lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south." 
 
 Eternal mercy is the theme here proposed ; and they who have tasted its 
 sweets, are invited to join in setting forth its praises. The members of the 
 Christian church are now, in the most proper and emphatical sense of the 
 words, " the redeemed of Jehovah, whom he hath redeemed from the hand 
 of the enemy, and gathered them," by the Gospel, " out of all lands," 
 and from all the four quarters of the world, to form a church, and to supply 
 the place of the apostate Jews : whose forefathers experienced, in type and 
 shadow, the good things prepared for them and for us, in truth and sub- 
 stance. " Many," saith our Lord to the Jews, " shall come from the east, 
 and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down 
 in the kingdom of God — and ye yourselves shall be thrust out," Matt, 
 viii. 11. Luke xiii. 29. We, converted Gentiles, are the happy people; 
 and we are taught in this Psalm to celebrate that mercy which made us so. 
 
 " 4. They wandered in the wilderness, in a solitary way : they found no 
 city to dwell in. 5. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. 6. Then 
 they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, andhe delivered them out of their 
 distresses. 7. And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go 
 to a city of habitation." 
 
 The spiritual blessings of redemption are represented by the Psalmist 
 under four exquisitely beautiful and expressive images ; which images are 
 themselves four special acts of God's providential care and love, shown 
 toward the bodies of men in the world ; corresponding with as many works 
 of grace, wrought on the souls of believers, in the church. The first of 
 these pictures exhibiteth to our view a set of travellers lost in a pathless 
 desert, and well nigh famished, through want of necessary provisions. 
 They make their distresses known by prayer to Jehovah, and, lo, he 
 appears, as their guard, and their guide ; he supplies all their necessities 
 upon the journey, and conducts them in safety to their place of abode. Thus 
 he dealt with Israel of old, in their passage, through the waste and howling 
 wilderness, from Egypt to Canaan. And thus he is ready to deal with us all. 
 "The world," saith Lord Bolingbroke,* "is a great wilderness, wherein 
 
 * Reflections on History, vol. i. p.244, andl71. 
 
Bay XXII. M. p. ON THE PSALMS. 313 
 
 mankind have wandered about from the creation — We are not only passen- 
 gers, or sojourners, but absolute strangers, at the first steps we make in it." 
 We are so, indeed ; and too often, through our own fault, continue such to 
 the last; we find not the way which leads to heaven, nor, if we did find it, 
 have we strength to travel in it, without the viaticum which cometh from 
 thence, and which alone can bring us thither. Fervent and importunate 
 prayer to the God of our salvation will procure, from above, knowledge to 
 dispel our ignorance, and grace to help our infirmities; the former will dis- 
 cover to us our road, the latter will enable us to walk in it, and both 
 together will carry us, in due time, to "the city of our eternal habitation." 
 "8. O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and fur his 
 wonderful works to the children of men ! 9. For he satisfieth the longing, 
 or, thirsty, soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness." 
 
 The former of these two verses is a chorus, repeated after the celebration 
 of each of the four mercies here related. Literally it is, " Let them acknow- 
 ledge to Jehovah his mercy, and his wonders for the children of Adam." 
 And what can better deserve our acknowledgment, than the provision 
 made for the bodies and souls of Christian travellers, in their way to that 
 heavenly country and city, where " they shall hunger no more, neither thirst 
 any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb 
 which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them 
 unto living fountains of waters : and God shall wipe away all tears from 
 their eyes." Rev. vii. 16, 17. 
 
 " 10. Such as sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, being bound 
 in afiiiction and iron; 11. Because they rebelled against the words of God, 
 and contemned the counsel of the Most High ; 12. Therefore he brought 
 down their heart v/ith labour: they fell down, "and there was none to help. 
 13. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out 
 of their distresses. 14. He brought them out of darkness, and the shadow 
 of death, and break their bands in sunder. 15. Oh that men would praise 
 the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of 
 men ! 16. For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron 
 in sunder." 
 
 In this second piece of divine scenery, we behold a people groaning 
 under all the miseries of captivity, deprived of light and liberty, chained 
 down in horrid dungeons, and there expecting the day of execution. These 
 calamities they are represented as having brought upon themselves, by 
 their rebellion against God, who takes this method of humbling them. It 
 succeeds, and brings them upon their knees to Him, who alone is able to 
 deliver them. Moved by their cries, he exerts his power on their behalf, 
 and frees them from the house of bondage. To a state of corporal servitude, 
 the Israelites, for their transgressions, were frequently reduced, and many 
 times experienced, upon their repentance, the goodness of Jehovah in 
 rescuing them from it. But the grand and universal captivity is that of sin 
 and death ; the grand and universal deliverance, for which all the redeemed 
 of the Lord ought to praise his mercy, is that by Jesus Christ. Adam and 
 all his posterity " rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the 
 counsel of the Most High." By so doing, they subjected themselves to a 
 slavery, the heaviest and bitterest of all others. The devil led them cap- 
 tive at his will, and set over them their own insatiable lusts and passions, 
 as so many task-masters, to afflict, and keep them under. By these the 
 soul is confined so close in prison, and bound with so many chains, that it 
 cannot get forth to do the will of God, even when that is made known to it. 
 Of mankind, in this state, how truly may it be said, and how often in Scrip- 
 ture is it said, under these and the like figures, "They sit in darkness, 
 and in the shadow of death, being fast bound in misery, and bands stronger 
 than iron — He also brought down their heart through heaviness, they fell 
 down, and there was none to help !" A sense of this his woful condition, 
 forces the sinner to "cry unto the Lord Jesus in his trouble," and to say, 
 
 27 
 
314 A COMMENTARY Psaim CVII. 
 
 "0 wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of 
 death !" " Bring ray soul out of prison, that I may give thanks unto thy 
 name." And now his prayer is heard, the grace of Christ cometh to his 
 assistance, and he is made " free indeed." His chains, like those of St. 
 Peter, fall off at the v?ord of his Deliverer ; he is " saved out of his dis- 
 tress; he is brought out of darkness and the shadow of death," into the 
 glorious light and liberty of the sons of God. The joy consequent upoa 
 such a deliverance will be exceeded only by that which shall take place in 
 the hearts, and be expressed by the voices of the redeemed, on the day 
 when Christ shall accomplish the redemption of their bodies also, as he 
 hath already effected that of his own, from the power of the grave ; when 
 he shall dash in pieces the brazen gates, and adamantine bars of that 
 prison-house, put an end for ever to the bondage of corruption, and lead 
 captivity captive into the highest heavens. 
 
 " 17. Fools, because of their trangression, and because of their iniquities, 
 are afflicted. 18. Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw 
 near unto the gates of death. 19. Then they cry unto the Lord in their 
 trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses. 20. He sent his word, 
 and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. 21. O that 
 men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works 
 to the children of men! 22. And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanks- 
 giving, and declare his works with rejoicing." 
 
 The recovery of men from sickness affords a third image of the benefits 
 conferred on our nature by the Redeemer. Sickness, as we are here in- 
 formed, is the punishment of human folly and iniquity. When it is extreme, 
 it deprives man of all relish and appetite for his food ; nay, it makes him 
 loathe and detest the very sight and smell of that which should nourish and 
 support him ; in which case, he must waste away, and soon " draw near to 
 the gates of death." But from those dreadful gates the power of God can 
 snatch us, when we are just about to enter them. To an infirm and emaciated 
 body he can restore health, strength, and beauty; for diseases are his mi- 
 nisters and messengers ; they visit us at his command, and at his command 
 they retire, and we recover again. The Israelites in the wilderness, "be- 
 cause of their transgressions, and because of their iniquities, were often 
 afflicted" with a plague. But when they repented, and atonement was 
 made, the plague ceased. They were stung by fiery serpents ; but when 
 they cried unto Jehovah, he sent his word, and healed them. " They were 
 troubled," as the author of the book of Wisdom observes, " for a small 
 season, that they might be admonished, having a sign of salvation to put 
 them in remembrance of the commandment of thy law. For he that turned 
 himself towards it, was not saved by the thing that he saw, but by thee, 
 who art the Saviour of all," Wisd. xvi. 6. 7. Sentence of death was passed 
 upon Hezekiah; he already saw himself at "the gates of the grave," and 
 expected no more to " behold man with the inhabitants of the world." Yet 
 his prayer prevailed for a respite, and fifteen years were added to his life, 
 Isa. xxxviii. Now the mind, by reason of sin, is not less subject to infir- 
 mities than the body. These infirmities reduce a man to a state of languor 
 and listlessness; he finds himself incapable of action, indisposed for the 
 reception of divine truths, without taste for knowledge, or inclination for 
 virtue ; he even nauseates the book of God, and the bread of heaven ; and 
 the life of faith is in great danger. But the case is not desperate, while 
 there is breath enough left to call in, by prayer, the great Physician of spi- 
 rits. The most inveterate malady gives place to his efRcacious medicines : 
 appetite revives, health returns, and the believer is reinstated in the vigour 
 and beanty of holiness. Let all who have been thus " healed and saved 
 from destruction," either of body or soul, acknowledge to Jehovah his 
 mercy, and his wonders wrought for the children of Adam : " let them sacri- 
 fice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing." 
 
 " 23. They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great 
 
DAT XXII. MP. ON THE PSALMS. 315 
 
 waters : 24. These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. 
 25. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifted up the 
 waves thereof. 26. They mount up to heaven, they go down again to the 
 depths; tlieir soul is melted because of trouble. 27. They reel to and fro, 
 and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits end; Heh. all their 
 wisdom, or skill, is swallowed up. 28. Then they cry unto the Lord in 
 their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. 29. He raaketh 
 the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. 30. Then are they 
 glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. 
 31. O that men would praise the Lord fur his goodness, and for his won- 
 derful works to the children of men ! 32. Let them exalt him also in the 
 congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders." 
 The fourth similitude chosen to portray the dangers of our present state, 
 and the goodness of God displayed in our salvation, is taken from that 
 signal instance of the Divine power and providence, the preservation of 
 mariners in a storm at sea. The description which the Psalmist hath given 
 us of such an event admitteth of no comment. Experience alone can il- 
 lustrate its beauty, evince its truth, and point out the propriety of the cir- 
 cumstances which are selected to furnish us with a full and complete idea 
 of the whole. Few of us, indeed, are ever likely to be in that terrible 
 situation. But then we cannot help reflecting, that there is a ship, in which 
 we are all embarked ; there is a troubled sea, on which we all sail ; there 
 are storms, by which we are all frequently overtaken ; and there is a haven 
 which we all desire to behold and to enter. For the church is a ship; the 
 world is a sea; temptations, persecutions, and afflictions, are the waves of 
 it; the prince of the power of the air is the stormy wind which raises them; 
 and heaven is the only port of rest and security. Often during the voyage, 
 for our punishment, or our trial, God permitteth us to be thus assaulted. 
 The succession and the violence of our trouble, the elevations and depres- 
 sions of mind and fortune, the uncertainty of our counsels, and our utter 
 inabilit)'- to help ourselves, are finely represented by the multitude and im- 
 petuosity of the waves, the tossings and agitations of the vessel, the con- 
 fusion, terror, and distress among the sailors. In both cases, prayer is the 
 proper effect, and the only remedy left. With the earnestness of affrighted 
 mariners, who will then be devout, though they never were so before, we 
 should "cry unto the Lord Jesus in our trouble;" we should, as it were, 
 "awake" him, like the disciples, with repetitions of, "Lord, save us, we 
 perish !" Then will he arise, and rebuke the authors of our tribulation, 
 saying unto them, " Peace, be still ;" and they shall hear and obey his 
 voice. " He will make the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof shall 
 be still;" and at length he will "bring us" in peace, joy, and gladness, 
 " to our desired haven," there to " exalt him in the congregation" of his 
 chosen, and " praise him in the" great " assembly" of saints and angels. 
 This is the consummation so devoutly wished and requested by the church 
 for all her children, at the time of their baptism, that they, " being delivered 
 from God's wrath, may be received into the ark of Christ's church; and, 
 being steadfast in faith, joyful through hope, and rooted in charity, may so 
 pass the waves of this troublesome world, that finally they may come to the 
 land of everlasting life." Thus we see there is no spiritual evil, out of 
 which God is not both able and willing to deliver us, when we call upon 
 him.- Are we ignorant of the way to the heavenly city? He will guide 
 and conduct us thither. Are we bound with the chains of sin and death? 
 He will loose and deliver us. Are our minds diseased and languid ? He 
 will heal and invigorate them. Are we in danger of being overwhelmed 
 by the troubles of the world"? He will preserve us in the midst of them, 
 until he bid them cease. Of his power and inclination to do these things 
 for our souls, he hath given assurance to all men, by those pledges of his 
 love, the benefits and blessings conferred on the bodies of his people, in 
 leadinor them through the Avilderness to Canaan; in rescuing them so often 
 
1 
 
 316 A COMMENTARY Psalm CVII. 
 
 from the miseries of captivity; in healing their diseases; and in saving 
 those of them who " did business in great waters," from the perils of the 
 sea. Certainly, the mind of man cannot have a nobler subject for medita- 
 tion in this world, than the wonders of Providence, considered as represent- 
 ing the mercies of redemption. 
 
 " 33. He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the water-springs into dry 
 ground, 34, A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that 
 dwell therein. 35. He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and 
 dry ground into water-springs : 36. And there he maketh the hungry to 
 dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation; 37. And sow the fields, 
 and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase. 38. He blessed 
 them also, so that they are multiplied greatly, and suffereth not their cattle 
 to decrease." 
 
 In tills latter part of the Psalm, the prophet farther exemplifieth the 
 power, the justice, and the goodness of God: his power, in being able to 
 change the very natureof things ; his justice and his goodness, in so doing, 
 either to punish the rebellious, or to reward the obedient. A " well-watered" 
 and " fertile country," shall " for the sins of its inhabitants," be converted 
 into "a dry and barren one." The plain of Jordan, which, before the over- 
 throw of Sodom and Gomorrah, was '• well watered everywhere, like the 
 garden of Jehovah," Gen. xiii. 10. hath, since that overthrow, been a land 
 of salt and sulphur, and perpetual sterility. Nay, even the once fruitful 
 Palestine itself, that flowed with milk and honey, is at this day a region of 
 such utter desolation, that the very possibility of its ever having sufficed 
 to maintain the people who formerly possessed it, is now called in question. 
 And, indeed, while the rain of heaven shall continue to be in the hand of God, 
 how easy is it for him, by withholding it during a few months, to blast all 
 the most promising hopes of man; and, instead of plenty, joy, and health, 
 to visit him with famine, pestilence, and death! On the other hand, when 
 the ways of a people please him, he can rid them of these dreadful guests; 
 the rain shall descend from above, the springs shall rise from beneath, the 
 earth shall yield her increase, the cattle shall feed in large pastures, the 
 seasons shall be kindly, the air salutary, and the smiling face of nature 
 shall attest the loving-kindness of the Lord. Thus, in the dispensations of 
 grace, hath he dealt with Jews and Gentiles. The synagogue of the former, 
 once rich in faith, watered with the benedictions of Heaven, fruitful in 
 prophets and saints, adorned with the services of religion, and the presence 
 of Jehovah, hath been, since the murder of the Son of God, cursed with 
 infidelity, parched like the withered tops of the mountains of Gilboah, bar- 
 ren and desolate as the land of their ancient residence, whose naked rocks 
 seem to declare to all the world the hard-heartedness and unprofitableness of 
 its old possessors. When the " fruitful field" thus became a " forest," the 
 " wilderness," at the same time, became a " fruitful field." A church was 
 planted in the Gentile world, and the Spirit was poured out upon it from on 
 high. In that " wilderness did waters break out, and streams in that desert." 
 There was faith sown, and holiness was the universal product. " The wil- 
 derness and the solitary place was glad, and the desert rejoiced, and blos- 
 somed as the rose. It blossomed abundantly, and rejoiced even with joy 
 and singing; the glory of Lebanon was given unto it, the excellency of 
 Carmel and Sharon;" the privileges and honours of the synagogue were 
 conferred upon the church ; and the nations now " saw the glory of Jeho- 
 vah, and the excellency of God;" Isa. xxxii, 15. xxxv. 1, 2. Spiritual 
 increase, health, and plenty; spiritual peace, joy, and happiness, appeared 
 in beauteous and lovely procession; and the blessing of Jesus was upon 
 this his new inheritance in every way. 
 
 " 39. Again, they are minished, and brought low through oppression, 
 affliction, and sorrow. 40. He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth 
 them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way. 41. Yet setteth 
 he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock." 
 
DAT XXII. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 317 
 
 But let not those who have received the largest share of Heaven's favours, 
 therefore boast and presume. The continuance of those favours dependeth 
 upon the continuance of their fidelity and obedience. Mighty empires, with 
 their " princes," have, for their wickedness, been "brought low" by the arm 
 of Jehovah, and laid in the dust, while nations poor and feeble, and never 
 thought of, have been taken from thence, and exalted over them. What 
 revolutions have in like manner, happened, and probably are still to happen, 
 in the church ! Jerusalem is fallen, through unbelief; and the Gentile 
 church standeth only by faith, from which if she depart, vengeance will be 
 executed on her likewise. Yet, even in the worst of times, there is a pro- 
 mise, that " the poor" in spirit, the faithful and humble disciples of the 
 holy Jesus, shall be preserved from the evil, and " set on high from afflic- 
 tion ;" yea, that they shall be multiplied " like a flock," under the care of 
 the good Shepherd, to preserve his name, and to continue a church upon the 
 earth, until he shall return again. 
 
 "42. The righteous shall see and rejoice ; and all iniquity shall stop her 
 mouth." 
 
 Two consequences will follow from this alternate display of the mercy 
 and the judgment of God. The righteous, finding themselves still the 
 objects of the former, will have cause to rejoice and give thanks; and the 
 wicked, when visited with the latter, will be forced by their silence at least, 
 to own that their punishment is just. This will certainly be the case at 
 the last day, when the dispensations of God, and the perfect rule of equity 
 observed in them, shall be manifested to all the world. 
 
 " 43. Whoso is wise, and|will observe these things, even they shall under- 
 stand the loving-kindness of the Lord; or. Who is wise? and he will 
 observe these things ; and they shall understand the loving-kindness of the 
 Lord." 
 
 A truly "wise" person will treasure up in his heart the contents of this 
 most instructive and delightful Psalm. By so doing, he will fully "under- 
 stand and comprehend the weakness and wretchedness of man, and the 
 power and "loving-kindness" of God, who, not for our merit, but for his 
 mercy's sake, dispelleth our ignorance, breaketh off our sins, healeth our 
 infirmities, preserveth us in temptations, placeth us in his church, enricheth 
 us with his grace, sheltereth us from persecution, blesseth us in time, and 
 will crown us in eternity. 
 
 TWENTY-SECOND DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM cvm. 
 
 This Psalm is composed of parts taken, without any material alteration, 
 from two others. The first five verses occur in Psalm Ivii. 7 — 11; the 
 last eight are found in Psalm Ix. 5 — 12. The reader is therefore referred to 
 the exposition already given of those Psalms. 
 
 PSALM CIX. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 St. Peter, Acts i. 11. hath taught us to apply the predictions in this Psalm to 
 the betrayers and murderers of Messiah, who is, consequently, tlie person 
 here speaking-, and, 1 — 5. complaining of the injuries which he suffered from 
 them ; after which, 6 — 20. he forewarneth them of all the judgments and sore 
 calamities that should come upon them and their posterity ; 21 — 25. he re- 
 turnetli to the subject of his p.ission ; 26 — 29. repeateth his supplications for 
 himself and his church ; and, 30 — 31. concludeth with an act of praise. In this 
 
 27* 
 
318 A COMMENTARY Psalm CIX. 
 
 liglit was the Psalm considered and interpreted in the ancient church, by 
 Chrysostom, Jerome, Augustine, Theodoret, and others. 
 
 " 1. Hold not thy peace, God of my praise ; i. e. who art the subject 
 of my praise ; 2. For the mouth of the wicked, and the mouth of the de- 
 ceitful are opened against me ; they have spoken against me with a lying 
 tongue. 3. They compassed me about also with words of hatred ; and 
 fought against me without a cause. 4. For my love they are my adversa- 
 ries : but I give mijself unto prayer. 5. And they have rewarded me evil 
 for good, and hatred for my love." 
 
 The holy Jesus, in these words, maketh supplication to the Father for 
 redress and deliverance. He complaineth of the manner in which he was 
 treated, when "he came unto his own, and his own received him not," John 
 i. 11. Sometimes "the mouth of the wicked -was opened upon him,"* 
 roaring against him, like the roaring of lions, while they cried out, " He is a 
 Samaritan, and hath a devil, and is mad ; away with him, away with him, 
 crucify him, crucify him." Sometimes, " deceitful and lying tongues" 
 were employed, either to entangle and entrap him in his talk, or to bear 
 false witness against him. And all this was done, not only without a cause, 
 but men were his bitter and implacable " adversaries," in return for that 
 " love" which brought him from heaven, to save them with an everlasting 
 salvation. Let the afflicted and traduced disciple rejoice, in that he is 
 conformed to the image of his Master. And from the example of that Mas- 
 ter let him learn what course to take, when in such circumstances — " But I 
 give myself unto prayer." 
 
 " 6. \ Thou wilt set a wicked man, or, the wicked one, over him, and 
 Satan shall stand at his right hand. 7. When he is judged, he shall be 
 condemned ; and his prayer shall become sin." 
 
 A transition is here made to the adversaries of Messiah ; primarily to 
 Judas, " who was guide to them that took Jesus," Acts i. 16. ; secondarily 
 to the synagogue, of whom Judas may be considered as an epitome and re- 
 presentative. It is foretold, that by betraying and murdering the best of Mas- 
 ters, they should subject themselves to the tyranny of the worst ; that they 
 should become slaves to the " wicked one," who should justly be " set over 
 them," when they had delivered themselves into his hands ; that "Satan," 
 who had stood by them to tempt them, should stand at their right hand to 
 accuse them at the tribunal of God ; that when tried, they would be convicted 
 and condemned, and even their prayer would be abomination in the sight 
 of the Lord, as being offered without true contrition and repentance, with- 
 out faith, hope, or charity. Such is the wretched state of the Jews, estran- 
 ged from God, and in bondage to the devil ; such the prayers, which, from 
 hardened and malignant hearts, they continually utter, for the excision of 
 all Christians, and for the extirpation of that blessed name on which Chris- 
 tians call. These prayers, instead of lightening the burden of their sins, 
 certainly add to its weight. Enable us, Lord Jesus, to resist Satan as a 
 tempter, that he may not be our accuser; and grant us always so to pray, 
 tljat our prayers may me heard. 
 
 " 8. His days shall be few, and another shall take his office." 
 
 This is the verse which St. Peter hath cited and applied, in his discourse 
 to the disciples, at the election of Matthias into the place of Judas. " Men 
 and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy 
 Ghost, by the mouth of David, spake before concerning Judas, who was 
 
 * Haec autem cecinii David spirituali sensu in persona Cbristi a Jadseis impetiti omnimodis 
 blasphemiis. Bossuet. 
 
 t As most of the following verbs are in the future tense, and the rest have evidently a predictive 
 and future import, the same liberty is here taken, as in Psalm Ixix. of rendering tiiem through- 
 out uniformly in that tense: by which means the curses pronounced in this Psalm will at once 
 appear to be of the same import with those in tlie xxviiith chapter of Deuteronomy. The reader 
 is entreated, when he shall have perused this Psalui, to turn to that chapter and judge for him- 
 self. 
 
DAT XXn. E. p. ON THE PSALMS. 319 
 
 guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us, and had 
 obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the 
 reward of iniquity, and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and 
 all his bowels gushed out — For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his 
 habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and. His bishopric 
 let another take." The former of these two citations is made from Psalm 
 Ixix. 25. ; the latter is a part of the verse now before us. If Judas, there- 
 fore, be the person whose destruction the sufferer fortelleth, the person 
 speaking in this prophetical Psalm must of necessity be our Lord him- 
 self, who suffered by the treachery of Judas. In Psalm Ixix. 25. the 
 prediction is in the plural number, "Their habitation shall be void;" 
 yet St. Peter applies it, in the singular number, to Judas, 'i'he pas- 
 sage in our Psalm is singular, yet applicable not to Judas only, but to 
 the whole nation of the Jews ; whose " days," after they had crucified the 
 Lord of glory, "were few;" who Avere dispossessed of the place and 
 "office" which they held as the church of God, and to which, with all its 
 honours and privileges, the Gentile Christian church succeeded in their 
 stead, when the Aaronical priesthood was abolished, and that of the true 
 Melchizedek established forever. 
 
 "9. His children shall be fatherless, and his wife a widow. 10. His 
 children shall be continually vagabonds, and beg; they shall seek their bread 
 also out of desolate places." 
 
 If, by the wretched death of Judas, his wife became a widow, and his 
 child ren'orphans, vagabonds, and beggars, their fate was but a prelude to that 
 of thousands and ten thousands of the same nation, whose husbands and 
 fathers came afterwards to a miserable end, at the destruction of Jerusalem. 
 Their children, and children's children, have since been " continually vaga- 
 bonds" upon the earth, in the state of Cain, when he had murdered his 
 righteous brother, not cut off, but marvellously preserved for punishment 
 and wo. Having nothing of their own, they roam through all parts of the 
 world, civilized or barbarous, the scorn and contempt of mankind. And 
 even if they are able to amass wealth, their unparalleled avarice still keeps 
 them poor and beggarly in the midst of it. Thus Dr. Hammond, in his 
 Annotation on these verses — " By this is described, in a very lively man- 
 ner, the condition of the Jewish posterity, ever since their ancestors fell 
 under that signal vengeance, for the crucifying of Christ. First, their deso- 
 lations and devastations in their own country, and being ejected thence ; 
 secondly, their continual wanderings from place to place, scattered over the 
 face of the earth ; and, thirdly, their remarkable covetousness, keeping 
 them always poor and beggarly, be they never so rich, and continually 
 labouring and moiling for gain, as the poorest are wont to do ; and this is 
 continually the constant curse attending this people, wheresoever they are 
 scattered." 
 
 "IL The extortioner, or, creditor, shall catch, or, seize, all that he hath ; 
 and the stranger shall spoil his labour. 12. There shall be none to extend 
 mercy to him: neither shall there be any to favour his fatherless children." 
 
 Since the destruction of Jerusalem, how often hath this race been seized, 
 pillaged, and stripped, and empoverished, by prince and people, in all the 
 nations of the known world ; none appearing, as in other cases, to favour 
 and extend mercy to them !* "They have had no nation, none to avenge 
 their grievous wrongs, which the Lord God of their forefathers had ordained 
 they should suffer, at all times, and in all places, wheresoever they have 
 come, without redress. Nay, their general carriage hath been so odious 
 and preposterous, that albeit the Christian magistrates had conspired to- 
 gether for their good, they would themselves have certainly provoked their 
 own misery." Thus that excellent divine, the learned and pious Dr. Jack- 
 
 * Thou Shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save Ihee— The fruit 
 of thy land and all thy labours, shall a nation which tliou knowest not, eat up, and thou shall 
 be only oppressed and crushed alway . Deut. isviii. 29, 33. 
 
320 A COMMENTARY Psalm CIX. 
 
 son, vol. i. pp, 142, and 135, whose reflections upon the history of the Jews, 
 at and since their dispersion, it were to be wished that every Christian 
 could peruse. For, as he himself observes, "Christian parents, whether 
 bodily or spiritual, should be as careful to instruct their children what the 
 Lord has done to these Jews, as the Israelites should have been to tell their 
 sons what God had done to Pharaoh." Ibid. p. 152. 
 
 " 13. His posterity shall be cut off; and in the generation following their 
 name shall be blotted out. 14. The iniquity of his fathers shall be remem- 
 bered with the Lord ; and the sin of his mother shall not be blotted out. 
 15. They shall be before the Lord continually, that he may cut off the 
 memory of them from the earth." 
 
 The traitorous and rebellious " posterity" of traitorous and rebellious 
 parents suffered an " excision" by the Roman sword, and " in the genera- 
 tion following," their name, as a church and civil polity, was " blotted out" 
 of the list of states and kingdoms upon earth. "The iniquity of their 
 fathers" which they had filled up, " was remembered with Jehovah, and 
 the sin of their mother," that is, perhaps of the synagogue of Jerusalem, 
 now in bondage with her children, " was not blotted out; that upon them 
 might come all the righteous blood shed, from the blood of righteous Abel 
 unto the blood of Zacharias, whom they slew between the temple and the 
 altar," Matt, xxiii. 25. The blood of the prophets cried for vengeance 
 against those who crucified the Lord of the prophets. God hid not his face 
 any longer from all these horrible transgressions, but " they were before 
 him continually," and occasioned him to "cut off the memory" of his peo- 
 ple, once precious and fragrant, "from the earth;" so that while apostles 
 and martyrs are annually commemorated with honour, and their good deeds, 
 blossoming out of the dust, perfume the church, and delight the souls of the 
 faithful, the names of "Judas," and "Jew," are never mentioned but 
 with contempt and abhorrence. 
 
 " 16. Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the 
 poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart." 
 
 The crime which brought upon its perpetrators all the above-mentioned 
 judgments and calamities, is here pointed out too plainly to be mistaken. 
 " They remembered not to show mercy" to him, who showed it to all the 
 World; they "persecuted" him who for our sakes became "poor," and 
 who condescended to ask of his creatures water to drink; they betrayed and 
 murdered the lowly and afflicted Jesus, whose " heart" was " broken" with 
 sorrow for their sins, and with a sense of the punishment due to them. How 
 long will it be, ere the brethren of this most innocent and most injured 
 Joseph, " say one to another. We are very guilty concerning our brother, 
 in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would 
 not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us !" Gen. xlii, 21. 
 
 "17. As he loved cursing, so shall it come unto him; as he delighted 
 not in blessing, so shall it be far from him. 18. As he clothed himself with 
 cursing like as with his garment, so shall it come into his bowels like water, 
 and like oil into his bones. 19. It shall be unto him as the garment 
 which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually. 
 20. This shall be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord, and of 
 them that speak evil against my soul." 
 
 They who reject Christ reject the fountain of "blessing," and choose a 
 "curse" for their portion; and this portion, when they have finally made 
 their choice, will certainly be given to them in full measure. The curse, 
 that lighted on the Jewish nation, is resembled, for its universality and 
 adhesion, to a " garment," which covereth the whole man, and is "girded" 
 close about his loins ; for its diffusive and penetrating nature, to " water," 
 which, from the stomach, passeth into the "bowels," and is dispersed 
 through all the vessels of the frame; and to "oil," which imperceptibly 
 insinuates itself into the very "bones." When that unhappy multitude, 
 assembled before Pontius Pilate, pronounced the words, " His blood be on 
 us, and on our children," Matt, xxvii. 25. then did they put on the enve- 
 
Day XXII. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 321 
 
 nomed garment, which has stuck to and tormented the nation ever since ; 
 then did they eagerly swallow down that deadly draught, the effects 
 whereof have been the infatuation and misery of 1700 years! If such, in 
 this world, be " the reward of Messiah's adversaries, and of those who 
 spake evil against him," what will hereafter be the vengeance inflicted on 
 those who " crucify him afresh, and put him again to an open shame V 
 Heb. vi. 6. And what will be the operation of the sentence, " Go, ye 
 cursed," upon the bodies and souls of the wicked ■? how will it at once 
 affect all the senses of the former, and all the faculties of the latter, with 
 pain, anguish, horror, and despair ! Think on these things, ye sinners ; 
 tremble, and repent! 
 
 "21. But do thou, for me, God the Lord, Heb. Jehovah the Lord, for 
 thy name's sake : because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me. 22. For I 
 am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. 23. I am gone 
 like the shadow when it declineth; I am tossed up and down as the locust. 
 
 24. My knees are weak through fasting: and my flesh faileth ofYatness. 
 
 25. I became also a reproach unto them : when they looked upon me, they 
 shaked their heads." 
 
 In this last pari of the Psalm, Messiah petitioneth for deliverance, urging 
 to the Father his power as " Lord," the honour of his "name," and the 
 greatness of his "mercy." He then pleadeth his own humiliation and 
 affliction, his "poverty" and "heart"-felt agony of grief. Drawing towards 
 the evening of his mortal life, he compareth himself to a " shadow, declin- 
 ing," and about to vanish from the earth, where he hath no rest, being per- 
 secuted from place to place, as a "locust" is driven hither and thither by 
 the stormy wind and tempest ; while enfeebled and emaciated by frequent 
 "fastings," and long want of food during his passion, he was ready to 
 sink under his burden ; and what aggravated all his sufferings v/as, that he 
 met with no pity and compassion from those around him; his enemies 
 "reproached" and "reviled him, shaking their heads, and saying. Ah! 
 thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thy- 
 self," &c. Mark xv. 29. Nor are we to suppose our Lord thus praying 
 for his natural body only, but also for his mystical body, the church, that 
 from all distresses, persecutions, and insults, the members of that body may 
 in due time be delivered, like their blessed Head, by a joyful resurrection 
 to eternal life. 
 
 " 26. Help me, O Lord my God : O save me, according to thy mercy : 
 27. That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, Lord, hast 
 done it." 
 
 The resurrection of Christ was to be the great demonstration of Jehovah's 
 power ; and it was published as such by the apostles to all the nations of 
 the world, who thereupon believed, and were converted. The Jews alone 
 hardened their hearts against that proof, and continued impenitent. 
 
 "28. They will curse, but thou shalt bless: when they arise, they shall 
 be ashamed ; but thy servant shall rejoice. 29. Mine adversaries shall be 
 clothed with shame, and they shall cover themselves with their own confu- 
 sion, as with a mantle." 
 
 The apostate sons of Israel, though they have been so long " con- 
 founded" and blasted by the breath of Heaven's displeasure, yet continue 
 " cursing" and blaspheming, as it is here foretold that they should do so. 
 But God hath " blessed" his Son Jesus, and through him all nations, who 
 have been adopted into his family, and made his children by baptism; 
 yea, and they shall be blessed, and enter by thousands and millions, into 
 the " joy" of their Lord, in that day when his crucifiers shall have no cover- 
 ing but their own " shame" and "confusion." 
 
 " 30. I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth ; yea, I will praise 
 him among the multitude. 31. For he shall stand at the right hand of the 
 poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul." 
 
 The former of these two verses is parallel to that which St. Paul citeth 
 
322 A COMMENTARY Psalm CX. 
 
 from Psalm xxii. 22. " He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified, are 
 all of one : for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, say- 
 ing, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church 
 will I sing praise unto thee," Heb. ii. 11. Great is the joy of the redeemed 
 upon earth ; greater will it be, after the resurrection of the dead, in the 
 courts of heaven. Jesus unjustly put to death, and now risen again, is a 
 perpetual advocate and intercessor for his people, ever ready to appear on 
 their behalf against the iniquitous sentence of a corrupt world, and the 
 malice of the grand accuser. 
 
 TWENTY-THIRD DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM CX. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In this Psalm David prophesieth concerning', 1. the exaltation of Christ; 2. 
 the sceptre of his kingdom; 3. the character of his subjects; 4. his everlast- 
 ing- priesthood; 5, 6. his tremendous victories and judgments; 7. the means 
 of his obtaining both kingdom and priesthood, by his sufferings and resur- 
 rection. Parts of this prophecy are cited and applied in tlie New Testament, 
 by our Lord himself, Matt. xxii. 43. by St. Peter, Acts ii. 34. by St. Paul, 
 1 Cor. XV. 25. Heb. v. 6. The church likewise hath appointed it as one of 
 the proper Psalms to be read on Cliristmas-day. It appertaineth literally and 
 solely to King Messiah. 
 
 " 1. The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I 
 make thine enemies thy footstool." 
 
 We are here informed of Jehovah's eternal and unchangeable decree con- 
 cerning the kingdom of Messiah, its extension, power, and duration. That 
 Messiah should, after his sufferings, be thus exalted, was determined in the 
 Divine counsel and covenant, before the world began. Whether we sup- 
 pose the Psalmist to be speaking of that determination, or of its actual ac- 
 complishment at the time of Christ's ascension into heaven, it maketh no 
 great difference. The substance of the decree is the same. It was ad- 
 dressed by the Father to the Son, by Jehovah to Messiah, whom David in 
 spirit styleth ''3"]N, my Lord ; one that should come after him, as his off- 
 spring according to the flesh ; but one, in dignity of person, and greatness 
 of power, far superior to him, and to every earthly potentate ; King of 
 kings, and Lord of lords ; God and man united in one person. To this 
 person it was said by the Father, " Sit thou at my right hand, until I make 
 thine enemies thy footstool;" in other words. Seeing, O my Son Messiah, 
 thou hast glorified me on the earth, and finished the work which I gave thee 
 to do, the great work of man's redemption, take now the throne prepared for 
 thee from the foundation of the world ; behold, all power is given unto thee ; 
 enter upon thy mediatorial kingdom, and reign till every opposer shall have 
 submitted himself to thee, and sin and death shall have felt thy all-conquer- 
 ing arm. 
 
 " 2. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion : rule thou 
 in the midst of thine "enemies." 
 
 In the foregoing verse, David related the words spoken by the Father to 
 the Son. In this, he himself, as a prophet, directeth his speech to King 
 Messiah, predicting the glorious consequences of his enthronization, and 
 the manner in which " his enemies" are to be " made his footstool." The 
 " rod" or sceptre of Christ's " strength" is his word, accompanied by his 
 Spirit. The law was given to Israel from Sinai, but the Gospel went forth 
 from " Sion ;" it was preached to all nations, " beginning at Jerusalem," 
 Luke xxiv. 47. ; there began the spiritual kingdom of Jesus ; there were 
 the first converts made ; and from thence the faith was propagated by the 
 
Day XXIU. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. ' 323 
 
 apostles to the ends of the earth. This David seeing beforehand, criesout, 
 "Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies!" Go on, victorious Prince; 
 plant the standard of thy cross among the thickest ranks of the adversary; 
 and, in opposition to both Jew and Gentile, tumultuously raging against 
 thee, erect and establish thy church throughout the world ! This was ac- 
 cordingly done with marvellous speed and success; and the church, thus 
 erected and established among the nations, hath been as marvellously pre- 
 served, "in the midst of her enemies," unto this day; yea, and the world 
 shall sooner be destroyed, than she shall ceasfe to be preserved. 
 
 " 3. Thy people shall he willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties 
 of holiness : from the womb of the morning thou, hast the dew of thy 
 youth." 
 
 The blessed effects of the Gospel, upon its publication, are here foretold. 
 "The people" of Christ are those given him by his Father, and gathered 
 to him by the preachers of his word. " The day of his power" is the sea- 
 son of their co,nversion, when the corruptions of nature can no longer hold 
 out against the prevailing influences of grace ; when the heart, will, and 
 affections, turn from the world to God ; and they make, as the first disciples 
 did, a free and voluntary offer of themselves, and all they have, to their Re- 
 deemer. Then it is that they appear " in the beauties of holiness," adorned 
 with humility, faith, hope, love, and all the graces of the Spirit. With 
 regard to the last clause of this verse. Bishop Lowth, in his admired Lec- 
 tures,* has observed, and proved, that it may be fairly construed to this 
 effect: — " More than the dew from the womb of the morning, is the derw of 
 thy progeny;" that is, Tliy children, begotten to thee through the Gospel, 
 shall exceed in number, as well as brightness and beauty, the spangles of 
 early dew, which the morning discloseth to the delighted eye of the be- 
 holder. The whole verse, therefore, containeth a lively character of the 
 subjects of Christ's spiritual kingdom, who are described by their relation 
 to him as "his people;" by their "willingness" to obey and serve him; by 
 their honourable attire, the rich and splendid robes of "holiness;" and by 
 their multitudes, resembling the drops of "dew" upon the grass. 
 
 " 4. The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thonart a priest for ever 
 after tHe order of Melchizedek." 
 
 From Christ's regal office, and the administration thereof by the sceptre of 
 his word and Spirit, the prophet passeth to his sacerdotal office, which was also 
 conferred on him by the decree of the Father, and that decree, as we are here 
 told, ratified by an oath ; "Jehovah hath sworn, and will not repent," or change 
 his purpose. The oath of God was the great seal of heaven, designed to inti- 
 mate the importance of the deed to which it was set, and " to show to the 
 heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel," Heb. vi. 17. Whether this 
 oath passed at the actual consecration of Messiah to the priesthood .upon 
 his ascension, or at his designation thereto by the covenant before the world, 
 sufficient is it for our assurance and comfort, that it did pass. We have a 
 Priest in heaven, who standeth continually pleading the merits of his sa- 
 crifice once offered upon the cross ; " who ever liveth to make intercession 
 for us ;" and who is ready at all times, to bless us, " by turning away every 
 man from his iniquities," Acts iii. 26. by aiding us against our enemies, 
 and supporting us under our necessities. Oblation, intercession, and bene- 
 diction, are the three branches of the sacerdotal office, which our great High 
 Priest now exerciseth for us, and in the exercise of which the Father hath 
 condescended in the most awful manner to promise, that he will hear and 
 accept him on our behalf. Hi^ priesthood is not, like that of Aaron, figu- 
 rative, successive, and transient, but real and effectual, fixed and incommu- 
 nicable, eternal and unchangeable, according to that pattern of it exhibited 
 to Abraham, before the law, In the person of Melchizedek, Gen. xiv. 18 — 20. 
 and discoursed upon at large by the Apostle, Heb. vii. throughout. 
 
 * Trtelect. x. 
 
324 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXI. 
 
 " 5. The Lord upon thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day 
 of his wrath. 6. He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places 
 with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries; Heb, 
 the head over much country." 
 
 This is a description of the vengeance which King Messiah should take 
 on his impenitent adversaries. By " The Lord, or my Lord, upon thy 
 right hand," "jJl'D' "7]^ 'JUX, the same person must undoubtedly be un- 
 derstood, who is mentioned in the first verse under the same title, "'JlN, as 
 " sitting at the right hand of Jehovah." And the Psalmist, who has hitherto 
 addressed himself to Messiah, or the Son, must be supposed now to make 
 a sudden apostrophe to Jehovah, or the Father; as if he had said, "This 
 my Lord Messiah, who sitteth at thy right hand, Jehovah, shall smite 
 through kings in the day of his wrath;" the kings of the earth will endea- 
 vour to destroy his religion, and put an end to his kingdom; the Neros,and 
 Domitians, the Dioclesians, the Maxentiuses, the Julians, &c. &c. shall 
 stand up, and set themselves in array against him ; but " the Lamb shall 
 overcome them ;" he shall judge and punish the heathen princes, with their 
 people, when in arms against his church ; he shall raise up those who shall 
 successfully fight his battles, and strew the ground with their " carcasses." 
 As Messiah hath done to the antichristian power of old, so shall he do to 
 all others, before or at his second advent. There is a day of forbearance, 
 during which he will have his church to be. like himself, oppressed and 
 aflilicted, humble and resigned ; but there is also a future day of wrath and 
 recompense, when the sins and provocations of her persecutors shall be 
 ripe for judgment; when their triumphs and her sufferings shall be at an 
 end ; when they shall fall for ever, and he shall ascend to heaven. 
 
 " 7. He shall drink of the brook, or, torrent, in the way: and therefore 
 shall he lift up his head," 
 
 The means, by which Christ should obtain his universal kingdom and 
 everlasting priesthood, seem here to be assigned. In his " way" to glory, 
 he was to drink deep of the waters* of affliction ; the swollen " torrent' oc- 
 curred in the way, and presented itself between him and the throne of God. 
 To this torrent in the way the Saviour descended; he bowed himself down, 
 and drank of it for us all ; and therefore, ]3n'7i% did he lift up his 
 " head ;" that is, he arose victorious, and from the valley, in which the tor- 
 rent ran, ascended to the summit of that holy and heavenly mount, where 
 he reigneth till "his enemies be made his footstool." St. Paul hath ex- 
 pressed the same sentiment in literal terms : " He humbled himself, and 
 became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross : wherefore, J/o, 
 God also hath highly exalted him," Phil. ii. 8. 
 
 PSALM CXL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This is one of the proper Psalms appointed by the church to'be read on Easter- 
 day. It containeth, 1. a resolution to praise Jehovah in the congregation, 
 
 * The Hebrew word vTlji signifies, in general, " a current of water," wliich may he citlier a 
 turbid, overwh«lmins torrent, or a clear and gentle stream. In Psalm xviii. 4. it denotes the 
 " floods of ungodliness;" in Psalm xxxvi.8. it is used to signify the" rivers of divine pleasures/' 
 Hence arises an ambiguity in the interpretation of the words, " He shall drink of the biook in 
 the way," which may be expounded either of the sufferings Christ tasted, or the refreshments he 
 experienced ; as the waters are supposed to be those of " atHiction," or those of " ccmfort." 
 Either way, the sense is good and true, as it relates to Messiah. Torrents, or the '' overflowing 
 of rivers," in the scripture language certainly, as Dr. Durell observes, do often denote " afflie- 
 tions;" as in Psalm xviii. 4. cxxiv. 4,5. c.xliv. 7,&c. the being oppressed by them, is also described 
 by the action of drinking. Psalm Ix. 3. Ixxv. 8, &c. And the idea of a brook in the w.4Y, or the 
 ROAD, seems so favour this exposition. But the author advances it, as becomes him to do, with 
 great deference and submission, since Bishop Lowlh, and Mr. Merrick, are of a different opi- 
 nion. 
 
Day XXIII. M. p. ON THE PSALMS. 305 
 
 2, 3. for his great and glorious works, and, 4. for the appointed memorials of 
 them ; 5, 6. his mercies to the church are celebrated, and, 7, 8. the equity 
 and stability of his counsels declared ; 9. the blessings of redemption, and the 
 new covenant, are mentioned, as they were prefigured of old in God's dis- 
 pensations toward Israel. 10. Religion is proclaimed to be true wisdom, 
 
 " 1. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the 
 upright, and in the congregation." 
 
 Jehovah is to be " praised," not only with the voice and the understand- 
 ing, but with the " heart," with the " whole" heart, and all its affections, 
 tuned, like the chords of the son of Jesse's harp, to a song of gratitude and 
 love. Solitary devotion hath, doubtless, its beauties and excellencies ; but 
 how glorious is it to hear the voices of a whole Christian " congregation" 
 break forth into hallelujahs, like the sound of many waters, and the noise 
 of mighty thunderings, while each one, as it were, provokes another to con- 
 tinue the blessed employment, with unremitted attention, and unabated fer- 
 vour. 
 
 " 2. The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have 
 pleasure therein." 
 
 The subjects of man's praise are the works of God. Every one of these 
 works, whether in the natural, or the spiritual system, is " great." Nothing 
 cometh from the hands of the Divine artist, but what is excellent and 
 perfect in its kind, adapted with infinite skill to its proper place, and fitted 
 for its intended use. Happy are they, who with humility and diligence, 
 with faith and devotion, give themselves to the contemplation of these works, 
 and take " pleasure," and delight therein. To them shall the gate of true 
 science open; they shall understand the mysteries of creation, providence, 
 and redemption ; and they who thus " seek," shall find the treasures of eter- 
 nal wisdom. 
 
 "3. His work is honourable and glorious; and his righteousness en- 
 dureth for ever." 
 
 The " work," of all others, in which the "honour and glorious majesty" 
 of Jehovah appeared, and which the Christian church celebrates with this 
 Psalm, is the salvation and exaltation of our nature, by the resurrection of 
 Jesus Christ from the dead ; an event which contained in it the accomplisli- 
 ment of the ancient promises, and thereby demonstrated to all the world the 
 everlasting truth, fidelity, and " righteousness," of hirn who made them. 
 
 " 4. He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered ; or, he hath 
 appointed a memorial for his wonders : the Lord is gracious, and full of 
 compassion." 
 
 Jewish feasts were " memorials" of the "wonders" wrought for Israel of 
 old ; Christian festivals are memorials of the wonders wrought in Christ for 
 all mankind, to whom, no less than to Israel, God had now showed him- 
 self " gracious and full of compassion." 
 
 "5. He hath given meat to them that fear him : he will ever be mindful 
 of his covenant. 6. He hath shewed his people the power of his works, 
 that he may, or, might, give them the heritage of the heathen." 
 
 Agreeably to the " covenant" which God made with Abraham, as con- 
 cerning his children according to the flesh, he "fed" and supported them in 
 the wilderness, he overthrew their enemies by the might of his " power," 
 and he put them in possession of Canaan, which before was the " heritage 
 of the heathen." Agreeably to the covenant which God made with the 
 same Abraham, as /concerning all believers, those " children of the promise 
 which are counted for the seed," he feedeth them in the world with the 
 true manna,* the bread which cometli down from heaven ; he hath again 
 " showed the power of his works" in the overthrow of idolatry ; and 
 
 * " Escam dedit" — Manna: qure casterai Dei mirabilia in memoriamrevocabat: unde in Arra 
 servari jnssa, Exod. xvi. 3iJ. Erat autein Eucliaristiai figura, quae vere divini amorismonumen- 
 tum aeteinam. Bossuet. 
 
 28 
 
326 A COMMExXTARY Psam CXII. 
 
 again, by the conversion of nations, given to his church the heritage of the 
 heathen; although, like Israel, she is commanded, and hath had frequent 
 admonitions, not to fix her heart on an earthly Canaan ; not to expect any 
 permanent habitation, any enduring city here below ; not to stop short of 
 an eternal and heavenly rest. 
 
 "7. The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his command- 
 ments are sure. 8. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth 
 and uprightness." 
 
 In all God's dispensations towards his faitliful servants, and towards his 
 impenitent adversaries, we admire and adore his " verity" in the perform- 
 ance of his promises to the former, and his "justice" in executing his ven- 
 geance on the latter. Thus the time of fulfilling his promise to Ab raham 
 came not till the iniquity of the Amorites was full. The case is the same 
 as to the coming of Christ, the subversion of paganism, the deaths of per- 
 secutors, the rise and fall of nations, the conversion or excision of indi- 
 viduals, and every other instance of mercy or judgment. Another property 
 of God's works is, that, being "done in truth and uprightness, they stand 
 fast for ever;" and will then appear in perfect glory and beauty, when 
 all the arts and labours of man shall be no more. 
 
 " 9. He sent redemption unto his people; he hath commanded his cove- 
 nant for ever: holy and reverend, o;-, terrible, is his name." 
 
 He who sent redemption to Israel by the hand of Moses, hath now sent 
 redemption by the power of Jesus, to all the world : he who, at mount Sinai, 
 established his covenant with his people, and gave them a law, had now 
 eitablished his "covenant" with the Gentiles, and published to them his 
 Gospel from Sion. Holy is his name, and therefore " terrible" to those 
 who, under all the means of grace, continue unholy. 
 
 " 10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom : a good under- 
 standing have all they that do his commandments : his praise endureth for 
 ever." 
 
 The fear of God is the first step to salvation, as it exciteth a sinner to 
 depart from evil, and to do good ; to implore pardon, and to sue for grace ; to 
 apply to a Saviour for the one, and to a Sanctifier for the other. Religion 
 is the perfection of wisdom, practice the best instructor, and thanksgiving 
 the sweetest recreation. 
 
 PSALM CXII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The Psalmist enumerateth the blessing-s attending' the man who feareth Jeho- 
 vah ; l.the pleasure which he taketh in doing his will; 2. the prosperity of 
 his seed ; 3. the plenteousness in his house ; 4. his comfort in trouble ; 5. his 
 internal joys ; 6. the honour with which he is remembered ; 7, 8. his holy con- 
 fidence in God ; 9. bis good deeds, and the reward of them ; 10. the envy, 
 wretchedness, and perdition of the wicked. The blessings of the Gospel 
 are spiritual and eternal ; and they are conferred upon the members of the 
 Christian church through Christ their head, who is the pattern of all right- 
 eousness, and the giver of all grace. 
 
 " 1. Blessed is the man ihat feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in 
 his commandments ; or, he delighteth greatly in his commandments." 
 
 The man who duly feareth God, is delivered from every other fear; the 
 man who delighteth in God's commandments, is freed from every inordi- 
 nate desire of earthly things; and such a man must needs be "blessed." 
 Of this kind was thy blessedness, O holy Jesus, on whom did rest " the 
 Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah," and whose meat it was to 
 do the will of him that sent thee, and to finish his work, Isa. xi. 2. John iv. 
 34, 
 
dayXxiii. m. p. on the psalms. 327 
 
 " 2. His seed shall be mighty upon earth : the generatioa of the upright 
 shall be blessed." 
 
 A father's piety derives the benediction of Heaven upon his children. 
 The posterity of faithful Abraham were often spared and favoured on 
 account of (heir progenitor; as the whole family of believers, Abraham and 
 all, are blessed in Him, who is the great Father of that family, and the 
 Author of their salvation. 
 
 " 3. Wealth and riches shall he in his house ; and his righteousness en- 
 dureth for ever." 
 
 It sometimes pleaseth God to bestow on his servants, as he did on Israel 
 of old, the good things of this world. And a rich man is therefore happier 
 than a poor man, because it is more blessed to give than to receive, Acts 
 XX. 35. But the true wealth of Christians is of another kind ; their riches 
 are such as neither moth can corrupt, nor thief steal. Grace and glory are 
 in the house of Christ, and everlasting righteousness is the portion of his 
 children. 
 
 " 4. Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness : he is gracious, 
 and full of compassion, and righteous." 
 
 While we are on earth, we are subject to a threefold darkness ; the dark- 
 ness of error, the darkness of sorrow, and the darkness of death. To dispel 
 these, God visiteth us by his word, with a threefold light ; the light of truth, 
 the light of comfort, and the light of life. The Christian's temper is framed 
 after the pattern of his Master; and he is ever ready to show to others that 
 "love" and " mercy" which have been shown to him. 
 
 " 5. A good man showeth favour, and lendeth : he will guide his affairs 
 with discretion." 
 
 The former part of this verse may be rendered with a little yariation, 
 " It is well with the man who is gracious and communicative." Ill nature 
 and avarice are their own tormentors ; but love and liberality do good to them- 
 selves, by doing it to others, and enjoy all the happiness which they cause. 
 It is not God's intention, that any of the talents which he bestoweth upon 
 us should lie dead, but that our brethren should have the use of them ; even 
 as Christ receiveth the Spirit to communicate it to us, and our salvation is 
 his glory and joy. The latter part of this verse is likewise capable of a dif- 
 ferent, and, indeed, a more literal translation ; " He will support, or maintain, 
 his words, or, his transactions, in judgment;" that is, he who thus em- 
 ployed his talents for the benefit of mankind, will be able to render a good 
 account to his Lord who intrusteth them with him. 
 
 "6. Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be had in 
 everlasting remembrance. 7. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings : his 
 heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. 8. His heart is established, he shall 
 not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies." 
 
 Nothing can deprive the person here described, of his felicity. When his 
 work is done, his body will go to its repose in the dust, but the memorial 
 of his name and of his good deeds will be still fresh as the morning breeze, 
 and fragrant as the flower of the spring. " He feareth no evil report;" no 
 blast of slander and malice can touch him; no tidings of calamity and 
 destruction can shake his confidence in God ; but he will hear the trump of 
 judgment, and behold the world in flames, rather with joy than with dread ; 
 as knowing, by those tokens, that the hour of his redemption is come, when 
 he shall see his enemies, and even death, the last of them, under his feet. 
 
 "9. He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness 
 endureth for ever ; his horn shall he exalted with honour." 
 
 His riches are not hoarded up, but dispersed abroad ; and that not by 
 others after his death, but by himself in his lifetime ; " He hath dispersed." 
 They are not squandered in the ways of vanity and folly, " but given to the 
 poor;" nor are they given indiscriminately and at random, but dispersed, 
 like precious seed, with prudence and discretion, according to the nature of 
 the soil, and in proper season, so as to produce the most plentiful harvest. 
 
328 A COMMENTARY Psalx CXIH. 
 
 Therefore " his righteousness endureth for ever;" its fruits and its g-ood 
 report are lasting among men, and it is never forgotten before God, who 
 hath prepared for it an eternal reward. " His horn shall be exalted with 
 honour," or, in glory; whatever may be his lot upon earth, (and even here 
 the charitable man will frequently be had in " honour,") at the last day, 
 certainly when the thrones of the mighty shall be cast down, and the scep- 
 tres of tyrants broken in pieces, then shall he lift up his head, and be 
 exalted to partake of the " glory" of his Redeemer, the author of his faith, 
 and the pattern of his charity, who gave himself for us, and is now seated 
 at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens. 
 
 "10. The wicked shall see it, and be grieved ; he shall gnash with his' 
 teeth, and melt away : the desire of the wicked shall perish." 
 
 The sight of Christ in glory, with his saints, will, in an inexpressible 
 manner, torment the crucifiers of the one, and the persecutors of the others ; 
 as it will show them the hopes and wishes of their adversaries all granted 
 to the full, and all their own " desires," and desio-ns, for ever at an end ; 
 so it will excite an envy which must prey upon itself, produce a grief which 
 can admit of no comfort, give birth to a worm that can never die, and blow 
 up those fires which nothing can quench. 
 
 PSALM CXIII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The servants of God, are, 1. exhorted to praise his name, 2. at all times, and, 
 3. in all places, on account, 4, 5. of his power and glory, 6 — 8. of his mercy 
 in redeeming man, and, 9. making the Gentile church to be a joyful mother 
 of children. This Psalm is appointed to be read on Easter-day. 
 
 " 1. Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. 
 2. Blessed be the name of the Lorjj from this time forth and for evermore." 
 
 Christians are the "servants" of Jesus Christ; and a most delightful part 
 of their service it is to " praise" his holy and saving " name" in the church, 
 which now useth this Psalm, among others, and with it blesseth the name 
 of her Lord and Saviour, from age to age. The Psalmist wished and 
 prayed that this might be done, and he foresaw that it would be done, while 
 the world should last, upon earth, and afterwards for "evermore," in 
 heaven. 
 
 "3. From the rising of the sun, unto the going down of the same, the 
 Lord's name is to be praised: or, is praised. 4. The Lord is high above 
 all nations, cmd his glory above the heavens." 
 
 At the diffusion of the Gospel through the world, the name of Christ was 
 praised " from tire east to the west," in the churches, everywhere planted 
 by the apostles and their successors; and the grand subjects of joy and 
 triumph among believers were, the superiority of their Master over the 
 "heathen nations" and their idols ; the exaltation of "his glory above the 
 heavens," and all the powers therein ; the might of his arm, and the majesty 
 of his kingdom. 
 
 " 5. Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high ! 6. Who 
 humbleth himself to behold t/ie things that are in heaven and in earth I" 
 
 Highly as our Lord is exalted above this system, above these heavens, 
 and this earth of ours, yet he condescendeth to regard everything that 
 passeth here, and to make us, the inhabitants of this lower world, and, for 
 our sakes, all the other creatures in it, the objects of his peculiar care, and 
 paternal love. 
 
 " 7. He raisetb the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the 
 dunghill ; 8. That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his 
 people." 
 
 Such is his mercy to the poor sons of Adam in their fallen estate, that 
 
DAT XXUI. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 329 
 
 from the lowest and most abject condition, from the pollutions of sin, and 
 from the dishonours of the grave, he raiseth them to righteousness and 
 holiness, to glory and immortality ; he setteth them on high, with the 
 inhabitants of the heavenly Jerusalem, " with the princes of his people," 
 the leaders of the armies above, with angels and archangels before his 
 throne. What is the exaltation of the meanest beggar from a dunghill 
 to an earthly diadem, when compared with that of human nature from the 
 grave to the throne of God 1 Here is honour worth our ambition ; honour 
 after which, all are alike invited to aspire; which all may obtain, who 
 strive worthily and lawfully ; and of which, when once obtained, nothing 
 can ever deprive the possessors. 
 
 "9. He maketh the barren woman to keep house, a7id to be a joyful 
 mother of children. Praise ye the Lord." 
 
 In the sacred history of the Old Testament, we meet with frequent 
 instances of barren women who were miraculously made to bear children. 
 Isaac, Joseph, Sampson, and Samuel, were thus born of Sarah, Rachel, the 
 wife of IManoah, and Hannah. To these may be added, from the history of 
 the New Testament, the instance of Elizabeth, the wife of Zacharias, and 
 mother of St. John the Baptist. These examples may be considered as pre- 
 ludes to that marvellous exertion of divine power, whereby the Gentile 
 church, after so many years of barrenness, became, in her old age, "a fruit- 
 ful parent of children, and the mother of us all." Wherefore it is written, 
 " Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear ; break forth into singing, and 
 cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child ; for more are the children 
 of the desolate, than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord." 
 Isa. liv. I. Gal. iv. 27. 
 
 TWENTY-THIRD DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM CXIV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This is another Of the Psalms appointed by our church to be read on Easter- 
 day. It celebrates the exodus of Israel from Egypt, and the mii-acles wTought 
 for that people, prefig-uring' the redemption of our nature from sin and 
 death, and the wonders of mercy and love wrought for us by Jesus Christ. 
 
 "1. When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people 
 of strange language; 2. Judah was his, {that is God's) sanctuary, and 
 Israel his dominion." 
 
 When Jehovah delivered Israel from the bondage of Egypt, he chose 
 them for his peculiar people : his presence resided in their camp, as in a 
 .sanctuar}^ or temple ; and he ruled them, as an earthly king exerciseth 
 sovereignty in his " dominions." This world, and the prince of this world, 
 are to us, what Egypt and Pharaoh were to Israel. The redemption of our 
 nature, by the resurrection of Christ, answereth to their redemption by the 
 hand of Moses. When we are baptized into the death and resurrection of 
 our Lord, we renounce the world, its pomps and vanities; and should, 
 therefore, quit its corrupt " language," manners and customs, with as much 
 alacrit}' and expedition as the family of Jacob left those of Egypt. We 
 are the sanctuary, the temple, in which Christ dwelleth by his Spirit ; we 
 are the subjects of his spiritual "kingdom;" we are his peculiar people; 
 in one word, we are his church, and succeed, as such, to all the titles and 
 privileges formerly conferred on Israel. 
 
 " 3. The sea saw it, and fled ; Jordan was driven back." 
 
 Although forty years intervened between the two events here mentioned, 
 yet, as the miracles were of a similar nature, they are spoken of together. 
 In the passage of Israel through the Red Sea, we may contemplate oup 
 
 28* 
 
330 A COMMENTARY Psaim CXV. 
 
 passage from a death of sin to a life of righteousness through the waters of 
 baptism ; as our translation from death temporal to life eternal is figured by 
 their entrance into the promised land through the river Jordan. The waters 
 in both cases are poetically represented as sensible of their Creator's pre- 
 sence ; and by their retiring and opening a path for the people of God, we 
 are taught, that if we continue faithful, all obstructions will be removed in 
 our way to heaven. 
 
 " 4. The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs." 
 
 The tremors of mount Sinai and the neighbouring hills, when the law 
 was given, afforded some specimen of that power which was afterwards 
 exerted in the overthrow of idolatry, and the casting down of every high 
 thing that exalted itself against the Gospel at its publication. " See, there- 
 fore, that ye refuse not him that speaketh ; for if they escaped not who 
 refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn 
 away from him that speaketh from heaven; whose voice then shook the 
 earth : but now he hath promised, saying. Yet once more I shake not the 
 earth only, but also heaven," Heb. xii. 25. 
 
 " 5. What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest ] Thou Jordan, that 
 thou wast driven back] 6. Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and 
 ye little hills like lambs'? 7. Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the 
 Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob." 
 
 If the Divine presence hath such an effect upon inanimate matter, how 
 ought it to operate on rational and unaccountable beings % Let us be afraid, 
 with a holy fear, at the presence of God, in the world by his providence, 
 and by his Spirit in our consciences; so that we may have hope and courage 
 in the day when he shall arise to shake terribly the earth ; when " every 
 island shall fly away, and the mountains shall be no more found," Rev. 
 xvi. 20. 
 
 " 8. Which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain 
 of waters." 
 
 He who brought water out of the sacramental rock in the wilderness, 
 hath since caused rivers of living water to flow through the world, from the 
 Rock of our salvation; nay, he hath dissolved the stony hearts of sinners, 
 and made to spring up in them fountains of this water of Jife. For these 
 great instances of his power and his love, we are taught to bless his holy 
 name, when we sing this Psalm, as an evangelical hymn, on the day of our 
 Lord's resurrection. 
 
 PSALM CXV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The church, 1, 2. prayeth that God would glorify liimself in her salvation; 3. 
 she declai-eth her fiiith \n him; 4 — 8. exposeth the vanity and folly of idola- 
 try; 9 — 11. exhorteth her children to rely upon Jehovah; 12 — 15. foretelleth 
 how he will bless, pi'osper, and increase his people, 16 — 18. never suffering 
 the voice of praise and thanksgiving to cease from the earth. 
 
 " 1. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for 
 thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. 2. Wherefore should the heathen say, 
 Where is now their God 1" 
 
 From these two verses it is evident, that the Psalm is not a thanksgiving 
 for victory, but a petition for deliverance. God is entreated to give " glory" 
 by such deliverance, not to us, to our works or endeavours, but " to his own 
 name;" he is requested to vouchsafe salvation, not on account of our me- 
 rits, but of his " mercy," which inclineth him to be gracious; of his truth, 
 which disposeth him to fulfil his promises; and of his honour, that the 
 enemy may not have occasion to blaspheme him, and reproach his servants, 
 as if their master either could not, or would not, help them in the day of 
 
Day XXm. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 331 
 
 their distress. " Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their 
 
 God?" 
 
 " 3, But our God is in the heavens ; he hath done whatsoever he pleased ; 
 or, he doeth whatsoever he pleaseth." 
 
 Should the insulting- adversary ask the above question, " Where is now 
 their God ]" the faithful are ready with their reply, " Our God is in the 
 heaven ;" he is, where he ever was, upon his glorious throne, high over all 
 the kingdoms of the world, and the powers of created nature; from thence 
 he observeth and ordereth all things here below ; what we suffer is by his 
 appointment; and, at his good time and pleasure, he both can and will re- 
 lieve us; " he doeth whatsoever he pleaseth." 
 
 " 4. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. 5. They 
 have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; 6. 
 They have ears, but they hear not; noses have they, but they smell not; 
 7. They have hands, but they handle not; feet have they, but they walk 
 not; neither speak they through their throat." 
 
 A beautiful contrast is formed between the God of Israel and the heathen 
 idols. He made everything, they are themselves made by men ; he is in 
 heaven, they are upon earth; he doeth whatsoever he pleaseth, they can do 
 nothing ; he seeth the distresses, heareth and answereth the prayers, accepteth 
 the offerings, cometh to the assistance, and effecteth the salvation of his ser- 
 vant; they are blind, deaf, and dumb, senseless, motionless, and impotent. 
 Equally slow to hear, equally impotent to save in the time of greatest need, 
 will every worldly idol prove, on which men have set their affections, and 
 to which they have, in effect, said, "Thou art my God." 
 
 " 8. They that make them are like unto them ; so is every one that trusteth 
 in them." 
 
 Idolaters, like the objects of their worship, are rather lifeless images than 
 real men. What our Lord said of the Jews, is applicable to them, and in- 
 deed to all who reject the knowledge of the true God, and the doctines of 
 salvation ; " Having eyes they see not, having ears they hear not." They 
 see not the things which belong unto their peace ; they hear not the word 
 of instruction and exhortation; they speak not of religion and the kingdom 
 of heaven ; they work not the works of piety and charity ; they walk not in 
 the path of the divine commandments; they are spiritually blind, deaf, 
 dumb, lame, and impotent ; and when their idols are destroyed, they will 
 perish in like inanner. 
 
 " 9. O Israel, trust thou in the Lord : he is their help and their shield. 
 
 10. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield. 
 
 11. Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he ts their help and their 
 shield." 
 
 Let the men of the world make to themselves gods, and vainly trust in 
 the work of their own hands or heads ; but let the church repose all her 
 confidence in Jehovah, her Saviour and Redeemer, who alone can be her 
 defender and protector; more especially let her ministers, the sons of the 
 true Aaron, do this, who are the peculiar portion of their God, employed 
 continually in his service, and designed to build up others in faith and hope; 
 and let all who have been instructed, by their ministry, in the fear of the 
 Lord, trust always in him, nor suffer any apprehension of danger or dis- 
 tress to separate them from him. 
 
 "12. The Lord hath been, or, is, mindful of us: he will bless us.- he 
 will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron. 13. He 
 will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great. 14. The Lord 
 shall increase you more and more, you and your children. 15. You are 
 blessed of the Lord, which made heaven and earth." 
 
 The heart of the Psalmist is full of "blessing," and on his tongue is the 
 word of kindness and comfort. The " blessings" formerly confined to Is- 
 rael, have since been extended to the whole race of mankind. Jehovah, 
 ever "mindful" of his creatures, hath visited the world by his Son, and by 
 
332 A COMMENTARY Psal3i CXVL 
 
 his Spirit; he hath formed a church from among the Gentiles, appointed a 
 priesthood and ministry in it, and given his benediction to both; he hath 
 " blessed" with the blessings of grace, " them that fear him," of all nations, 
 and of every degree; he hath "increased" and multiplied his people ex- 
 ceedingly; and the faithful members of the Christian church are now "the 
 blessed of Jehovah, who made heaven and earth," and who is, consequently, 
 possessed of all power in both. 
 
 " IG. The heaven, even the heavens, or, tlie heavens of heavens, are the 
 Lord's; but the earth hath he given to the children of men. 17. The dead 
 praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence. 18. But we 
 will bless the Lord, from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the 
 Lord." 
 
 He who himself dwelleth in the highest heavens, where he is praised 
 and glorified by angels " hath given the earth" for a habitation, at present, 
 " to the sons of men," whose duty it is to praise and glorify him here below, 
 as the angels do above. Now as the " dead cannot praise him," as they 
 who sleep in the silent grave cannot celebrate him, we may be certain, that 
 he will not suffer his people to be destroyed and extirpated, but will always 
 preserve a church to "bless him" in all ages, till the end of the world; 
 when the dead shall be raised, and the choirs of heaven and earth shall be 
 united, to praise and glorify him together before his throne for evermore. 
 
 TWENTY-FOURTH DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM CXVL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 It is not certain by whom, or upon what occasion, this Psalm was composed. 
 It plainly appears, however, to be a song of thanksg'iving' for deliverance 
 from trouble, either temporal, or spiritual, or both. To render it of general 
 use, let it be considered as an evangelical hymn, in the moutli of a penitent, 
 expressing his gratitude for salvation from sin and death. 1, 2. He declareth 
 his love of God, who hath vouchsafed to hear his prayer; 3 — 9. describeth 
 his distress, his deliverance out of it, and subsequent peace and comfort; 10, 
 11. he acknowledgeth himself to have been tempted to despond, but was sup- 
 ported by faith, in the day of trouble; 12 — 19. he determineth to receive the 
 cup of salvation, to praise and to serve Jehovah, who thus dehvereth the 
 souls of hb people. 
 
 " 1. I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice, and my supplica- 
 tions. 2. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call 
 upon him as long as I live." 
 
 In the original it is, " I love,* because Jehovah hath heard," &c. The 
 soul, transported with gratitude and love, seems at first to express her 
 affection without declaring its object, as thinking that all the world must 
 know who is the person intended. Thus Mary Magdalene, in her conver- 
 sation at the sepulchre, with one whom she supposed to have been the gar- 
 dener, though no previous mention had been made of Jesus, saith, " Sir, if 
 thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will 
 take him away," John xx. 15. And ought not the love of God to be ex- 
 cited in all our hearts by the consideration, that when we were not able to 
 raise ourselves up to him, he mercifully and tenderly " inclined" and bowed 
 down " his ear" to us ; he " heard our supplications," and descended from 
 heaven to help and deliver us. With hope, therefore, and confidence, should 
 we " call upon" him, in all our troubles, " as long as we live." 
 «'3. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold 
 
 * Some critics prefer our old version—" I am well pleased." 
 
DAT XXIV. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 333 
 
 upon me ; I found trouble and sorrow. 4. Then called I upon the name of 
 the Lord ; Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul." 
 
 These " sorrows," or "bands of death," once "compassed" the human 
 race; these "pains of hell" were ready to seize on every son of Adam. 
 The av\-akened and terrified conscience of a sinner hath felt the opposition of 
 the former, and experienced some foretaste of the latter. In this situation he is 
 described by St. Paul as crying out, " O wretched man that I am, who shall 
 deliver me from this body of death V Let him take the course which the 
 Psalmist took; let him " call upon the name of the Lord," even the Lord 
 Jesus, who put himself in the sinner's place, and suffered for him unspeaka- 
 ble "sorrows and pains;" let him do this, and he shall be saved; and shall 
 sing the praises of his almighty Saviour, in the words of this beautiful 
 Psalm. 
 
 " 5. Gracious is the Lord, and righteous ; yea, our God is merciful. G. 
 The Lord preserveth the simple : 1 was brought low and he lielped me." 
 
 In the salvation of a sinner we contemplate God's "grace" by which the 
 work is effected ; his " righteousness," which causeth him to perform what 
 he hath promised through Christ; his "mercy" which induced him to send 
 his Son, and to make the promise. This mercy is the mercy of a parent, 
 and such as a parent showeth to those young and simple ones, who have 
 been overreached and deceived by a crafty adversary ; to those who fall, and 
 are unable of themselves to rise again ; " I was brought low, and he helped 
 me." 
 
 " 7. Return unto thy rest, O my soul ; for the Lord hath dealt bountiful- 
 ly with me. 8. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes 
 from tears, and my feet from falling. 9. I will walk before the Lord in the 
 land of the living." 
 
 That peace of conscience, and joy in the Holy Ghost, which the penitent 
 experienceth, as the effect and fruit of pardon, afford him some idea of the 
 rest and felicity of heaven ; and, accordingly, he speaks as one translated to 
 those happy mansions, where there is no more death, neither sorrow, nor 
 crying, because there is no more sin. A Christian, delivered out of the 
 miseries of this troublesome world, and at rest in Abraham's bosom, would 
 express himself, as one should think, in these very terms. Remission of 
 sins ought to be followed by newness of life, and the resolution of him 
 whose " soul" hath been " delivered from death, his eyes from tears and 
 his feet from falling," should always be this, "I will walk before the 
 Lord," as one under his inspection, " in the land of the living," or amongst 
 the redeemed in the church ; until the time come for me to depart hence, and 
 to be numbered with the saints in glory everlasting. 
 
 " 10. I believed, therefore have I spoken : I was greatly afflicted : 11. I 
 said in my haste. All men are liars." 
 
 In afflictions and distresses, those of the spirit and conscience more espe- 
 ciall}^ the soul is tempted to despond, and can only be supported by faith 
 exerting itself in prayer; "I believed, and therefore have I spoken," or, 
 " therefore spake I," that is, as above, verse 4. " I called upon the name 
 of the Lord; O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul." And this I did, 
 though so " greatly afflicted," that I had " said in my haste," in my hurry 
 and trepidation, occasioned by fear and amazement, "all men are liars;" 
 there is no credit to be given to their promises of deliverance ; lam lost and 
 undone for ever. Yet my faith failed not entirely, and, lo, my prayer hath 
 been heard and answered. St. Paul, relating the troubles which came upon 
 him, and the manner in which he sustained them, thus citeth a part of the 
 tenth verse : " We, having the same spirit of faith, according as it is writ- 
 ten, I believed, and therefore have I spoken : we also believe, and therefore 
 speak ; knowing that he, which raised up the Lord Jesus, shall raise up us 
 also by Jesus, and shall present us with you," 2 Cor. iv. 13, 14. 
 
 " 12. What shall I render unto the Lord /or all his benefits towards me ? 
 13. I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. 
 
334 A COMMENTARY Psam CXYU. 
 
 14. 1 will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his peo- 
 ple." 
 
 The grateful penitent now asketh, What return shall he make to his kind 
 Benefactor, for the most valuable of all the blessings conferred upon him ? 
 And he presently resolveth to make the only return in his power, namely, to 
 acknowledge and declare before men the goodness of Jehovah, ascribing all 
 the glory where it is all due. This he determineth to do, by " taking the 
 cup of salvation," which, as Dr. Hammond observes, among the Jews was 
 twofold; one offered in a more solemn manner in the temple. Numb, xxviii. 
 7. ; the other more private in families, called the cup of thanksgiving, or 
 commemoration of any deliverance, begun by the master of the family, and 
 attended, on festival days, with a suitable hymn ; such as was that sung by 
 our Lord and his disciples, on the night when he advanced that cup into the 
 sacrament of his blood, which hath ever since been to Christians " the cup 
 of salvation," and which all penitents should now receive in the church, with 
 invocation, thanksgiving, and payment of the " vows" made in the time of 
 trouble. 
 
 " 15. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." 
 
 The notion of the original word, ID'' in this place, for " rare," or "pre- 
 cious," must be so taken as not to signify that which is spoken of to be de- 
 sirable to, or in the presence of, the Lord; for it is the life, not the death of 
 his servants, which is precious, in that sense, to God, the preserver of their 
 lives. But when it is said, that their " death is precious," it means in effect 
 no more, than that it is so considered, it is rated at so high a price by God, 
 as that he will not easily grant it to any one who most desires it of him.— 
 Thus far Dr. Hammond. We may add, that much less will God be pre- 
 vailed on to give up his people to death eternal. Rather will he work won- 
 ders of mercy and loving-kindness to save them as the penitent happily ex- 
 perienceth in himself. 
 
 "16. O Lord, truly I am thy servant, I am thy servant, and the son of 
 thine handmaid ; thou hast loosed my bonds. 17. I will offer to thee the 
 sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord. 18. I 
 will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all his people. 19. 
 In the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise 
 ye the Lord." 
 
 Every penitent is the " servant" of God, " the son of his handmaid," the 
 church, " loosed from his bonds," and redeemed from a state of slavery un- 
 der sin, the world, and the devil, that he may serve abetter Master, whose 
 " yoke is easy, and his burden light." This blessed Master is from thence- 
 forth the object of his love, duty, and adoration: to him he " offereth the 
 sacrifice of thanksgiving," to him he "payeth his vows" among his fellow- 
 sen'ants in the church on earth ; longing for that day to come, when, loosed 
 also from the bonds of death and the grave, he shall be admitted to sing 
 liallelujahs with saints and angels, in the "courts" of the eternal temple, 
 even " in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem," the holy, heavenly, and glorious 
 city of God most high ! 
 
 PSALM CXVIL 
 
 argument. 
 
 This Psalm, like the cxth, seems to be altog-ether prophetical of the joy that all 
 the world shall conceive, at the coming' of the Messiah, to give sahation, first 
 to tlie Jews, and then to all other nations, according to his faithful promise. 
 — Patrick. 
 
 "1.0 praise the Lord, all ye nations : praise him, all ye people. 2. For 
 his merciful kindness is great towards us : and the truth of the Lord e7idu- 
 reth for ever. Praise ye the Lord." 
 
Bay XXIV. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 
 
 335 
 
 It is remarkable, that of so short a Psalm one vorse is quoted in the New 
 Testament by St. Paul ; the second verse is explained thoutrh not quoted. 
 Two questions naturally arise, upon reading- the Psalm ; first, who are the 
 " nations and people," exhorted to praise Jehovah 1 secondly, what is that 
 raerciiul kindness, and that truth, forwhich they are exhorted to praise him ? 
 The Apostle hath given a satisfactory and decisive answer to both these 
 questions, Rom. xv. 8, 9, &c. "Now, I say, that Jesus Christ was a 
 minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises 
 made unto the fathers, and that ye Gentiles might glorify God for his 
 MERCY ; as it is written, Praise the Lord, all the Gentiles, and laud him, all 
 ye people." From the Apostle's reasoning, the verse of our Psalm, which 
 he hath cited, appears to be a proof, that "the Gentiles," or the heathen 
 world, should one day " glorify God;" they are, therefore, the "people" 
 whom the Psalmist, in the spirit of prophecy, exhorteth to " praise Jeho- 
 vah." It appears also, why the Gentiles were to glorify God ; namely, 
 for his "mercy" and "truth" shown in confirming or accomplishino- the 
 "promises" concerning their vocation and conversion, "made unto the 
 fathers;"* to Abraham, and his seed for ever; to all believers, whether of 
 the circumcision, or the uncircumcision. Such, then, is the "merciful 
 kindness" of Jehovah, which is said, in the Psalm, to be " great," mighty, 
 and powerful, "towards us;" such his " truth," which is affirmed to " en- 
 dure for ever;" as the promises were made good to the Gentiles, when the 
 Jews, because of unbelief, had been cast off. Let the hallelujahs of the 
 redeemed be suitable to that " mercy," and coeternal with that " truth." 
 
 PSALM CXVIIL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In this Psalm, a king of Israel appears leading- his people in solemn procession 
 to the temple, there to offer up the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving-, for 
 a marvellous deliverance from his enemies, and a g'lorious victory g-ained 
 over them. After inviting the whole nation, 1 — 4. to join with him upon this 
 joyful occasion, he describeth at large, 5 — 18. his danger, and his dehverance 
 from it, which latter is wholly attributed to the power and goodness of Jeho- 
 vah. After tills, as Mr. Mudge has rightly observed, there ensues a kind of 
 sacred dialogue. Being come to the temple, the victorious monarch speaks 
 the 19th verse ; they that open the gate the 20th ; he again, as he enters, the 
 21st ; they with him seem to speak the next four verses to the 25th ; the 
 priests of the temple, the 26th ; the first part to the king, the other to 
 the people ; the people the 27th ; he the 28th ; the 29th is the chorus verse, 
 concluding as it began. The repeated application made of the 22d verse in 
 the New Testament, and the appointment of the Psalm, by the church, to 
 be used on Easter-day, lead us to consider the whole as a tirumphant hymn, 
 sung by the King Messiah, at the head of the Israel of God, on occasion of his 
 resurrection and exaltation. 
 
 "1.0 give thanks unto the Lord for he is good : because his mercy 
 endureth for ever. 2. Let Israel now say. That his mercy endureth for 
 ever. 3. Let the house of Aaron now say. That his mercy endureth for 
 ever. 4. Let them now that fear the Lord, say. That his mercy endureth 
 for ever." 
 
 The subjects of "thanksgiving" here proposed are, Jehovah's "good- 
 ness" and his " mercy." He is the sole fountain of absolute and essential 
 "goodness," the source of all excellency and perfection; and his "mercy" 
 is the channel by which he communicateth this goodness, in an overllowing 
 
 * " Confirmata— et Veritas Domini"— Promiserat enim Abrahanin Deiisfuturum, ut per Chris- 
 tum, beiiedictuiu illiid Abraliami semen, benediceientur omnes gentcs, Gen. xii. 3. w. 18. inter- 
 prete Apostolo, Gal. iii. W. (iuotl cum pncslitiim vicieamus, jam intelligimus vere, advenisse 
 I'liristum, ac promissa Dei firma esse omuia. Bossuet. 
 
336 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXVIII. 
 
 stream to his people, who are therefore, exhorted to praise him. The Chris- 
 tian church is now " the Israel of God ! her ministers constitute the true 
 house of Aaron," being the spiritual progeny of our great High Priest ; and 
 the Gentiles, not the Jews, are they who know and " fear Jehovah," Let 
 these all celebrate, for these all have experienced, the benefits and bless- 
 ings of "eternal mercy" by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. 
 
 " 5. I called upon the Lord in distress : the Lord answered me, and set 
 me in a large place." 
 
 The true value of every deliverance is to be estimated by the nature of the 
 " distress" which required it. The rescue of David from his enemies, or 
 that of Israel from captivity, might deservedly be extolled with the songs 
 of Sion. How much more, then, is the church universal bound to lift up 
 her voice in honour of Jehovah, who hath redeemed her from her spiritual 
 adversaries, and freed her from the bondage of corruption, through him who 
 "died for sins, and rose again for her justification;" who, in the days of 
 his flesh, being, on her account, in " distress" and affliction, "called upon 
 Jehovah, and was answered," by an " enlargement" from the narrow pri- 
 son of the "grave" to a boundless and glorious kingdom. 
 
 " 6. The Lord is on my side ; I will not fear : what can man do unto 
 mel 7. The Lord taketh my part with them that help me ; therefore shall 
 I see my desire upon them that hate me." 
 
 By frequent experience of the Divine power and mercy, from time to 
 time exerted on the behalf of Israel, that nation was instructed to trust in 
 Jehovah ; and, whenever they did so, success and victory never failed to 
 attend their steps. Would not the case be the same with ns, in all our 
 undertakings, if our faith was right and steadfast in God, who raised np 
 Jesus from the dead, and who hath promised to make us " more than con- 
 querors T' 
 
 " 8. It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man. 
 9. // is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in princes." 
 
 Armies of "men," however numerous, and to appearance, powerful, may 
 be routed and dispersed at once. " Princes" may not be able to help us ; 
 if able, they may fail us, as not being willing to do it ; if both able and 
 willing, they may die ere they can execute their purpose. But that hope 
 which is placed in God, can never, by these or any other means, be disap- 
 pointed. As we so often repeat these two verses, let us act agreeably to 
 the declaration which we then make, and instead of courting the world, by 
 undue compliances, for its deceitful smiles and treacherous favours, let us 
 in all points do our duty, and leave the event to God above. To encourage 
 us in the performance of such a resolution as this, let it be remembered, 
 that because our Saviour witnessed a good confession before Pontius Pilate, 
 and with meekness and patience resigned himself to the death of the cross 
 for it, therefore God exalted him to glory and honour. 
 
 " 10. All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the Lord will. 
 I, or, I did, destroy them. 11. They compassed me about; yea, they com- 
 passed me about: but in the name of the Lord I will, or, I did, destroy 
 them. 12. They compassed me about like bees ; they are quenched as the 
 fire of thorns: for in the name of the Lord I will, or, I did, destroy them." 
 
 The tenor of the Psalm, being one of thanksgiving for a deliverance 
 already experienced, seemeth to require, that the verb at the close of each of 
 these verses, should be rendered in the past time ; not " I will destroy them," 
 but, " I did destroy them :" especially as it is said, " they compassed me 
 about," and "they are quenched." As David and Israel were encom- 
 passed by hostile nations, over whom, through God's assistance, they often 
 triumphed ; so the Son of David, in the day of his passion, was surrounded 
 by the furious multitude of Jews and Gentiles seeking his life; after the 
 same example, his mystical body, the church, hath frequently been, on all 
 sides, vexed and persecuted in the world. But, through the power of Jeho- 
 vah, Christ overcame, and is set down at the right hand of the Majesty on 
 
Dai XXIV. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 337 
 
 high. The church, likewise, hath often risen superior to the effortg of her 
 innumerable and malicious enemies, whose fury hath blazed forth against 
 her with the sudden fierceness of fire, when it is applied to a heap of dry 
 " thorns ;" and hath been as soon at an end ; she hath triumphed, yea, and 
 she will finally triumph, "in the name of the Lord her God." 
 
 " 13. Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall : but the Lord helped 
 me. 14. The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation. 
 15. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righ- 
 teous ; the right hand of the Lord doth valiantly. 16. The right hand of 
 the Lord is exalted ; the right hand of the Lord doth valiantly." 
 
 The church may consider herself as victorious over her great adversary, 
 the author of all evil, who had made his grand effort to effect her destruc- 
 tion, by putting to death her champion and king, Messiah. But Jehovah 
 appeared, at the time appointed, to bring him, and virtually all that should 
 believe in him, from the dead. " Thou hast thrust sore at me, that I might 
 fall; but Jehovah helped me." Risen, therefore, with Christ, from the 
 
 frave, we proceed to praise Jehovah in the words w^hich Moses and Israel 
 rst used, when they had ascended from the depths of the sea, and beheld 
 their enemies destroyed for ever; "Jehovah is my strength, and my song, 
 and is become my salvation." Exod. xv. 2. And never doth that sacred 
 day come round, on which the resurrection of Jesus is celebrated, "but the 
 voice of rejoicing is in the tabernacles of the righteous : there is a noise of 
 them that sing for joy, in the camp of the saints ; the church militant 
 resoundeth with thanksgiving and the voice of melody; paradise is restored 
 below, and earth beareth some resemblance of heaven, while these trans- 
 porting hymns are sung in honour of our great Redeemer. He is that 
 " Arm and Right Hand of Jehovah," which hath done valiantly, which 
 hath crushed our strongest enemy, and is very high " exalted" over all. 
 " Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power; thy right hand, O 
 Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy," Exod. xv. 6. 
 
 '♦17. I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord. 
 18. The Lord hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto 
 death." 
 
 As Christ is risen, we shall not die, but live : we shall not die eternally, 
 but we shall live in this world the life of grace, in the world to come the life 
 of glory; that we may, in both, "declare the works," and chant the 
 praises of God our Saviour. We are "chastened" for our sins, but "not 
 given over to death" and destruction everlasting; nay, our being chastened 
 is now a proof that we are not so "given over;" for "what son is he 
 whom the father chasteneth not?" Heb. xii. 7. 
 
 " 19. Open to me the gates of righteousness ; I will go into them, and I 
 will praise the Lord : 20. This gate, or, this is the gate, of the Lord, into 
 which the righteous shall enter. 21. I will praise thee, for thou hast heard 
 me, and art become my salvation," 
 
 The faithful, like David and his people of old, demand admission into 
 the courts of the Lord's house, there to praise him for his great and mani- 
 fold mercies. But we may extend our ideas much farther, and consider the 
 whole company of the redeemed, as beholding the angels ready to unbar the 
 gates of heaven, and throw open the doors of the eternal sanctuary, for the 
 true disciples of the risen and glorified Jesus to enter in. " Open ye," may 
 believers exclaim in triumph to those celestial spirits, who delight to 
 minister to the heirs of salvation, " Open ye the gates of righteousness," 
 those gates through which nothing unclean can pass, "that the righteous 
 nation, which keepeth the truth, may enter in," Isa. xxvi. 2. and sing wilh 
 your harmonious choirs, the praises of him who sitteth upon the throne; for 
 he hath overcome the sharpness of death, he hath opened the kingdom of 
 heaven to all believers. "This is the gate of the Lord, into which the 
 righteous shall enter," to take possession of the inheritance prepared for 
 them, to thank him who hath heard them, and is become their salvation. 
 
 29 
 
338 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXVIII. 
 
 " 22. The stone which the builders refused is become the head-s^owe of 
 the corner. 23. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes." 
 
 Whether this passage had first a reference to the case of David,* who as 
 a figure of Messiah, was brought from a state of rejection and persecution 
 to the throne of Israel; or whether there be any truth in a Jewish tradition 
 concerning a certain stone, which, after having been, by the builders of the 
 second temple, thrown aside among the rubbish, was at last found to be 
 exactly fitted for the honourable place of a chief corner-stone, it is neither 
 possible nor needful to ascertain. That the verses belong, in a full and 
 proper sense, to Messiah, is confessed by the Rabbles, and acknowledged 
 by all. No text in the Old Testament is quoted by the writers of the New 
 so often as this, which we meet with in six ditferent places : namely, 
 Matt. xxi. 42. Mark xii. 10. Luke xx. 17. Acts iv. 11. Ephes. ii. 20. 
 1 Pet. ii. 4. The sum and substance of the New Testament applications 
 and expositions is, that Jesus Christ is the stone here mentioned ; that he 
 was rejected and set at nought by the chief priests and Pharisees, the then 
 builders of the church ; but that, being chosen of God, and precious to him, 
 this most valuable stone, thus despised and rejected of men, thus thrown 
 among the rubbish, and buried in it, was, at length, from such a state 
 exalted to be the chief corner-stone in the building, the main support of the 
 edifice, and a centre of union for Jew and Gentile, the two parts of Avhich it 
 consisted ; that this was the work of God, and the admiration of man. 
 And what can be more truly marvellous, than that a person, put to death as 
 a malefactor, and laid in the grave, should from thence rise immortal, and 
 become the head of an immortal society; should ascend into heaven, be 
 invested with power, and crowned with glory ; and should prepare a way 
 for the sons of Adam to follow him into those mansions of eternal bliss. 
 
 " 24. This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be 
 glad in it." 
 
 Of the day on which Christ arose from the dead, it may, with more pro- 
 priety than of any other day, be affirmed, " This is the day which Jehovah 
 hath made." Then it was, that the " rejected stone" became the " head of the 
 corner." A morning then dawned which is to be followed by no evening; 
 a brighter sun arose upon the world, which is to set no more ; a day began, 
 which will never end; and night and darkness departed, to return not again. 
 For thus saith the Lord to his church by the prophet Isaiah, " Thy sun 
 shall no more go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw itself, for the 
 Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall 
 be ended," Isaiah Ix. 20. Easter-day is in a peculiar manner consecrated 
 to Him, who, by his resurrection, triumphed over death and hell. On that 
 day, through faith, we triumph with him; "we rejoice and are glad in his 
 salvation." 
 
 " 25. Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord : O Lord, I beseech thee, send 
 now prosperity. 26. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord : 
 we have blessed you out of, or, you that are of, the house of the Lord." 
 
 As a prelude to the triumphant manner in which Jesus Christ, after his 
 resurrection, should ascend to the heavenly Jerusalem, he entered the 
 earthly city, before his passion, amidst the acclamations of the multitude, 
 who hailed him as King of Sion, and with palm branches, the emblems of 
 victory, in their hands, sung before him these words, partly taken from our 
 Psalm, " Hosanna to the Son of David ; blessed is he that cometh in the 
 name of the Lord ; hosanna in the highest." The word, " hosanna," is in 
 the original XJny'B'Tn, " Save now !" Theform of words used by the people 
 was both a petition and a congratulation; as if they had said, ' Let us be- 
 seech Jehovah, in the language of the cxviiith Psalm to grant salvation to 
 the Son of David, and to send us now prosperity under him : Blessed is he 
 
 * David a Saiile et alquandiu a decern tribubus reprobatiis, ac soli Tribui Judae agnitus, deinde 
 omnium priiiceps; etsiib figura ejusChristus.a Judxis ac Glentibus impetitus, mox utiorumque 
 caput, ul ipseinierpretatur, Malt. s.\i. 43. Bossuet. 
 
DAT XXIV. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 339 
 
 who thus Cometh, not in his own name and power, but in the name and 
 power of Jehovah, according to the prophecies concerning him, to deliver 
 us from all our enemies : Ratify, O Jehovah, in the highest, or in heaven, 
 these petitions which we make for the salvation and prosperity of our King, 
 that thy blessings upon him and us may be established on earth." Since 
 the resurrection of our Lord, the faithful have expressed, in these two 
 verses, the same wishes and prayers for the increase of his kingdom and 
 the prosperity of his house and family, of his ministers and his people : 
 " We bless you that are of the house of Jehovah." 
 
 " 27. God is the Lord, which hath shewed us light : bind the sacrifice 
 with cords, even unto the horns of the altar." 
 
 As Jehovah hath manifested his power and glory, by raising Christ from 
 the dead; as he hath, by so doing, " showed us the light" of life and im- 
 mortality; let us observe the festival, which is designed to perpetuate the 
 memory of so great and joyful an event. " Christ, our passover," saith an 
 apostle, " is sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast," 1 Cor. v. 7. 
 Let us keep it, only changing legal for evangelical sacraments and ceremo- 
 nies; let us go to the altar, not to see a figure of the Lamb of God, as he 
 was to be slain ; but to behold a representation of him as he hath been slain ; 
 to behold, in figure, bis body broken, and his blood poured out; to eat the 
 bread of life, and drink the cup of salvation. 
 
 " 28. Thou art my God, and I will praise thee; thou art my God, I will 
 exalt thee. 29. O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good : for his mercy 
 enditreth for ever." 
 
 The prophet declareth his resolution to " praise" and to "exalt," to mag- 
 nify and to glorify, his " God ;" he then concludes, as he began, with ex- 
 horting all the world to do the same. Preserve to us, blessed Lord, the use 
 of these divine hymns in thy church, until, at the resurrection of the just, 
 we shall celebrate an Easter in heaven, and sing them new in the kingdom 
 of God. 
 
 TWENTY-FOURTH DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM CXIX. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm is divided (most probably for the advantage of memory) according 
 to the number of letters which compose tlie Hebrew alphabet, into twenty- 
 two portions, of eight verses each; and not only every portion, but every 
 verse of that portion, begins with the letter appropriated to it. David must, 
 undoubtedly, have been the author. He describeth, in a series of devotional 
 meditations, the instruction and the comfort which, through all vicissitudes of 
 mind and fortune, he had ever found in the woi"d of God. The many strong 
 expressions of love towards the law, and the repeated resolutions and vows 
 to observe it, will often force us to turn our thoughts to the true David, 
 whose *' meat and drink it was to do the will of him that sent him." The 
 passages more especially characteristic of him, as well as those which allude 
 primarily to any particular circumstances in the history of the ]:>atriai-ch Da- 
 vid, are pointed out in the course of the comment. But the chief design 
 through the whole hath been, to draw forth the lessons of heavenly wisdom 
 and comfort contained in this interesting composition, for the service of be- 
 lievers, who, while they are accomphshing their pilgi-image and warfare upon 
 earth, should continually solace themselves with the cxixth Psalm, and repair 
 to it as to a fountain, which can never be exhausted. Between the verses of 
 each portion, a connexion is frequently to be traced, but it doth not often 
 seem to extend from one portion to another. The many words employed to 
 express the revelations of God's will, have distinct significations, denoting 
 different parts or portions of the Scriptures, which it hath sometimes been 
 
340 A COxMMENTARY Psam CXIX. 
 
 found of great use to take into consideration, while at others the terms ap- 
 pear to be used promiscuously, in a general sense, and for tlie sake of variety. 
 
 ALEPH. PART I. 
 
 " 1. Blessed art the undefiled, Hth. perfect, or, sincere, in the way, who 
 walk in the law of the Lord." 
 
 By sin, misery entered into the world ; holiness alone, therefore, can lead 
 us to happiness. "The law of Jehovah" is the path of life, and by " walk- 
 ing in the way," we shall attain to the end. But, alas, we are out of the 
 way; we have walked in the law of sin, after the lust of the flesh; who 
 will direct and strengthen us to walk in the law of God, after the desires 
 of the Spirit? We are fallen from our integrity; who will raise us again? 
 The Gospel, which was preached to Abraham before the Mosaic dispensa- 
 tion, and which was prefigured and believed under it, returneth us, to all 
 these questions, answers of peace. The Redeemer hath prevailed for the 
 pardon of our errors: the Redeemer hath raised us from our fallen state; 
 he hath conducted us to the path of life; in his name we arise and walk; 
 he maketh us righteous, and consequently he maketh us blessed. For, 
 " blessed are the sincere in the way, who walk in the law of Jehovah." 
 
 " 2. Blessed are. they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with 
 the whole heart." 
 
 The Divine revelations and institutions, whether of the old or the new 
 law, are called God's "testimonies;" they are the witnesses of his will, 
 and the pledges of his love. They are committed to the church, as a pre- 
 cious deposit, or trust, to be by her children " kept," and observed. In 
 and by these God is to be sought; "they that seek him with the whole 
 heart," with ardent and undivided affection, fail not to find him, as an in- 
 structer and a comforter ; and they who find him find all things, that are 
 "blessed" indeed. 
 
 " 3. They also do no iniquity : they walk in his ways." 
 
 blissful state of those, who are redeemed from the earth, and all earthly 
 desires ; who are delivered for the dominion of sin ; who " follow the Lamb 
 whithersoever he goeth," and like Zacharias and Elizabeth, " walk in the 
 statutes and ordinances of the Lord blameless," Luke i. 6. Enrol us, O 
 Lord, in the happy number of these thy servants; pardon our offences; 
 give us a new nature, and new desires, averse from sin, and inclined to 
 sanctity; and guard us, that the wicked one touch us not. 
 
 " 4. Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently." 
 
 He who made us, and redeemed us, hath a double right to our service. 
 We are not our own, having been bought with the blood of our Lord ; his 
 will, therefore, and not our own, is to be done by us. And his will is, that 
 we should " keep his precepts diligently," because in " keeping" them, 
 and keeping them diligently, so as not to halt between God and the world, 
 but to serve one Master only, doth our happiness consist. Now, when the 
 commands of our Superior and our greatest Benefactor, of our Friend, our 
 Father, and our God, coincide with our own interests, temporal and eternal, 
 what pretext can there be for disobedience and rebellion! 
 
 " 5. that my ways were directed, or, prepared, and established, to keep 
 thy statutes !" 
 
 The faithful soul, enraptured with the contemplation of that blessedness 
 which is the consequence of serving God, but conscious, at the same time, 
 of an inability to attain it, sighs after the refreshing and strengthening in- 
 fluences of divine grace. Shebeholdeth her Saviour afar off; she beholdeth 
 the beauty and glorious majesty of his heavenly kingdom ; she beholdeth 
 the way which leads to it; but she hath not power to walk therein. This 
 consideration causeth her to groan earnestly within herself, and at length to 
 breathe forth a wish, that the Spirit of truth and love would fix and esta- 
 blish her in a holy course of thinking, speaking, and acting, upon all occa- 
 
Day XXIV. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 341 
 
 sions, and would prevent her from turning aside out of it, to the right hand 
 or to the left. 
 
 " 6. Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy com- 
 mandments." 
 
 All the commandments have the same author, and the same sanction. 
 He who thinketh to atone for the breach of one, by the observation of an- 
 other; he who reserveth to himself a license of indulging any favourite 
 darling lust, while, in general, he preserveth the appearance of an exem- 
 plary conduct, is a hypocrite, and, unless he repent, will be brought to 
 " shame," if not before men here, yet before men and angels hereafter, 
 " Shame" is the fruit of sin ; confidence is the effect of righteousness. 
 Wherefore, in all our proceeding, let us " have respect," not to the opinions 
 of men, to the currupt customs of the world, or to the deceitful suggestions 
 of our own hearts, "but to the commandments, to all the commandments 
 of God;" let us, as St. John exhorteth, "abide in Christ; that when he 
 shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at 
 his coming." 1 John ii. 28. 
 
 "7. I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have 
 learned thy righteous judgments." 
 
 Confidence in God will always be productive of joy, and undissembled 
 <» praise" will accompany true conversion. The Scriptures are styled God's 
 " righteous judgments," as containing an account of his decrees and deter- 
 minations concerning us, with a history of cases and precedents, entered 
 upon record for our admonition. By these we are to form our opinions, and 
 to regulate our conduct. And when we shall have so " learned" these, as 
 to walk according to them, we shall praise God with an " upright heart ;" 
 our tongues will utter what our hearts feel. 
 
 " 8. I will keep thy statutes : O forsake me not utterly." 
 
 The result of our meditations on God's word, and on the advantages of 
 studying, in order to observe its directions, should always be a resolution so 
 to do, and a prayer for grace to execute that resolution. Lord, we will 
 keep thy statutes ; for love can do all things, when thou hast shed it abroad 
 in our hearts. " Love worketh no ill ; therefore love is the fulfilling of the 
 law;" Rom. xiii. 10. ; and mercy will accept what grace enableth us to 
 perform. Be thou, therefore, ever with us, and forsake us not ; or if, at any 
 time, to try our faith, and to exercise our patience, thou shouldest depart 
 from us, and leave us to ourselves for a time, short be thy absence, and 
 speedy thy return ; " O forsake us not utterly." 
 
 BETH. PART. H. 
 
 "9. Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed 
 thereto according to thy word." 
 
 Youth enters upon the journey of life headstrong and inexperienced, with a 
 bias of original corruption, and all the passions awake. In such circum- 
 stances, how shall a young man direct his steps, so as to " escape the pol- 
 lution that is in the world through lust?" 2 Pet. i. 4. He must, for this 
 purpose, take with him the directions to be found in the Scriptures of truth. 
 "I have written unto you, young men," says the beloved disciple, "be- 
 cause ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have over- 
 come the wicked one." He who became man for our salvation, passed 
 through this state of youth, undefiled, that he might, as it were, reclaim 
 and consecrate it anew to God. Let every young man often meditate on this 
 circumstance. 
 
 "10. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander 
 from thy commandments." 
 
 Despairing of sufficient assistance from any other quarter, because no 
 one else can either shew us the way to heaven, or enable us to walk therein, 
 even if it could be shown, " with our whole heart have we sought thee," 
 
 29* 
 
342 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXIX. 
 
 God, thy direction, and thine aid ; and thou hast promised, " that they who 
 seek shall find ;" like sheep without a shepherd are we given to stray ; O 
 preserve us from error, in principle and in practice ; let us not wander from 
 thy commandments. 
 
 " 11. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against 
 thee." 
 
 The young man who would cleanse his way, and take heed according to 
 God's word, must " lay up that word in his heart;" for from the heart are 
 the issues of life, the thoughts, the words, and the actions ; when God 
 ruleth in the heart by his word and Spirit, these become his subjects; then 
 " the kingdom of heaven is within us," and all is obedience, peace and love. 
 Thou are our King, O Lord Jesus ; suffer no usurper to possess thy place in 
 our affections ; permit no other Lord to have dominion over us. 
 " 12. Blessed art thou, O Lord : teach me thy statutes." 
 He who is blessed can make us so ; he who delighteth to communicate 
 blessing, will do it, if we ask him, by teaching us his statutes, which corn- 
 form us to his nature, that we may live his life, and bless his name for ever. 
 When the word of God is our lesson, the Spirit of God must be our Mas- 
 ter. 
 
 " 13. With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth." 
 The best sign that God hath " taught us his statutes," and the greatest in- 
 ducement to him to teach us still more and more, is a readiness to make 
 others partakers of those blessings which we ourselves have received from 
 him. Jehovah fashions the " lips" of man, and he expects that they should 
 be employed in his service. " Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth 
 speaketh," and the stream will always show the nature of the fountain. 
 When we make the Scriptures the subject of our conversations we glorify 
 God, we edify our neighbours, and we improve ourselves. 
 
 " 14. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, us much as in all 
 riches." 
 
 Truth and holiness afford to the sincere believer a pleasure more exquisite, 
 as well as more solid and enduring, than that which a miser feels at the 
 acquisition of his darling wealth. Let us no longer envy the joys of 
 worldly men, no longer be chagrined at the prosperity of the wicked. The 
 "true riches" we may always acquire ; and, surely, as much as the heaven 
 is higher than the earth, so much are heavenly joys above earthly, in kind, 
 degree, and duration. 
 " 15. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways." 
 Meditation is that exercise of the mind, whereby it recalls a known truth, 
 as some kinds of creatures do their food, to be ruminated upon, until all the 
 nutritious parts are extracted, and fitted for the purposes of life. By study 
 we lay in knowledge, by meditation we reduce that knowledge to prac- 
 tise. And we have then duly "meditated on God's precepts," when in all 
 our proceedings we "have respect unto his ways," comparing our actions 
 with the rule of his word. 
 
 "16. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word." 
 By frequent meditation and continual practice, the Divine " statutes,'' 
 will become our "delight;" and from the pleasures, as well as from the 
 cares of the world, we shall gladly fly to them, for recreation and comfort. 
 Of holy exercises there is great variety, and spiritual joys are without num- 
 ber. Lord, make us to " delight ourselves in thy statutes," and when we 
 delight in what we learn, we shall easily retain it in memory ; we shall not 
 forget thy word. 
 
 GIMEL. PART IH. 
 
 " 17. Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy 
 word." 
 In the foregoing parts of the Psalm, we have heard the believer declaring 
 
DAT XXIV. E, P. ON THE PSALMS. 343 
 
 the excellency of God's word, and expressing both his desire and his reso- 
 lution to observe its directions. He now beseecheth God to remove all im- 
 pediments, and to accomplish this work in him. And as a man must 
 "live," in order to work, the first petition is, that God would " deal" with 
 his servant, according to the measure of grace and mercy, enabling him to 
 "live" the life of faith, and strengthening him by the Spirit of might in the 
 inner man, to " keep the word" of truth, and to walk in the commandments 
 of his blessed Master all his days. 
 
 " 18. Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of 
 thy law." 
 
 So far are we naturally from being able to "keep" the word, that we are 
 notable to understand it. The law of God is full of divine and spiritual 
 truths, concealed under literal histories, visible signs, and external ceremo- 
 nies. To discern these, r\'x"73D» wondrous, because hidden, "mysterious 
 "things," our ''eyes," the eyes of our understanding, must be " unveiled ;" 
 that " veil" must be taken off, which St. Paul affirmeth to be upon the 
 hearts of the Jews, "in reading the Old Testament," and which will con- 
 tinue there, until they turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. Then the veil will 
 be taken away, and they will behold him, and the redemption by him, as 
 prefigured in their law, and foretold by their prophets.* Pride, prejudice, 
 and interest, will compose a veil, through which a Christian shall see as 
 little of the New Testament, as a Jew doth of the Old. Lord, convince us 
 of our blindness, and restore us to our sight. 
 
 "19. lama stranger in the earth; hide not thy commandments from 
 me." 
 
 The above request for divine illumination is enforced by this argument, 
 that the petitioner is a " stranger," and a sojourner "upon the earth," he is 
 travelling through a foreign country to his native city, where are his kindred, 
 his treasure, and his heart; as a sojourner, he hath renounced the world, 
 which is therefore become his enemy ; as a stranger, he is fearful of losing 
 his way ; on these accounts he requesteth, that God would compensate the 
 loss of earthly comforts, by affording the light of heaven ; that he would 
 not " hide" his commandments, but show and teach him those steps, by 
 which he may ascend towards heaven, rejoicing in hope of future glory. 
 
 " 20. My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at 
 all times." 
 
 Another argument here urged, is that "longing" desire which the soul 
 hath, during her state of pilgrimage below, "unto the revelation of God's 
 will." Grieved and vexed at the prospect of sin, vanity, and folly, and 
 finding nothing below that will satisfy the desires of an immortal spirit, she 
 setteth her affections on the better things above, which are proposed in the 
 Scriptures, as the proper objects of our wishes. Her appetite for the divine 
 word is " keen" as that of hunger or thirst, and hope deferred maketh the 
 heart sick. This disposition is not a transient fit, but it is constant and 
 uniform at all times. 
 
 " 21. Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy 
 commandments." 
 
 The consideration of the wretched condition of impenitent sinners, is 
 another reason, why we entreat God to set and to keep us in the way of 
 his commandments. " Pride" produceth " error," and obstinacy in that 
 error: obstinate transgressors reject the call, the covenant, and the terms of 
 the Gospel; to such the "curse" of the law is ratified and sealed, and 
 mercy consigns them over to justice, which seldom fails to give them some 
 " rebuke" even in this world, for a foretaste to them, and a warning to 
 others. 
 
 * " Revela ociilus meo3 :" aperi.dispelle umbras, tolle velamentiim, quo spirituales oculicon- 
 teguntur. " Considerabo inirabila;" ut peiiitiis introspiciain, non literam, lantum, ac velut 
 conicem legis, sed arcana spiritualia, piita in sabbatis rtquiem sempiternam, siinplicatem in 
 azymis, in victimis obedientiam. et ubique Cbristuni. Bossuct. 
 
344 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXIX. 
 
 " 22. Remove from me reproach and contempt : for I have kept thy testi- 
 monies." 
 
 "Reproach and contempt" are liberally bestowed by the world upon 
 men, who, being not of it, reprove its deeds by their exemplary conduct. 
 These, to beginners more especially, are sore lets and hinderances in the way 
 of duty; and after the example of David, we may beseech God to "remove" 
 them from us, when we suffer them in his cause, and know ourselves to be 
 innocent of the crimes laid to our charge. In the mean time, to comfort 
 ourselves under them, let us remember, that He, who alone, in the strict 
 and unlimited sense of the words, could say, I have kept thy testimonies, 
 sustained the utmost degree of reproach and contempt for our sakes, and 
 was patient and resigned under it all, until God removed it from him by a 
 glorious resurrection. There remaineth likewise a resurrection for the mys- 
 tical body of Christ: and then, "Wisdom will be justified of all her chil- 
 dren." 
 
 "23. Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did 
 meditate in thy statutes." 
 
 Princes and rulers have often " sate" in council upon the servants of 
 God, and spoken, in judgment, false things "against them," as they did 
 against their blessed Master in the days of his flesh. David hath taught us 
 how to act in such circumstances. We are not to renounce the creed, or the 
 commandments, should it so happen that "the rulers and the Pharisees" 
 neither believe the former, nor observe the latter; but rather, we should 
 meditate more than ever, in the Scriptures : that we may draw from thence 
 comfort in the troubles, and direction in the difficulties, which persecution 
 bringeth upon us: always bearing in mind, when princes command any 
 thing contrary to the word of God, that our service is due to a higher mas- 
 ter ; " THY SERVANT did meditate in thy statutes." 
 
 " 24. Thy testimonies also are my delight, and my counsellors." 
 
 Pleasure and wisdom, as the world hath ordered matters, are almost in- 
 compatible ; insomuch that Solomon, relating the experience he had had of 
 voluptuousness, mentions it as a thing out of the ordinary course, that, " his 
 wisdom" all the time "remained with him," Eccles. ii. 9. But they who 
 meditate in the word of God, find a pleasure, which hath wisdom for its 
 inseparable companion. Their sorrow is dispelled, and their doubts are 
 resolved. For how can he be sorrowful, who sits by the fountain of joy? 
 How can he be long in doubt, who hath the prophets and apostles for his 
 counsellors ? 
 
 DALETH. PART IV. 
 
 " 25. My soul cleaveth unto the dust : quicken thou me according to thy 
 word." 
 
 The Psalmist, in a state of affliction and humiliation, still seeketh relief 
 by prayer, from the Scriptures. His circumstances vary, but his affection 
 to the word of God continueth the same. Every one whose affections are 
 set on things below, hath reason to exclaim with David, " My soul 
 cleaveth to the dust." From this kind of death we are "quickened," or 
 made alive, by the Gospel, through that same Spirit which raised Christ 
 from the dead, and which shall raise us also at the last day. Then soul 
 and body, perfected together, shall take their final farewell of earth, and 
 ascend to heaven, where the soul shall feel no passion but the love of God, 
 and the body shall have no employment but to express it. 
 
 "26. I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy 
 statutes." 
 
 We should freely and ingenuously declare to God in prayer our sins, our 
 temptations, our sorrows, and our undertakings ; it argues love, confidence, 
 and sincerity, so to do; it is a means of acquainting us with our own state, 
 of which generally we are ignonant ; and it will not fail to procure us those 
 
DAT XXIV. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 345 
 
 aids from above, of which we stand in need. God will hear us, he will 
 pardon our offences, strengthen us in our trials, dispel our grief, and pros- 
 per the work of our hands upon us. These mercies, when received, should 
 incline us to walk worthy of them, and for that purpose, to beg the farther 
 instruction and direction of the Divine Spirit. " I have declared my ways, 
 and thou heardest me — teach me thy statutes." 
 
 " 27. Make me to understand the way of thy precepts ; so shall I talk, 
 or, meditate, of thy wondrous works, or, thy mysteries." 
 
 The heart of the troubled Psalmist is intent upon duty, and the deliver- 
 ance which he chiefly requesteth is that from ignorance and error. True 
 knowledge cometh from God, and it cannot be too often desired of him. It 
 is pleasant as the light, extensive as the heavens, and more profitable than 
 the treasures of eastern kings. He who is led to understand the celestial 
 mysteries of the Scriptures, will never want subjects for meditation, and 
 should never permit those subjects either to slip out of his mind or, to lie 
 unimproved in it. 
 
 " 28. My soul melteth for heaviness ; strengthen thou me according unto 
 thy word." 
 
 Let us not marvel, if sin bring us to the knowledge of sorrow, since he 
 who knew no sin, was yet on our account so intimately acquainted with 
 gTief. In the garden, his soul melted for heaviness, "and there appeared 
 an angel from heaven strengthening him," Luke xxii. 43. Our transgres- 
 sions deserve an eternity of sorrow ; let us not, therefore, repine at any part 
 of it that may fall to our share in time. No, blessed Jesus, let us suffer 
 with thee, as both a means and a pledge of our future glorification with 
 thee. Only "strengthen us, according to" the promises in "thy word." 
 In this life, all we ask is faith and patience, faith, to assure us that thou 
 orderest all things for the best : and patience to preserve that faith. These 
 were the provisions with which thy best beloved servants of old travelled 
 through this mortal life. Enable us, upon whom the ends of the world are 
 come, to do the same ; that so, when the days of our earthly pilgrimage 
 shall be happily accomplished, we may sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, 
 and Jacob, in thy heavenly kingdom. 
 
 "29. Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law gra- 
 ciously. 30. I have chosen the way of truth : thy judgments have I laid 
 before nie.^^ * 
 
 It is plain that "the way of truth," in the latter of these two verses, is 
 opposed to the "way of lying," or of falsehood, in the former. The one 
 comprehends everything in doctrine and practice that is right, and therefore 
 true ; the other denotes everything which is wrong, and therefore " false." 
 Of these two ways man hath his choice. God points out to him the 
 former by his word, and offers to conduct him in it by his Spirit. Satan 
 shows him the latter, and endeavours to seduce him into it by his tempta- 
 tions. The Psalmist declareth himself to have chosen God's way, and to 
 have "laid" the Scriptures " before him," as the chart by which he was to 
 direct his course. He therefore prays, that the other way be far " removed" 
 from him; and that God would vouchsafe him such a thorough ac- 
 quaintance with the " way" of truth, as might prevent him from ever wan- 
 dering into the path of error. How much depends upon the road we choose ! 
 How difficult is it, in a divided and distracted world, to choose aright! 
 Yet this choice, so important, so difficult, frequently remains to be made by 
 us, when we have neither judgment to choose, nor strength to travel ! 
 
 " 3L I have stuck unto thy testimonies : O Lord, put me not_ to shame." 
 
 Having once chosen our road, it remains that we persevere in it; since 
 better had it been for us never to have known the way of truth, than to for- 
 sake it when known ; and we have the same reasons to go on, w'hich induced 
 us to begin; nay, though the love of the world may require novelty and 
 variety to support it, yet, in the blessed union of the soul with its Redeemer, 
 true affection will increase with time and acquaintance. The Psalmist doth 
 
346 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXIX. 
 
 not only say, "I have followed," but "I stuck unto thy testimonies ;" I 
 have adhered so closely and firmly to them, that temptation has in vain 
 essayed to allure, and persecution as vainly attempted to force me from 
 them. And therefore he beseecheth God so to continue his grace and 
 favour, that he may never, by falling from his steadfastness, disgrace his 
 Master, his cause, his brethren, himself, nor be put to shame at the last 
 day. " O Lord, put me not to shame !" 
 
 " 32. I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge 
 my heart." 
 
 The true Christian is always proceeding in the way of godliness, though 
 not always with equal pace. In grief, whether for temporal or spiritual 
 losses, the heart is contracted, and the spirits are all summoned home to 
 comfort and support it, so that the faculties are left feeble and sluggish ; 
 and then the progress can be but slow. This was the Psalmist's case. But 
 even then he promises that, when God, by sending him joy and gladness, 
 should enlarge " his heart," dilate his spirits, and put life and strength 
 into his actions, he would quicken his pace in proportion, and, with 
 renewed vigour and alacrity, " run the way" of the divine " command- 
 ments," until it should have brought him to rest and felicity in the bosom 
 of God. 
 
 TWENTY-FIFTH DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 HE. PART V. 
 
 "33. Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it 
 unto the end." 
 
 Instruction from above is necessary for the children of God, while they 
 continue in this world. The more we know, the more we shall desire to 
 know; we shall beg a daily supply of grace, as well as of bread; and a 
 taste of "the cluster of Eshcol" will make us long after the vintage of 
 Canaan, Numb. xiii. 23. Religion is the art of holy living, and then only 
 known when it is practised ; as he is not a master of music, who can read 
 the notes which compose it, but he who has learned how to take a lesson 
 readily from the book, and play it on his instrument; after which, the plea- 
 sure it affords will be sufficient motive for continuing so to do. "Teach 
 me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end." 
 
 " 31. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law ; yea, 1 shall 
 observe it, with my whole heart." 
 
 Much "understanding" is needful in order to the observation of the law, 
 that we may know what is commanded, and what is forbidden, and how 
 far; that we may avoid the snares laid for us in the way of duty; that we 
 may respect things according to their due rank and worth ; that we may do 
 good works in their proper time, place, and manner; above all, that the 
 affections may be directed by the judgment, and not the judgment by the 
 affections. The law cannot be observed, unless it be understood ; and it 
 is understood in vain, unless it be observed ; or rather, if it be indeed un- 
 derstood, if there be upon the mind, at all times, a full conviction of divine 
 truths, and their excellency, not only in themselves, but compared with the 
 offers of the world, the flesh, and the devil, then it will certainly operate 
 in hearty obedience. " Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; 
 yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart." 
 
 " 35. Make me to go, or, conduct me, in the path of thy commandments ; 
 for therein do I delight." 
 
 He who teacheth us the way to heaven, must also conduct us in it, and 
 the same grace must give light and strength. The Scripture is our rule, 
 the Spirit is our guide; and from beginning to end, it is God who inclines, 
 prepares, and enables us "to go in the" clean and pleasant "path of his 
 commandments ;" a path which leads us from the noise and pollution of the 
 
DAT XXV. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 347 
 
 world, through a paradise of promises and comforts, grateful as the fra- 
 grance of early spring, or the incense ascending from the holy altar. Hap- 
 py the soul, that can say to God, therein do I delight;" which is at the 
 same time a reason for her to ask, and for him to grant, a continuance and 
 perseverance therein. 
 
 " 3G. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness." 
 The wit of man may conceive, and his tongue may utter, great things of 
 God and holiness, while his heart is averse from both; therefore David 
 saith, not only, " Give me understanding," but, " incline my heart." Our 
 true characters are formed by the desires of our hearts, which not finding 
 satisfaction in themselves, must seek it in something without them. The 
 world offers itself first; and custom, as well as nature, inclineth us to the 
 love of that, and of money, which commandeth all things in it. Such love 
 is contrary to the love of God, being one of the thorns which choke the 
 seed, and render it unfruitful. Therefore, the Psalmist requesteth, that his 
 heart may be " inclined to the Divine testimonies, and not to covetousness." 
 And as God only can change the disposition of the heart, to God he pre- 
 ferreth his petition. It is to be observed, that by the words, " Incline not 
 my heart to covetousness," is meant, " suffer not my heart to be inclined," 
 or, "give it not over to covetousness." 
 
 " 37. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity ; and quicken thou 
 me in thy way." 
 
 "Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity;" and what is there else 
 on earth to behold 1 What is there which when possessed, doth not disap- 
 point the expectation conceived of it, the possessors themselves being 
 judges] Solomon took an inventory of the world, and all the best things 
 in it; he cast up the account, and the sum total was, vanity. The "eye" 
 is the grand inlet of temptation, and "beholding," we come to desire and 
 long after the objects of sense; from which time our affection toward the 
 objects of faith waxeth cold. " Turn away our eyes" therefore, O Lord, 
 " from beholding vanity, and quicken us in thy way;" mortify the flesh, 
 and the spirit shall live. 
 " 38. Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear." 
 The "word" here intended is the word of promise, which the believer 
 entreateth God to " stablish," confirm, or accomplish, to him by his sanc- 
 tification, that so he may walk in the way of truth and life. He pleadeth 
 his title to the promise, as a servant of God, and one who feared to offend 
 him. 
 
 " 39. Turn away my reproach which I fear : for thy judgments are good." 
 The " reproach" which we have all most reason to dread, and to pray 
 that God would keep far from us here and hereafter, is that of having for- 
 saken and apostatized from those statutes and "judgments" revealed in the 
 Scriptures, which we own to be so " good," so pleasant, and so profitable. 
 " 40. Behold, I have longed after thy precepts : quicken me in thy righ- 
 teousness." 
 
 The Psalmist appealeth to God, the searcher of hearts, for the truth of 
 the protestation he was about to make, that the desire of his soul was to- 
 ward the Divine word ; not only toward the promises, to believe and em- 
 brace them, but also toward the " precepts," to observe and to do them. 
 He therefore prayeth, with confidence, that God would finish the work he 
 had begun, and enable him to carry his wishes into execution, by continu- 
 ally " quickening" and enlivening him more and more through grace, to 
 finish his course in "righteousness," and to obtain that crown which is to 
 be the reward of it. 
 
 VAU. PART VI. 
 
 "41. Let thy mercies come also unto me, Lord, even thy salvation, 
 according to thy word." 
 Persecution and affliction, of which they never fail, in some way, or other, 
 
848 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXIX. 
 
 to have their share, who live godly in Christ Jesus, should teach us, like 
 David, to fly for refuge to that " mercy," from whence proceedeth all " sal- 
 vation," temporal and eternal ; and to pray without ceasing, for the accom- 
 plishment of that " word," which promiseth to the people of God deliver- 
 ance out of all their troubles. 
 
 " 42. So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me : for 
 I trust in thy word." 
 
 A believer trusting in the promises of God, when the whole world hath 
 forsaken him, and v.o sign or probability appears of their being fulfilled, is 
 always, among the wicked, an object of scorn and "reproach." Such was 
 David, when Shimei cursed him. Such was our blessed Master, when men 
 said, " He trusted in God that he would deliver him, let him deliver him 
 now, if he will have him." And his disciples are not to expect better usage. 
 " Therefore," saith one of them, " we both labout^and suffer reproach, be- 
 cause we trust in the living God," 1 Tim, iv. 10. To silence these re- 
 proaches, we beseech God to manifest his mercy in our salvation. The 
 resurrection of Jesus was an "answer" to his blasphemers; and the mouth 
 of all wickedness will be stopped at the last day. 
 
 " 43. And take not the word of truth utterly out of my month : for I have 
 hoped in thy judgments." 
 
 In the mean time, while affliction presseth hard upon us, while our deli- 
 verance is deferred, and the enemy is suffered to reproach and blaspheme, 
 our prayer must be, that God would give us courage and utterance, still to 
 confess him before men, and boldly to speak his " word of truth," for the 
 edification of some, and the confutation of others ; as knowing, that our 
 faith is not vain, nor shall we be disappointed of our " hope," since both 
 are built upon the "judgments," or revealed decrees of Him, who can 
 neither err nor deceive. 
 
 " 44. So shall I keep thy law continually, for ever and ever." 
 
 By means of strength and power from above, we shall be enabled to 
 serve God, in adversity as well as in prosperity; and amidst all difficulties 
 and dangers, into which the path of duty may lead us. Charity will perse- 
 vere in it, till, arriving at the gate of heaven, and there taking leave of her 
 companions and fellow-travellers. Faith and Hope, she shall enter those 
 blissful regions, to perform to eternity that perfect will of God, which the 
 infirmities of fallen nature prevented her from having so fully performed 
 here below. 
 
 " 45. And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts." 
 
 No external pressure can take away that spiritual " liberty" which the 
 faithful Christian experienceth when he hath made an open confession of 
 the truth, and determined at all events to do his duty. Then he is no longer 
 straitened by fear, but set at large by love. "The truth maketh him free, 
 and he walketh in the liberty of the children of God ;" a liberty which they 
 only obtain " who seek his precepts," and, by the performance of theni, 
 are rescued from the bondage both of tyrannical desires and slavish fears. 
 
 "46. I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be 
 ashamed." 
 
 A prophet may be called " before kings," either in the course of his of- 
 fice to instruct them, or else, in a judiciary way, to give an account of his 
 faith. In either case, if he " walketh at liberty," he will " speak of God's 
 testimonies," with due reverence to the person and authority of his prince, 
 but as one who is neither afraid nor " ashamed" to declare the whole coun- 
 sel of heaven to any being upon earth. 
 
 "47. And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have 
 loved. 48. IMy hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which 
 I have loved : and I will meditate in thy statutes." 
 
 He who would preach boldly to others, must himself "delight" in the 
 practice of what he preacheth. If there be in us a new nature, it will 
 " love the commandments of God," as being congenial to it; on that which 
 
Day XXV. M. P, ON THE PSALMS. 349 
 
 we love we shall be conlinually be meditating; and our meditation will 
 end in action; we shall "lift up the hands which hang down," Heb. xii. 
 12. that they may work the works of God, while it is day; because the 
 night Cometh, when no man can work," John ix. 4. 
 
 ZAIN. PART VII. 
 
 "49. Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused 
 me to hope." 
 
 God promiseth salvation, before he giveth it, to excite our desire of it, 
 to exercise our faith, to prove our sincerity, to perfect our patience. For 
 these purposes, he seemeth to have sometimes forgotten his word, and to 
 have deserted those whom he had engaged to succour and relieve; in which 
 case he would have us, as it were, to remind him of his promise, and solicit 
 his performance of it. The Psalmist here instructeth us to prefer our peti- 
 tion upon these grounds ; first, that God cannot prove false to his own 
 word ; " Remember the word unto thy servant ;" secondly, that he will 
 never disappoint an expectation which himself hath raised ; " upon which 
 thou hast caused me to hope." 
 
 " 50. This is my comfort in my affliction : for thy word hath quickened 
 me." 
 
 While performance is delayed, we "rejoice in hope," Roin. xii. 13.; 
 and the promise is our "comfort in affliction ;" a comfort, divine, strong, 
 lasting ; a comfort that will not, like others, fail us when we most want it, 
 in the day of sickness, and at the hour of death ; but will always keep pace 
 with our necessities, increasing in proportion as the pleasures of the world 
 and the flesh decrease in us, and then becoming complete, when they are 
 no more. So powerful is the word of God to revive us, when dead, either 
 in sins or in sorrow ; " thy word hath quickened me." 
 
 "51. The proud hath had me greatly in derision; yet have I not declined 
 from thy law." 
 
 A true servant of God helieveth the promises, and practiseth the precepts 
 of his blessed Master. The haughty infidel will scoff at him for one part 
 of his conduct; the insolent worldling will ridicule him for the other. But 
 neither will induce him to disbelieve, or disobey. Let us be certain that 
 we have the Divine "law" for our warrant in what we believe, and in what 
 we do ; and then, let not the "derision of the proud" prevail upon us to 
 " decline from it." 
 
 " 5-2. I remembered thy judgments of old, Lord ; and have comforted 
 myself." 
 
 The great remedy against that temptation which ariseth from the re- 
 proaches of our scornful and insulting adversaries, is here prescribed, namely, 
 a "remembrance of God's judgments of old," whether we understand the 
 •judgments of his mouth, or those of his hand; his righteous decrees for the 
 punishment of bad, and reward of good men, or the many and wonderful in- 
 stances of his executing those decrees, from the beginning of the world, 
 recorded in the sacred history. These are sources of real and endless com- 
 fort upon such occasions ; because nothing can happen to us, which hath not 
 happened to God's people of old ; no case, of which there is not a prece- 
 dent in Scripture, where we may read the process of similar trials, their 
 issue, and the final sentence of the Judge, who is still the same, and whose 
 rule of procedure and determination is invariable. 
 
 " 53. Horror hath taken hold upon me, because of the wicked that for 
 sake thy law." 
 
 The consequence of a due meditation on God's judgments, will be a com- 
 passion for the "wicked," on whom those judgments, in the end, fall ; so 
 that instead of feeling for ourselves, on account of the injuries they do u>. 
 we shall feel for them, who are thereby drawing down vengeance and de- 
 
 30 
 
350 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXIX. 
 
 struction on their own heads. " Daughters of Jerusalem," said the blessed 
 Jesus, when led to be crucified, " weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, 
 and for your children," Luke xxiii. 28. 
 
 " 54. Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage." 
 
 The soul, which descended from above, and longs to return tliitheragain, 
 is a stranger and a sojourner upon earth. The body is " the house of her 
 pilgrimage," in which she is confined, during her state of exile. And, how 
 harsh soever the usage may be which she receiveth from the world, she 
 ever findeth joy and comfort, as once did the fugitive and wandering son of 
 Jesse, in making God's statutes the subjects of her psalms, and hymns, and 
 spiritual songs, until death shall restore her to liberty. Then, ascending 
 to heaven from whence she came, and like the early lark, singing as she 
 ascends, she will seek her native abode; there to celebrate her redemption 
 from the earth, and to chant forth the praises of Him who hath redeemed 
 her, in a new song, before the throne. 
 
 " 55. I have remembered thy name, Lord, in the night, and have kept 
 thy law." 
 
 By the name of God, his nature, so much at least of it as we are concerned 
 to know, and are capable of receiving, is revealed to us. Such a love had 
 the Psalmist for it on that account, that as in the day God's statutes were 
 his songs, so in the night God's name was the subject of his meditation. 
 With his tongue he praised him in the day, with his heart he desired him 
 in the night-watches. At night, the dissipation, noise and hurry of busi- 
 ness, cease ; external silence produceth internal calmness and composure, 
 inviting us to celestial contemplation ; the world is dead to us, and we are 
 dead to the world; the soul is then most alive, and seemeth to experience 
 a foretaste of that time, when the body and its concerns shall no more molest 
 and impede her. The good effects of hours thus secretly passed in holy 
 exercises, will appear openly in our lives and conversations: "I have re- 
 membered thy name, Lord, in the night, and," as the fruit of it, " have 
 kept thy law." 
 
 *'56. This I had, because I kept thy precepts." 
 
 As one sin is often the consequence and the punishment of another, so 
 one act of obedience is the issue and the reward of another ; and, to him 
 who hath well used the grace already received, shall more be given. 
 "This I had ;" this ability to perform my duty, and to delight in the per- 
 formance of it day and night, was vouchsafed unto me, " because I kept thy 
 precepts," because I was not heretofore disobedient, but employed the 
 strength with which thou, O Lord, hast endued me, not in doing mine own 
 will, but thine. 
 
 CHETH. PART VIIL 
 
 " 57. Thou art my portion, O Lord : I have said that I would keep thy . 
 words." 
 
 Happy the man who can sincerely say, " Thou art my portion, Lord ;" 
 I have considered, and made my choice ; from henceforth, I renounce all 
 tilings for the love of thee ; thou art suflicicnt for me ; thee only I desire to 
 enjoy, and therefore, thee only I desire to please; "I have said that I 
 would keep thy words." 
 
 " 58. I entreated thy favour with my whole heart : be merciful unto me, 
 according to thy word." 
 
 He who hath chosen God for his portion, will earnestly seek his favour, 
 and the light of his countenance ; he who hath promised and vowed to 
 " keep the words" of God, hath need to seek that favour and that light, 
 that he may have grace and power to fulfil his engagements. INIercy is the 
 sole fountain of every good gift for which we ask, and God's promise the 
 only ground upon which we ask it ; " Be merciful unto me, according to thy 
 word." 
 
DatXXV. M. p. ON THE PSALMS. 351 
 
 " 59. I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies." 
 
 The Psalmist did not content himself with barely praying for strength 
 and grace, but his faith, relying on the word of promise, put itself in mo- 
 tion. He considered his " ways," his course of thinking, speaking, and 
 acting; how far he had proceeded in it, and whither it led him; and this 
 consideration produced a conversion of the whole man, of the heart and its 
 affections, from the creature to the Creator, as he hath revealed himself in 
 the Scriptures of truth ; "1 turned my feet unto thy testimonies." 
 
 "(50. I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments." 
 
 A true penitent suflereth no time to be lost between his good resolu- 
 tions and the performance of them. " Draw me," saith the church, " and 
 we will RUN after thee," Cant. i. 4. Andrew, Peter, and others, stayed not 
 for a second call from Christ, but followed him immediately upon the first. 
 By deferring our return to duty, we lose many comfortable fruits, wiiich it 
 would have produced both in ourselves and others, while the difBculties of 
 ever returning, and the danger of never returning, are daily and hourly in- 
 creasing. 
 
 "61. The bands, or^ troops of the ungodly have robbed me : hut I have 
 not forgotten thy law." 
 
 To be robbed, or plundered of his possessions in this world, was by no 
 means a case peculiar to David. The primitive Christians were continu- 
 ally so treated ; and our Lord gives all his disciples warning to stand pre- 
 pared for such events, ready in disposition, in heart and mind, to quit 
 all, as they who first followed him literally did. The Apostle tells us of 
 some, who not only bore patiently, but even " took joyfully, the spoiling of 
 their goods :" the reason he assigns for so extraordinary a behaviour, de- 
 serves to be noted and remembered ; " knowing that they had in heaven a 
 better and an enduring substance," Heb. x. 34. They who part with earth 
 to gain heaven, and exchange the world for its Maker, certainly lose no- 
 thing by the bargain. Nay, there will come an hour, when, for that fore- 
 taste of glory which a good conscience affordeth to its happy possessor, the 
 dearest lover of mammon would joyfully give up all the gold of Peru, and 
 all the diamonds of Indostan. 
 
 "62. At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee, because of thy 
 righteous judgments." 
 
 So far were temporal losses from causing the Psalmist to forsake God, 
 that he sought him the more earnestly and fervently on that account, rising 
 at "midnight to give thanks" for all his "righteous judgments" and dis- 
 pensations towards his servants. Thus Paul and Silas, not only empove- 
 rished, but imprisoned for the testimony of Jesus, yet in that situation, with 
 their feet fast in the stocks, "sang praises at midnight," thereby turning 
 their night into day, and their prison into a paradise; when, lo, their halle- 
 lujahs ascended to heaven, and God arose to judgment ; the earth trembled, 
 the doors were opened, their chains fell off", the gaoler and his family were 
 converted, and the apostles set at liberty. And although there be no obliga- 
 tion upon men to " rise at midnight," in order to give thanks, yet if they 
 who awake, at that, or any other time, would accustom their hearts, at least, 
 to so divine an exercise, they would find it always productive of the most 
 comfortable effects. 
 
 "63. I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep 
 thy precepts." 
 
 As no sufferings should make us neglect our intercourse with God, so 
 neither should they tempt us to forsake the communion of saints, or fellow- 
 ship of them who " fear God, and work righteousness." These are knit 
 together in love, as members of the same mystical body, insomuch that "if 
 one member suffer, or be honoured, all the members should suffer, or be 
 honoured with it ;" these we should own at all times, in prosperity, and in 
 adversity ; with these should our acquaintance and conversation be, for the 
 mutucil improvement and consolation of them and of ourselves. Of such 
 
352 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXIX. 
 
 was David a "companion," and such the Redeemer himself "is not 
 ashamed to call brethren," Heb. ii. 11. 
 
 "G4. The earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy: teach me thy statutes." 
 Heaven and earth, and all that are therein, declare, from day to day, the 
 "mercy" of their Creator and Preserver, which is "over all his works." 
 And his goodness, thus displayed through the outward and visible world, 
 forbids us to doubt of his loving-kindness towards those immortal spirits, 
 which in tenements of mortal clay, make, for awhile, their abode here 
 below ; during which short period, they beseech him earnestly to grant 
 them such a portion of that saving knowledge, which is his gift, as may 
 secure to them, when they shall depart hence, a place in a happier country, 
 and a more enduring city. "Teach me thy statutes !" 
 
 TETH. PART IX. 
 
 " 65. Thou hast dealt well v.ath thy servant, Lord, according to thy 
 word." 
 
 As the sense of our wants should prepare the mind for prayer, so grati- 
 tude for blessings received should tune the heart to praise. In preferring our 
 petitions, self-love may sometimes have a share ; but thankfulness is the 
 offspring of an ingenuous spirit, and the love of God. Let a man carefully 
 recount the Divine mercies shown to him from his birth, considering withal 
 how unworthy he hath been of the least of those mercies, as also how far 
 preferable his state is to that of many others ; and he will find reason " in 
 all things to give thanks," to acknowledge, with David, the goodness and 
 truth of Jehovah, and to say, "Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O 
 Lord, according to thy word." 
 
 " 6G. Teach me good judgment and knowledge : for I have believed thy 
 commandments." 
 
 From thanksgiving, the Psalmist returneth again to prayer, as, while we 
 continue in this world, we must all do. The gift, for which he nowprayeth, 
 is that of " a good judgment with knowledge ;" as the former must enable 
 us to make a proper use of the latter. The word, Oj'tS, which is here 
 translated "judgment," signifies bodily taste, and that faculty in the mind 
 which answers to it, the faculty of discerning, distinguishing, and judging 
 rightly of things moral and spiritual, as the palate doth of meats, their dif- 
 ferent flavours, and qualities. Without this taste, or discretion, we must 
 mistake falsehood for truth in our studies, and wrong for right in our prac- 
 tice ; superstition and enthusiasm may pass with us for religion, or else 
 Licentiousness may intrude itself upon us, under the name and notion of 
 liberty; in a word, our learning and knowledge prove useless, if not preju- 
 dicial to us. A sound mind, therefore, should, above all things, be desired 
 of God in our prayers ; and those prayers will be heard, when we can sin- 
 cerely profess a readiness to be directed by God's laws, through faith in 
 their author, his promises and threatenings; on which ground David urgeth 
 his request; "for I have believed thy commandments." 
 
 " 67. Before I was afflicted I went astray : but now I have kept thy 
 word." 
 
 We collect from this verse, that prosperity is too often the parent of sin ; 
 that adversity is, first, its punishment, then its remed)s and that every con- 
 siderate man, who hath been afflicted, will thankfully acknowledge as much. 
 " When afflictions fail to have their due effect, the case is desperate. They 
 are the last remedy which indulgent Providence uses ; and if they fail, we 
 must languish and die in misery and contempt. Vain men ! How seldom 
 do we know what to wish, or pray for! When we pray against misfor- 
 tunes, and when we fear them most, we want them most. The shortest and 
 the best prayer which we can address to Him who knows our wants, and 
 our ignorance in asking, is this — ^Thy will be done." Lord Bolingbrokt's 
 Reflections on Exile, p. 276. 
 
Day XXV. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 353 
 
 " 68. Thou art good, and doest good : teach me thy statutes." 
 In other words, as bishop Patrick iiath well connected and paraphrased 
 it, "Thou art in thine own nature kind and good; and nothing else can pro- 
 ceed frona thee, who designest our good, even when thou afflictest us ; take 
 what methods thou pleasest with me, only teach me effectually to do as 
 thou wouldest have me." 
 
 " (59. The proud have forged a lie against me : hut I will keep thy pre- 
 cepts with my whole heart." 
 
 Every disciple of Christ, who, like his Master, goeth contrary to the 
 ways of the world, and condemneth them, must expect to be, like that Mas- 
 ter, slandered and calumniated by the world. To such slanders and calum- 
 nies, a good life is the best answer. When a friend once told Plato what 
 scandalous stories his enemies had propagated concerning him, " I will live 
 so," replied that great philosopher, "that nobody shall believe them." 
 " 70. Their heart is as fat as- grease ; but I delight in thy law." 
 " The fatness of the heart" implieth, in this place, two things in those of 
 whom it is affirmed ; luxury, and its consequence, insensibility to those spiri- 
 tual and divine truths, which are not only the study, but the " delight" of 
 temperate and holy persons, who gladly fly from large companies, full 
 tables, costly meats, and rich wines, to enjoy in private the more exalted 
 pleasures of abstinence, meditation, and prayer. 
 
 "71. It is good for me that I have been afflicted ; that I might learn thy 
 statutes." 
 
 God's statutes are best learned in the school of affliction, because by afflic- 
 tion the great impediments to our learning them are removed ; pride is sub- 
 dued, and concupiscence is extinguished. " He that hath suffered in the 
 flesh," saith an apostle, " hath ceased from sin ;" 1 Pet. iv. 1. and in an im- 
 munity from sin consisteth one of the greatest felicities of heaven, which 
 thus descends into the afflicted soul, so as to render even the state of sick- 
 ness itself, in some sort, desirable. Strange as this proposition may ap.? 
 pear, the reader will find its truth demonstrated by the inimitable bishop 
 Jeremy Taylor in that truly golden tract, "The Rule and Exercises of 
 Holy Dying," chap. iii. sect. 6. on " the Advantages of Sickness." 
 
 " 72. The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and 
 silver." 
 
 Affliction taketh from us the inclination to offend, and it giveth us, in re- 
 turn, a knowledge of that law which "is better," and which, when we are 
 thoroughly acquainted with it, we shall esteem to be better "than thousands 
 of gold and silver ;" better in its nature, for it is from heaven, they are from 
 the earth ; better in its use, for it bringeth salvation to our souls, whereas 
 they can only procure sustenance for the body; better in point of duration, 
 for the benefits of one are certain and eternal, the advantages of the other 
 temporal and uncertain. Blessed are they who seek in the Scriptures the 
 true riches ; who traffic for the spiritual gains of celestial wisdom ; for surely 
 " the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the 
 gain thereof than fine gold," Prov. iii. 14. 
 
 TWENTY-FIFTH DAY— EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 JOB. PART X. 
 
 " 73. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me : give me understands 
 ing, that I may learn thy commandments." 
 
 The formation of man was the last and the noblest work of God, and it is 
 a standing miracle of divine wisdom and power. The consideration, that 
 God made us, is here urged as an argument why he should not forsake and 
 reject us, since every artist hath a value for his own work, proportioned 
 to its excellence. It is, at the same time, acknowledgment of the service 
 
 30* 
 
354 A COMMENTARY Psaim CXIX. 
 
 ■we owe him, founded on the relation which a creature beareth to his Crea- 
 tor. And the petition implieth in it a confession of our present inability to 
 know his will without his revelation, and to do it without his grace. 
 
 " 74. They that fear thee will be glad when they see me ; because I have 
 hoped in thy word." 
 
 They who " fear God" are naturally " glad" when " they see" and con- 
 verse with one like themselves ; but more especially so, when it is one 
 whose faith and patience have carried him through troubles, and rendered 
 him victorious over temptations; one who hath "hoped in God's word," 
 and hath not been disappointed. Every such instance affordeth fresh en- 
 couragement to 'all those who, in the course of their warfare, are to undergo 
 like troubles, and to encounter like temptations. In all our trials, let us 
 therefore remember, that our brethren, as well as ourselves, are deeply in- 
 terested in the event, which may either strengthen or weaken the hands of 
 multitudes. 
 
 " 75. I know, Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in 
 faithfulness hast afflicted me." 
 
 This humble, pious, and dutiful confession will be made by every true 
 child of God, when under the correction of his heavenly Father. From 
 whatever quarter afflictions come upon us, they are "the judgments of 
 God," without whose providence nothing befallcth us. His judgments are 
 alwa5'^s " right, or just," duly proportioned to the disease and strength of 
 the patient; in sending them, God is "faithful" and true to his word, 
 wherein he hath never promised the crown without the cross, but hath on the 
 contrary assured us, that one will be necessary in order to our obtaining the 
 other ; and that they who are beloved by him shall not sin with impunity, 
 nor go astray without a call to return. AH this we ought to " know," or to 
 be assured of beyond doubt, as we may be from the many declarations in 
 Scripture, from our own experience, and from that of others. 
 
 " 76. Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, accord- 
 ing to thy word unto thy servant." 
 
 In the former verse the criminal, finding that the hand of God was upon 
 him, had owned the justice and the faithfulness of his judge in the punish- 
 ment inflicted. Judgment having thus had her perfect work, the offender, 
 now humbled and penitent, maketh application to the throne of grace, and 
 sueth for that mercy, which God, by his " word" hath promised to his 
 servants, who are chastened, not for their destruction, but for their salva- 
 tion. When God's "judgments" have brought us to an acknowledgment 
 of our sins, his " merciful kindness" will speedily be our " comfort." 
 
 " 77. Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live : for thy law 
 is my delight." 
 
 The mercies of God are " tender mercies," they are the mercies of a 
 father to his children, nay, tender as the compassion of a mother over the 
 son of her womb. They " come imto" us when we are not able to go to 
 them. By them alone we "live" the life of faith, of love, of joy and glad- 
 ness. And to such as " delight" in his law, God will grant these mercies, 
 and this life ; he will give them pardon, and by so doing, he will give them 
 life from the dead. 
 
 " 78. Let the proud be ashamed ; for they dealt perversely with me with- 
 out a cause; hut I will meditate in thy precepts." 
 
 This complaint of the Psalmist hath been made by the faithful in all 
 ages, that the men of the world " dealt perversely with them without a 
 cause," or oppressed them falsely, first spreading slanders and calumnies 
 concerning them, and then persecuting them for those supposed crimes. 
 Such usage should have no other effect upon us, than it had upon David. 
 He prayed that "shame" and disappointment might teach humility to the 
 " proud" and applied himself still more and more to meditate in the "pre- 
 cepts" of his God. 
 
 " 79. Let thoSe that fear thee turn unto me, and those that have known 
 thy testimonies." 
 
Day XXV. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 355 
 
 David beseecheth God, if any good men have been alienated from him, 
 either through fear, prejudice, or offence, that they might return to him 
 join, and acknowledge him. To thee, O thou Son of David, and Kintr of the 
 spiritual Israel, let those among thy people, who, through any temptation, 
 have fallen from their allegiance, return and he subject. 
 
 "80. Let my heart be sound in thy statutes: that I be not ashamed." 
 This is a prayer necessary for all men to use at all times, but more parti- 
 cularly in seasons of persecution and temptation. By " soundness of heart," 
 is meant solidity and steadfastness in grace and virtue, as opposed to the 
 mere form of godliness, or fair show of the hypocrite, which conceal the 
 rottenness and corruption lurking within ; and also to the sudden and 
 vanishing goodness of the temporary convert, which quickly disappears 
 like the morning dew, and withers like the seed sown on a rock. When 
 internal holiness accompanies and actuates that which is external, when 
 the word is thoroughly rooted, and faith hath acquired the sovereignty over 
 our desires, then our "hearts" are " found in God's statutes," and there is 
 hope, that, in the day of trial, we shall not give our brethren cause to be 
 ashamed of us, nor be ourselves " ashamed" before God. 
 
 CAPH. PART XL 
 
 "8L My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word, or, I 
 have expected thy word." 
 
 Thus have the true servants of God, in every age, expressed their ardent 
 desire of his salvation. Thus did the patriarchs, the prophets, the kings, 
 and the faithful people, formerly wish to behold the advent of their 
 Saviour in the flesh ; until Simeon, taking him in his arms, spoke 
 what they would all have spoken had they been present, " Lord, now 
 lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word ; for mine eyes 
 have seen thy salvation." But the Bridegroom was soon taken away, and 
 the heavens have received him, until the restitution of all things; for which 
 the church upon earth at this day waiteth and prayeth ; that she may be 
 delivered from all her troubles, and inseparably united to him in whom 
 she delighteth. Every individual, when oppressed by sin and sorrow, may 
 make his supplication in the same words, for that salvation which is by 
 grace, through faith. 
 
 " 82. Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me 1" 
 
 While the promised salvation is delayed, the afflicted soul thinketh every 
 day a year, and looketh toward heaven for the accomplishment of God's 
 word, saying to " her Friend and her Beloved, When wilt thou comfort me 1 
 Come, Lord Jesu, come quickly!"* 
 
 " 83. For I am become like a bottle in the smoke : yet do I not forget 
 tliy statutes." 
 
 " Bottles," among the Jews, were made of skins. One of these, if 
 exposed to heat and " smoke," would become shrivelled and useless. Such 
 a change will labour and sorrow cause in the huro.an frame ; and the 
 Psalmist here complaineth that his beauty and strength were gone; the 
 natural moisture was dried up ; in consequence of which the skin shrivelled, 
 and both colour and vigour departed from him. Disease and old age will 
 produce the same sad effects in us all ; but the body's weakness is the 
 soul's strength; as the outward man decayeth, the inward man is renewed, 
 " 1 do not forget thy statutes." 
 
 • " Defecerunt oculimei;" Ambrosius : " Nonne qnando aliquem (lesidoramns et speramu? 
 adfore, eo derigimus oculos unde speramus esse ventiiriim? Sic tenera; uxor ittatis, de spcciiUi 
 litorali. iiulefessa expectatione conjugis priEstolatur adveiitiim : at qiiamcunque naviin viderit, 
 iUic putat coiijiigem navigare, metiiatque ne videndi gratia dilecti, alius antovertat, nee ipsa 
 possit prima dioere, video to, mi marite." Vide reliqiia apiid Ambrosiiim, ejusdem plane spiri- 
 tU3, nectamen potui temperare, qiiin h<-cc excriberem. Sic afTectus est quisquiscum Paulo disi- 
 solvi cupit, et esse cum Christo. Sic denique qui semel gustato bono Dei verbo, ut idem Paulefi 
 ait, sibi postea relictus, deficit taedio sui, ac reddi sibi postulat pnegUBtatcm suavissiini amoris 
 dulcedinem. Bossuet. 
 
356 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXIX. 
 
 " 84. How many are the days of thy servants 1 When -wilt thou execute 
 judgment on them that persecute mel" 
 
 The well-beloved John heard a question, of the same import with this, 
 asked by the spirits of the martyrs, that had left their bodies, and were 
 waiting in the separate state, for the day of retribution. The answer which 
 was made to them, may likewise satisfy our impatience, when suffering 
 affliction and persecution : " I saw under the altar the souls of them that 
 were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held. 
 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and 
 true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on 
 the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them, and it was 
 said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their 
 fellow-servants also, and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, 
 should be fulfilled," Rev. vi. 9, &c. 
 
 " 85. The proud have digged pits for me, which are not after thy law." 
 The manner of taking wild beasts was by " digging pits," and covering 
 them over with turf, upon which when the beast trod, he fell into the pit, 
 and was there confined and taken. But there was a " law," that if a pit 
 were left open, and a tame beast, an ox, or an ass, fell into it, the owners 
 of the pit should make good the damage, Exod, xxi. 33. Much more shall 
 men be called to a severe account, who purposely lay snares and stumbling- 
 blocks before the feet of their innocent brethren, to cause them to fall and 
 perish. 
 
 " 86. All thy'commandments are faithful : they persecute me wrongfully ; 
 help thou me." 
 
 Man is perfidious and deceitful ; God is " faithful" and true ; he hath 
 promised to " help" those who suffer wrongfully, and he will, in the end, 
 show himself to be the avenger of all such. Let them wait with patience, 
 since the King of Righteousness himself suffered as a malefactor before he 
 entered into his glory. 
 
 " 87. They had almost consumed me upon earth: but I forsook not thy 
 precepts." 
 
 However low the church, or any member thereof, may by persecution 
 and tribulation, be brought upon earth, yet nothing can separate them from 
 the love of God, while they " forsake not his precepts," nor disbelieve his 
 promises. The soul, we know, must forsake the body; but God will for- 
 sake neither. 
 
 "88. Quicken me after thy loving-kindness; so shall I keep the testi- 
 mony of thy mouth." 
 
 Through the " loving-kindness" of God our .Saviour, the Spirit of life is 
 given unto us, by whose " quickening" influences we are revived, when 
 sunk in sins, or in sorrows, and are enabled with joy and gladness to per- 
 severe in keeping the " testimony of his mouth." 
 
 LAMED. PART XH. 
 
 *' 89. For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven : or, Thou art for 
 ever, Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. 90. Thy faithfulues is unto 
 all generations : thou has established the earth, and it abideth. 9L They 
 continue this day according to tliine ordinances : for all are thy servants." 
 
 The eternity of Jehovah, and the immutability of his counsels, are con- 
 siderations which afford comfort and encouragement to his people, when 
 their enemies are in arms against them. Even in this world the unwearied 
 heavens continue to perform invariably their operations upon themselves 
 and the bodies placed in them; while the globe of the earth, retaining its 
 original form and coherence of parts, still, as at the beginning, supports and 
 maintains the successive generations of men, which live and move upon it, 
 to whom the faithful promises of God are fulfilled, from age to age. Thus 
 doth the unchangeable order of nature itself point out to us the truth of her 
 
DAT XXV. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 357 
 
 great Author, and at the same time reprove the eccentric motions of rebel- 
 lious man. The heavens and the earth "continue this day according to thine 
 ordinance," Lord, " for all are thy servants ;" all invariably serve thee, 
 except man, who alone was endowed with reason, that he might obey and 
 glorify thee, in this life and that which is to come. 
 
 " 92. Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished 
 in mine affliction." 
 
 The Psalmist assareth us, from his own experience, how pleasant and 
 how profitable, in time of trouble, is the meditation on the fidelity of God, 
 as displayed in the stability of his works. The " delights" by this afforded, 
 sustained his soul in " afflictions," which must otherwise have brought him 
 to an end. And the same everlasting word should be the believer's support 
 and consolation, even when the heavens shall melt around him with fervent 
 heat, and the earth, and all that is therein, shall be burnt up. " Heaven 
 and earth shall pass away," saith He who made them, "but my word shall 
 not pass away." 
 
 " 93. I will never forget thy precepts : for with them thou hast quickened 
 me." 
 
 Great are the necessities, and many the disorders of the soul ; but in the 
 Scripture there is provision and medicine for them all; and according to our 
 various wants and maladies, God relieveth and " quickeneth" us, some- 
 times with one part of his word, sometimes with another. Now, when we 
 have found ourselves thus benefited, at any time, by a particular passage of 
 holy writ, we should, " never forget," but remember and treasure it up in 
 our minds, against a like occasion, when the same affliction or temptation 
 may again befall us. 
 
 " 94. I am thine, save me : for I have sought thy precepts." 
 The double relation which we have the honour to bear to God, by crea- 
 tion and by redemption, as the work of his hands, and the purchase of his 
 blood, is a most endearing and prevailing argument with him, to "save" 
 us from our enemies. But then let it be remembered, that no man can say 
 to God with a good conscience, " I am thine," unless he can also go on, 
 and say, " I have sought thy precepts," I desire to serve and obey thee 
 alone; since, after all, "his servants we are to whom we obey;" and if 
 sin be our master, how can we say to a Master, w'hose interest is directly 
 opposite, "I am thine!" 
 
 " 95. The wicked have waited for me to destroy me : hut I will consider 
 thy testimonies." 
 
 In the preceding verse, David besought God to save him. The reason of 
 that prayer is here assigned, namely, because " the wicked lay in wait for 
 him, to destroy him," as they afterwards did to destroy one, whom the 
 afflicted and persecuted Psalmist represented. Spiritual enemies are con- 
 tinually upon the watch to destroy us all ; and we can no way escape their 
 wiles, but by " considering," so as to understand and observe, God's " tes- 
 timonies." 
 
 " 96. I have seen an end of all perfection : but thy commandment is ex- 
 ceeding broad." 
 
 "Of all perfection" in this world, whether of beauty, wit, learning, 
 pleasure, honour, or riches, experience will soon show us the " end." But 
 where is the end or boundary of the word of God ] Who can ascend to the 
 height of its excellency; who can fathom the depth of its mysteries; who 
 can°fiiid out the comprehension of its precepts, or conceive the extent of its 
 promises ; who can take the dimensions of that love of God to man which 
 it describeth, or that love of man to God which it teacheth. The know- 
 ledge of one thing leadeth us forward to that of another, and still as we 
 travel on, the prospect opens before us into eternity, like the pleasant and 
 fruitful mountains of Canaan, rising on the other side of Jordan, when 
 viewed by Moses from the top of Pisgah. happy region of celestial 
 wisdom, permanent felicity, true riches, and unfading glory ; while we con- 
 
358 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXIX. 
 
 template thee, how doth the world lessen, and shrink to nothing in our eyes ! 
 Thy blessings faith now beholdeth, but it is charity which shall hereafter 
 possess and enjoy them. 
 
 MEM. PART XIII. 
 
 " 97. O how I love thy law 1 It is my meditation all the day." 
 
 "Words cannot express the love which a pious mind entertaineth for the 
 Scriptures. They are the epistle of God to mankind, offering reconcilia- 
 tion, peace, and union with himself in glory; containing reasons why we 
 should love him and each other, with directions how to show forth that, 
 love, which, as the Apostle saith, is " the fulfilling of the law," Rom. xiii. 
 10. On some portions of these Scriptures should our "meditation" be 
 continually, and "each day" should add something to our knowledge, to 
 our faith, to our virtue. 
 
 " 98. Thou, through thy commandments, hast made me wiser than mine 
 enemies: for they ai-e ever with me. 99. I have more understanding than 
 all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. 100. I understand 
 more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts." 
 
 The " commandments" of God were " ever with" David ; the " testimo- 
 nies" of God were his "meditation;" and the "precepts" of God it was 
 his care to "observe;" therefore his wisdom exceeded the policy of his " ene- 
 mies," the learning of his " teachers," and the experience of the " an- 
 cients." Thus, by the wisdom of the Scriptures, did the holy Jesus, in 
 the days of his flesh, confound his adversaries, astonish the teachers of the 
 law, and instruct the aged. And it is the high prerogative of the Scrip- 
 tures, at all times, to render youth and simplicity superior to the inveterate 
 malice and subtlety of the grand deceiver and his associates. 
 
 "101. I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep 
 thy word." 
 
 The foundation of all religion must be laid in mortification and self-de- 
 nial ; for since the wi'ii of fallen man is contrary to the will of God, we 
 must abstain from doing the one, in order to do the other. The affections 
 may be styled the "feet" of the soul, and unless these be " refrained from 
 evil ways," no progress can be made in that way which alone is good and 
 right; we cannot "keep God's word." 
 
 "102. I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught 
 me." 
 
 Perseverance is the effect of instruction from above, by the Spirit, through 
 the word: and our heavenly Teacher differeth from all others in this, that, 
 with the lesson, he bestoweth on the scholar both a disposition to learn, 
 and ability to perform. 
 
 " 103. How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey 
 to my mouth !" 
 
 _ The soul hath its " taste," as well as the body, and that taste is then in 
 right order, when the " words" of Scripture are " sweet" to the soul, as 
 "honey" is to the mouth. If they are not always so, it is because our 
 taste is vitiated by the world and the flesh ; and we shall ever find our 
 relish for the word of God to be greatest, when that for the world and the 
 flesh is least, in time of affliction, sickness, and death; for these are con- 
 trary one to the other. In heaven the latter will be no more, and therefore 
 the former will be all in all. 
 
 " 104. Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every 
 false way." 
 
 He who delighteth to study the Scriptures, will " understand" from them 
 the true nature of righteousness and of sin; he who. doth understand the 
 nature of each, will love the former, and, in proportion, " hate" the latter; 
 and with that which we thoroughly hate, we shall not bear to have any 
 connexion; with suspicion and jealousy we shall eye it approaching; with 
 
Day XXVI. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 359 
 
 courage and constancy we shall arm and fight against it; we shall make no 
 peace, nor so much as a truce with it; but, as faithful soldiers and servants 
 of Jesus Christ, we shall aim at that utter extermination of it, which we 
 have vowed, and which, through the .Spirit of grace and power, will be 
 accomplished, but not, perhaps, totally, till our life and warfare shall end 
 together. 
 
 TWENTY-SIXTH DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 NUN. PART XIV. 
 
 " 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path," 
 
 Man is a traveller, his life is a journey, heaven is his end, his road lieth 
 through a wilderness, and he is in the dark. Thus circumstanced, how 
 earnestly and devoutly ought he to pray, " O send out thy light and thy 
 truth ; let them lead me, let them bring me to thy holy hill, and to thy ta- 
 bernacles !" Psalm xliii. 3. For surely, " the commandment is a lamp, 
 and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life," Prov. 
 vi. 23. The word of God discovereth to us our errors ; it showeth us 
 where we lost our way, and how we may recover it again. If we take this 
 " lamp" in our hand, it will not only point out our course in general, but 
 also direct us in every step, and guide our " feet" aright in the " path" of 
 holiness and peace. Thus, through the devious and lonely wilds of Arabia, 
 was Israel once conducted to the land of promise, by the illuminating pillar, 
 or rather by Him, whose presence dwelt in the midst of it. 
 
 " 106. I have sworn, and I will perform ii, that I will keep thy righteous 
 judgments." 
 
 Such being the direction afforded by the word of God to a benighted pil- 
 grim, David had obliged himself, in the most solem manner, to follow that 
 direction. Every Christian doth, at his baptism, in like manner, " promise 
 and vow to keep God's commandments, and to walk in the same all the 
 days of his life." The nature and extent of these engagements must be in- 
 terpreted according to thecovenantof grace, under which they are made. The 
 command to us sinners is, that we should repent, and believe in him, who 
 will pardon our failings, and strengthen our infirmities, that we may walk 
 as becometh his disciples, who, though they ought not to commit sin, may 
 yet, by divine grace, be restored and saved from it. " These things write 
 I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with 
 the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our 
 sins," 1 John ii. 1. 
 
 " 107. I am afflicted very much: quicken me, Lord, according to thy 
 word." 
 
 The faithful servants of God maybe "afflicted;" they may be "very 
 much" and grievously afflicted : but let them consider, that, by afflictions, 
 their corruptions are purged away, their faith is tried, their patience per- 
 fected, their brethren are edified, and their Master is glorified. Let them 
 still firmly rely on the Divine promise of grace and salvation; still hum- 
 bly pray for its accomplishment in themselves; "quicken me, O Lord, 
 according to thy word." 
 
 " 108." Accept, I beseech thee, the free-will oflferings of my mouth, 
 Lord, and teach me thy judgments." 
 
 The "offerings" of the believer are prayer, praise, and holy resolutions 
 and vows, like that of the Psalmist above, "to keep God's righteous judg- 
 ments," in which he therefore petitioneth to be every day more and more 
 "taught" and instructed by the Spirit of truth. Christians are called by 
 St. Peter, " a royal and holy priesthood, appointed to offer up spiritual 
 sacrifices, acceptable to God, by Jesus Christ," 1 Pet. ii. 5. 9. 
 
 " 109. My soul is continually in my hand ; yet do I not forget thy law." 
 
360 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXIX. 
 
 To have one's " soul," ^21, or life, " in one's hand," is a phrase often used 
 in Scripture, and implieth going in continual danger of one's life. See 
 Judges xii. 3. 1 Sam. xix. 5. andxxviii. 21. Job xiii. 14. Great and inces- 
 sant as David's perils were, he did not "forget" God's promises, nor his 
 precepts, but trusted in the former, and performed the latter. St. Paul 
 knew, that "in every city bonds and afflictions waited for him : but none of 
 these things," saith he, " move me, neither count I my life dear unto my- 
 self, so that I might finish my course with joy." Acts xx. 23. 
 
 " 110. The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy 
 precepts." 
 
 When open violence fails to move a man from his steadfastness, "the. 
 wicked will lay snares" for him, to entice him into sin, by the baits of 
 honour, pleasure, or profit; by exposing him to unavoidable temptations, 
 as when David was driven out of his own land, to live amongst idolaters, 
 of which usage he complaineth, 1 Sam. xxvi. 19. or else, by making laws 
 which an honest man cannot obey without sin, or refuse to obey without 
 danger. Numberless are the traps, of one kind or other, which human wit 
 and diabolical malice, in conjunction, have set for the consciences of those 
 who profess themselves to be the servants of God ; and happy is that ser- 
 vant, whom they have not caused to "err from the precepts" of his ]\Ias- 
 ter. 
 
 "111. Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage forever ; for they are 
 the rejoicing of my heart." 
 
 The " testimonies" of God's will, his word and his sacraments, are the 
 bonds and the deeds by which we hold our heavenly inheritance, as heirs 
 of God, and joint heirs with Christ." Of these deeds, and this inheritance, 
 no power can deprive us ; and when " they are the rejoicing of our hearts," 
 we shall not, by preferring an earthly inheritance, deprive ourselves of 
 them. 
 
 "112. I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes always, ei-e?i 
 unto the end." 
 
 The " inclination of the heart" to good, is the work of God ; but man is, 
 nevertheless, in this, as in other instances, said to perform it, when he 
 listens to the call, and obeys the motions, of his grace. We are not to 
 judge of ourselves by what we sometimes say and do, but by the general 
 disposition and tendency of the heart and its atfections. When after r(v 
 peated trials, we find that the love of God casts the scale against the love 
 of the world ; when it is our glory, our delight, our treasure, our meat ami 
 drink, to do his will, against all opposition, to persevere in doing it, " even 
 unto the end ;" then are we the true disciples of that Master, whose heart 
 was evermore inclined to good ; who alone performed a perfect and spotless 
 obedience, and persisted in working the work of him that sent hira, until, 
 with his last breath, he declared upon the cross, it is finished. 
 
 SAMECH. PART XV. 
 
 " 113. I hate rain thoughts ; but thy law do I love." 
 
 " Love and hatred" are tlie two great and influencing affections of the 
 human mind. Since the fall, they have been misplaced. B)'' nature we 
 " love vain thoughts," and " hate the law of God." " The carnal mind is 
 enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed 
 can be," Rom. viii. 7. But in a renewed mind the case is altered ; its de- 
 light is in that law of God, and therefore it cannot bear "vain thoughts," 
 which are contrary to the law, and exalt themselves against it. Thoughts 
 are often said to be free : from human censure they are, but not from the 
 cognizance and judgment of the Omniscient. The mind should be well 
 furnished with proper materials, on which to employ itself. We shall then 
 be secured against the incursions of rambling, conceited, worldly, impure, 
 
Day XXVI. M. P, ON THE PSALMS. 3(jl 
 
 and revengeful thoughts, which otherwise will devour half our time, and 
 appear against us, to our unspeakable amazement, in that day when the 
 secrets of all hearts shall be revealed. 
 
 " 114. Thou art my hiding place, and my shield : I hope in thy word." 
 
 From vain thoughts, and vain persons, the Psalmist teacheth us to fly, by 
 prayer to God, as our refuge and protector. This course a believer will as 
 naturally take, in the hour of temptation and danger, as the otVspring of the 
 hen, on perceiving a bird of prey hovering over their heads, retire to the 
 "hiding place" under the wings of their dam ; or as the warrior opposeth 
 his " shield" to the darts which are aimed at him. 
 
 "115. Depart from me, ye evil doers : for I will keep the commandments 
 of God." 
 
 Safe under the protection of the Almighty, David bids the wicked " de- 
 part from him;" he neither fears their malice, nor will follow their coun- 
 sels, being resolutely determined to adhere to his duty, and to " keep the 
 commandments of his God." He who hath formed David's resolution, 
 must, like him, disclaim and renounce the society of "evil doers;" for 
 every man will insensibly contract the good or bad qualities of the com- 
 pany which he keeps ; and should, therefore, be careful to keep such as will 
 make him wiser and better, and lit him for the goodly fellowship of saints 
 and angels. 
 
 " lie. Uphold me according to thy word, that I may live : and let me 
 not be ashamed of my hope. 117. Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe : 
 and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually." 
 
 A resolution to fly from evil, and to do good, is properly followed by au 
 earnest and repeated prayer, to be " upheld" in the performance of it, by 
 divine grace, according to " God's word" and promise; that so our "hope" 
 in that word may not fail, and put us to " shame" before our enemies ; 
 that we may be "saved" from falling, and enabled, in our walking, to 
 have "respect unto the Divine statutes continually." How necessary is 
 this prayer to be made by creatures, whose tempers and dispositions are 
 ever varying ; who have so many and so formidable adversaries to contend 
 with ; and on whom their temporal condition hath so much influence ! 
 
 "118. Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes : for 
 their deceit is falsehood." 
 
 The dreadful judgments which God, from time to time, in all ages of the 
 world, hath executed, and which he still can, and will execute, upon impeni- 
 tent sinners, afford a kind admonition, and a powerful motive to obedience. 
 As no force can counteract the power of God, so no "cunning" can deceive 
 his wisdom, but will always, in the end, miserably " deceive" those who 
 trust in it, and employ it against the counsels of heaven ; "their deceit, or 
 subtlety, is falsehood," Ipty, it will fall and ruin its owners. Of this, his- 
 tory furnisheth instances in abundance. And it will be evident to all the 
 world, when simplicity and innocence shall reign triumphant, with the 
 Lamb on mount Sion ; and deceit and guile shall have their portion with 
 the serpent in the lake of fire. 
 
 " 119. Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross : there- 
 fore I love thy testimonies." 
 
 Ungodly men and hypocrites are mingled among the sons and servants 
 of God, as "dross" is blended with the pure metal, and appeareth to be part 
 of it. But the fiery trial of divine judgment soon discovereth the difference. 
 The false pretences of the hypocrite are detected, and the glory of the 
 wicked vanisheth away. These dispensations of God's providence increase 
 our "love" of his "word;" because they give us sensible experience of 
 its truth, they show us the justice of God in punishing others, together with 
 his mercy in sparing us, and removing those who might have corrupted us, 
 and turned' the silver itself into dross. In times of visitation, Christ sitteth 
 among his people " as a refiner and purifier of silver," purging away all 
 dross, that out of what remains may be made " vessels of honour, meet for 
 
 31 
 
362 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXIX. 
 
 the Master's use," to serve and to adorn the sanctuary. See Mai. iii. 3. 
 Isa. i. 25. 2 Tim. ii. 21. 
 
 " 120. My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judg- 
 ments." 
 
 At the presence of Jehovah, when he appeareth in judgment, the earth 
 trembleth and is still. His best servants are not exempted from an awful 
 dread, upon such occasions; scenes of this kind, shown in vision to the 
 . prophets, cause their flesh to quiver, and all their bones to shake. Encom- 
 passed with a frail body, and a sinful world, we stand in need of every 
 possible tie ; and the affections both of fear and love must be employed, to 
 restrain us from transgression ; we must, at the same time, " love God's 
 testimonies, and fear his judgments." 
 
 AIN. PART XVI. 
 
 " 121. I have done judgment and justice : leave me not to mine oppres- 
 sors." 
 
 He who is engaged in a righteous cause, and hath acted uprightly in 
 support of it, may, so far, without incurring the censure of boasting, or trust- 
 ing in his own righteousness, make David's plea, " I have done judgment 
 and justice;" as if he had said. Thou, O my God, knowest that I am in- 
 nocent of the crimes whereof my implacable enemies accuse me, and that I 
 have done no wrong to those who seek to take away my life ; deliver not 
 thine injured servant, therefore, into their hands; "leave me not to mine 
 oppressors." The Son of David might use the words in their full and ab- 
 solute sense, and plead for a glorious resurrection, on the foot of his having 
 performed a perfect obedience to the law. 
 
 " 123. Be surety to thy servant for good : let not the proud oppress me." 
 
 The Psalmist, finding himself ready to be seized by his insolent adversa- 
 ries, like a helpless and insolvent debtor, entreateth the Almighty to ap- 
 pear in his defence, to take the matter into his own hands, to interpose and 
 plead his cause, as his surety and his advocate, in the day of trouble. Good 
 Hezekiah uses the same word in the same sense, speaking of the time when 
 death was about to make his claim upon the mortal part of him ; " O Lord, 
 1 am oppressed, 'J^Vi undertake, be surety for me," Isa. xxxviii. 14. Hap- 
 py the creatures, whose Creator is their surety, and hath interposed to 
 rescue them from those great oppressors, sin, death, and Satan ! 
 
 " 123. Mine eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word of thy righteous- 
 ness." 
 
 Salvation, whether temporal or spiritual, may be delayed ; the " eyes" 
 of the sufferer may " fail" with looking upward, and his earnest expecta- 
 tion may be ready to break forth, in the words of Sisera's mother, " Why 
 is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the wheels of his chariot?" 
 But what saith God, by his prophets and apostles'? " Though it tarry, wait 
 for it, because it will surely corne," Hab. ii. 3. " Yet a little while, and 
 he that shall come, will come," Heb. x. 37. The "word" which hath pro- 
 mised it, is the word of truth, faithfulness, and "righteousness;" the attri- 
 butes of God are engaged for its accomplishment, and he cannot deny him- 
 self. 
 
 " 124. Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach me 
 thy statutes. 125. I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may 
 know thy testimonies." 
 
 The consideration, that we are the " servants" of God, if indeed we are 
 so, will always be successfully urged to the best of Masters, as an argu- 
 ment why he should " deal with us according to his mercy," in the pardon- 
 ing of our off'ences; "teach us his statutes," that we may know and do his 
 wfll ; and instruct us in his " testimonies," that we may believe aright con- 
 cerning him. 
 
DAT XX\1. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 363 
 
 " 126. It is time for thee, Lord, to work : for they have made void thy 
 law." 
 
 The " law" of God "is made void" by those who deny its authority, or 
 its obligation; by thosewho render it of none effect through their traditions, 
 or their lives. When a deluge of wickedness and impiety, entering at these 
 gates, hath overwhelmed a land, " it is time for the Lord to work;" the 
 great Lawgiver will then exert his power, and vindicate his authority 
 speedily. There is a certain measure of iniquity, which when communi- 
 ties, orindividuals, respectively, have filled up, the destroying angel comes 
 forth, and executes his commission. How ought a man to fear, lest the next 
 sin he commits should fill up his measure, and seal his eternal doom ! 
 
 " 1'21. Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine 
 gold." 
 
 As the wickedness of those increaseth, who " make void the Divine 
 law," the zeal and " love" of believers should increase in proportion, to 
 stem the torrent; and this may be done, to a surprising degree, by a few 
 persons, who, after the example of the first Christians, can forsake all, to 
 follow their Master ; who have the sense and the courage to prefer truth, 
 wisdom, holiness, and heaven, to falsehood, folly, sin, and the world ; who 
 can resolutely reject the glittering temptation, and say, without hypocrisy, 
 to their God, "I love thy commandments above gold, yea, above fine 
 gold." 
 
 " 128. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all tMngs to he 
 right: or, Therefore all thy precepts, even all, have I approved ; and I hate 
 every false way." 
 
 For the same reason that the children of God, in the worst of times, 
 " love his commandments," they love them " all," not observing such only 
 as they can observe without giving offence, but, regardless of the censures 
 of the world, doing their duty in every particular ; not " hating" some 
 "evil ways," and at the same time walking in others, but extending and 
 manifesting their aversion to all alike. Of such persons it is evident, that 
 they make a conscience of their doings, and their conduct appears to be 
 uniform; the adversary will have no evil thing to say of them; they will 
 do real service to the cause which they maintain ; and, after having ho- 
 noured their Master before men, they will by him be honoured before men 
 and angels. 
 
 PE. PART XVn. 
 
 " 129. Thy testimonies are wonderful : therefore doth my soul keep, or, 
 observe them." 
 
 The Scriptures are " wonderful," with respect to the matter which they 
 contain, the manner in which they are written, and the effects which they 
 produce. They contain the sublimest spiritual truths, veiled under exter- 
 nal ceremonies and sacraments, figurative descriptions, typical histories, 
 parables, similitudes, &c. When properly opened and enforced, they ter- 
 rify and humble, they convert and transform, they console and strengthen. 
 Who but must delight to study and to "observe" these " testimonies" of 
 the will and the wisdom, the love and the power, of God most high I While 
 we have these holy writings, let us not waste our time, misemploy our 
 thoughts, and prostitute our admiration, by doting on human follies, and 
 wondering at human trifles. 
 
 " 130. The entrance of thy words giveth light: it giveth understanding 
 unto the simple." 
 
 The vScriptures are the appointed means of enlightening the mind with 
 true and saving knowledge. They show us what we were, what we are, 
 and what we shall be ; they show us what God hath done for us, and whot 
 he expecteth us to do for him ; they show us the adversaries we have at 
 encounter, and how to encounter them with success ; they show us the 
 
364 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXIX. 
 
 mercy and the justice of the Lord, the joys of heaven, and the pains of hell. 
 Thus will they give to the simple, in a few days, an " understanding" of 
 those matters, which philosophy, for whole centuries, sought in vain. 
 
 " 131. I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy command- 
 ments." 
 
 An eastern traveller, fatigued through toil, and parched by heat, doth not, 
 with more vehement desire, gasp for the cooling breeze, than the servant of 
 God, in time of temptation and trouble, panteth after that spirit of refresh- 
 ment and consolation, which breathes in the Scriptures of truth. The 
 affections are the springs of human actions; no arguments are needful to 
 impel, and no difficulties are sufficient to retard, the man who is in pursuit 
 of an object which, with all his heart he loves and " longs for." How 
 happy is it when heaven, instead of earth is that object! 
 
 " 132. Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do 
 unto those that love thy name." 
 
 A child of God is never so much afflicted, as when his heavenly Fa- 
 ther seemeth, for a time, to have turned away his face from him. All 
 lesser troubles vanish, when God doth but vouchsafe a "look" of paternal 
 compassion. And since the love of Jehovah to his people is unchangeable 
 as his nature, mercies formerly shown to others, are most forcibly urged by 
 the Psalmist, in his petition for the like; " Be merciful unto me, as thou 
 usest to do unto those that love thy name." 
 
 " 133. Order my steps in thy word; and let not any iniquity have domi- 
 nion over me." 
 
 By the instruction of his " word," God bringeth us into the way of life; 
 by the aids of his grace he " directeth" and " supporteth" our " steps" in 
 that way, enabling us, as we proceed, to overcome the sins which do beset 
 us, so that they prevail not to turn us back, or to make us desist from tra- 
 velling towards the city of our eternal habitation. 
 
 " 134. Deliver me from the oppression of man : so will I keep thy pre- 
 cepts." 
 
 He truly loveth God, who requesteth " deliverance" from " oppression" 
 and persecution, that he may again enjoy the opportunities of " keeping 
 his precepts," and of serving him without distraction. And gratitude for 
 his deliverance will be, with such a one, an additional reason for using 
 those opportunities, when they are restored, to the best advantage. 
 
 " 135. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy sta- 
 tutes." 
 
 The same sentiment is again expressed in different language. The Psalm- 
 ist prayeth for a return of the Divine favour, and for better days, that in 
 peace and tranquillity he may learn and do the will of God. Tribulation 
 is a dark and tempestuous night; but Jehovah causeth "his face to shine" 
 upon his people, and the effects are like those produced by the sun at his 
 rising, when universal nature revives and rejoices, and clouds and darkness 
 fly away. 
 
 " 136. Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy 
 law." 
 
 David, who, through this whole Psalm, so often and so ardently be- 
 seecheth God to " teach him his statutes," declareth, in this verse, his con- 
 tinual grief of heart, occasioned by seeing others break those statutes. 
 Thus Lot, among the Sodomites, was " vexed from day to day," not so much 
 at their usage of himself, as at " seeing and hearing their unlawful deeds," 
 2 Pet. ii. 8. Thus Jeremiah telleth the ungodly of his time, "If ye will 
 not hear, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eyes 
 shall weep sore, and run down with tears," Jer. xiii. 17. Thus the holy 
 Jesus " looked round about on the Pharisees, being grieved for the hard- 
 ness of their hearts," Mark iii. 5. and " wept over" a city which had always 
 persecuted, and was then about to crucify him, because it " knew not the 
 things which belonged to its peace," Luke xix. 41. Accept, O Lord, the 
 
Day XXVI. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 365 
 
 tears which our blessed Redeemer shed, in the days of his flesh, for us- 
 who should, but, alas ! too often, cannot, weep for our brethren, or for our, 
 selves ; and give us, at least, the grace of holy mourning, which in thy 
 sight is of great price. 
 
 TZADDI. PART XVIII. 
 
 " 137. Righteous art thou, O Lord, and upright are thy judgments." 
 This portion of our Psalm is employed in celebrating the righteousness 
 of God, manifested to us by his word, and by his dispensations, which 
 that word both recordeth and explaineth. It is said of the emperor Mau- 
 ritius, that, upon seeing all his children slain before his face, at the com- 
 mand of that bloody tyrant and usurper, Phocas, himself expecting the 
 next stroke, with a philosophy truly divine, he exclaimed aloud, in these 
 w^ords of David, " Righteous art thou, O Lord, and upright are thy judg- 
 ments."* By faith he was assured of this great truth, and nobly confessed 
 it, notwithstanding all appearances to the contrary. The last day will de- 
 monstrate the same thing to the whole world, and open the mouths of men 
 and angels to declare, concerning all the Divine proceedings, what the good 
 Mauritius acknowledged, at the time, with regard to the murder of his 
 children. 
 
 " 138. Thy testimonies, that thou hast commanded, are righteous and 
 very faithful." 
 
 The revelations of God's will are "righteousness" and "truth;" his 
 commands are just, and ought to be obeyed ; his promises and his threaten., 
 ings will infallibly come to pass, and deserve, above all things, to be 
 regarded. 
 
 " 139. My zeal hath consumed me; because mine enemies have forgot- 
 ten thy words." 
 
 " Zeal" is a high degree of love ; and when the object of that love is ill- 
 treated, it venteth itself in a mixture of grief and indignation, which are 
 sufficient to wear and " consume" the heart. This will be the case, where 
 men rightly conceive of that dishonour which is continually done to God, 
 by creatures whom he hath made and redeemed. But never could the verse 
 be uttered, with such fulness of truth and propriety, by any one, as by the 
 Son of God, who had such a sense of his Father's glory, and of man's sin, 
 as no person else ever had. And, accordingly, when his zeal had exerted 
 itself in purging the temple, St. John tells us, " his disciples remembered 
 that it was written. The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." The place 
 where it is so written, is Psalm Ixix. 9. and the passage is exactly parallel 
 to this before us. 
 
 " 140. Thy word is very pure : therefore thy servant loveth it." 
 "Thy word is very pure;" in the original, "tried, refined, purified like 
 gold in the furnace ;"j" absolutely perfect, without the dross of vanity and 
 fallibility, which runs through human writings. The more we try the pro- 
 mises, the surer we shall find them. This pure word hath likewise in it a 
 power of purifying us. It containeth precepts and examples of purity, 
 helps and encouragemenls to purity, and the Spirit of purity goeth with it, 
 and worketh by it. "Therefore thy servant loveth it:" and no one, but a 
 true servant of God, can "therefore" love it, because it is pure ; since he, 
 who loves it, must desire to be like it, to feel its eflicacy, to be reformed by 
 it, and conformed to it. 
 
 " 141. I am small and despised : yet do not I forget thy precepts." 
 Faithfulness to God will often reduce men to straits, and bring upon them 
 the contempt of the world ; happy are they who, under these difficulties 
 
 * Baron. Annal. ad. Ann. (i02. 
 
 t Pure gold is so fi.\ed, that Boerhaave informs tisofan ounceof it set in the eye of a glass fur- 
 nace for two months, without losing a single grain. 
 
 31* 
 
366 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXIX. 
 
 and discouragements, " forget not his precepts," but still continue faithful, 
 looking unto Jesus, who once "endured the cross, despising the shame, and 
 is now set down at the right hand of God," Heb. xii. 2. 
 
 " 142. Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is 
 the truth." 
 
 Men may decree wickedness by a law, or they may change their decrees, 
 and, with them, what was right to-day, may be wrong to-morrow. But the 
 law of God is righteousness," and it is "truth," to-day and for ever. His 
 justice, goodness, and fidelity, are unchangeable; he will never forsake us, 
 unless we forsake him, but will remember us in our lowest estate, if, in . 
 that estate, "we do not forget his precepts." 
 
 "143. Trouble and anguish have taken hold upon, or have found, me; 
 yet thy commandments are my delights." 
 
 We need not take pains, as many do, "to find trouble and anguish," for 
 they will, one day, " find us." In that day, the revelations of God must be 
 to us instead of all worldly " delights" and pleasures, which will then 
 have forsaken us ; and how forlorn and desolate will be our state, if we shall 
 have no other delights, no other pleasures, to succeed them, and to accom- 
 pany us into eternity ! Let our study be now in the Scriptures, if we expect 
 our comfort from them in time to come. 
 
 " 144. The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting : give me 
 understanding, and I shall live." 
 
 In every sense, O Lord Jesus, thy righteousness is "everlasting;" grant 
 us the " understanding" of it, in every sense, and we " shall live," in thee 
 now, and with thee for ever. 
 
 TWENTY-SIXTH DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 KOPH. PART XIX. 
 
 " 145. I cried with my whole heart; hear me, Lord : I will keep thy 
 statutes. 146. I cried unto thee ; save me, and 1 shall keep thy testi- 
 monies." 
 
 Believers, in time of affliction, make their prayer to God with fervour 
 and importunity, petitioning for deliverance, that they may the better serve 
 their Deliverer, and keep his laws. 
 
 " 148. I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried : I hoped in 
 thy word. 148. Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might medi- 
 tate in thy word." 
 
 It is a certain sign that our hearts are set upon a work, when the thoughts 
 of it cause sleep to depart from us, and we awake readily, constantly, and 
 early, to the performance of it. David delighted in the holy exercises of 
 prayer and meditation ; therefore he "prevented the dawning of the morn- 
 ing," and was beforehand with the light itself; therefore his "eyes pre- 
 vented the watches," that is, the last of those watches, into which the 
 night was by the Jews divided ; he needed not the watchman's call, but 
 was stirring before it could be given. Climate and constitution will, doubt- 
 less, make a difference, and claim considerable allowance : but by Chris- 
 tians, who enjoy their health, in temperate weather the sun should not be 
 suffered to shine in vain, nor the golden hours of the morning to glide away 
 unimproved; since of David's Lord, as well as of David, it is said, "in the 
 morning rising up, a great while before day, he went out and departed into 
 a solitary place, and there prayed," Mark i. 35. 
 
 "149. Hear my voice, according unto thy loving-kindness: O Lord, 
 quicken meaccording to thyjudgment; that is, thyword. 150. They draw 
 nigh that follow after mischief; they are far from thy law. 151. Thou art 
 near, O Lord; and all thy commandments are truth." 
 
 If our enemies " draw nigh" to destroy us, God is still " nearer" to pre- 
 
Day XXVI. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 367 
 
 serve us ; and, however his " word" may be rejected by the wicked, the 
 faithful always find it to be " true," to their great and endless comfort. 
 
 " 152. Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old, that thou hast 
 founded them for ever." 
 
 This portion of our Psalm endeth with the triumph of faith over all dan- 
 gers and temptations. " Concerning thy testimonies," the revelations of 
 thy will, thy counsels for the salvation of thy servants, " I have known of 
 old," by faith, and by my own experience, as well as that of others, " that 
 thou hast founded them for ever ;" they are unalterable and everlasting as 
 the attributes of their great Author, and can never fail those who rely upon 
 them, in time or in eternity. 
 
 RESH. PART XX. 
 
 " 153. Consider mine affliction, and deliver me : for I do not forget thy 
 law." 
 
 It is happy when our " afflictions" do not make us to " forget the law of 
 God ;" then have we confidence toward him in our prayers, that he will 
 "consider" and regard our sufferings, as he did those of Israel in Egypt, 
 and come down to "• deliver" us out of all our troubles ; for Israel is still 
 in Egypt, while the church is in the world ; but let us remember the pro- 
 mise, and rejoice in hope. 
 
 " 154. Plead my cause, and deliver me : quicken me according to thy 
 word." 
 
 God is the patron of his people, to " plead" their " cause ;" their Re- 
 deemer, to "deliver" them out of troubles; the author and fountain of their 
 life, to " quicken" and support them. We may, therefore, have recourse to 
 him at all times, as an advocate, a Saviour, and a Comforter, for the 
 defence of our cause, the deliverance of our persons, and the support of our 
 hearts. And all this, " according to his word," in which he hath engaged 
 thus to patronize, to rescue, and to strengthen those who trust in him, and 
 apply to him. 
 
 " 155. Salvation is far from the wicked : for they seek not thy statutes." 
 The " salvation" which is nigh the faithful, because they diligently and 
 earnestly seek to know and to do the will of God revealed to them in his 
 word, " is far from the wicked," because " they seek not his statutes," nor 
 concern themselves to know what they are, much less to observe and prac- 
 tise them. 
 
 " 156. Great are thy tender mercies, O Lord : quicken me according to 
 thy judgments, that is, thy word. 157. Many are my persecutors and mine 
 enemies : yet do I not decline from thy testimonies. 158. I beheld the 
 transgressors, and was grieved ; because they kept not thy word." 
 
 Persecution tempteth men to apostacy, and is the great trial of our fidelity 
 to God and to his word. He who, in such circumstances, forgetteth his 
 own sufferings, to commiserate the sin and folly of his persecutors, is a 
 true follower, as David was a forerunner, of Jesus Christ. 
 
 " 159. Consider how I love thy precepts : quicken me, O Lord, accord- 
 ing to thy loving-kindness. 160. Thy word is true froi7i the beginning: 
 and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever." 
 
 It is observable how the Psalmist delighteth to dwell on these two sweet 
 notes; the "loving-kindness" of God in promising salvation, and his 
 " truth" in the constant performance of that promise to his church, while 
 she "loves" and adheres to his " precepts." Thus it hath been from the 
 "beginning," and thus it will be until the whole counsel of heaven shall 
 at length be fulfilled, by the resurrection and salvation of the just, 
 
 SCHIN. PART XXI. 
 
 " 161. Princes have persecuted me without'a cause : but my heart stand- 
 eth in awe of thy word. 162. I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth 
 great spoil." 
 
368 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXIX. 
 
 David was persecuted, by Saul and his associates, "'without a cause." 
 The life of Saul was spared by him, because " he stood in awe of God's 
 word," and preferred the comfortable reflection, of having obeyed its in- 
 junctions, to all the " spoils," and to those many advantages, that would 
 have accrued to him, by the overthrow and death of his implacable adver- 
 sar)% who acknowledged, upon the occasion, " Thou art more righteous 
 than I," 1 Sam. xxiv. 17. The sufferings of the body are soon over; the 
 joys of conscience have no end. 
 
 " 163. I hate and abhor lying : but thy law do I love." 
 The word of truth is the proper object of our " /one," and everything 
 which is contrary to it deserveth our hatred and abhorrence; nor is life 
 itself worth preserving, at the expense either of our faith or our virtue. 
 
 " 164. Seven times a day do I praise thee, because of thy righteous judg- 
 ments." 
 
 They who, like David, during the time of persecution and affliction, put 
 their trust in God, and wait his decision of their course, will always find 
 reason, as David did, " to praise him seven times a day," or continually, 
 for his just decrees and "righteous judgments" concerning them. 
 
 "165. Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall 
 offend them." 
 
 Amidst the storms and tempests of the world, there is a perfect calm in 
 the breasts of those, who not only do the will of God, but "love" to do it. 
 They are at peace with God, by the blood of reconciliation ; at peace with 
 themselves, by the answer of a good conscience, and the subjection of those 
 desires which war against the soul ; at peace will all men, by the spirit of 
 charity ; and the whole creation is so at peace with them, that all things 
 work together for their good. No external troubles can rob them of this 
 " great peace," no " offences" or stumbling blocks, which are thrown ia 
 their way by persecution or temptation, by the malice of enemies or the 
 apostacy of friends, by anything which they see, hear of, or feel, can de- 
 tain or divert them from their course. Heavenly love surmounts every 
 obstacle, and runs with delight the way of God's commandments. 
 
 "166. Lord, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy command- 
 ments." 
 
 This is the true posture of a Christian, in which he need not fear to be 
 found by his last and great enemy, death, " doing" his duty, and " hoping" 
 for salvation from the person who is his Master as well as his Redeemer, 
 and who, consequently, expecteth to be obeyed, no less than to be believed 
 in. 
 
 " 167. My soul hath kept thy testimonies, and loved them exceedingly. 
 168. I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies : for all my ways are be- 
 fore thee." 
 
 The " love of God's testimonies," and the consideration, that all "our 
 ways are before him," and subject to his immediate inspection, are two 
 powerful motives to obedience. The plea of having " kept the Divine pre- 
 cepts," &c. in the mouth of David, or any other believer, intendeth sin- 
 cerity, not perfection, and is alleged as an evidence of grace, not as a claim 
 of merit. Christ alone kept the old law, and he enableth us to observe the 
 new. 
 
 " 169. Let my cry come near before thee, O Lord : give me understanding 
 according to thy word. 170. Let my supplication come before thee; de- 
 liver me according to thy word." 
 
 The Psalmist still continueth instant in prayer for "understanding," to 
 direct him in the midst of dangers and temptations, and for " deliverance" 
 out of them all, when God shall see fit to accomplish the promises made in 
 his " word." These are blessings, for which a man cannot be too frequent, 
 or too earnest in his petitions to the throne of heaven. 
 " 171. My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes. 
 
Day XXVII. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 369 
 
 172. My tongue shall speak thy word : for all thy commandments are right- 
 eousness." 
 
 He who obtaineth his requests, and is made a partaker of that grace and 
 salvation, for which he so fervently prayed, will edify men, by singing the 
 "praises," and proclaiming the "righteousness" of God his Saviour. 
 
 " 173. Let thine hand help me : for I have chosen thy precepts. 174. I 
 have longed for thy salvation, O Lord : and thy law is my delight." 
 
 " Salvation" by the " hand" or arm of Jehovah, (which is often in Scrip- 
 ture a title of Messiah,) hath been the object of the hopes, the desires, and 
 "longing" expectation of the faithful, from Adam to this hour; and will 
 continue so to be, until He, who hath already visited us in great humility, 
 shall come again in glorious majesty, to complete our redemption, and take 
 us to himself. 
 
 " 175. Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee ; and let thy judgments 
 help me." 
 
 The " life" which God granteth and preserveth to us whether it be the 
 natural life of the body, or the spiritual life of the soul (for both are from 
 him), should be employed in "praising" him. This return for his mercies 
 we are always ready to promise, when we are in danger, but often forgetful 
 to perform, when delivered out of it. 
 
 " 176. I have gone astray like a lost sheep ; seek thy servant : for I do 
 not forget thy commandments." 
 
 It is doubtful, whether David here speaks of his misery, or his sin ; of 
 his " wandering," as an exile in foreign lands, or of his " going astray" 
 from the " commandments" of his God, though he had not altogether " for- 
 gotten," but was desirous of returning again to the observance of them, 
 and therefore beseeches the great Shepherd to " seek" and bring back his 
 *' lost sheep."* In the application of the passage to ourselves, it matters 
 not which interpretation we adopt, since we are both sinners and exiles ; 
 exiles, because sinners ; " we have erred and strayed from God's ways, like 
 lost sheep," and are, for that reason, excluded from our heavenly city and 
 country, to wander for a time in the wilderness. Restore us, O Lord Jesus, 
 by thy grace, to righteousness, by thy power to glory. 
 
 TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM CXX. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This, and. the fourteen Psalms which follow it, are entitled, "Psalms of De- 
 grees, or of Ascensions." For what reason they were so called, is altogether 
 uncertain. Certain, however, it is, that they are most instructive and 
 pleasing compositions, wonderfully calculated to elevate the soul to God ; 
 and that the Christian, as he proceeds from one degree of virtue to another, 
 in liis way towards eternal felicity, cannot employ himself better than in me- 
 
 * '• Erravi sicut ovis— Omiies nos quasi oves erravimus," Isa. liii. 6. Set! nos bonus ille Pas- 
 tor liumeris reportavit, Luc. .v v. 5. Bossuef. Mr. Merriclc'g Poetical Paraphrase of this verse is 
 so beautiful and alFecting, that I cannot refrain from subjoining it — 
 Tliineeyes in me the sheep behold, 
 Whose feet have wander'd from tlie fold ; 
 That, guideless, helpless, strives in vain 
 To find its safe retreat again ; 
 Now listens, if perchance its ear 
 The Shepherd's well known voice may hear; 
 
 Now, as the tempests round it blow. 
 
 In plaintive accents vents its wo. 
 
 Great Ruler of this earthly ball, 
 
 Do thou my erring steps recall ; 
 
 O seek thou him who thee has sought. 
 
 Nor turns from thy decrees his thought. 
 
370 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXX. 
 
 ditation on them. In the first of these Psalms, the author, most probably 
 David, complaineth of the falsehood, the treachery, and the violence of men, 
 amongst v\'hom he grieveth that his pilgrimage is prolonged. 
 
 " 1. In ray distress I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me. 2. Deliver 
 my soul, Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue." 
 
 The prophet relateth the success of his prayer made to Jehovah in time 
 of trouble. He " cried" and was " heard." The particular species of 
 trouble, under which he then laboured, was that caused by the malice and 
 treachery of his adversaries, who either with " lying lips" bore false witness 
 against him, or with a " deceitful tongue" tried to ensnare him, and to draw 
 something from him, on which they might ground an accusation. Thus th& 
 Jews dealt with Christ ; and men of their cast and complexion have, in all 
 ages, dealt thus with his followers. From such " lips," and such " tongues," 
 God only can "deliver" the persons and the reputations of the most inno- 
 cent. 
 
 " 3. What shall be given unto thee 1 or what shall be done unto thee, 
 thou false tongue? 4. Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper." 
 Some render the first of these two verses a little differently; " What shall 
 a false tongue give thee, or what shall it add to thee?" The sense will be 
 much the same, whether the Psalmist be supposed to address his question 
 to the false tongue, or to him who is the owner of it. The purport of the 
 question plainly is this ; What profit or advantage do you expect to reap 
 from this practice of lying and slandering; what will at last be its end and 
 its reward ? Then followeth the answer ; " Sharp arrows of the mighty 
 one," ni:!J, who is the avenger of truth and innocence ; with a fire that 
 burns fiercely, and burns long, like that which was made of "juniper," or 
 some wood used in those days, remarkable for increasing and retaining 
 heat; punishments justly inflicted on the tongue, the words of which have 
 been keen and killing as arrows, and which, by its lies and calumnies, hath 
 contributed to set the world on fire. We read in the Gospel, of one who 
 exclaimed, " Send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, 
 and cool my tongue ; for I am tormented in this fl.oie." 
 
 " 5. Woe is me that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of 
 Kedar!" 
 
 The Psalmist lamenteth his long continuance among those deceitful and 
 malicious men, whom he compareth to the wild, barbarous, and idolatrous 
 Arabs, the descendants of " Kedar," the son of Ishmael, Gen. xxv. 13. 
 The former part of the verse is with greater propriety, perhaps, rendered, by 
 many of the translators and expositors, thus ; " Wo is me that my sojourn- 
 ing is prolonged — " -\V!^ 'mj O, " I dwell, or, my dwelling is, among 
 the tents of Kedar." When our Lord was upon earth, the Jews were be- 
 come the spiritual Ishmaelites, sons of the bond-woman, persecutors of the 
 sons of the free-woman, and the children of promise. " O faithless and per- 
 verse generation," sailh he, "how long shall I be with you ? How long 
 shall I suffer you?" Matt. xvii. 17. " And as then he that was born after 
 the flesh, persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now," 
 Gal. iv. 29. The church daily sigheth and groaneth, because her " so- 
 journing is prolonged," and she dwelleth among adversaries of various de- 
 nominations, among those who take delight in vexing and troubling her. 
 These are " the tents of Kedar," among which we dwell in the wilderness, 
 longing to depart, and to be with Christ in the city of the living God. 
 
 "6. My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace. 7. I am for 
 peace ; or, I am a man of peace : but when I speak, they are for war." 
 
 If this was the case with David, much more might the Son of David make 
 the same complaint, that he dwelt with them that hated peace ; that although 
 he was a " man of peace," meek, lowly, and gracious, in his deportment to 
 all around him ; although he came to make peace, and to reconcile all 
 things in heaven and earth ; although his conversation and his preaching 
 
DatXXVU. M.P. ON THE PSALMS. 371 
 
 were of peace, and love, and the kingdom of God ; yet no sooner did he 
 open his mouth to "speak" upon these divine subjects, but his enemies 
 ivere up in arms, ready to apprehend, to accuse, to condemn, and to crucify 
 him. Marvel not, disciple of Jesus! if the world hate and oppose thee ; 
 but pray only, that when thou shalt be used as he was, thou mayest be 
 enabled to bear that usage as he did. 
 
 PSALM CXXI. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In this Psalm, the prophet, 1, 2. introduceth a person, most probably an Is- 
 raelite on his way to Jerusalem, expressing his trust and confidence in Jeho- 
 vah, the maker of heaven and earth, of whose favour and protection, at all 
 times, and in all dangers, the prophet, 3 — 8. assureth him. These promises, 
 like those in the xcist Psalm, were, in their full spiritual sense, made good 
 to Messiah, and are now daily accomplishing in the members of his mystical 
 body, the Chi'istian church. Bishop Lowth supposeth the two first verses to be 
 spoken by David, when going out to war, and the answer of encouragement 
 to be made by the high priest from the holy place. In this case, the idea of 
 warfare is added to that of pilgrimage, and the Psalm rendered still more 
 applicable to us, as well as to the true David our King. 
 
 " 1. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 
 2. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth." 
 
 The true Israelite, amidst the dangers of his earthly pilgrimage and war- 
 fare, looketh continually towards the heavenly city, whither he is travelling. 
 Faith showeth him afar off the everlasting " hills, from whence cometh 
 the help" which must bring him in safety to them. He "lifteth up his 
 eyes," in prayer to the Almighty, whose temple and habitation are thereon. 
 He putteth not his trust in any creature, but imploreth aid immediately of 
 " him who made heaven and earth," and who, consequently, hath power 
 over all things in both. 
 
 "3. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved : he that keepeth thee will 
 not slumber. 4. Behold, he that keepeth Israel, shall neither slumber nor 
 sleep." 
 
 In the two first verses, we heard the believer declaring his resolution to 
 trust in God. The Prophet now commendeth that resolution, and en- 
 courageth him to persevere in it. As if he had said. Thou doest well to 
 expect help from Jehovah alone; to overlook the vanities here below; to 
 place thy confidence, and set thy affections, on him who dwelleth above. 
 Know, therefore, assuredly, that he will be with thee in the way in which 
 thou goest; he will preserve thee from falling, and defend thee from all 
 danger ; for in him thou hast a guardian, who is not like all others, liable 
 to remit his care, by being subject to sleep or death. The eye of his pro- 
 vidence is upon thee, and that is always open. "Behold, he that keepeth 
 Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." 
 
 "5. The Lord /sthy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. 
 6. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night." 
 
 The meaning is, that the good man, during his journey through life, shall 
 be under God's protection at all seasons ; as Israel in the wilderness was 
 defended from the burning heat of the sun, by the moist and refreshing 
 shadow of the cloud ; and secured against the inclement influences of the 
 nocturnal heavens, by the kindly warmth and splendour diffused from the 
 pillar of fire. Be thou with us, thy servants, Lord, in the world, as 
 thou wast with Israel in the wilderness ; suffer not our virtue to dissolve 
 before the sultry gleams of prosperity ; permit it not to be frozen by the 
 chilling blasts of adversity. 
 
 " 7. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil : he shall preserve thy 
 
372 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXXH. 
 
 soul. 8. The Lord shall preserve thy going out, and thy coming in, from 
 this time forth for evermore." 
 
 To dissipate our fears, and remove every ground of diffidence, Jehovah 
 promiseth, hy his holy prophet, to " preserve us from all evil," ■which 
 might befall us in the way, either by turning it aside, or taming it finally 
 to our advantage, so that we shall not perish, but see our labours happily 
 begun and ended in him ; he shall preserve our going out, and our coming 
 in, until, through all the vicissitudes of the mortal state, he shall have 
 brought us into his holy '• temple," there to become " pillars," and to " go 
 no more out," Rev. iii. 12. 
 
 PSALM CXXIL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The author of this Psalm, as we are informed by its title, was David. The sub- 
 ject of it is that joy which tlie people were wont to express upon their going 
 up in companies to keep a feast at Jerusalem, when the divine services were 
 regulated, and that city was appointed to be the place of public worship. 
 Everything which can be said upon this topic, must naturally hold good in 
 its application to the Christian church, and the celebration of her feasts ; at 
 which seasons the believer will as naturally extend his thoughts to the Jeru- 
 salem above, and to tliat festival, which shall one day be there kept by all 
 the people of God. 
 
 "1. I was glad when they said unto me. Let us go into the house of the 
 Lord." 
 
 Great was the joy of an Israelite, when his brethren called upon him to 
 accompany them, on some festive occasion, to the tabernacle, or temple at 
 Jerusalem; great is the joy of a Christian, when he is invited, in like man- 
 ner, to celebrate the feasts of the church, to commemorate the nativity, or 
 the resurrection, and to eat and drink at the table of his Lord. Such, in 
 kind, but far greater in degree, is that gladness, which the pious soul expe- 
 riences, when she is called hence ; when descending angels say unto her. 
 Thy labour and sorrow are at an end, and the hour of thy enlargement is 
 come ; put off immortality and misery at once ; quit thy house of bondage, 
 and the land of thy captivity ; fly forth, and " let us go together into the 
 house of the Lord, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." 
 
 " 2. Our feet stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem." 
 
 Yes, O thou holy and happy city of peace, and love, and everlasting 
 delight, our God will in time bring us to behold, and to enter thee: our 
 feet, which now, with many a weary step, tread the earth, "shall" one day 
 " stand within thy gates," which ar6 opened to all believers ; we shall at 
 length rest in thy celestial mansions, and converse for ever with thy blest 
 inhabitants ! 
 
 " 3. Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together." 
 
 We see thee not, indeed, as yet, but we hear of thy stability, thy unity, 
 thy beauty, and thy magnificence. Thy foundations are firm upon the holy 
 hills ; they are garnished with all manner of precious stones ; and in them 
 are the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Thy gates are of pearl, 
 twelve in number, and open to all quarters, for the tribes of the spiritual 
 Israel to come in. Thy streets are of pure gold, as it were transparent 
 glass ; thou art crowned with the unfading brightness of eternal glory ; and 
 the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are in the temple in the midst of 
 thee. All these glorious things are spoken of thee, thou city of God ' And 
 yet, when we come to see thee with our eyes, we shall be forced to confess, 
 as the queen of Sheba did upon viewing the earthly Jerusalem, with its 
 material temple, and the courts of its mortal king, that thou far " exceedest 
 the fame which we had heard," and that "the half was not told us," 
 1 Kings X. 7. 
 
DAT XXVII. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 373 
 
 " 4. Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto, or, according 
 to, the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord." 
 
 As all the " tribes" of Israel, three times in the )'ear, were seen "going 
 up" to the old Jerusalem in compliance with the testimonies, the injunc- 
 tions, and institutions of their law, to acknowledge the mercies, and 
 to o-ive thanks unto the name of " Jehovah," wlio had done such great 
 thino-s for them ; so from the ends of the earth are the redeemed of the 
 Lord, out of every nation, and kindred, and people, continually ascending, 
 by faith and charity, to the new Jerusalem. St. John saw the nations of 
 them that were saved, walking in the light of the heavenly city, and he 
 heard her streets resound with the hallelujahs of ten thousand times ten 
 thousand. 
 
 "5. For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of 
 David." 
 
 The Israelites resorted to Jerusalem, because it was the metropolis of the 
 country, and there .was the residence of their monarchs, after the kingdom 
 was established in the house of David. But alas ! that metropolis is deso- 
 late, and "the thrones of judgment" which were there, have been long since 
 cast down to the ground. A Jerusalem, however, remains, which shall 
 never be moved ; in that Jerusalem is the throne of eternal judgment 
 erected, and the Son of David sitteth upon it. Of him it was said by the 
 angel to Mary, " The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his 
 father David : and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his 
 kingdom there shall be no end," Luke i. 32. And he himself thus ad- 
 dressed his apostles ; " Verily, I say unto you, that ye which have followed 
 me in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his 
 glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of 
 Israel," Matt. xix. 28. 
 
 " 6. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem : they shall prosper that love thee." 
 
 In this latter part of our Psalm, the members of the Israelitish church 
 are exhorted to pray for its peace and welfare. What that church was, the 
 Christian church militant upon earth now is, and demandeth in like man- 
 ner, the prayers of all Christian people for its peace and welfare in a trou- 
 blesome and contentious world. Its increase here below is in reality the 
 increase of Jerusalem above, of which it is a part, and ought to be a resem- 
 blance. Heaven has therefore decreed, that they who contribute their la- 
 bours as well as their prayers, to promote so good and so glorious an end, 
 shall enjoy its protection, and its blessing shall be upon the work of their 
 hands ; "They shall prosper that love thee." 
 
 " 7. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity, or, plenteousness, within 
 thy palaces." 
 
 Come, O thou divine Spirit of peace and love, who didst reside in the 
 soul of the holy Jesus, descend into his mystical body, and fill us, who 
 compose it, with all its heavenly tempers; put an end to heresies, heal all 
 schisms, cause bitter contentions to cease, abolish every enmity, and make 
 us to be of one mind in thy holy city ; that so, " peace being within her 
 walls," her citizens may give themselves to every profitable employment, 
 and plenteousness of grace, wisdom, and truth, as well as of earthly bless- 
 ings, may be in all her " palaces." Thus will she become a lively portrait 
 of that place which is prepared for them that love one another, where, with 
 one heart and one voice, they shall ascribe " salvation and glory to God and 
 to the Lamb." 
 
 " 8. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be 
 within thee. 9. Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek 
 thy good." 
 
 In these concluding verses, the Psalmist d eel areth the two motives, which 
 induced him to utter his best wishes, and to use his best endeavours, for 
 the prosperity of Jerusalem; namely, love to his brethren, whose happiness 
 was involved in that of their city ; and love to God, who had there fixed 
 
 32 
 
374 
 
 A COMMENTARY 
 
 Psalm CXXII. 
 
 the residence of his glory. These motives are ever in force, and ought, 
 surely, to operate with marvellous energy upon our hearts, to stir us up to 
 imitate the pattern now before us, in fervent zeal and unwearied labour, for 
 the salvation of men, and the glory of their great Redeemer ; both which 
 will then be complete, and the church militant shall become triumphant, 
 and the heavenly paradise shall be filled with plants taken from its terres- 
 trial nursery. 
 
 Theodore Zuinger, of whom some account may be found in Thuanus, 
 when he lay on his death-bed, took his leave of the world in a paraphrase on 
 the foregoing Psalm ; giving it the same turn with that given to it above. 
 I have never been able to get a sight of the original ;* but one may venture, 
 I believe, to say, that it has lost nothing in a translation of it by the late 
 learned and pious Mr. Merrick; which is so excellent, that I must beg 
 leave to present it to the reader. Some of the lines are retained in his 
 more literal Poetical Version, published in 1765. It may serve as a finished 
 specimen of the noble and exalted use which a Christian maj% and ought 
 to xnake of the Psalms of David. 
 
 PSALM CXXII. 
 
 VVhatjoy, while tliiia I view the day 
 That warns my thirsting soul away, 
 
 What transports fill my breast! 
 For, lo,my great Redeemer's power 
 Unfolds the everlasting door, 
 
 And leads me to hisEest. 
 
 II. 
 
 The festive morn, my God, is come, 
 That calls me to the hallow'd dome, 
 
 Thy presence to adore ; 
 My feet the summons shall attend. 
 With willing steps thy courts ascend, 
 
 And tread th' ethereal floor. 
 
 III. 
 
 E'en now to my expecting eyes 
 
 The heav'n-built towers of Salem rise : 
 
 E'en now, with glad survey, 
 I view her mansions, that contain 
 Th' angelic forms, an awful train 
 
 And shine with cloudless day. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Hither, from earth's remotest end, 
 Lo, the redeem'd of God ascend, 
 
 Their tribute hither bring : 
 Here crown'd with everlasting joy, 
 In hymns of praise their tongues employ. 
 
 And hail th' immortal King. 
 
 V. 
 
 Great Salem's King; who bids each state 
 On her decrees dependent viait ; 
 
 In her, e'er lime begun. 
 High on eternal base uprear'd. 
 His hands the regal seat prepar'd 
 
 For Jesse's favour'd son. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Mother of cities! o'er thy head 
 
 See Peace, with healing wings out-spread, 
 
 Delighted fix her stay; 
 How blest, vv'ho calls himself thy friend! 
 Success his labours shall attend. 
 
 And safety guard his way. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Thy walls, remote from hostile fear. 
 Nor the loud voice of tumult hear. 
 
 Nor war's wild wastes deplore ; 
 There smiling plenty takes her stand. 
 And in thy courts with lavish hand 
 
 Has pour'd forth all her store. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Let me, blest seat, my name behold 
 Among thy citizens enroll'd 
 
 In thee for ever dwell. 
 T,et Charity my steps attend, 
 My sole companion and my friend. 
 
 And Faith and Hope farewell ! 
 
 * Since the publication of the first edition, a learned friend has obliged me with a copy of 
 these Latin verses of Zuinger transcribed from the 303d page of VitEe Germanorum Medicorum, 
 by Melchior Adamus. They are as follow : 
 
 O lux Candida, lux mihi 
 Lseti conscia Iransitus ! 
 Per Christi meritum patet 
 
 Vitce porta beatse. 
 Me status revocat dies 
 Augustum Domini ad domum : 
 Jam sacra a-therii premam 
 
 Lstus limina templi. 
 JamvisamSolymE edita 
 Ccelo culmina, et adium 
 CcEtus angelicos, suoet 
 
 Augustum populo urbem : 
 Urbem, quam procul infimis 
 Terrrc finibus exciti 
 Petunt ChristiadK, et Deum 
 Laudent voce perenni : 
 
 Jussamcoelitus oppidis 
 Urbem jus dare caeteris, 
 Et sedem fore Davidis 
 
 Cuncta in swcla beati. 
 Mater nobilis urbiuni! 
 Semper te bona pax amat : 
 Et te semper amantibus 
 
 Cedunt omnia recte. 
 Semper pax tua mcenia 
 Colit ; semper in atriis 
 Tuis copiadextera 
 
 Larga munera fundit. 
 Dulcis Christiadum dnmus, 
 Civem adscribe novitium: 
 Solocomitata Caritas— 
 
 Spesque Fidesque valete. 
 
Day XXVU. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 375 
 
 PSALM cxxm. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm containeth, 1, 2. an act of confidence in God, with, 3,4. a prayer 
 for dehverance from that reproacli and contempt which i\ifidelity and sen- 
 suaUty are wont to pour upon the afflicted people of God. 
 
 "1. Unto thee I lift up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the hea- 
 vens." 
 
 The church, when distressed and persecuted upon earth, "lifteth up 
 her eyes to him that dwelleth in the heavens," from thence beholding and 
 ordering- all things here below. It is by his permission that she is de- 
 pressed and insulted ; and he only can deliver her out of the hands of her 
 enemies. 
 
 " 2, Behold, as the eyes of servants looh unto the hand of their masters, 
 and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes 
 wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us." 
 
 Tke servants of God like other servants, if they are injured and suffer 
 violence, expect redress and protection from their Master, whose they are 
 and whom they serve. Under the law of Moses, a master was to demand 
 satisfaction, and to have it made him, for any hurt done to his servant. 
 And shall not the best of Masters avenge the wrongs done to those who 
 serve Him; and done, perhaps, because they serve himT Without doubt, 
 he will avenge them speedily, and reward the sufferers gloriously. 
 
 " 3. Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us : for we are ex- 
 ceedingly filled with contempt. 4. Our soul is exceedingly filled with the 
 scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud." 
 
 Unbelieving, ungodly, and worldly men, who are " at ease," and boast 
 themselves in the multitude of their riches, will always be ready to cast 
 upon the afflicted servants of Christ some portion of that reproach and con- 
 tempt, which were so plentifully poured upon their blessed Master, in the 
 day of his passion, and indeed through his whole life. With these they 
 may justly complain that "their souls are exceedingly filled," insomuch 
 that they are compelled to exclaim with redoubled earnestness, " Have 
 mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us." And let them know, for 
 their comfort, that the Lord will " have mercy upon them" in that day when 
 sensuality shall be succeeded by torment, and pride shall end in shame and 
 confusion; when patient poverty shall inherit everlasting riches, and op» 
 pressed humility shall be exalted to a throne above the stars. 
 
 PSALM CXXIV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In this Psalm, which, as we are informed by the title, hath David for its author, 
 tlie church describeth the danger in which she had been, and giveth to God 
 alone the glory of her deliverance out of it. 
 
 "1. If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, now may Israel 
 say; 2. If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose 
 up against us : 3. Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath 
 was kindled against us." 
 
 The people of Israel rescued from impending ruin, break forth into a joy- 
 ful acknowledgment of that almighty aid, to which they were indebted for 
 their deliverance. " Men" rose up against them, but "Jehovah" was on 
 their side; men intended to devour, but God interposed to save. May not 
 " the Israel of God" say, in like manner, "If the Lord had not been on our 
 
376 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXXV. 
 
 side," when our spiritual enemies, sin, death, and hell, were in arms acjainst 
 us, surely now " they had swallowed us up quick," and we had perished 
 everlastingly. It is thou, O Lord Jesu, who hast wrought for us tliis great 
 salvation ; it is thou who from tlie beginning hast preserved thy church in 
 the world, amidst the persecutions which must otherwise have put an end 
 to its very existence. 
 
 " 4. Then the vi'aters had overwhelmed us ; the stream, or^ torrent, had 
 gone over our soul : 5. Then the proud, or, swelling, waters had gone 
 over our soul." 
 
 The redeemed are astonished, upon looking back, at the greatness of the 
 danger to which they had been exposed. They can compare the fury 
 and insolence of their adversaries to nothing but overwhelming floods and 
 desolating torrents; and they consider themselves as snatched by a miracle 
 from instant destruction. Happy they, who are taken from the evil to come, 
 and have passed from the miseries of earth to the felicities of heaven, 
 where they are neither tempted nor molested more. The devout Christian, 
 who, in perilous times, and towards the close of life, a gracious Providence 
 has thrown ashore in some sequestered corner, from whence he views those 
 secular tumults with which he hath no farther concern, is perhaps arrived 
 at the next degree of happiness to that of just spirits made perfect. 
 
 "G. Blessed he the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. 
 7. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers : the snare 
 is broken, and we are escaped." 
 
 The marvellous deliverance of Israel is illustrated by two other images. 
 It is compared to the escape of a lamb from the jaws of a wolf, or a lion ; 
 and to that of a bird, by the breaking of the snare, in which it had been en- 
 tangled, before the fowler came to seize and to kill it. Save us, O God, from 
 the rage and the subtlety of our spiritual adversary ; save us from his teeth, 
 when he would devour ; from his snares, when he would deceive ; suffer us 
 not, either by persecution or temptation, to fall from thee; let the lion gnash 
 his teeth, and the fowler look for his captive in vain ; that so we too may sing 
 the songof Zion in thy heavenly kingdom, and say, "Blessed be the Lord, 
 who hath not given us over for a prey unto their teeth. Our soul is escaped 
 as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we are 
 escaped." 
 
 "8. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth." 
 The great lesson which this Psalm, from the beginning to the end, incul- 
 cates, is, that for every deliverance, whether of a temporal or spiritual na- 
 ture, we should, in imitation of the saints above, ascribe "salvation to God 
 and to the Lamb." 
 
 PSALM CXXV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In this Psalm, the church is comforted with the promises, 1,2. of God's protec- 
 tion, and, 3. of his removing, in due time, from his inheritance the rod of the 
 oppressor ; when, 4. tiie faitliful will be revvai-ded, and, 5. apostates punished 
 with other workers of iniquity. Aben Ezra, as cited by Hammond, applietli 
 the Psalm to the days of ilessiah. 
 
 " 1. They that trust the Lord shall he as mount Zion, ivhicJi cannot be re- 
 moved, hut abideth for ever. 2. Jls the mountains are round about Jerusa- 
 lem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth, even for ever." 
 
 The stability of the church, and the protection afforded her by Jehovah, 
 were of old represented by the mountain on which the Divine presence resi- 
 ded, and by the hills which encompassed Jerusalem, so as to render that 
 city in a manner impregnable. While her inhabitants continued to " trust 
 in the Lord," this was the case. But when they became faithless and diso- 
 
XXVII. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 377 
 
 bedient, she became weak, and like another city. Let not our " trust in 
 God," be a presumptuous, ungrounded assurance; but let it be a confidence 
 springing- from faith unieigned, out of a pure heart, a good conscience, and 
 fervent charity. Tlien shall our situation, whether as a church or as indivi- 
 duals, resemble that of the holy mount in the beloved city, and our God 
 will be unto us a fortress, and a wall round about. But let us never forget, 
 that the promises to us, like those to Israel, are conditional : " Because of 
 unbelief they were broken off; and we stand by faith." 
 
 " 3. For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous ; 
 lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity." 
 
 God may, and often doth, permit " the rod" or power " of the wicked to 
 fall upon the lot of the righteous," in this world. But it is only for the 
 purposes of chastisement, or probation. Tbe rod is not suifered to "rest," 
 or abide, there too long, "lest the righteous," harassed and worn down by 
 oppression, and seeing no end of their calamities, should be tempted to 
 " put their hands to iniquity," and practise that wickedness, which they 
 find to prosper so well here below. The import of this verse seemeth to be 
 the same with that of our Lord's prediction concerning the troubles of the 
 latter days. "Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the 
 beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be. And except those 
 days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved. But for the elects' 
 salve those days shall be shortened," Matt. xxiv. 21, 22. 
 
 " 4. Do good, O Lord, unto those that be good, and to them that are up- 
 right in their hearts. 5. As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, 
 the Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity ; but peace shall 
 be upon Israel." 
 
 " The good and upright in heart" are they who stand steady in every 
 change of circumstances ; who complain not of God's dispensations, but, be- 
 lieving everything to be best which he ordains, adhere to him with a will 
 entirely conformed to his, in adversity no less than in prosperity. To these 
 Jehovah will finally " do good ;" and they shall receive the reward of their 
 faith and patience ; while such as, in time of trial, have fallen away, and 
 returned no more, " shall be led forth" to punishment " with the workers of 
 iniquity," to whose company their apostacy hath joined them. And then, 
 " peace shall be upon the Israel of God," with joy and gladness, for ever* 
 more. 
 
 TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY— EVENING PRAYER, 
 PSALM CXXVI. 
 
 ARGUHIENT. 
 
 In this Psalm, the children of Zion, 1 — 3, describe the joy consequent upon 
 tlieir restoration from captivity ; 4. they pray God to bring back the rest of 
 their countrymen, and to complete his work ; 5, 6. they foresee and predict 
 tbe success of their labours in rebuilding their ruined city with its temple, 
 and cultivating again their desolated country. The return of Israel from 
 Babylon holds forth a figure of the same import with the exodus of that peo- 
 ple from Egypt. And this Psalm, like tiie prophecies of Isaiah, represen- 
 teth the blessed effects of a spiritual redemption, in words primarily alluding 
 to tliat temporal release. 
 
 "1. When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like 
 them that dream." 
 
 That Cyrus should issue a decree for the Jews to return to their own 
 country, and to rebuild their city and temple ; that he should dismiss such 
 a number of captives, not only without money and without price, but should 
 
 33* 
 
378 A. COMMENTARY Psalm CXXVI. 
 
 send tiiem home laden with presents ; Ezra i. 1 — 4. this was the work of 
 Jehovah, who only could thus " turn the captivity of Zion." A restoration 
 so complete, so strange and unlooked for, brought about at once, without 
 any endeavours used on the side of Israel, seemed, in all these respects, as 
 a "dream;" and the parties concerned, when they saw and heard such 
 things, could scarce believe themselves to be awake. That the King of 
 kings, of his own mere love and mercy, should take pity on poor mankind, 
 in their more grievous captivity under sin and death ; that he should send 
 his only Son to purchase their liberty, his Spirit to enrich, and to conduct 
 them to their country above, and his heralds to proclaim such unexpected 
 deliverance to all the world ; this likewise was the work of the same Jeho- 
 vah, who only could thus " turn again the captivity of his Zion." Sin- 
 ners, when the tidings of a salvation so great and marvellous are preached 
 to them, think themselves in a " dream," and with difficulty give credit 
 even to the royal proclamation, though the great seal of heaven be affixed 
 to it. 
 
 " 2. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with sing- 
 ing : then said they among the heathen, Tlie Lord hath done great things 
 for them. 3. The Loud hath done great things for us; luliereof vie are 
 glad." 
 
 The people of God soon find, that they are not mocked with illusions, 
 but that all about them is reality and truth. Then sorrow and sighing, fear 
 and distrust, fly away together. Joy fills their hearts, and overflows by their 
 tongues, in songs of praise. The nations hear, and are astonished, and 
 own the hand of Jehovah in the restoration of his people ; "Jehovah hath 
 done great things for them." The chosen people echo back the gladsome 
 sound, and reply, with transports of gratitude, " Jehovah hath done great 
 things for us, whereof we are glad." Every word of this agreeth not more 
 exactly to the return from Babylon, than it doth to that eternal redemption 
 thereby prefigured, which is the grand subject of thanksgiving in the Chris- 
 tian church. 
 
 "4. Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south." 
 
 The joy occasioned by Cyrus's proclamation having been described in the 
 former part of the Psalm, we may now suppose some of the Jews ready to 
 set out on their return home ; at which time, and during their journey, they 
 prefer this petition to God, that he would be pleased to bring back the rest 
 of their countrymen, who, like " floods" rolling down upon the thirsty re- 
 gions of the "south,"* might people the land, and by their labours put an 
 end to the desolations of Judah. That God would daily increase the num- 
 ber of true converts from the world to the church, to clear and cultivate the 
 mystical vineyard, to build and to ornament the holy city, should be the 
 prayer of every labourer in that vineyard, of every citizen in that city. 
 
 " 5. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6. He that goeth forth and 
 weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, 
 bringing his sheaves ivith him.''^ 
 
 The fatigue of travelling from Babylon to Judea; the melancholy pros- 
 pect of a long-depopulated country, and ruined city ; the toil necessary to 
 he undergone before the former could be again brought into order, and the 
 latter rebuilt; all these considerations could not but allay the joy of the 
 released captives, and even draw many tears from their eyes. They are 
 therefore comforted with a gracious promise that God would give a blessing 
 to the labours of their hands, and crown them with success, so that they 
 
 * I think the image is taken from the "torrents" in the deserts to the south of Judea ; in 
 Idumsea, Arabia Petraea.&c. a mountainous country. These torrents we; e constantly dried up 
 in the summer ; See Job vi. 17, 18. and as constantly " returned" after the rainy season, and 
 filled again their deserted channels. Tlie point of the comparison seems to be the "return" and 
 renewal of these (not " rivers" but) " torrents;" which yearly leave their beds dry, but fill 
 them ag^in ; as the Jews had left their country desolate, but now "flowed again" into it. — 
 Bishop Lowth, in Merrick's Annotations. Dr. Durell renders this verse as follows — "The turn- 
 ing of our captivity, O Lord, is as streams in the south." 
 
DAT XXVII. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 379 
 
 should once more see Jerusalem in prosperity, and beliold in Zion the 
 beauty of holiness. This promise is conveyed under imag:es borrowed from 
 the instructive scenes of agriculture. In the sweat of his brow the hus- 
 bandman tills his land, and casts the seed into the ground, where, for a time, 
 it lies dead and buried. A dark and dreary winter succeeds, and all seems 
 to be lost. But at the return of spring, universal nature revives, and the 
 once-desolate fields are covered with corn, which, when matured by the 
 sun's heat, the cheerful reapers cut down, and it is brought home witli tri- 
 umphant shouts of jo3^ Here, O disciple of Jesus, behold an emblem of 
 thy present labour and thy future reward. Thou " sowest," perhaps "in 
 tears;" thou doest thy duty amidst persecution and afliiction, sickness, pain, 
 and sorrow ; thou labourest in the church, and no account is made of thy 
 labours; no profit seems likely to arise from them. Nay, thou must thy- 
 self drop into the dust of death, and all the storms of that winter must pass 
 over thee, until thy form shall be perished, and thou shalt see corruption. 
 Yet, the day is coming, when thou shalt " reap in joy ;" and plentiful shall 
 be thy harvest. For thus thy blessed Master " went forth weeping, a man 
 of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, bearing precious seed," and sowing 
 it around him, till at length his own body was buried, like a grain of wheat, 
 in the furrow of the grave. But he arose, and is now in heaven; from 
 whence he " shall doubtless come again with rejoicing," with the voice of 
 the archangel and the trump of God, " bringing his sheaves with him." 
 Then shall every man receive the fruit of his works, and have praise of 
 God. 
 
 PSALM CXXVII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 If this Psalm was written by Solomon, or by David for Solomon, as the title 
 importeth, it was probably used again at the time of rebuilding- the city and 
 temple, after the return from Babylon. But indeed it is a Psulm which can 
 never be out of season, the design of its author being to teach us the neces- 
 sity of a dependence upon God and his blessing, in every work to which we 
 set our hands. What is said with regard to an earthly house, city, and fa- 
 mily, extendeth also to the spiritual house, city, and family of Christ, which are 
 now what Jerusalem, the temple, and the people of Israel, were in old time. 
 
 " I. Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it : 
 except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." 
 
 In every undertaking, the blessing of God must accompany the labours 
 of man, to render them effectual. No work can prosper without him, nor 
 can any design miscarry under his favour and protection, which are equally 
 necessary to be obtained by the builder in time of peace, and by the sol- 
 dier in time of war. But they, above all men, ought to implore the Divine 
 grace and benediction, who are employed either in building or defending 
 the spiritual house and city of God ; especially as the same persons, like 
 the Jews after their captivity, surrounded by enemies always ready to ob- 
 struct the work, are often obliged to hold a sword in one hand, while they 
 build with the other. Our own edification in faith and holiness must like- 
 wise be carried on by us in this attitude, by reason of the many temptations 
 which are continually assailing us. It may also be remarked, that both 
 Solomon and Zerubbabel had vainly laboured to construct the first or the 
 second material temple, unless Jehovah himself had built the true House 
 for the reception of his glory, that is to say, the Temple of Christ's body, 
 and, after it was fallen down, had reared it again, by a resurrection from 
 the dead. 
 
 " 2. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of 
 sorrows ; for so he giveth his beloved sleep." 
 
 The Psalmist doth not, certainly, intend to say, that labour and diligence 
 
380 A COMMENTARY Psaim CXXVH. 
 
 are vain, but that they are so, except the Lord be with the labourer: the 
 business is not to be done by all the industry and pains, all the carking and 
 caring in the world, without him; whereas, if his aid be called in, if part 
 of our time be spent in prayer, not the whole of it in prayerless toiling and 
 moiling, our work will become easier, and go on better ; a solicitude and 
 anxiety for its success and completion, will no longer prey upon our minds 
 by day, and break our rest at night ; we shall cheerfully fulfil our daily 
 tasks, and then, with confidence and resignation, lay our heads upon our 
 pillows, and God will " give to his beloved" a sweet and undisturbed 
 " sleep," which shall fit them to return every morning, with renewed vigour 
 and alacrity, to their stated employments. This seemeth to be the import 
 of the verse. An obscurity has been occasioned in the translations, by 
 rendering the adverb, 13, so; " so he giveth his beloved sleep ;" in which 
 form, this last part of the verse will not connect with what goes before. 
 But if T3 be translated, like its kindred particle TDN', " surely* he giveth his 
 beloved sleep ;" or, as Dr. Hammond renders it, " since he giveth his be- 
 loved sleep ;" the difficulty will vanish, and the sense appear to be as 
 above. Nor can we easily find a more profitable piece of instruction, with 
 regard to the management of all our concerns, temporal and spiritual. 
 
 " 3. Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord : and the fruit of the womb 
 is his reward." 
 
 The labours of mankind, first in building houses and cities, and then in 
 guarding and securing their possessions, are undergone, not with a view to 
 themselves alone, but to their families, which they would establish and 
 perpetuate. The Psalmist, therefore, in the preceding verses, having taught 
 men to expect a happy settlement only from the favour of Jehovah, now 
 directs them to look up to him for the farther blessing of a numerous and 
 virtuous progeny. He can in a moment blast the most fruitful stock, or he 
 can " make the barren woman to keep house, and to become a joyful mother 
 of children." " Lo, children are an heritage of Jehovah ;" an heritage 
 which he bestows on those who fear him ; " the fruit of the womb is a re- 
 ward" conferred by him, where he sees it will be a blessing indeed, upon 
 faithful and pious parents. »St. Paul calls the converts made by his mi- 
 nistry, his "children;" and all believers are the children of Christ, the 
 heritage given him by his Father, the reward of his righteous life and 
 meritorious death ; as it is written, " I will give thee the heathen for thine 
 inheritance. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied," 
 Psalm ii. 8. Isa. liii. 11. 
 
 " 4. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man ; so are children of the 
 youth." 
 
 Children, when well educated, are like so many " arrows in the hand of 
 a strong man ;" ready winged with duty and love, to fly to the mark ; po- 
 lished and keen, to grace and maintain the cause of their parents, to defend 
 them from hostile invasions, and instantly to repel every assailant. The 
 apostles and first Christians were arrows in the hand of Messiah, with 
 which he encountered his enemies, and subdued the nations to the faith. 
 When by the splendour of their sanctity, the power of their miracles, and 
 the efficacy of their preaching, they pierced the hearts of thousands and 
 ten thousands, what were they but " arrows in the hand of 13J the Mighty 
 One'?" And in this instance likewise it may truly be said, that no well 
 nurtured son of Christ and the church will hear his Father dishonoured, or 
 despise his Mother when she is old. 
 
 " 5. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them : they shall not 
 be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate." 
 
 In a house full of dutiful children consisteth the happiness of their pa- 
 rents, who then can never want friends; friends, that will at no time be 
 
 * This is the second of the senses given to this particle by Noldius, who cites in confirnia- 
 lion of it, 1 Sam. ix. 13. 1 Kings xx. 40. 
 
Day XXVII. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 381 
 
 ashamed, but will at all times rejoice to appear for them, to meet their 
 " enemies" and accusers " in the gate, "or place of judgment ;* there to an- 
 swer any charge against them, to vindicate them in iheir persons, their good 
 name, or tlieir property. It is a glorious sight to behold children thus stand- 
 ing forth in the defence of their parents. In the multitude of true believers 
 consist the glory of Christ, and the riches of the church. How forward 
 were the primitive Christians to meet the enemies of these their spiritual 
 parents " in the gate ;" how ready, in their cause, to speak openly, and, 
 having witnessed a good confession, to die by the hand of the executioner ! 
 Therefore shall they not be ashamed at the judgment of the last day, but 
 shall then stand with great boldness before the face of such as have af- 
 flicted, persecuted, and tormented them. For their heavenly B'ather will 
 then be their Judge, and will own, in his turn, the cause of his dutiful 
 children, who for his sake endured tribulation, and loved not their lives unto 
 the death. Confusion shall overwhelm the accuser of the brethren, with 
 all the instruments of his malice; but glory, honour, and immortality shall 
 be given to the children of God. 
 
 PSALM CXXVIII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm containeth a promise made to him who, 1, feareth Jehovah, and 
 walketh in his ways, that he should be blessed, 2. in his person, and, 3, 4. 
 in his famil}'; and that he should see the good of Jerusalem. The Psalm was, 
 probably, sung at tlie marriages of the Isi-aehtes, as it is now a part of the 
 matrimonial service among us. In its prophetical and exalted sense, it hath 
 respect to the person, marriage, family, and city of Messiah. 
 
 "1. Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord: that walketh in his 
 ways." 
 
 Happiness belongeth not to the rich, the powerful, and the prosperous, 
 as such ; but in every state and condition, blessed is the man that " feareth 
 Jehovah," that so feareth him as to obey him, and to "walk in his ways," 
 notwithstanding all the obstructions he may meet with from the world, 
 the flesh, and the devil. Blessed above all the sons of men, and the 
 author of blessing to them all, was the man Christ Jesus, because above 
 them all, and for them all, he feared, he loved, and he obeyed. 
 
 " 2. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands : happy s/ialt thou be, 
 and it ahall be well with thee." 
 
 The person is here beautifully changed, and to the man who feareth Je- 
 hovah is addressed an enumeration of those blessings which shall attend 
 him. He is to " eat the labour of his hands," that is, the fruit, or returns 
 of his labours. Hereby it is implied, that he is not to be idle, but to "la- 
 bour," that he may eat; that he is not to be niggardly, but to "eat," when 
 he has laboured; that he is neither to be unjust, by living upon the labours, 
 nor enslaved by depending upon the bounty, of others, but to eat "his own" 
 labours; and that he, whose labours procure him a sustenance, hath enough 
 to be "blessed" and happy. Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well 
 with thee ; everything shall happen, which God seeth to be best for thee 
 in this life, and (as saith the Chaldee Paraphrast on the place) " it shall be 
 good to thee in the world to come." The glory of Christ, and the salvation 
 of mankind, were the fruits of his actions and his sufferings in the days of 
 his flesh; so that, in the enjoyment of them, he doth no more than "eat of 
 the labours of his hands;" or, to use the words of Isaiah, " he seeth of the 
 travail of his soul, and is satisfied." Before he went hence, he took cora- 
 
 *Mr. Merrick observes, that the gate was sometimes the seat of war, as well as the place of 
 judicature. "Tlieti was war in the jrates," Jiulees v. 8. He mentions a remarkahle Cliinusu 
 proverb; "When a son is horn into a family, a bow and arrow are hung before tlicgute.'' 
 
3S2 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXXVIII. 
 
 fort in the reflection, "I have glorified thee on the earth, I have finished the 
 work which thou gavest me to do," John xvii. 4. Happy shait thou be, O 
 Christian, and it shall be well with thee, if at thy latter end thou shalt be 
 able to draw comfort from the same consideration. 
 
 "• 3. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house : thy 
 children like olive plants round about thy table." 
 
 Marriage was ordained by God to complete the felicity of man in a state 
 of innocence ; and the benediction of heaven will ever descend upon it, when 
 undertaken in the " fear of the Lord." The vine, a lowly plant, raised with 
 tender care, becoming, by its luxuriancy, its beauty, its fragrance, and its clus- 
 ters, the ornament and glory of the house to which it is joined, and by which it 
 is supported, forms the finest imaginable emblem of a fair, virtuous, and fruit- • 
 ful wife. The olive trees planted by the inhabitants of the eastern countries 
 around their tables, or banqueting places in their gardens,* to cheer the eye 
 by their verdure, and to refresh the body by their cooling shade, do no less 
 aptly and significantly set forth the pleasure which parents feel, at the sight 
 of a numerous and flourishing off'spring. As marriage was from the be- 
 ginning intended to represent the mystical union between Christ and his 
 church, which union is spoken of in matrimonial language, through the 
 Scriptures, both of the Old and New Testament, we need but extend our 
 view to behold, under the imagery of the vine and the olive-plants, the pro- 
 lific spouse of Messiah, and the children of peace assembled around the ta- 
 ble of their heavenly Father. See Psalm Ixxx. 8. Roman xi. 17. 
 
 " 4. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord." 
 Are temporal blessings, then, the reward of piety ? They are not its only, 
 iior chief reward, but are often added, even under the new dispensation, to 
 those who "first seek the kingdom of God, and his righteousness." When 
 they are withholden, or withdrawn, it is for the security or increase of those 
 more valuable blessings, which are spiritual. There are times, when fa- 
 ther, mother, brethren, sisters, wife, children, and lands, must be given up 
 for Christ's and the Gospel's sake. But ample amends are promised to be 
 made to all who thus part wath earthly relations and possessions. They 
 find in the church other fathers, mothers, brethren, sisters, children, &c. 
 and at the resurrection they will " inherit all things," Rev. xxi. 7. and 
 brighter coronets of glory shall sparkle from their heads. The Scriptures 
 show us the servants of God in every state and condition ; we view them rich 
 and poor, honoured and despised, sick and iu health, married and single, 
 childless and otherwise, in prosperity and in adversity; to teach us, that 
 all things work together for good to them who love God ; so that the be- 
 liever hath comfort always. If temporal blessing be granted him, he ac- 
 cepteth them as shadows of those which are eternal ; if they are denied, he 
 reraembereth that they are only shadows, and are therefore denied, that he 
 may fix his thoughts and affections more firmly on the substance. 
 
 " 5. The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion : and thou shalt see the good 
 of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. 6. Yea, thou shalt see thy children's 
 children, and peace upon Israel." 
 
 Every true Israelite rejoiceth in the prosperity of Zion; a blessing upon 
 the church diffuseth itself to all the members thereof; and the good of Je- 
 rusalem, with peace upon Israel, is all the good we can desire to see upon 
 earth. Hereafter we shall see greater things than these. Jehovah from the 
 heavenly Zion will bless us with the vision of his immortal glory; we shall 
 see the good of the new Jerusalem, the wealth, beauty, and majesty of that 
 holy city; we shall see the generations of the faithful walking in the light 
 
 * This is Bishop Patrick's idea. The learned and ingenious Mr. Harmer, in his very vahiable 
 " Observations on divers passages of Scripture,'' (Vo\. 1. p. 107, 2d edit.) disapproves of it; as, he 
 says, " we find no such arbours in the Levant, nor is the tree very proper for the purpose." He 
 thinks therefore, the table refers to the "children" only, and not to tlie " olives." But Mr. Mer- 
 rick, in Ins Jlnnotations, produces some very good arguments on the side of Bishop Patrick. 
 
DAT XXVII. E. P. ON THE PSAI-MS. 333 
 
 of it ; with that everlasting peace and rest which remain for the Israel of God. 
 These are the blessings promised to Messiah, and his seed, for evermore. 
 
 PSALxM CXXIX. 
 
 ARGUJIENT. 
 
 In the former part of this Psalm, 1—4 the church declareth herself to have 
 been often assailed and persecuted by her enemies, but as often rescued and 
 preserved by Jehovah ; in the latter part of it, 5 — 8. she predicteth the 
 miserable end of all those who hate Zion. 
 
 " 1. Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now 
 say : 2. IMany a time have they afflicted me from my youth : yet they 
 have not prevailed against me." 
 
 Affliction is nothing new to the people of God. Many a time have the 
 righteous been under persecution, from the hour when Cain rose up against 
 his brother Abel, to this day. Like the bush which Moses beheld in the 
 desert, the church hath " burned with fire," but is not yet "consumed;" 
 and for the same reason, because God is in the midst of her.* He who 
 took our nature upon him, was also afflicted from his youth, but his ene- 
 mies "prevailed not finally against him." And it is observable, that what 
 God spake, by his prophet Hosea, concerning Israel, "When Israel was a 
 child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt," is by St. Matthew 
 applied to Christ ; "Joseph took the young child and his mother by night, 
 and departed into Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod: that it 
 might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. Out of Egypt have I 
 called my son," Matt. ii. 14. Hos. xi. 1. The truth is, that there subsist- 
 eth between Christ and the church a union like that between the head and 
 the members of the same body ; they are therefore called by the same name, 
 Israel, and what is said concerning one, frequently admitteth of an appli- 
 cation to the other. He became like us by taking our nature, and we be- 
 came like him by receiving his grace. Our sufferings are accounted as his ; 
 and his righteousness spoken of as ours. 
 
 " 3. The ploughers ploughed upon my back ; they made long their fur- 
 rows. 4. The Lord is righteous ; he hath cut asunder the cords of the 
 wicked." 
 
 The former of these two verses expresseth a state of great affliction, the 
 latter a deliverance from that state. The word W\r\, which signifieth to 
 dig, or cut the ground, and so, to plough, is also used simply for cutting, 
 carving, or graving; see Exod. xxxv. 33. Jer. xvii, 1. Being here applied 
 to the back of the captives, and cords having been the instruments of it, in 
 all reason it is to be understood of scourging, with cuts, and, as it were, digs, 
 and ploughs, and makes furrows in the flesh ; and the longer the cords of 
 the scourges are, the longer are the wounds and furrows. For our sakes, he 
 who knew no sin " gave his back to the smiters," Isa. 1. 6. and permitted 
 those ploughers to make long their furrows upon it. But "the righteous 
 Lord cut asunder the cords of the wicked;" vengeance overtook the 
 wretched instruments of his sufferings ; and the persecutors of his servants 
 shall perish in like manner, as the Psalmist proceedeth to assure us in the 
 verses following. 
 
 " 5. Let them all, or, they all shall, be confounded and turned back that 
 hate Zion." 
 
 Since the ways of God are equal, the destruction which hath lighted on 
 former persecutors of the church affordeth an assurance, that all in every 
 
 * EcclesiK jam irnle ab initio in Abel, in Enoch, in Noi;, in Abraham, in Lot, in iEcyptiaca 
 sevvitute, in Moyse,etProphetig, graves perpessainimicos; (licit ilia quidem SEpe a jiivciitute 
 se fuisse nppiiinatam ; nihilo tamen seciiis porvenisse ad senectntem, ac ne in senectuLe qui- 
 dem opprimi |)i)ise. Victus eiiiiu qui s;eviebat, vicit (pii suflbrebat. Bossuet. 
 
384 -^ COMMENTARY Psalm CXXIX. 
 
 ao-e, who hate Zion, shall, at the day of final retribution, if not before that 
 day, feel the weight of his arm, who is the Saviour, the King, and the God 
 of Zion. 
 
 " 6. Let them, or, they shall, be as the grass vpon the house-tops, which 
 withereth afore it groweth up ; Heh. is pulled up.* 7. Wherewith the 
 mower filleth not his hand ; nor he that hindeth sheaves his bosom. 
 8. Neither do they which go by say. The blessing of the Lord he upon you : 
 We bless you in the name of the Lord." 
 
 The transient prosperity of mortal man is often in sacred writ compared 
 to D-rass, the history of which is contained in these few words, "It cometh 
 up, and is cut down." But here the comparison is carried still farther. 
 Not the common grass in the field, but grass growing on the house-tops, is 
 selected to convey the idea of bad men ; grass, which having no depth of 
 earth, into which it may strike its roots, doth not await the hand of the 
 gatherer, but "withereth" even " before it is plucked up." And then, so 
 thin, so wretched, and so unprofitable is the crop, that none are employed 
 to collect and carry it in ; none to whom passengers might address those 
 acclamations and salutations, customary at such times, as "The Lord be 
 with you, bless you," &c. Ruth ii. 4. Thus, while the felicity of Zion's 
 children is rootedand grounded in Christ, that of her enemies hath no foun- 
 dation at all. While the church subsisteth from generation to generation, 
 the kingdoms and empires, that have persecuted her, fade and wither aw-ay 
 of themselves. And at the general harvest of the world, ^vhen the righ- 
 teous shall be carried by angels, with joyful acclamations, into the mansions 
 prepared for them above, the wicked, unregarded by the heavenly reapers, 
 and unblessed by all, shall become fuel for a fire that goeth not out; 
 resembling, in this their sad end, likewise, that worthless grass, "which 
 to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven." 
 
 PSALM CXXX. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This is the sixth of those which are styled " Penitential Psalms." It is calcu- 
 lated for the use of the church; or any member tliereof; and containeth, 1, 2. 
 a complaint of great distress; 3. a confession of man's sinfulness ; 4 — 8. an 
 act of faith in the Divine mercy, and the promised redemption. 
 
 " 1. Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, Lord. 2. O Lord, hear 
 my voice : let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications." 
 
 From the depths of sin, and the misery occasioned by sin, the penitent, 
 like another Jonas, entombed in the whale's bellj'', and surrounded by all 
 the waves of the ocean, crieth unto God for help and salvation. Fervent 
 prayer will find its way, through every obstruction, to the ears of him who 
 sitteth upon his holy hill. And may not the bodies of the faithful, buried in 
 the dust, be said to cry, out of the depths of the grave, for a joyful resurrec- 
 tion, according to the promise and the pattern of Christ, who, after three 
 days, came forth from the heart of the earth, as Jonas did from the belly of 
 the whale ? 
 
 "3. If thon. Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand V 
 
 A reason is here urged, why God should spare and pardon the suppliant, 
 namely, because was he accurately to note the offences of the best men, and 
 to produce them in judgment against the oflenders, no man could stand in 
 that judgment, but the whole race of Adam must continue to eternity under 
 the dominion of sin and death ; which a gracious and merciful God would 
 not permit to be the case. It is accordingly declared in the next verse, that 
 measures had been taken to prevent so deplorable a catastrophe. 
 
 " 4. But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared." 
 
 * Mr. HaiTOer takes the idea of llie Psalmist to be, " Which withereth before it unsheaths its 
 ear." Otecrp. 11.463. 
 
Day XXVII. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 385 
 
 True repentance is founded upon the sense of our own wretchedness, and 
 faith in the Divine mercy. Without the former, we should never seek for 
 pardon and grace; without the latter, we should despair of finding them. 
 Tlie Psalmist, therefore, having in the three preceding verses, expressed 
 the one, now maketh profession of the other. "There is forgiveness with 
 thee;" thou wilt not "mark iniquities," or leave us to the rigours of strict 
 justice, but thou hast devised means that we perish not for ever ; thou hast 
 provided an atonement, and in virtue of that atonement, the sinner may 
 obtain pardon; he need not, therefore, reject thy service, and cast himself 
 away in despair, but is encouraged to serve thee acceptably through faith, 
 with godly fear; "there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be 
 feared." Or the meaning be. Thou forgivest man, that so, being restored 
 to thy favour, and endued with thy grace, he may thenceforth fear, or serve 
 thee, as it becomes one who hath obtained mercy to do. 
 
 " 5. I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. 
 6. My soul wulteth for the Lord, more than they that watch for the morn- 
 ing : I say, more than they that watch for the morning." 
 
 The repetitions here do beautifully express that ardent desire which the 
 contrite soul hath for the salvation of God. Dr. Hammond seemeth to have 
 given the true construction of ver. 6. "'JTf^'7 'li'DJ, " My soul to the Lord, 
 that is, riseth, cometh, or hasteneth to the Lord, 1pD^» □'"IDK/O, from the 
 morning watchers, that is, from the time when they hasten to their watches ; 
 in other words, the guards that every morning hasten to their watches, are 
 not earlier than I am in my daily addresses to God. Who these watchers 
 or guards of the morning are, the Chaldee hath best expressed ; They that 
 observe the morning watches, that they may offer their morning oblation ; 
 tliat is, the priests which in their turn officiated ; or rather, some officers of 
 theirs, which were peculiarly appointed from a tower to expect the first 
 appearance of break of day." With such earnestness did the ancient 
 church expect the appearance of that Day-Spring from on high, which was, 
 in the fulness of time, to visit the world. With equal earnestness have the 
 faithful since looked out for the dawning of the last morning, which is to 
 abolish sin, and put an end to sorrow. 
 
 " 7. Let Israel hope in the Lord : for with the Lord there is mercy, and 
 with him is plenteous redemption. 8. And he shall redeem Israel from all 
 his iniquities, or, sins." 
 
 These verses are perfectly evangelical. The church of Israel was ex- 
 horted to "hope" in Jehovah, because with him there was "mercy and 
 plenteous redemption." And of what nature was that redemption ■? A 
 redemption from sin ; " he shall redeem Israel from all his sins ;" con- 
 sequently from all trouble and misery, which are but the effects of sin, and 
 will cease when their cause shall be finally taken away. Now what is 
 this, but the Gospel itself] Or where is the difference between this of the 
 Psalmist, " He shall redeem Israel from all his sins," and that of the evan- 
 gelist, "Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from 
 THEIR sins'?" Matt. i. 2L The Israel of God, or church universal, hoping 
 in the same mercy, in the same plenteous redemption, expecteth the full 
 accomplishment of this gracious promise at the second advent of her Saviour, 
 ■when the penalty of sin shall be taken off, and death be swallowed up in 
 victory. 
 
 PSALM CXXXL 
 
 argument. 
 This Psalm containeth, 1, 2. a description of true humifity, and resignation to 
 the will of God, with, 3. an exhortation to tlie practice thereof. It is, most 
 probably, a Psalm of David, and is eminently applicable to Messiah, in his 
 state of humiliation on earth. Happy would it be for the world, if all his 
 disciples could imbibe the spirit of this short but lovely Psalm, and copy 
 after tlie example which it setteth before them. 
 
 33 
 
386 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXXXII. 
 
 "1. Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do 1 
 exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me." 
 
 Pride beginneth in the heart, and discovereth itself in the " eyes," the 
 countenance, and the carriage ; thinking nothing " too high for it," it is 
 always aiming at still " greater matters," scheming to be at the top of 
 earthly grandeur ; and, when there, restless because it can go no further. 
 Of this disposition the Son of David, like his father and representative 
 of old, was by his enemies affirmed to be ; he was accused of affecting the 
 sovereignty, and therefore hunted and persecuted even to the death. But 
 how truly do these words of the Psalmist delineate his real character 1 He 
 was not " haughty," but " meek and lowly in heart :" his " eyes," were not 
 "lofty," but kindly regarded the meanest object that presented itself to 
 tliem ; he looked not " to great matters" and "high things," but chose to 
 be, and to be esteemed, the least and lov/est of all. 
 
 "2. Surely I have behaved, or subdued and quieted myself, as a child 
 that is weaned of his mother : my soul is even as a weaned child." 
 
 A child newly weaned mourneth because of the favourite aliment which is 
 withdrawn from him, but depending absolutely on the mother for every- 
 thing, learneth to acquiesce in her treatment of him, and quietly to accept 
 what it should please her to give. Such was the humble resignation of the 
 Lamb of God to the will of his heavenly Father, under the severest dispen- 
 sations, when even the Divine presence, and that support which it afforded, 
 seemed to have been withdrawn ; " Father, into thy hands I commend my 
 spirit !" Who, then, can expect to enter into the kingdom of heaven, 
 " except he be converted, and become as a little child ]" Matt, xviii. 3. 
 
 " 3. Let Israel hope in the Lord, from henceforth and for ever." 
 
 After the example, therefore, of the King of Israel, who thus demeaned 
 himself in his afflictions, lowly, contented, and resigned, casting all hiscare 
 upon the Father, who cared for him, and patiently waiting his time for 
 deliverance and salvation ; after this their example and pattern, let his 
 faithful people hope and trust, not in themselves, their wisdom, or theii 
 power, but in Jehovah alone, who will not fail to exalt them, as he hath 
 already exalted their Redeemer, if they do but follow his steps. 
 
 TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY MORNING PRAYER. 
 
 PSALM CXXXIL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This is one of the Proper Psalms, wiiich the church hath appointed to be used 
 on Chrislmas-day. It containeth, 1 — 5. a petition that Jehovah would be 
 mindful of the zeal shown by his servant David, in preparing' a place for his 
 habitation ; 6. the exultation of the faithful upon hearing the glad tidings, 
 that God would dwell among them ; and, 7. their resolution to worship at 
 the place which he had chosen for that purpose ; 8 — 10. an address to Je- 
 hovah, used by Solomon at the dedication of tiie temple, whence some have 
 tlioughthim to have been the author of the Psalm; 11 — 18. the substance of 
 God's promises made to David and to his seed. The whole Psalm is per- 
 fectly well adapted to the festival of the incarnation, as the following com- 
 ment wOl, it is hoped, abundantly demonstrate. 
 
 " 1. Lord, remember David, o«c? all his afflictions." 
 
 Israel beseecheth Jehovah to be mindful of those sorrows and sufferings 
 which had been undergone by his servant David, ere he attained to the 
 throne, and established the ancient church in the beauty of holiness. That 
 God would remember the far greater afflictions sustained for our sake by 
 Messiah in the days of his humiliation, when through much tribulation he 
 accomplished our redemption, and entered into his glory, is the petition pre- 
 ferred, in these words, by us Christians. 
 
Day XXXVm. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 387 
 
 " 2. How he swore unto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty God of 
 Jacob ; 3. Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor g-o up 
 into my bed : 4. I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine 
 eye-lids, 5. Until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the 
 mighty God of Jacob." 
 
 Li all circumstances and situations, David was solicitous for the taber- 
 nacle and service of God. Of the oath and vow here mentioned, we have, 
 indeed, no account in the sacred history ; and we read, 2 Sam. vii. 2. of the 
 uneasiness which he expressed to Nathan the prophet, at the thought of his 
 dwelling in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God dwelt only within the 
 curtains of a tent. Nay, we find by 1 Chron. xvi. 43. that he did not bless, 
 and consequently did not inhabit his own house, until he had brought the 
 ajk to Zion, where the temple was afterwards erected. He could take 
 neither pleasure nor rest, until a place was prepared for the residence of 
 Jehovah in the midst of his people ; and from thenceforth he gave himself, 
 with unwearied diligence, to lay in a plentiful store of the most costly ma- 
 terials, silver, gold, and precious stones, which were employed by his son 
 and successor Solomon, in constructing the magnificent and mystic edifice. 
 Thus, in the covenant of grace, did the Son of God engage not to take pos- 
 session of his heavenly place, nor to enter into his eternal rest, until he had 
 prepared upon the earth a place for the residence of the Lord ; a building 
 framed of materials more precious than gold and silver, more bright and 
 beautiful than rubies, emeralds, and diamonds. All this was planned and 
 executed by one and the same person, who first suffered in meekness and 
 patience like David, then reigned in glory and peace like Solomon. The 
 believer should spare no pains, no time, no thought, to find out and prepare 
 in his heart a habitation for the God of Jacob, since our Lord hath gra- 
 ciously vouchsafed to make this general promise to us all, " If a man love 
 me, my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our 
 abode with him," John xiv. 23. 
 
 " 6. Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah : we found it in the fields of the 
 wood." 
 
 In other words, as bishop Patrick hath paraphrased this verse, "And now, 
 behold, the Lord himself, to our great joy, hath told us the very place 
 where he will fix his habitation, 1 Chron. xxi. 18, 26. in the territory of 
 Bethlehem Ephratah,* Gen. xxxv. 16. 19. in the fields of that forest, where 
 tlie angel stood, and directed David to build an altar to the Lord," 1 Chron. 
 xxi. 18. xxii. 1. Bethlehem Ephratah was the city of David ; it was like- 
 wise the city wherein the Son of David was born, as the prophet Micah 
 had foretold : " And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least 
 among the cities of Judah, for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall 
 rule my people Israel," Micah v. 2. cited by the chief priests and scribes 
 to Herod, Matt. ii. 6. Christians, as well as Jews, may therefore say, and 
 upon the festival of Christ's nativity, using this Psalm, they do say, 
 " Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah ;" for there the angel first proclaimed the 
 news of the incarnation to the shepherds; "Behold, I bring you good 
 tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people ; for unto you is born this 
 day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord," Luke ii. 10. 
 there was found the true tabernacle and temple, " not made with hands, the 
 place for Jehovah, the habitation for the mighty God of Jacob." 
 
 " 7. We will go into his tabernacles : we will worship at his footstool." 
 
 If this were the resolution of Israelites, who saw the incarnation only in 
 type and figure, how much more ought it to be ours, who live since the 
 accomplishment of that which was foreshown; since the Word, made flesh, 
 hath dwelt upon the earth, and the church hath been erected among the 
 
 * Jerusalem, as Mr. Merrick, observes from Geierus, being situated not far from Bethlehem, 
 might be comprehenfled in the region of Ephratah; or NnmSJ may be rendered "n(Ja^• 
 Ephratah." 
 
388 A. COMMENTARY Psalm CXXXII. 
 
 nations 1 If they worshipped the God of Israel, who then dwelt in the 
 
 holy of holies between the cherubim, shall not we worship the same divine 
 Person, who, though ascended up on high above all heavens, yet hath 
 assured us, that where two or three are gathered together in his name, there 
 is he in the midst of them 1 
 
 "8. Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength." 
 
 When the ark marched before the children of Israel, to find out a resting- 
 place, it is recorded, Numb. x. 35, 36. that Moses said, " Rise up, Jehovah, 
 and let thine enemies be scattered, and let them that hate thee flee before 
 thee." And when it rested, he said, " Return, or bring back the many 
 thousands of Israel." The verse before us was used, with the two suc- 
 ceeding verses, by Solomon, as the conclusion of his prayer at the dedica- 
 tion of the temple, 2 Chron. vi. 41. The purport of the petition, therefore, 
 was, that the presence of Jehovah might rest upon Zion, and dwell in the 
 house prepared for it, as the same presence hath since dvk'elt in Christ, and 
 is to be with the Christian church to the end of the world. 
 
 " 9. Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness ; and let thy saints 
 shout for joy." 
 
 The ark being placed in the temple, prayer is next made for the minis- 
 ters of religion, that they might, through grace, be invested with righteous- 
 ness as with a garment, and be both covered and adorned with a robe of 
 inviolable sanctity ; that spiritual joy might fill their hearts, and break forth 
 in songs of praise to the Lord God of Israel. Let not those who have 
 obtained the evangelical priesthood, be exceeded, by the sons of Levi, in 
 holiness and alacrity. 
 
 "10. For thy servant David's sake turn not away the face of thine 
 anointed." 
 
 Solomon beseecheth God, for the sake of his favourite servant David, 
 and the promises made to him and his seed, that he would not deny the 
 request of David's son, now " anointed" to be king over Israel, and, by so 
 doing, confound, put him to shame, or " turn away his face." That this is 
 the meaning of the phrase is plain, from 1 Kings ii. IG. where Adonijah 
 says to Bathsheba, "And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not;" in 
 the Hebrew, "turn not away my face." A Christian asked nothing, but 
 in the name, and for the sake of the Son of David, Jesus Christ our Lord, 
 in whom all the promises are yea and amen, and in whom whosoever 
 believeth shall never be confounded, or denied that which is really good 
 and profitable for him to receive. 
 
 "11. The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David, he will not turn from 
 it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne." 
 
 That this is a prophecy of Messiah, we have the authority of St. Peter to 
 say ; Acts ii. 30. " David being a prophet, and knowing that God had 
 sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of liis loins, according to the 
 flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne," &c. The promise to 
 David occurs, 2 Sam. vii. 12. and hath a twofold sense, relating to Solomon 
 in type and shadow, to Christ in truth and substance. See more on Psalm 
 Ixxxix. 3, 4. 
 
 " 12. If thy children will keep my covenant, and my testimony that I 
 shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore." 
 
 The promises of God to Christ are absolute; but to his "children," as 
 well as those of David, they are conditional, so that our interest in them 
 dependeth on our faith, our obedience, our perseverance. " Behold," saith 
 St. Paul, " the goodness and severity of God : on them which fell, severity ; 
 but towards thee, goodness, if thou continue in that goodness ; otherwise, 
 thou also shalt be cut off." Rom. xi. 22. 
 
 " 13. For the Lord hath chosen Zion : he hath desired it for his habita- 
 tion. 14. This is my rest forever : here will I dwell ; for 1 have desired it." 
 
 How ineffable is the love of God to man, that he should use such expres- 
 sions as these concerning his church I He is pleased to say, that it is his 
 
Day XXVm. M. P. UN THE PSALMS. 389 
 
 desire to dwell with us ; yet how little do we desire to dwell with him ! 
 In Zion he fixed his abode, and there continued, till the iniquities of Israel 
 provoked him to forsake his holy mountain, and to give up Jerusalem for a 
 prey to the spoilers. Since that time, his tabernacle has been removed into 
 tlie possession of the Gentiles. Forsake not this thy new Zion, O God, 
 and deliver not us thy people, in like manner, sinful as we are, into the 
 hands of the enemy and the avenger. 
 
 " 15. I will abundantly bless her provision : I will satisfy her poor with 
 bread. 16. I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints 
 shall shout aloud for joy." 
 
 That city, in which the King of heaven deigns to place his throne, can 
 want no manner of thing that is good. There will be always "plenty of 
 provision" for the body and for the soul. The poor will be satisfied with 
 bread, and to the poor in spirit will be given the bread of eternal life. 
 " Salvation" will God appoint for a wall and a bulwark around the 
 " priests" and the temple ; joy and gladness shall be heard within, thanks- 
 giving and the voice of melody. What a dreadful reverse of all this do we 
 behold in the present state of the once-glorious, but now desolated Jerusa^ 
 lem ! Let not any Christian church, after what has happened to that city, 
 be high-minded, but let all fear. 
 
 "17. There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a 
 lamp formine anointed." 
 
 Bishop Patrick hath well paraphrased this verse : " There, namely, in 
 Jerusalem, will I make the regal power and majesty of David to put forth 
 itself, afresh in his royal successors ; no sooner shall one be extinguished, 
 but another shall shine in such splendour, as shall give a lustre to the name 
 of that anointed servant of mine, till the great prince, the Messiah, appear:" 
 then will the " horn" of salvation be raised up in the house of David, to 
 subdue the empires of the world, and to vanquish all opposition ; then shall 
 the Branch of Jehovah "bud" into beauty and glory upon the earth; then 
 shall the "lamp" of Israel become a Sun of righteousness, burning and 
 shining with lustre inextinguishable, to all eternity. That this verse doth 
 mystically refer to Christ, the Jews confess, as Dr. Hammond has observed. 
 So saith R. Saadiah, " The Lamp is the King, which illuminates the 
 nations ;" and Kimchi, "The horn of David, is the Messias." 
 
 " 18. His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon myself shall his 
 crown flourish." 
 
 It is here predicted, that God would blast and bring to nothing every 
 design formed to destroy the house of David, until King Messiah should 
 arise out of it, to sit upon the throne of his Father. In him all the 
 promises centre, and the kingdom is established for ever : " His enemies," 
 who will not have him to reign over them, shall, at the last day, "be 
 clothed with shame" and everlasting confusion; "but upon himself shall 
 his crown flourish," filling heaven and earth with the brightness of its 
 glory. 
 
 PSALM cxxxm. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This short but pleasing Psalm was composed either to recommend unity among 
 tlie tribes of Israel, or to celebrate it when it had taken place. Bishop Pa- 
 ti-ick justly observes, that " it was as fitly used bj^ the first Christians, to ex- 
 press their joy for the blessed union of Jews and Gentiles; and may now 
 sen'e tlie uses of all Christian societies, wiiose happiness lies in holy peace 
 and concord." It containeth, 1. a rapturous exclamation on the comforts 
 and advantages of union, which, 2, 3. are illustrated by the two exquisitg 
 similitudes of the holv anointing oil, and of dew. 
 
 33* 
 
390 A. COMMENTARY Psalm CXXXIII. 
 
 " 1. Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell to- 
 gether in unity." 
 
 Many things are good which are not pleasant ; and many pleasant, which 
 are not good. But unity among brethren, whether civil or religious, is 
 productive both of profit and pleasure. Of profit, because therein consist- 
 eth the welfare and security of every society; of pleasure, because mutual 
 love is the source of delight ; and the happiness of one becomes, in that 
 case, the happiness of all. It is unity alone, which gives beauty, as well 
 as strength, to the state ; which renders the church, at the same time, "fair 
 as the moon, and terrible as an army with banners," Cant. vi. 10. 
 
 "2. // is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon 
 the beard, even Aaron's beard ; that went down to the skirts of his garments : 
 3. As the dew of Hermon,* and as the dew that descended upon the moun- 
 tains of Zion : for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for 
 evermore." 
 
 " Unity, beginning in the prince, and diffused through the people, is here 
 illustrated," saith doctor Delany, "by two images, the most apt and beau- 
 tiful that ever were imagined. Kingdoms are considered as bodies politic, 
 of which the king is the head, and the people, in their several ranks and 
 orders, the parts and members. A spirit of union beginning upon the 
 prince, whose person is sacred, is like oil poured upon the head of Aaron, 
 which naturally descends, and spreads itself over all parts of the body, and 
 diffuses beauty and fragrance over the whole, reaching even to the skirts of 
 the garment. Oil is, without question, the finest emblem of union that ever 
 was conceived. It is a substance consisting of very small parts, which yet 
 by their mutual adhesion, constitute one uniform, well united, and useful 
 body. The sacred oil carries the idea and the advantage of union yet far- 
 ther ; which being extracted from various spices, yet made up one well 
 cohering and more valuable compound. The next image carries the exhor- 
 tation to union, and the advantages of it still higher. Hermon was the gene- 
 ral name of one mountain, comprehending many lesser and lower hills, under 
 the surround of a greater. Union in any nation is the gift of God ; and 
 therefore unity among brethren, beginning from the king, is like the dew of 
 heaven, which falling first upon the higher summit of Hermon (refreshing 
 and enriching wherever it falls,) naturally descends to Zion, a lower; and 
 thence even to the humble valleys. Zion was the centre of union to all the 
 tribes ; there God himself had promised his people rest, and peace from 
 their enemies ; which, however, were of little value without union and har- 
 mony among themselves."! Thus far this learned and pious author, whose 
 explanation of the Psalmist's imagery, as descriptive of civil unity in the 
 state, is so just and elegant, that I could not forbear transcribing the pas- 
 sage at length. It only remains to be added, that these divine pictures 
 receive an additional beauty, and the colouring is much heightened, by 
 their being viewed in another light, as representations of spiritual unity in 
 the church. The spirit of heavenly love was that oil of gladness which 
 Jehovah poured without measure on him who is the High Priest and Head 
 of his church. Insinuating and healing, comforting and exhilarating, it is 
 diffused from him over his body mystical, even down to the least and 
 lowest members ; " of his fulness have we all received ;" and, as it is said 
 of Mary's box of spikenard in the Gospel, " the house is filled with the 
 odour of the ointment." Nor did the dew of heaven, in the time of 
 drought, ever prove more refreshing and beneficial to the mountains of Ju- 
 dah, than are the influences of grace, when descending in soft silence from 
 above upon the church, in the union and communion of which, God hath 
 
 * Bishop Lowthseemeth fully to have justified our translators in supplying the ellipsis as 
 they have done, and thereby removing the absurdity of making Ihe dew of Hermon, a ninunlain 
 on one side of .Jordan, towards the eastern extremity of Canaan, descend on llie mountain of 
 Zion, which was situated on the other side of Jordan at Jerusalem. 
 
 t Life of King David, Vol. III. p. 204. 
 
DAT XXVra. M. p. ON THE PSALMS. 391 
 
 " commanded the blessing, even life for evermore." O come the day, when 
 division shall cease, and enmity be done away ; vi^henthe tribes of the spiri- 
 tual Israel shall be united in a bond of eternal charity, under the true David, 
 in the Jerusalem which is above ; and saints and angels shall sing this 
 lovely Psalm together. 
 
 PSALM CXXXIV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 With this Psalm, Christians in the church, like the Levltes of old, in the tem- 
 ple, 1, 2. call upon each other to bless God, and, 3. upon God to bless them 
 all. 
 
 " 1. Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which by night 
 stand in the house of the Lord. 2. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, 
 and bless the Lord." 
 
 The first word in this verse, "Behold," seemeth to point at the reasons 
 which the priests in the temple had to "bless Jehovah ;" as if it had beeu 
 said, Behold, the house of God is built, the holy services are appointed, and 
 tire Lord hath given you rest from your enemies, that you may serve him ac- 
 ceptably; set about it, therefore, with gratitude and alacrity. We read, 1 
 Chron. ix. 33. that the Levitical singers were employed in their work day 
 and night ; to the end, doubtless, that the earthly sanctuary might bear 
 some resemblance of that above, where St. John tells us, the redeemed " are 
 before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple," Rev. 
 vii. 15. Christians are the redeemed of the Lord, redeemed from the guilC 
 and dominion of sin, delivered out of the hands of their enemies, the world, 
 the flesh, and the devil, that they may become the servants of Christ. He 
 hath built his church, and in it he wills that men pray, lifting up holy hands, 
 and that they offer the sa.crifices of thanksgiving. "Behold," therefore, 
 "bless the Lord Jesus, all ye servants of his;" bless him in the cheer- 
 ful and busy hours of the day; bless him in the solemn and peaceful 
 ■watches of the night ; making melody, even then, in your hearts at least, 
 if not with your voices. The pious Mr. Nicholas Farrer exhibited, in 
 the last century, an instance of a Protestant family, in which a constant 
 course of psalmody was appointed, and so strictly kept up, that, through 
 the whole four and twenty hours of day and night, there was no portion 
 of time, when some of the members were not employed in perform- 
 ing that most pleasant part of duty and devotion. The reader may see 
 the curious life of this extraordinary person, as drawn up by Dr. Turner, 
 bishop of Ely, in the Christian Magazine, vol. ii. p. 356. 
 
 " 3. The Lord, that made heaven and earth, bless thee out of Zion." 
 The two preceding verses, as Mr. Mudge observes, seem directed to the 
 priests of the temple, by some person, probably of consequence, come up to 
 pay his devotions. This third verse is therefore returned, as from the 
 priests. And thus it is, that prayer and praise which by grace are caused 
 to ascend from our hearts to God, will certainly return in the benedictions 
 of heaven upon our souls and bodies, our persons and our families, our 
 church and our country ; like the vapours, which, exhaled by the warmth 
 of the sun from the bowels of the earth, mount upwards into the air ; but 
 soon fall again in fruitful showers, causing the little hills to rejoice, and the 
 valleys to laugh and sing. 
 
 PSALM CXXXV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In this Psalm, 1, 2. the servants of Jehovah are exhorted to praise him, 3. on 
 account of liis goodness ; of the pleasure to be found in tlie employment ; 4. 
 
392 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXXXV. 
 
 of his peculiar mercies shown to Israel ; 5. of his infinite superiority over 
 tlie gods of the nations, manifested, 6, 7. in the works of creation, 9 — 14. in 
 his dealing's with tlie church, and with her adversaries. 15 — 18. The folly 
 of idolatry, and of those who practise it, is described ; and 19 — 21. Israel is 
 again stirred up to praise Jehovah. 
 
 " 1. Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the name of the Lord; praise him, 
 O ye servants of the Lord. 2. Ye that stand in the house of the Lord, in 
 the courts of the house of our God. 3. Praise the Lord; for the Lord is 
 good: sing praises unto his name; for jY w pleasant." 
 
 All the servants of God, they, more especially, who minister in the tem- 
 ple, are repeatedly, as in the foregoing Psalm, excited to praise their blessed 
 Master. Two reasons are assigned why they should do this. First, the 
 "goodness" of that Master, and secondly, the "pleasantness" of the em- 
 ployment. The latter of these reasons hath a natural and necessary de- 
 pendence on the former. A sense of the Divine mercy will tune our hearts 
 and voices to praise. We, who are upon earth, often find ourselves indis- 
 posed for the duty of thanksgiving, because the concerns of the body, the 
 cares and pleasures of life, extinguish, for a time, this sense in us, until 
 grace, prayer, and meditation, render it again lively and active. Li the 
 inhabitants of heaven, who behold God without the veil of matter interposed, 
 it is always so; and, therefore, they rest not day or night from singing hal- 
 lelujahs, nor cease one moment to rejoice in God their Saviour 
 
 "4. For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his pe- 
 culiar treasure. 5. For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord 
 is above all gods." 
 
 A third reason why the children of Israel should praise the name of Je- 
 hovah, was the circumstance of their having been " selected from among 
 the nations" to be his church, to receive the law and the promises, to have 
 his presence residing in the midst of them, and to be the guardians of the 
 tiue faith and worship. And a fourth reason, was the " superiority of Je- 
 hovah their God over the gods of the heathen," and consequently over those 
 who worshipped them ; from whence followed this comfortable inference, 
 that he was able to protect and to defend his people against every enemy 
 that had evil will at Zion. Shall not we, Christians, then, praise the same 
 gracious Lord, who hath chosen us out of the world, who hath given unto 
 ns his Gospel, who dwelleth in us by his Spirit, and who by that Spirit 
 maketh us more than conquerors over our spiritual adversaries? 
 
 " 6. Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, 
 in the seas, and all deep places." 
 
 The pre-eminence of Jehovah above the gods of the nations, is evinced 
 by this consideration, that he, at the beginning, created and formed those 
 powers of nature, whose operations "in the heavens, the earth, and the 
 waters," led the heathen world, after it had lost the knowledge of the 
 Creator, to adore the creature as independent. Let us praise him, who, in 
 the intellectual as in the material world, is Lord and King; who is obeyed 
 by the angels in heaven, served by the church upon earth, and feared by the 
 spirits imprisoned in deep places beneath. 
 
 " 7. He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth ; he 
 maketh lightnings for the rain ; hebringeth the wind out of his treasuries." 
 They who in old time paid their devotions to the elements, imagined those 
 elements to be capable of giving or withholding rain at pleasure. There- 
 fore we find the prophet Jeremiah reclaiming that power to Jehovah, as the 
 God who made and governed the world. " Are there any among the vani- 
 ties of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? 
 Art thou not he, O Jehovah our God ? Therefore we will wait upon thee : 
 for thou hast made all these things," Jer. xiv. 2'2. Among the Greeks and 
 Romans we meet with a Jupiter possessed of the thunder and the lightning, 
 and an iEolus ruling over the winds. The Psalmist teacheth us to restore 
 
Day XXVni. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 393 
 
 the celestial artillery to its rightful owner. Jehovah, the God of Israel, 
 and Creator of the universe, contrived the wonderful machinery of light 
 and air, by which " vapours are raised from the earth," compacted into 
 clouds, and distilled in " rain." At his command the " winds" are sud- 
 denly in motion, and as suddenly at rest again ; we hear the sound, but 
 cannot tell whence they come, or whither they go; as if they were taken 
 from secret " storehouses" of the Almighty, and then laid up till their ser- 
 vice was required again. The same idea God himself is pleased to give 
 us in the book of Job, where he describeth the instruments of his power, as 
 so many weapons of war in the arsenal of a mighty prince : " Hast thou 
 entered into the treasures of the snow? Or, hast thou seen the treasures of 
 the hail which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day 
 of battle and war 1 By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the 
 east wind upon the earth 1 Who hath divided a water-course for the over- 
 flowing of waters] or a way for the lightning of thunder, to cause it to rain 
 on the earth ?" Job xxviii. 92, &c. It is a great instance of the Divine 
 wisdom and goodness, that lightning should be accompanied by rain, to 
 soften its rage, and prevent its mischievous effects. Thus, in the midst of 
 judgment, does God remember mercy. The threatenings in his word against 
 sinners are like lightning; they would blast and scorch us up, were it not 
 for his promises made in the same word to penitents, which, as a gracious 
 rain, turn aside their fury, refreshing and comforting our affrighted spirits. 
 
 " 8. Who smote the first-born of Egypt, both of man and beast. 9. Who 
 sent tokens and wonders into the midst of thee, Egypt, upon Pharaoh, 
 ^nd upon all his servants." 
 
 "Egypt" was the theatre of the grand contest between the God of Is- 
 rael and the gods of the I'.eatben. The superiority of the former over the 
 latter was shown in every possible way by the miracles of Moses, which 
 demonstrated all the powers of nature to be under the dominion of Jehovah, 
 and to act at his command, so that, instead of being able to protect, they 
 were made to torment and destroy their deluded votaries. See more on 
 Psalm Ixxviii. 44, &c. The objects of a man's sin frequently become, in 
 the end, the instruments of his punishment. 
 
 " 10. Who smote great nations, and slew mighty kings: 11. Sihon king 
 of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan: 
 12. And gave their land fui- an heritage, an heritage unto Israel his peo- 
 ple." 
 
 The victories gained by Israel over " Sihon and Og," in their passage 
 to Canaan, and afterwards over the idolatrous kings of that country, are 
 more proofs of the same point. For Israel therefore conquered, because 
 Jehovah fought for them, and " put them in possession of that good land," 
 when the iniquity of its old inhabitants was full, and cried to heaven for 
 vengeance. The enemies we have to encounter in our way to the promised 
 inheritance, will also, if vigorously opposed, fall before us. " The king- 
 dom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." But it 
 is God who fighteth for us, and with us, who giveth us the victory, and 
 putteth us in possession, through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 " 13. Thy name, O Lord, endureth for ever; and thy memorial, O Lord, 
 throughout all generations. 14. For the Lord will judge his people; and 
 he will repent himself concerning his servants." 
 
 By the destruction of Pharaoh, with his Egyptians, and by the battles 
 and victories of Joshua; much more, by the overthrow of the spiritual Pha- 
 raoh, with his infernal host, and by the battles and victories of the true 
 Joshua, Jehovah hath gotten him glory, and his " name is magnified" in 
 the church from age to age. The people whom he hath redeemed, may, 
 indeed, for the chastisement of their ini(|uities, be sometimes delivered into 
 the hands of their enemies, and oppressed by them ; but it is only to show 
 them their transgressions, and lead them to repentance. When this effect 
 is wrought, he is always ready to "judge" them, to plead and to avenge 
 
394 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXXXVI. 
 
 their cause; "he repenteth him" of the evil, and averteth it; he is en- 
 treated for the land, and becometh gracious to his servants. 
 
 " 15. The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's 
 hands. 16. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but 
 they see not. 17. They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any 
 breath in their mouths. 18. They that make them are like unto them : so 
 is every one that trusteth in them." 
 
 In these verses is set forth the difference between the God of Israel, and 
 tlie idols of the nations, as also between the worshippers of each ; all tend- 
 ing to confirm the truth of what was asserted, verse 5. "I know ihat the 
 Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods." As the same words 
 occur. Psalm cxv. 4, &c. the reader is referred thither for the explication of 
 them. 
 
 " 13, Bless the Lord, house of Israel : bless the Lord, O house of Aaron : 
 20. Bless the Lord, O house of Levi : ye that fear the Lord, bless the 
 Lord. 21. Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, which dwelleth at Jerusalem. 
 Praise ye the Lord." 
 
 He who proved himself superior to the objects of ancient idolatry, is no 
 less superior to every object on which deluded man can place his affections. 
 The Lord gave, and the Lord will take them away. Let the " house of 
 Israel," therefore, and "the sons of Aaron," the church and the ministers 
 thereof, let all who " fear the Lord," bless and praise his holy name in the 
 temple here below, until they shall be admitted to do it for evermore, in 
 that which is above. 
 
 TVVEISTY-EIGHTH DAY.— EVENING PRAlER. 
 PSALM CXXXVL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 Tlijs is a delightful hymn of praise and thanksgiving to Jehovah, 1 — 3. God of 
 gods, and Lord of lords, for the wonders, 4 — 9. of creation, 10 — 26. of pro- 
 vidence and grace; which were probably celebrated in due order by one 
 half of the choir, while the other half, or, perhaps, the whole in full chorus, 
 lookup the burthen of each verse, -'For, his mercy endureth for ever!" 
 A form of acknowledgment, as Bishop Patrick observes, prescribed by Da- 
 vid, 1 Chron. xvi. 41. to be used continually in the Divine service. A form 
 highly proper for creatiu-es, and sinful creatures to use, whose great employ- 
 ment it is now, and will be for ever, to magnify the mercy and loving-kind- 
 ness of their God. 
 
 "1.0 give thanks unto the Lord : for he is good : for his mercy endureth 
 for ever. 2. O give thanks unto the God of gods : for his mercy endureth 
 for ever. 3. O give thanks unto the Lord of lords : for his mercy endureth 
 for ever." 
 
 We are called upon to praise Jehovah, first, for his own essential attri- 
 butes; then, for the exertion of those attributes in his works. The attri- 
 butes here mentioned are those of goodness and power; the one renders 
 him willing, the other able, to save: and what can we desire more, but that 
 he should continue to be so? Of this likewise we are assured, by contem- 
 plating the unchangeableness of his nature. His disposition altereth not, 
 and his kingdom none can take from him : his mercy endureth for ever. 
 
 " 4. To him who alone doeth great wonders : for his mercy endureth for 
 ever." 
 
 All the works of God are " wonderful," and speak him alone to have 
 been their author. The established course of the world is in reality no 
 less admirable, than are those extraordinary interpositions of Omnipotence, 
 whereby it hath been sometimes interrupted and suspended; though the 
 
DATXXVni, E.P. ON THE PSALMS. 395 
 
 latter, on account of their novelty, are apt to affect us more than the former 
 doth, which is ever before our eyes, and therefore less reg-arded by us. How 
 many of those for whom the wonders of creation, providence, and redemp- 
 tion, have been wrought, think none of them worthy their attention ! An- 
 gels admire and adore, where man will not deign to cast an eye, or employ 
 a thought. 
 
 " 5. To him that by wisdom made the heavens : for his mercy endureth 
 for ever. 6. To him that stretched out the earth above the waters : for hig 
 mercy endureth for ever." 
 
 The heavens above, and the earth beneath, declare the wisdom of their 
 great Maker, and proclaim aloud to an intelligent ear the Divinity of the 
 hand that formed them. The heavens display the love of God to man ; the 
 earth teaches the duty of man to God. Heaven is glorious and gracious, 
 earth verdant and fruitful. The bright and ample circumference of heaven, 
 tire variegated surface of the earth, and the profusion of good things that 
 distinguish the seasons, contaminated as they all have been by man's trans- 
 gression, even now yield a prospect which annihilates all human grandeur. 
 What idea, then, are we to frame of those new heavens and earth, from 
 which sin and corruption are excluded, and where righteousness hath fixed 
 her eternal throne? 
 
 " 7. To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever: 8 
 The sun to rule by day : for his mercy endureth for ever; 9. The moon and 
 stars to rule by night : for his mercy endureth for ever." 
 
 " Light" is the life and soul of the universe, the noblest emblem of the 
 power and glory of God, who in the night season leaves not himself with- 
 out witness, but gives us some portion of that light reflected, which by day 
 we behold flowing from its great fountain, in the heart of heaven. Thy 
 church and thy saints, O Lord, " are the moon and the stars," which, by 
 the communication of doctrine, and the splendour of example, guide our 
 feet, while we travel on in the night that hath overtaken us, waiting for 
 the dawn of everlasting day. Then we shall behold thy glory, and see thee 
 as thou art. 
 
 " 10. To him that smote Egypt in their first-born : for his mercy endureth 
 forever: 11. And brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy 
 endureth for ever: 12. With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm : 
 for his mercy endureth for ever. 13. To him which divided the Red Sea 
 into parts : for his mercy endureth for ever : 14. And made Israel to pass 
 through the midst of ft : for his mercy endureth for ever : 15. But overthrew 
 Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea : for his mercy endureth for ever. IG. 
 To him which led his people through the wilderness : for his mercy endur- 
 eth for ever. 17. To him which smote great kings: for his mercy endureth 
 for ever: 18. And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever: 19. 
 Sihon king of tiie Amorites : for his mercy endureth for ever: 20. And Og 
 the king of Bashan: for his mercy endureth for ever: 21. And gave their 
 land for an heritage : for his mercy endureth for ever: 22. Even an heritage 
 unto Israel his servant : for his mercy endureth for ever. 23. Who remem- 
 bered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever: 24. And hath 
 redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever." 
 
 From the works of creation the Psalmist proceeds to those of providence 
 and grace. He celebrates that mercy which rescued Israel from oppression, 
 brought them out of the house of bondage, divided the sea to make a way 
 for them, supported and conducted them through a waste howling wilder- 
 ness, crushed the might and power of those who opposed them, and at length 
 settled them in the inheritance promised to their fathers. Eternal mercy 
 hath, in Christ Jesus, realized all these figures, and accomplished the great 
 redemption, thus foreshadowed of old. The Israel of God hath been res- 
 cued from the oppression of Satan, and brought out of the house of spiritual 
 bondage. In the waters of baptism the old man of sin is buried, and we 
 arise triumphant, to sing the praises of God our Saviour, who from thence- 
 
396 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXXXVII. 
 
 forth supports and conducts us in our passage through the world, strength- 
 ening us in the day of battle against every enemy that opposeth us, until 
 •we enter the heavenly Canaan, promised to the fathers of our faith, and 
 dwell for ever in the possession of peace. When we consider how God 
 has thus '" remembered us in our low estate," and thus "redeemed us 
 from our enemies," can we be weary of repeating, " For his mercy endureth 
 for everT' 
 
 " 25. Who giveth food to all flesh : for his mercy endureth for ever. 26. 
 O give thanks unto the God of heaven : for his mercy endureth for ever." 
 
 The same bounty, which, in the natural world, provideth proper nutri- 
 ment for every creature, hath also provided, for the spirits of all flesh, the 
 bread of eternal life. In either sense, Jehovah " openeth his hand, and' 
 filleth all things living with plenteousness." Be, therefore, his praise as 
 universal and lasting as his mercy. 
 
 PSALM CXXXVII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The Israelites, ca])tives in Babylon, 1 — 2. describe their woful estate, and, 3, 
 4. the insults of their cruel masters. 5, 6. They declare tlieir inviolable af- 
 fection for Jerusalem; 7. pray that God would remember the behaviour of 
 Edom; and 8, 9. predict the destruction of Babylon. The Psalm admits of 
 a beautiful and useful application to the state of Christians in this world, and 
 theu: expected delivei-ance out of it. 
 
 "1. By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down; yea, we wept when 
 we remembered Zion." 
 
 What an inexpressible pathos is there in these few words'? How do they 
 at once transport us to Babj'lon, and place before our eyes the mournful 
 situation of the Israelitish captives ! Driven from their native country, 
 stripped of every comfort and convenience, in a strange land, among idola- 
 ters, wearied and broken-hearted, they sit in silence by those hostile waters. 
 Then the pleasant banks of Jordan present themselves to their imaginations ; 
 the towers of Salem rise to view ; and the sad remembrance of much-loved 
 Zion causes tears to run down their cheeks : " By the waters of Babylon 
 we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion !" Besides the 
 use which may be made of this Psalm by any church, when, literally, in a 
 state of captivity, there is a sense in which it may be used by us all. For 
 Zion is, in Scripture, the standing type of heaven, as Babylon is the grand 
 figure of the world, the seat of confusion, the oppressor and persecutor of 
 the people of God. In these, or the like terms, we may, therefore, suppose 
 a sinner to bemoan himself upon the earth — O Lord, I am an Israelite, exiled 
 by my sins from thy holy city, and left to mourn in this Babylon, the land 
 of my captivity. Here I dwell in sorrow, by these transient waters, musing 
 on the restless and unstable nature of earthly pleasures, which pass swiftly 
 by me, and are soon gone for ever. Yet for these, alas ! I have exchanged 
 the permanent joys of Zion, and parted with the felicity of thy chosen- 
 Wherefore my heart is pained within me, and the remembrance of my folly 
 will not let me rest night or day. O Zion, thou holy and beautiful city, 
 the temple of the Lamb, the habitation of the blessed, the seat of delight, 
 the land of the living, when shall I behold thee ] When shall I enter thy 
 gates with thanksgiving, and thy courts with praise'? The hope of a re- 
 turn to thee is my only comfort in this vale of tears, where I am and will 
 be a mourner, till my captivity be brought back, and my sorrow be turned 
 into joy. 
 
 " 2. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof." 
 The additional circumstance, which the divine painter hath here thrown 
 into his piece, is to the last degree just and striking. It was not enough to 
 
DAT XXVIII. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 397 
 
 represent the Hebrew captives weeping on the banks of the Euphrates, at 
 the remembrance of Zion, but, upon looking up, we beheld their harps un- 
 strung, and pendent on the willows that grew there. The sincere penitent, 
 like them, hath bidden adieu to mirth ; his soul refuseth to be comforted 
 with the comforts of Babylon ; nor can he sing any more, till pardon and 
 restoration shall have enabled him to sing, in the temple, a song of praise 
 and thanksgiving. 
 
 " 3. For they that carried us away captive required of us a song: and 
 they that wasted us, required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs 
 of Zion. 4. How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land V* 
 
 The Babylonians are introduced as insulting over the Israelites, and scof- 
 fing at their faith and worship, not without a tacit reflection on their God, 
 who could not protect his favoured people against their enemies. " Now 
 sing us one of your songs of Zion ; now let us hear you sound the praises 
 of that God, of whom you boasted, that he dwelt among you in the temple 
 which we have laid waste, and burnt with fire." Thus the faithful have been, 
 and thus they will be, insulted by infidels in the day of their calamity. 
 And "how" indeed, " can they sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" 
 How can they tune their voices to festive and eucharistic strains, when God, 
 by punishing them for their sins, calleth to mourning and weeping? But 
 then, Israel in Babylon foresaw a day of redemption ; and so doth the church 
 in the world ; a day when she shall triumph, and her enemies shall lick 
 the dust. No circumstances, therefore, should make us forget her, and the 
 promises concerning her. 
 
 " 5. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. 
 6. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth : 
 if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy," 
 
 The whole nation may be supposed in these words to declare, as one 
 man, that neither the afflictions nor the allurements of Babylon should 
 efface from their minds the remembrance of Jerusalem, or prevent their 
 looking forward to her future glorious restoration. If any temptation should 
 induce them to employ their tongues and their hands in the service of Babel, 
 rather than in that of Zion, they wish to lose the use of the former, and the 
 skill of the latter. The thoughts and affections of true penitents, both in 
 prosperity and adversity, are fixed upon their heavenly country and city ; 
 they had rather be deprived of their powers and faculties, than of the will 
 to use them aright ; and the hope of glory hereafter to be revealed in the 
 church, is the flower and crown of their joy. 
 
 "7. Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem ; 
 who said. Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof." 
 
 The people of God beseech him to take their cause in hand, and to avenge 
 them on their adversaries, particularly on the Edomites, who, though their 
 brethren according to the flesh, being descended from Esau, the brother of 
 Jacob, yet in the day of Jerusalem's affliction, when the Chaldeans came 
 against it, were aiding and encouraging those pagans to destroy it utterly. 
 Edom is charged with this unnatural behaviour, and threatened for it, by 
 God himself, in the prophecy of Obadiah, verse 10, &c. " For thy violence 
 against thy brother Jacob, shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off 
 for ever. In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that 
 the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into 
 his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them. 
 But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother, in the day 
 that he became a stranger ; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the 
 children of Judah in the day of their destruction — For the day of the Lord 
 
 * Many singers were carried captives, Ezra ii. 41. These would of course take their instru- 
 ments with tliem, and be insulted, as liere. Their songs were sacred, and unfit to be sung before 
 idolaters. But the words, "How shall wesing,"<Stc. are not an answer given to them, but the free 
 utterance afterwards of the feelings of the Jews among themselves. Anonymwis J^otes in Mer 
 rick's ^notations. 
 
 34 
 
398 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXXXVIU. 
 
 is near upon all the heathen : as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee, 
 thy reward shall return upon thioe own head — but upon mount Zion shall 
 be deliverance, and there shall be holiness, and the house of Jacob shall 
 possess their possessions." It may be observed that the Jews afterw-ards 
 acted the same part towards the Christian church, which the Edomites had 
 acted towards them, encouraging and stirring up the Gentiles to persecute 
 and destroy it from off the face of the earth. And God "remembered" 
 them for the Christians' sakes, as they prayed him to " remember" Edom 
 for their sakes. Learn we hence, what a crime it is for Christians to 
 assist the common enemy, or call in the common enemy to assist them, 
 against their brethren. 
 
 " 8. O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed ; happy shall he be 
 that rewarded thee as thou hast served us. 9. Happy shall he be that taketh 
 and dasheth thy little ones against the stones." 
 
 The subject of these two verses is the same with that of many chapters 
 in Isaiah and Jeremiah, namely, the vengeance of heaven executed upon 
 Babylon by Cyrus, raised up to be king of the Medes and Persians, united 
 under him for that purpose. The meaning of the words, "happy shall he 
 be," is, he shall go on and prosper, for the Lord of hosts shall go with him, 
 and fight his battles against the enemy and oppressor of his people, em- 
 powering him to recompense upon the Chaldeans the works of their hands, 
 and to reward them as they served Israel. The slaughter of the very 
 infants, mentioned in the last verse, is expressly predicted by Isaiah, chap, 
 siii. 16. "Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes ; 
 their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished." The destruction 
 was to be universal, sparing neither sex nor age. Terrible, but just, are 
 thy judgments, O Lord! The fall of the mystical Babylon is described. 
 Rev. xviii. in terms and phrases borrowed from this and other prophecies, 
 relating primarily to the ancient city called by that name. Whoever will 
 carefully read over the chapter referred to, with the three subsequent ones, 
 concerning the triumph of Messiah, and the glory of the new Jerusalem, 
 will be able to form proper ideas of the world and the church, and will 
 know where to choose his portion. 
 
 PSALM CXXXVIII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm containeth, 1 — 3. a resolution to praise God for a deliverance 
 vouchsafed; 4, 5. a prophecy that the kings of the earth should glorify Je- 
 hovah for his mercy, shown, 6. In exalting the humble, and abasing the 
 proud ; 7, 8. an act of faith and confidence in God, 
 
 "1. I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I 
 sing praise unto thee. 2, I will worship toward thy holy temple, and 
 praise thy name for thy loving-kindness and for thy truth ; for thou hast 
 mao-nified thy word above all thy name : or, thou hast magnified thy name, 
 even thy word above all." 
 
 In these verses we evidently hear the voice of one whom God had deli- 
 vered from a state of great affliction and danger, and who therefore deter- 
 mines to make the due acknowledgments in public ; to give thanks before 
 the gods, that is, before "kings" and "rulers'," in the great congregation; 
 to " worship in the temple," and there to set forth the loving-kindness and 
 truth of Jehovah, in having accomplished the promised salvation, and 
 thereby magnified his holy "name" and his faithful "word" over every- 
 thing that opposeth itself against it. The Christian church cannot find 
 stronger and more emphatical terms, in which to express her sense of the 
 .o-reatest of all mercies, the redemption of the world by the resurrection of 
 '^esus from the dead, and his exaltation " above every name that is named 
 ill heaven and earth." 
 
DAT XXIX. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 399 
 
 " 3. In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, antfstrengthenedstme 
 with strength in my soul. 4. All the kinffs of the earth shall praise thee, O 
 Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth. 5. Yea, they shall sing in 
 the ways of the Lord : for great is the glory of the Lord." 
 
 From this part of the Psalm it appears to be a prophetical one. The 
 deliverance which it celebrates is of such a nature, that when the glad 
 tidings of it should be published to the world, we are told, it should induce 
 the nations, with their princes, to adore Jehovah, to walk in his ways, and 
 to chant forth his praises. The call of the Gentiles to the Gospel is here 
 foretold in words which cannot be mistaken, and the redemption of the 
 church, in Christ her head, is spoken of as the subject of thanksgiving 
 among the kings of the earth. "In the day when I cried, thou answeredst 
 me and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul." For this reason, "All 
 the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord," &c. 
 
 " 6. Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly : but 
 the proud he knoweth afar off." 
 
 Humility is the way to salvation and glory. It is said of our blessed 
 Lord, that " because he humbled himself, therefore God highly exalted 
 him:" and the great potentates of the world must tread in his steps, if they 
 would be exalted with him. As to the proud, God knoweth, and he 
 detesteth them ; he beholdeth and keepeth them at a " distance." 
 
 "7. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt receive me; thou 
 shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy 
 right hand shall save me." 
 
 Who doth not " walk in the midst of trouble," while his pilgrimage is 
 prolonged upon* the earth ? Who hath not enemies encompassing him on 
 every side ? O how comfortable, then, the reflection that he is with us, who 
 can revive the dead ; that we are under the protection of an arm which 
 is almighty! Yes, blessed Lord, we believe that this saying of thy holy 
 Psalmist will be verified to every child of thine, even as it was to him, and 
 to thy Son Jesus, in whose person he might speak it, as a prophet. Great 
 indeed were the " troubles," in the midst of which the true David walked 
 up and down amongst us. He carried all our sorrows, because he bare all 
 our sins. "Yet didst thou revive him ; thou didst raise him from the dead, 
 and exalt him to thy throne in heaven, where he ever liveth to make inter- 
 cession for us," that we who, in the days of our flesh, do also walk in the 
 midst of trouble, may be revived by the Spirit, the giver of life and holiness. 
 
 "8. The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O 
 Lord, endureth for ever : forsake not the works of thine own hands." 
 
 In troublous times, and the days of affliction, we must look back on 
 that which God hath already done for us, and from thence draw an argu- 
 ment, that he will perfect that which remains, and not leave his work un- 
 finished : we must remember, that his mercies fail not, after a time, but 
 endure for ever the same ; and when we call to mind that we are the " work 
 of his own hands," how can we think he will forsake us, unless we utterly 
 and finally forsake him 1 
 
 TWENTY-NINTH DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM CXXXIX. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 It seems evident, from the latter part of this noble and instructive Psalm, that 
 tlie author penned it, at a time when he was persecuted and calumniated, 
 as an appeal to the all-seeing Judge between him and his adversaries. He 
 takes the opportunity of expatiating in the sublimest manner, 1 — 12. on the 
 omnipresence and omniscience of him who, 13 — 16. formeth man in the 
 womb by his power, and, 17. preserveth him through life by his providence. 
 
400 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXXXIX. 
 
 He then, 19, 20. expresseth his confidence, that God, as knowing all things, 
 would deliver him from his enemies ; 21, 22. he declareth Ms zeal and fidelity 
 in the service of his divine Master, by whom, 23, 24. he petitioneth to be 
 proved, piu'ified, and perfected in the way of holiness. 
 
 " 1. O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. 2. Thou knowest 
 my down-sitting and mine up-rising, thou nnderstandest my thought afar 
 off. 3. Thou compassest my path, and my lying down, and art acquainted 
 ivith all my ways. 4. For there is not a word in my tongue, hut lo, O 
 Lord, thou knowest it altogether, or, When there is not a word in my 
 tongue, lo, O Lord, &c. 5. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and 
 laid thine hand upon me. 6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for rae ; it 
 is high, I cannot attain unto it." 
 
 The Psalmist employeth a beautiful variety of expressions to denote his 
 faith in the omnipresence and omniscience of Jehovah, to whom, in the 
 latter part of this Psalm, he appealeth, as the proper judge between him and 
 his implacable enemies. He describeth his God as having that complete 
 knowledge of him and his affairs, which, among men, the most accurate 
 search, and the strictest scrutiny, could not obtain ; as being thoroughly " ac- 
 quainted with all his ways," or proceedings, nay, with his very thoughts, 
 while 3'et existing only in embryo, in his own mind ; as watching and observing 
 him at all seasons, during the actions of the day, and his repose at night; 
 and, in short, as having so beset him on all sides, and laid his hand upon 
 him, that he could not move without his knowiedge and consent. When 
 we reflect " that all things are thus naked and open to him with whom we 
 have to do;" that although he dwelleth in the highest heavens, he sur- 
 veyeth not only the outward acts, but the very hearts and imaginations of 
 men upon earth — must we not each of us cry out, "Such knowledge is too 
 wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it;" I cannot admire it 
 enough, for I cannot conceive of it aright ! — " The actual, constant consi- 
 deration of God's presence, would be the readiest way in the world to make 
 sin cpnsfi from among the children of men, and for men to approach to the 
 blessed estate of the saints in heaven, who cannot sin, for they always 
 walk in the presence, and behold the face of God." See Bishop Taylor's 
 Holy Living, chap. i. sect. 3. 
 
 "7. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit % or whither shall I flee from thy 
 presence ■? 8. If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there : If I make my bed 
 in hell, or, the grave, behold thou art there. 9. If I take the wings of the 
 morning, a7id dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10. Even there 
 shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. 11. If I say, 
 Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about 
 me. 12. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as 
 the day : the darkness and the light are both alike fo thee." 
 
 We can never sin with security, but in a place where the eye of God can- 
 not behold us. And where is that place 1 Had we a mind to escape his 
 inspection, " whither should we go "?" Heaven is the seat of his glory, 
 creation the scene of his providence, and the grave itself will he the theatre 
 of his power; so that our efforts will be equally vain, whether we ascend, 
 or descend, or fly abroad upon the wings of the morning light, which dif- 
 fuseth itself with such velocity over the globe, from east to west. The arm 
 of the Almighty will still at pleasure prevent, and be ready to arrest the 
 fugitives in their progress. Darkness may, indeed conceal us and our deeds 
 from the sight of men ; but the Divine presence, like that of the sun, turns 
 night into day, and makes all things manifest before God. The same con- 
 sideration which should restrain us from sin, should also encourage us to 
 work righteousness, and comfort us under all our sorrows ; namely, the 
 thought, that we are never out of the sight and protection of our Maker. 
 The piety and the charity which are practised in cottages; the labour and 
 the pain which are patiently endured in the field, and on the bed of sick- 
 
Day XXIX. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 401 
 
 ness ; the misery and torment inflicted by persecution in the mines, the 
 galleys, and the dungeons ; all are under the inspection of Jehovah, and are 
 noted down by him against the day of recompence. He sees, and he will 
 reward all we do, and all we suffer as becometh Christians. He who, for 
 oorsakes, caused his Son to descend from heaven to the lower parts of the 
 earth, and from thence to ascend to heaven again, will watch over, preserve, 
 and resemble the parts of our bodies, though dissolved in the grave, buried 
 in the ocean, or dispersed to the four winds. So that, with allusion to this 
 event also, a dying servant of God may exclaim ; Whither can I go from 
 thy Spirit"? or whether can I flee from thy presence ? If, as to my spiritual 
 part, I ascend into heaven, thou art there to receive me ; If, as touching my 
 body, I make my bed in blNtV, or the grave, behold thou art there to secure 
 me. If I take the wings of the wind, or those yet more expeditious ones 
 of the morning, and am carried by them to dwell in the midst of the sea, in- 
 stead of the bowels of the earth, still shall I be under thy power and provi- 
 dence ; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me 
 fast, preserving me for a joyful resurrection at the time appointed. 
 
 " 13. For thou hast possessed, or, formed, my reins: thou hast covered 
 me in my mother's womb. 14. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and 
 wonderfully made : marvellous are. thy works ; and that my soul knoweth 
 right well." 
 
 That God seeth in darkness, and that from him nothing is hidden, his 
 knowledge of, and power over, our most inward parts, do plainly show. 
 He "formed," and he therefore " possesseth," as his own property, "our 
 reins," and is, consequently, privy to all those aflections and desires which 
 flow from thence. It was he who " covered" us in the womb, or, as it is 
 elsewhere expressed. Job x. 11. who "clothed us with skin and flesh, and 
 fenced us with bones and sinews :" A work so astonishing, that before the 
 Psalmist proceeds in his description of it, he cannot help breaking forth in 
 rapture at the thought : " I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonder- 
 fully made!" 
 
 "Obstnpeo, et memet Ista formiiline lustro, 
 
 Divini moniimonluin operis!" 
 
 With awful joy I viewtliis frame of mine, 
 
 Stupendous monument of power divine ! Lowxn. 
 
 "15. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, 
 and curiously wrought, or variegated like needle-work, in the lowest parts 
 of the earth. 16. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being imperfect; 
 and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were 
 fashioned, when as yet there was none of them." 
 
 By the "lower parts of the earth" is undoubtedly to be understood the 
 womb, where the foetus is gradually formed and matured for the birth, 
 like plants and flowers under ground. The process is compared to that in 
 a piece of work wrought with a needle, or fashioned in the loom ; which, 
 with all its beautiful variety of colour, and proportion of figure, ariseth by 
 degrees to perfection under the hand of the artist, framed according to a 
 pattern lying before him, from a rude mass of silk, or other materials. Thus, 
 by the wisdom and power of God, and after a plan delineated in his book, 
 is a shapeless mass wrought up into the most curious texture of nerves, 
 veins, arteries, bones, muscles, membranes, and skin, most skilfully inter- 
 woven and connected with each other, until it becometh a body, harmo- 
 niously diversified with all the limbs and lineaments of a man, not one of 
 which at first appeared, any more than the figures were to be seen in the 
 ball of silk. But then, (which is the chief thing here insisted on by the 
 Psalmist,) w^hereas the human artificer must have the clearest light where- 
 by to accomplish his task, the Divine Work-master seeth in secret, and 
 effecteth all his wonders within the dark and narrow confines of the womb. 
 The reformation of our corrupted and dissolved bodies, which is to be 
 
 34* 
 
402 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXXXIX. 
 
 wrought, at the last day, in the womb of the earth, in order to their new 
 birth, will crown all the works of the Almighty. 
 
 " 17. How precious also are thy thoughts unto, or, concerning, me, O 
 God ! How great is the sum of them ! 18. If 1 should count them, they 
 are more in number than the sand : when I awake, I am still with thee." 
 
 From the wonders of God's forming hand, the Psalmist proceeds to those 
 of his all-directing providence, which afford additional proofs of the Divine 
 omniscience and omnipresence. The thoughts and counsels of Jehovah 
 concerning David, his appointment to the throne, his troubles and his pre- 
 servation in the midst of them, were precious and delightful subjects of me- 
 ditation and praise, never to be exhausted of the rich matter they contained. 
 With these in his mind he lay down at night to rest, and "when he 
 awoke" in the morning, his thoughts naturally recurred to the pleasing 
 theme ; he began where he left off, and found himself, in heart and soul, 
 " still present with God," still ruminating on him and his works. The 
 mercies of heaven in the redemption of the church by the sufferings and ex- 
 altation of the true David, according to the Divine decree concerning him— 
 how precious are they to believers ! How great is the sum, how far ex- 
 ceeding all human arithmetic to number them 1 Let them be to us the con- 
 stant subjects of contemplation, admiration, and thanksgiving, day and 
 night; and let death, that last sleep, find us engaged in an employment, 
 which, when we awake and arise from the grave, we shall resume and pro- 
 secute to eternity, in the presence of God. 
 
 " 19. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God ; or, wilt thou not slay the 
 wicked, O God 1 depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. 20. For they 
 speak against thee wickedly, a7id thine enemies take t/iy name in vain." 
 
 David now draws the intended conclusion from the premises so largely 
 expatiated upon in the former part of the Psalm. As if he had said — And 
 wilt thou not O God, thou who art every where present, seeing and know- 
 ing all things : thou to whom the justice of my cause, and the iniquity of 
 mine adversaries, are equally open ; thou who hast formed, and hitherto, in 
 so wonderful a manner, watched over and preserved thy servant; "wilt 
 thou not slay the wicked," and deliver me, as thou hast promised to do, 
 out of their hands 1 I know thou wilt ; " depart from me, therefore, ye 
 bloody men ;" I trust in my God, and will have no connexion, in the way 
 of treaty or friendship, with you. You are not my enemies, but those of 
 Jehovah, against whom, not considering that he is privy to all your words, 
 and even to your thoughts, you speak presumptuously and "wickedly," and 
 whose " name" you " take in vain," no less when you do evil under a 
 godly pretence, and call him to witness the truth of your lies and calumnies, 
 than when you openly blaspheme him. Such seemeth to be the full im- 
 port of those two verses ; and their application to the members of the 
 church, when at any time in similar circumstances, is obvious. 
 
 "21. Do not I hate them O Lord, that hate theel and am not I grieved 
 with those that rise up against thee 1 22. I hate them with perfect ha- 
 tred : I count them mine enemies." 
 
 A faithful servant hath the same interests, the same friends, the same 
 enemies, vith his master, whose cause and honour he is, upon all occasions, 
 in duty ': ound to support and maintain. A good man hates, as God him- 
 self do' . ; he hates not the persons of men, but their sins ; not what God 
 made nem, but what they have made themselves. We are neither to hate 
 the I .en, on account of the vices they practice ; nor to love the vices, for 
 the sake of the men who practise them. He who observeth invariably this 
 distinction, fulfiUeth the perfect law of charity, and hath the love of God 
 and of his neighbour abiding in him. 
 
 "23. Search me, O God, and know my heart; fry me, and know my 
 thoughts : 24. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in 
 the way everlasting." 
 
 In the first verse of the Psalm, David declared, that Jehovah had 
 
Day XXIX. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 403 
 
 " searched him out, and known him ;" he concludes with a petition that 
 his proceedings, and even his thoughts, might be still scrutinized by his 
 Maker, in order to their perfect purification from any evil which might be 
 in them or adhere to them. Should the hottest furnace of adversity be 
 found necessary to purge the dross from the silver, he refuseth not to be 
 dissolved in it, and new formed, so that he might only become a vessel of 
 honour, fitted for the Master's use here below, and vouchsafed a place 
 afterwards in his temple above. " See if there be any wicked way in me, 
 and lead me in the way everlasting !" 
 
 PSALM CXL. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This Psalm containeth, 1 — 8. a prayer for deliverance from pei'secutors and 
 calumniators, their violence and their wiles; 9 — 11. a prophecy of their final 
 desti'uction, and, 12 — 13. the salvation of the afflicted righteous. It was 
 composed by David in his troubles, and is applicable to Christ and to the 
 church, respectively, in theirs. 
 
 " 1. Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man : preserve me from the vio- 
 lent man ; 2. Which imagine mischiefs in their heart : continually are they 
 gathered together /or war." 
 
 " Evil and violent men" exist in all ages, to harass and oppress the ser- 
 vants of God; their thoughts are employed in "imagining mischief" against 
 such, and their hands are ready at all times for the " war." Had we no 
 enemies without, there are those within, who are ever fighting and trou- 
 bling us. We cannot put off our Christian armour for a moment in this 
 world, nor enter into peace and rest, but by a happy death, and a joyful 
 resurrection. Then God will "deliver us," as he delivered David, and our 
 blessed Lord and Master, the Son of David, from their respective enemies. 
 
 "3. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent: adders' poison 
 is under their lips." 
 
 Slander and calumny must always precede and accompany persecution, 
 because malice itself cannot excite people against a good man, as such ; to 
 do this, he must first be represented as a bad man. What can be said of 
 those, who are busied in this manner, but that they are a " generation of 
 vipers," the brood of the old " serpent," that grand accuser and calum- 
 niator of the brethren, having under their tongues a bag of poison, convey- 
 ing instant death to the reputation on which they fasten. Thus David was 
 hunted as a rebel, Christ was crucified as a blasphemer, and the primitive 
 Christians were tortured as guilty of incest and murder. 
 
 " 4. Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked ; preserve me from 
 the violent men, who have purposed to overthrow my goings. 5. The 
 proud have hid a snare for me, and cords : they have spread a net by the 
 way-side : they have set gins for me." 
 
 David here describeth the subtlety and industry employed by his ene- 
 mies to effect his destruction, by lying in wait for him, as a skilful fowler 
 doth for his game, so that they thought it impossible he should escape 
 their hands. Such was the conduct of the Jews with regard to the Son of 
 David. And, O how refined the policy, how unweared the application of 
 our spiritual adversaries, to "overthrow our goings" in the path of life and 
 salvation, to circumvent and to destroy us for ever ! " How are the snares, 
 the nets, and the gins," placed for us by that cunning and experienced artist, 
 who takes care that nothing should appear in view, but the alluring baits 
 of honour, pleasure, and profit, while of the toils we have no notice, till we 
 find ourselves entangled and caught in them. Who shall preserve us thus 
 walking in the midst of dangers ? He to whom David, in the following' 
 verses, preferreth his prayer, and teacheth us to do likewise. 
 
404 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXLI. 
 
 " 6. I said unto the Lord, Thou art my God : hear the voice of my sup- 
 plications, Lord. 7. O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, 
 thou hast covered my head in the day of battle. 8. Grant not, O Lord, the 
 desires of the wicked : further not his wicked device : lest they exalt 
 themselves." 
 
 Jehovah the God of David, is also our God, and he is always ready to 
 hear our supplications. He is our strength, and hath often covered our 
 head with the helmet of salvation, in the day of battle and open war with 
 our spiritual enemies. Nor will he, for the glory of his name, grant their 
 desires, or permit their more secret " devices" and machinations to work 
 the destruction of his people; lest they exalt themselves, as having frus- 
 trated his counsels for the redemption of his servants. 
 
 "9. As for the head of those that compass me about, the mischief of their 
 (Jwn lips shall cover them, 10. Burning coals shall fall upon them ; they 
 shall be cast into the fire, into deep pits, that they rise not up again- 
 11. An evil speaker shall not be established in the earth; evil shall hunt 
 the violent man to overthrow him." 
 
 The prophet in these three verses, predicted those just judgments, which 
 Heaven will inflict on the slanderers and persecutors of the righteous. 
 Their lips, which uttered mischief against others, shall be the means of 
 covering themselves with confusion, when out of their own mouths they 
 8h3dl be judged. Those tongues, which have contributed to set the world 
 on fire, shall be tormented with the hot burning coals of eternal vengeance : 
 and they who, with so much eagerness and diligence, have prepared pits for 
 the destruction of their brethren, shall be cast into a deep and bottomless 
 pit, out of which they will not rise up again, any more for ever. Evil 
 speakers and false accusers shall gain no lasting establishment, but punish- 
 ment shall hunt sin through all its doubles, and seize it at last as its legal 
 prey. Let these great truths be firmly rooted in our hearts, and they will 
 keep us steady in the worst of times. 
 
 " 12. 1 know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and 
 tlie right of the poor. Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy 
 name : the upright shall dwell in thy presence," 
 
 That unjust and oppressive men shall, in the end, suffer proportionably 
 to their deserts, we are assured from this consideration, namely, that the 
 Almighty is the patron of the injured and oppressed. He will plead the 
 cause of the meek and lowly, who are used by the world, as their blessed 
 Master was used before them. A day will come, when, delivered out of 
 all their troubles, they shall give thanks unto thy name, Lord, and " dwell 
 in thy presence" for evermore. 
 
 PSALM CXLL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 David seems to have composed this Psalm just before his flight to Achish king 
 of Gath ; when he had a second time spared Saul's life, but could trust him 
 no longer. See 1 Sam. xxvi. and xxvii. 1, 2. He prayeth earnestly for help, 
 and entreateth to be heard, as when able to attend tlie service of the taber- 
 nacle •• 3 — 5. he petitioneth to be preserved from the snares of idolatry, in 
 the country whither he was going ; 6, 7. he relateth his own conduct toward 
 Saul, and that of Saul toward him ; 8, 9. he professeth his faith in Jeliovah, 
 and redoubleth his prayer to him; 10. he predicteth the destruction of his 
 enemies, and his own deUverance. Many parts of the exposition of this 
 Psalm, given by the late learned Mr.Peters,in his " Critical Dissertation on 
 the Book of Job," have been adopted in the ensuing coimnent 
 
 " 1. Lord, I will cry unto thee; make haste unto me; give ear unto my 
 voice, when I cry unto thee. 2. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as 
 incense ; and the lifting up of my hands us the evening sacrifice." 
 
DAT XXIX. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 405 
 
 The earnest and repeated supplications for help, in the first of tliese 
 verses, sufficiently declares the Psalmist to have been, at the time, in a 
 situation of the utmost distress. And the second verso as plainly showeth, 
 that he was then at a distance from the tabernacle, where all the solemn 
 prayers of the Israelites, together with their daily sacrifices, were offered 
 up. And, therefore, with his face, probably, directed thither, like Daniel 
 in Babylon praying toward Jerusalem, he begs that God would accept of 
 all which it was in his power to perform, namely, the devotion of his heart, 
 and the elevation of his hands in prayer; that the one might ascend to 
 heaven, fragrant and well pleasing, as the cloud of " incense" mounting 
 from the holy altar; and the other, in conjunction with it, prevail instead 
 of the " evening oblation," for the deliverance of himself and his compa- 
 nions. 
 
 " 3. Set a watch, Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips; 
 or, a guard over the door of my lips. 4. Incline not mine heart, i. e. suffer 
 not my heart to be inclined, to any evil thing, to practise wicked words with 
 men that work iniquity, or, idolatry; and let me not eat of their dainties." 
 
 David was now going to seek a retreat from the persecutions of his master 
 Saul amidst a race of idolaters, who would be curious to observe all his words 
 and actions, and would attempt to draw him in to be a partaker with them in 
 their idol worship, or to suspect him as a spy and an enemy, if he refused 
 to comply with them. He therefore beseeches God to " set a watch before 
 his mouth, a guard over the door of his lips," that he might neither [en- 
 danger his own safety by his imprudent carriage, nor violate his religion by 
 any weak compliances. He entreats to be preserved from that greatest of 
 all evils, the renouncing Jehovah to follow vain and strange gods. He de- 
 sires that he might not be guilty of this heinous and presumptuous sin, no, 
 not so much as in thought — " SuflTer not mine heart to be inclined to any 
 evil thing;" that he might abhor to play the hypocrite, by joining in the 
 abominations of the heathen, " the men that work idolatry," though but in 
 show and appearance only ; and that he might never be allured by the pomp 
 and pleasure of their feasts, by their luxurious meats, and lascivious rites, 
 to mix in their religious festivals, to eat and drink, and rise up to play — 
 " neithe'" let me eat of their dainties." A Christian, living among unbe- 
 lievers and sensualists in the world, hath abundant reason to put up the 
 same prayers, and to use the same precaution. 
 
 " 5. Let the righteous smite me ; it shall be a kindness : and let him re- 
 prove me ; it shall be an excellent oil, tuhich shall not break, or, depress, my 
 head : for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities, or, against their 
 wickedness." 
 
 David continueth his prayer, and beggeth of Heaven, as one of its best 
 and choicest blessings, that if at any time, through the frailty of nature, he 
 should be inclined to yield to the above-mentioned temptations, he might find, 
 among his attendants, some " righteous" and faithful friend, who might, 
 with a kind severity, check and " reprove him." Such reproof, he says, 
 would at that season be to him as the t^XT IDiy, " chief," or most precious 
 and "excellent oil;" see Exod. xxx. 23. it would not "depress his head," 
 'lyNI 'Jl' Sx, or cause him to "hang it down," as people in sorrow do, but 
 it would be " the oil of gladness," refreshing, enlivening, strengthening, and 
 enabling him to lift up his head above the temptations, against which he 
 had been praying, and with renewed vigour, would still continue to pray ; 
 " for yet my prayer" shall be □rrmyiJ against their wickedness. The 
 blessed effects of reproof, when given and taken as it ought to be, never, 
 surely, were more exactly, or more beautifully described. 
 
 " 6. When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear 
 my words ; for they are sweet." 
 
 Of this verse, as it stands in our translation, I know not what can be 
 made. When literally rendered from the Hebrew, it runs thus — " Their 
 
406 A COMMENTARY Psaim CXLI. 
 
 judges have been dismissed in the sides of the rock, and have heard my 
 words that they were sweet." David, reflecting on Saul's cruelty in driving 
 him out of his country, to wander amongst aliens and idolaters, very natu- 
 rally calls to mind, and mentions, his own different behaviour towards that 
 implacable enemy, whose life he had spared at two several times, when 
 he had it in his power to destroy him as he pleased. "Their judges," or 
 princes, leaders, generals, &c. according to the frequent usage of the word 
 in Scripture, ItODa'J, "have been dismissed" (the common signification of 
 the verb) ODU', in the sides of the rock, when I had them at an advantage 
 there, 1 Sam. xxiv. 3. " and have heard my words, that they were sweet;"* 
 they only heard me expostulate with them in a manner so mild and humble, 
 that even Saul himself was overcome, and " lift up his voice and wept, 
 saying. My son David, thou art more righteous than I — The Lord reward 
 thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day," I Sam. xxiv. 16. 
 Such hath been my conduct towards the servants of Saul. Yet how have 
 my people, alas! been by them most miserably butchered I 
 
 " 7. Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as when one cutteth 
 and cleaveth wood upon the earth." 
 
 This probably alludes to the bloody massacre of Ahimelech and the 
 priests that were in Nob, who, to the number of eighty-five persons, all of 
 a sacred character, and all innocent, were inhumanly slaughtered together 
 b)' Doeg the Edomite. Such havoc as this might well be compared to the 
 catting and cleaving of wood, like the fragments of which, the bones of 
 the sufferers lay scattered here and there upon the ground, as many of the 
 bodies might be devoured, before pits were prepared, near the field of slaugh- 
 ter, for their interment. To feel the force of the Psalmist's expressions ia 
 this verse, we need not have recourse to such extraordinary scenes of ty- 
 ranny and cruelty. The daily dissolution and destruction of our bodies, in 
 the common way, will be found abundantly sufficient for the purpose. For 
 who can attend the digging of a grave, and view the ruins then disclosed, 
 without exclaiming, " Our bones lie scattered at the grave's mouth, as when 
 one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth !" Indeed, Rachel hath 
 often had occasion to bemoan her children, thus untimely slain by the un- 
 relenting sword of persecution. But let her refrain her voice from weep- 
 ing, and her eyes from tears. Her children shall return again from the 
 dead, and their bones shall rejoice and flourish as an herb, Jer. xxxi. 15. 
 Isa. Ixvi. 14. 
 
 " 8. But mine eyes are unto thee, O God the Lord : in thee is my trust ; 
 leave not my soul destitute. 9. Keep me from the snares which they have 
 laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity." 
 
 The principle upon which David acted, and supported himself under his 
 troubles, was a firm trust in God, and a steady resolution to obey him. 
 With confidence, therefore, he made his prayer, that Jehovah would keep 
 him from the snares which Saul and his counsellors had laid for him on one 
 hand, and from those of the idolaters, among whom he was driven, on the 
 other; that so he might not be left destitute and lose his life, or, which he 
 prized more, his faith. For it is remarkable, that in his last speech to Saul, 
 1 Sam. xxvi. 19. where he mentions the wicked policy of his enemies, who 
 had contrived to force him into banishment, he mCTitions not the danger of 
 his life, but only that of his religion — "They have driven me out this day 
 from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go serve other gods;" 
 intimating, that they had done what lay in their power to drive him to ido- 
 latry, by forcing him into a country, where he would have the strongest 
 temptation to it. 
 
 " 10. Let the wicked, or, the wicked shall, fall into their own nets, 
 whilst that I withal escape." 
 From the sequel of the history, we find that the hope and assurance here 
 
 * This is Mr. Peter's interpretation of the verse ; and Dr. Durell hath fallen upon the same. 
 
Day XXIX. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 407 
 
 expressed by the Psalmist were not vain. He escaped all the snares that 
 were laid for him on every side; he lived to see the death of Saul, who 
 fell in a battle with the Philistines, and those Philistines subdued by him- 
 self and his subjects. So will the devices of all our enemies be in the end 
 turned against themselves : they shall fall and perish, but we shall triumph 
 with our Redeemer to eternity. 
 
 TWENTY-NINTH DAY.— EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM CXLII. 
 
 ARGCMErT. 
 
 The title of this Psalm informs us, that it was a prayer of David, when he was 
 in the ca\'e, that is, most probably, the cave of Adullam. whither he fled, 
 when in danger both from Saul and from the Philistines, 1 Sam. xxii. 1. It 
 containeth, 1, 2. a supplication; 3 — 5. an act of confidence in God at that 
 season of danger and destitution; 6. a tender complaint of his sufferings, 
 and, 7. a petition for deliverance. Our translators having rendered some of 
 the verbs in the past tense, the hberty hath been taken to alter them, agreea- 
 bly to the Hebrew, and to tiie tenor of the Psalm, which seemeth to be an 
 actual prayer, and not the relation of one. 
 
 " 1. I will cry unto the Lord with my voice; with my voice unto the 
 Lord will I make my supplication. 2. I will pour out my complaint be- 
 fore him ; I will shew before him my trouble." 
 
 The state of David in the cave of Adullam was a state of utter destitu- 
 tion. Persecuted by his own countrymen, dismissed by Achish, and not 
 yet joined by his own relations, or any other attendants, he took refuge in 
 the cave, and was there alone. But in that disconsolate, and seemingly 
 desperate situation, he desponded not. He had a Friend in heaven, into 
 whose bosom he " poured forth his complaint," and told him the sad story 
 of his trouble and distress. When danger besetteth us around, and fear is 
 an every side, let us follow the example of David, and that of a greater 
 than David, who, when Jews and Gentiles conspired against him, and he 
 was left all alone, in the garden, and on the cross, gave himself unto 
 prayer. 
 
 " 3. When my spirit is overwhelmed within me, then thou knowest ray 
 path. In the way wherein I walk, have they privily laid a snare for me." 
 
 The meaning is. Though my thoughts are so broken and confused, that I 
 am not able to counsel and direct myself in these straits, yet thou knowest 
 the path wherein I walk, thou art with me, and wilt preserve me from those 
 who watch all my steps, and lie in ambush for me. Such should be at all 
 times the confidence of believers in the wisdom, the power, and the good- 
 ness of God, even when human prudence has done its utmost, and is at its 
 wit's end. 
 
 " 4. Look on my right hand, and see that there is no man that will know 
 me; refuge faileth me; no man careth for my soul. 5. I cry unto thee, O 
 Lord; I say, Thou art my refuge, and my portion in the land of the 
 living." 
 
 David beseecheth God to consider his destitute condition, to " look on 
 his right hand," the place where the advocate used to stand, and to " see 
 that there was no man that v/ould know;" acknowledge him, and take his 
 part; " refuge failed him;" there was on earth no patron, to whom he could 
 commit himself and his cause} no one, tyiT"', that would " seek, require, or 
 avenge his soul." Thus Dr. Hammond expounds the words in a forensic 
 sense. How affectingly do they describe the destitution of David in the 
 cave, and that of the Son of David in the day of his passion, death and 
 burial ! Death will, in like manner, strip us of all our earthly connexions 
 
408 -'^ COMMENTARY Psalm CXLUI. 
 
 and dependencies. But even at that hour, may we, each of us, "cry unto 
 thee, O Lord, and say, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of 
 the living!" 
 
 " 6. Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from 
 my persecutors ; for they are stronger than I. 7. Bring my soul out of 
 prison, that I may praise thy name : the righteous shall compass me about; 
 for, or, when, thou shalt deal bountifully with me." 
 
 This prayer of David was heard and answered ; he was delivered from 
 his persecutors, enlarged from his distress, exalted to the throne, and joined 
 by all the tribes of Israel. The true David was delivered from his stronger 
 persecutors, brought from the sepulchre, exalted to his heavenly throne, 
 owned and submitted to by the converted nations, who became the Israel 
 and people of God. Nor let us fear, though we be brought very low, and 
 our persecutors, the world, the flesh, and the devil, be at any time too strong 
 for us. God will deliver us from the bondage of sin, and redeem us from 
 the prison of the grave, to join the great assembly before the throne, and 
 there to praise his name for ever. 
 
 PSALM CXLIII. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 This is the seventh and last of the Penitential Psalms; and as we are not informed 
 of any particular temporal calamities' which gave occasion to its being- com- 
 posed, we shall explain it accoi'ding to the general use now made of it in the 
 church, for which, indeed, it seems to have been originally and entirely de- 
 signed. After the example of David, the penitent, 1. maketh liis prayer to 
 God for pardon; 2. acknowledgeth the impossibility of any being saved, but 
 bv grace: 3, ^. deploreth the lamentable effects of sin; 5. comfbrteth him- 
 self with a retrospect of God's mercies of old; and, 6 — 12. prayeth, in a 
 variety of expressions, for remission of sin, sanctification, and redemption. 
 
 " 1. Hear my prayer; Lord, give ear to my supplications : in thy faith- 
 fulness answer me, and in thy righteousness." 
 
 "When Mary Magdalene washed the feet of Christ with her tears, he 
 knew what the petition was which her soul desired to have granted, and 
 answered it accordingly, before it was made in words, by saying, " Thy 
 sins are forgiven thee." Thus the penitent, without mentioning the sub- 
 ject of his request, as being well known to God, begs that his "prayer and 
 supplication may be heard and answered," agreeably to the " faithfulness 
 and righteousness of Jehovah." 
 
 " 2. And enter not into judgment with thy servant; for in thy sight shall 
 no man living be justified." 
 
 In the first verse, the suppliant appealed to the promises of God, and his 
 fidelity in performing them. Here he urgeth the fallen, sinful, wretched 
 state of human nature, which hath rendered it absolutely impossible that 
 any son of Adam can be saved, should God " enter into judgment with 
 him," and exact the punishment due to his offences according to the law, 
 instead of pardoning them by an act of grace. The thoughts of such a 
 trial are enough to appal the soul of the best man living, to make his flesh 
 tremble, and all his bones shake, as if he stood at the foot of Sinai, and 
 beheld Jehovah ready to break forth upon him in the flame of devouring 
 
 fire. 
 
 " 3. For the enemy hath persecuted my soul ; he hath smitten my life 
 down to the ground ; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that 
 have been long dead. 4. Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; 
 my heart within me is desolate." 
 
 We have an enemy who "persecutes" us with unrelenting malice; he 
 " smites our life down to the ground," as often as we yield to temptation, 
 and fall from our state of holiness, to grovel in base and earthly desires ; 
 
Day XXIX. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 409 
 
 he makes us to dwell in darkness, when he has thus withdrawn us from the 
 light of heaven, which before illuminated us, while we walked in it; the 
 spiritual life, for a time, is extinguished, and we become, for all the pur- 
 poses of faith and charity, " like those that have been long dead." There- 
 fore at the consideration of this our sad estate, when God has enabled us 
 to see and know it, our " spirit is overwhelmed within us" with remorse, 
 anxiet}', and despondency; and "our heart within us," deprived of the 
 comforts of conscience, the joys of the Spirit, and the presence of the Be- 
 loved, "is desolate," forlorn, miserable. To rescue the sinner from this 
 disconsolate and lost condition, our blessed Saviour was forsaken on the 
 cross; " his spirit was overwhelmed within him, and his heart within him 
 was desolate ;" the enemy was suffered to smite his precious " life down to 
 the ground," and he dwelt, for three days, in darkness, as the men that have 
 been long dead. 
 
 "5. I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse 
 on the work of thy hands." 
 
 When sm has thus laid us low, and, as it were, slain and entombed us, 
 we begin to revive, and to arise from the dead, through hope of foregive- 
 ness and restoration to the Divine favour, by " remembering the days of old, 
 and meditating on all the works" of love and mercy, which Jehovah then 
 ■wrought towards those who were sinners like ourselves. While we •"' muse" 
 on such instances of his goodness, the reflection is obvious: Is he not still 
 the same gracious God 1 Will he not do as much for us, upon our repent- 
 ance, as he hath formerly done for others, upon theirs 1 " Let us arise, and 
 go to our Father I" 
 
 "6. I stretch forth my hands unto thee; my soul ihirsteth after thee, as 
 a thirsty land." 
 
 Prayer is the voice of faith. The sinner who views his situation, and 
 believes, on having considered God's works of old, that he shall be delivered 
 out of it, will soon " stretch forth his hands," in supplication to heaven. 
 His soul will gasp and pant after that grace and mercy which descend from 
 above, like the rain in its season, to bestow refreshment, beauty, and ferti- 
 lity, on a parched and " thirsty land." While we recite this verse, let us 
 not be unmindful of Him, whose hands were often stretched forth in prayer 
 for his people, and whose soul thirsted after our salvation, even then, when 
 he felt the extremity of bodily thirst on the cross. 
 
 "7. Hear me speedily, O Lord; my spirit faileth: hide not thy face 
 from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit." 
 
 These words would come with propriety from the mouth of one in danger 
 of temporal death. They are no less proper in the mouth of him who is in 
 danger of death eternal. Rather, they receive an additional force and energy 
 when used in this latter sense. 
 
 "8. Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning; for in thee 
 do I trust : cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; I lift up my 
 soul unto thee." 
 
 The penitent prayeth, that he may " hear the voice of God's loving-kind- 
 ness," speaking pardon and peace to his soul, " in the morning," speedily 
 and early, after the long dark night of fear and sorrow, through which he 
 is passing. This he hopes, because, disclaiming all other reliance, he 
 placeth his confidence in God alone; "in thee do I trust." Nor is he only 
 solicitous for the forgiveness of what is past, but for future direction in the 
 course of duty; " show thou me the way wherein I should walk." And 
 to the end that he may follow such directions, he hath withdrawn his affec- 
 tions from things below, and set them on things above; " I lift up my soul 
 unto thee." 
 
 " 9. Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies : I flee onto thee to hide 
 me. 10. Teach me to do thy will ; for thy arf my God : thy spirit is good : 
 lead me, or, let thy good Spirit lead me into the land of uprightness." 
 
 He continueth to pray that he may be " delivered from his enemies," the 
 
 35 
 
410 A COMMENTARY Psalsi CXLIV. 
 
 world, the flesh, and the devil, from whose temptations he fleeth, by repent- 
 ance and faith, to the Almighty, to hide and protect him. He requesteth 
 to be fully instructed in the " will" of him, whom, as his Lord and his 
 " God," he hath determined to serve and obey. But conscious of his own 
 inability to do the will of Jehovah, even when known, he entreateth the 
 good Spirit of God to " lead" him out of the mazes of error, and the pol- 
 lutions of vice, into the pleasant " land"* of truth and holiness. 
 
 " 11. Quicken me, O Lord, for^thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' 
 sake bring my soul out of trouble. 12. And of thy mercy cut cif mine 
 enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant." 
 
 The verbs in these last verses, as Dr. Hammond hath noted, should be 
 rendered in the future; "Thou shalt quicken," &c. and then the Psalm 
 will end, as usual, with an act of faith and assurance, that all those mer- 
 cies, which have been asked, shall be obtained ; that God, for the sake of 
 his " name," and his " righteousness," of his glory, and his faithfulness 
 in the performance of his promises, will not fail to be favourable and gra- 
 cious to his servants, quickening them, even when dead in trespasses and 
 sins, and bringing them, by degrees, " out of all their trouble ;" going forth 
 with them to the battle against their spiritual " enemies," and enabling them 
 to vanquish the authors of their affliction and misery, to mortify the fiesh, 
 and to overcome the world ; that so they may triumph with their Redeemer, 
 in the day when he shall likewise quicken their mortal bodies, and put all 
 enemies under their feet. 
 
 THIRTIETH DAY.— MORNING PRAYER. 
 PSALM CXLIV. 
 
 ABGTJMENT. 
 
 It appears from verse 2. and verse 10. of this Psalm, that it was composed after 
 David's accession to the throne. And it is evident, from verse 5, he. that he 
 had more enemies still to conquer, such as the Philistines, &c. He therefore, 
 1, 2. blesseth Jehovah, and, 3, 4. expresseth his astonishment at tlie Divine 
 goodness shown to such a creature as man. 5 — 8. He beseecheth God to 
 perfect his work, and subdue the remaining- adversaries by the might of his 
 power. 9, 10. He breaks forth again into a strain of thanksgiving, and 11 — 
 15. again returns to his prayers for the complete redemption, and prosperity 
 of Israel. If we substitute in our minds, Messiah for David, the church for 
 Israel, and spiritual for temporal blessings, the Psalm will present itself to us, 
 as a noble evangehcal hymn. 
 
 " 1, Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, 
 and my fingers to fight." 
 
 What David here acknowledgeth, with regard to his victories, and that 
 skill or might by which they were obtained, should be likewise acknow- 
 ledged by all earthly kings and generals, in the day of battle and conquest. 
 For success in our spiritual warfare, we depend on the grace of God, 
 which alone can give us wisdom and " strength to have victory, and to tri- 
 umph against sin, the world, and the devil." Even the Captain of our sal- 
 vation fought and overcome by a power that was Divine. Jehovah taught 
 HIS hands to war, and his fingers to fight, and " blessed," on that account, 
 be the name of Jehovah, in the church for evermore. 
 
 * Mr. Merrick mentions the similar phrases of '^sJ'"!' aXiiS-sfac, and ^Hf-^aii i*x»3-s;«?, 
 among tlie Greeks. Or 1'tyo y^X may signify " the land that is plain and direct, even and 
 straight," where he might pursue his intended course of piety and goodness, without fear of 
 meeting witli obstructious in tlie way, or danger of wandering out of it. 
 
Day XXX. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 411 
 
 "2. My goodness, Heb. my mercy,* and my fortress; my high tower, 
 and my deliverer; my shield, and lie in whom I trust; who subdueth my 
 people under me." 
 
 The " goodness," or " mercy" of God, inclineth us in time of trouble, 
 to fly to him as to a " fortress," or " tower," in which we find refuge ; and 
 when we have thus put ourselves under his patronage, he becometh our 
 "deliverer" from present danger; our "shield," or protector, against any 
 that may afterwards arise; the object of our unlimited " trust" and confi- 
 dence ; and, at last, the " subduer" of all opposition " under us." 
 
 " 3. Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him ! or the son of 
 man, that thou makest account of him ! 4. Man is like to vanity : his days 
 are as a shadow that passeth away." 
 
 After a thanksgiving for the works which .Tehovah had wrought, fol- 
 loweth a reflection on the creature "man," for whom they were wrought. 
 Such a reflection introduced in the same manner, and almost in the same 
 words, we meet with in Psalm viii. 4., which passage, being cited by the 
 Apostle, Heb. ii. 6. and applied to Christ, affords an argument, as Dr. 
 Hammond hath justly observed, for a like application of the verses now be- 
 fore us, in their more eminent, prophetic, mystical sense. For, certainly, 
 if David, upon the remembrance of what God hath done for him, could 
 break forth into this reflection, much more may we do so, for whom the 
 Redeemer hath been manifested in the form of a servant, and in that form 
 hath humbled himself to the death of the cross, to gain us the victory over 
 principalities and powers, to put all things under our feet, and to make us 
 partakers of his everlasting kingdom. Lord, what indeed is man, CDTN, or, 
 what is the son of such a miserable creature, K'lJX p, that thou shouldst 
 take this knowledge, and this account of him] man, who is now become 
 like vanity, or instability itself; whose days are fleeting and transient as 
 a shadow, which glides over the earth, vanishes, and is seen no more I 
 Such was human nature ; but the Son of God hath taken it upon himself, 
 rendered it immortal, and exalted it to heaven ; whither all v.'ill follow him 
 hereafter, who follow him now in the paths of righteousness and holiness. 
 
 " 5. Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down : touch the mountains, 
 and they shall smoke. 6. Cast forth lightning, and scatter them ; shoot 
 out thine arrows, and destroy them. 7. Send thine hand from above ; rid 
 mo, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of strange children ; 
 S. Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of 
 falsehood." 
 
 David, having celebrated his victories over some of his enemies, and ex- 
 tolled the mercy and goodness of God, to whom he ascribed the achieve- 
 ment of them, now proceedeth to request a farther manifestation of the 
 Omnipotent arm in his favour, against other hostile forces, which still 
 threatened his country, upon his accession to the throne; such sa the Philis- 
 tines, Moabites, Ammonites, &c. See 3 Sam. v. and viii. These are call- 
 ed, metaphorically, " great waters," threatening to overwhelm and destroy 
 everything; and, in plainer terms, "strange children," or aliens from the 
 covenant of Jehovah, and the commonwealth of Israel ; children who " speak 
 lies, and work wickedness ;" or, as Dr. Hammond interpreteth the 8th verse, 
 *' whose mouth speaketh, or maketh profession of vanity,' Xlty, that is, 
 idolatry; and their right hand," that on which they depend for support, the 
 object of their confidence, " is a right hand of falsehood," T\'\0, and one 
 that will fail all who rely upon it for help. Jehovah, the God of Israel, is 
 therefore entreated once more to appear in the cause of his Anointed ; to go 
 forth, as of old, to the battle against the enemies of his people, with all the 
 tokens of displeasure and vengeance, dismaying and putting to flight these 
 
 * That is, " who art merciful tome," the abstract being put for the concrete, as in Psalm xii. 
 1. Prov. X. 29. Ezek. xliv. 6. Hos. viii. 9. Dr. Durell thinks we should read MOPi " I'ly refuge," 
 as ill other parallel places 
 
41.2 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXLIV. 
 
 " armies of aliens." In like manner, the church, or mystical body of Christ, 
 is instant in prayer for the iinal completion of her hope. She wisheth for 
 the glorious day, when her God and Saviour shall bow the heavens, and 
 come down to judgment, causing the mountains to smoke, and flame, and 
 dissolve, and flow down before him; when his lightnings, those arrows of 
 his indignation, and ministers of his vengeance, shall scatter the host of 
 darkness, and destroy the antichristian powers ; when we shall be delivered 
 from every enemy, and from all that hate us, and David our King. 
 
 " 9. I will sing a new song unto thee, O God ; upon a psaltry and an in- 
 strument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee. 10. It is he that 
 giveth salvation unto kings : who delivereth David his servant from the 
 hurtful sword." 
 
 In the mean time, as the Israelitish church praised Jehovah for the mer- 
 cies already vouchsafed to the son of Jesse, so do we daily magnify, with 
 voices and instruments of music, that salvation which God hath effected for 
 us, by the deliverance of his Son, our Lord, from death and the grave. 
 
 "11. Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose 
 mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood : 
 
 12. That our sons ??!«</ be as plants grown up in their youth; that our 
 daughters wcry be as corner-stones, polished after the similitude of a palace. 
 
 13. That our garners may be full, aff'ording all manner of store, that our 
 sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets, or, fields : 
 
 14. That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor 
 going out; that there be no complaining in our streets." 
 
 Prayer is again made for the continuance of God's favour, and a complete 
 victory over every enemy; the happy consequences of which, in the esta- 
 blishment of Israel, and the prosperity of Jerusalem, are particularly de- 
 scribed. Victory is productive of peace, and peace is the mother of all 
 earthly blessings to communities, and the families that compose them ; 
 whose happiness consisteth in a numerous and hopeful progeny of sons and 
 daughters ; the former healthly and well nurtured, growing up, like young 
 plants in a kindly soil, until they attain to their full strength and stature ; 
 the latter, fair and virtuous, like so many tall, well-proportioned, highly 
 polished, and richly ornamented columns, gracing the house to which they 
 belong. When '<;o these we have added plenty of corn, and all other provi- 
 sions, in the graneries and storehouses ; flocks and herds, ever thriving 
 and increasing; freedom from hostile invasions, and domestic complaints, 
 so that there be no breaking in, nor going out, no irruption of aliens into 
 the commonwealth, nor emigration of inhabitants to foreign countries, by 
 captivity, or otherwise : we shall find ourselves possessed of most of the 
 ingredients, which enter into the composition of temporal felicity. Such 
 felicity God promised to his people Israel, and bestowed on them, while 
 they kept his statutes, and observed his laws. And therefore there is no 
 reason for supposing, as the Fathers, with many others, have done, that 
 these wishes for "sons, daughters, corn, sheep, oxen, &c," are uttered by 
 the "strange children," the aliens and idolaters mentioned in the 11th 
 verse. The good things of this world may fall to the lot of the righteous, 
 who are distinguished from the wicked by the use which they make of them 
 when given ; and by their meek resignation of them when taken away. 
 Whatever be the will of God concerning our having or wanting these out- 
 ward comforts, we know that we have, as the faithful servants of God in 
 every age had before us, greater and more precious promises, a better and 
 an enduring substance, pleasures that fade not, and riches thatfly not away, 
 reserved for us in a heavenly country, and a city which hath foundations. 
 
 " 15. Happy is that people that is in such a case : yea, happy is that peo- 
 ple whose God is the Lord." 
 
 The Psalmist concludes with pronouncing the happiness of the Israelites, 
 when in the state of prosperity above described, and their far greater hap- 
 piness in " having Jehovah for their God," who, by settling them in peace- 
 ful possession of the land of Canaan, and the Jerusalem below, gave them a 
 
Dat XXX. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 413 
 
 pledge and foretaste of that love, which stood engaged by covenant to 
 bring them and us to his everlasting rest, in the Jerusalem above. 
 
 PSALM CXLV. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 Hitherto, in this divine book, we have been presented with chequered scenes 
 of danger and deliverance, distress and mercy. The voice of complaint 
 hath sometimes been succeeded by that of thanksgiving- ; and praise, at 
 other times, hath terminated in prayer. But now, as if the days of mourning 
 in Zion were ended, we hear no more of Messiah, as a man of sorrows ; or 
 of the church, as despised and afflicted, after the same example, in the 
 world. Henceforth we seem not to be upon earth, but in heaven, min- 
 gling with celestial spirits around the throne, and singing, as in the following 
 Psalm, 1,2 the praises of our God and King ; extolling, 3. his greatness, 4. 
 his might, 5. his glory, 6, 7. his justice, 8, 9. his mercy ; 10 — 13. the majesty 
 of his kingdom, and, 14 — 21. all his adorable perfections, and wondrous 
 works. This is an alphabetical Psalm. The verse, which should begin 
 with the letter Nun, is wanting. But, as Dr. Hammond hath observed, it is 
 not uncommon for one letter, or more, to be left out in an alphabetical 
 Psalm, as in Psalm xxv. where 1 being twice repeated, p is certainly 
 anoitted. We shall therefore content ourselves %vith what we find in the 
 Qi-iginal Hebrew, and in the Chaldee, without inserting the verse which is 
 now read in the LXX. and other translations. Bishop Patrick mentions a 
 sanng of the ancient Hebrews, taken notice of by Valentine Schindler, that 
 "He could not fail to be a child of the world to come, who would say this 
 Psalm three times every day." Perhaps they who, while they chant it in 
 full choir, entering thoroughly into the spirit of it, do experience as hvelya 
 foretaste of the next world, as can be experienced in this. 
 
 " 1. I will extol thee, my God, O King; and will bless thy name for ever 
 and ever. 2. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for 
 ever and ever." 
 
 The same divine person, who was, in a peculiar manner, the " God" 
 and "King" of Israel, now standethin those relations to the Gentile Chris- 
 tian, church, and by her is extolled in the words of the Psalm, originally 
 composed and used for that purpose among the Israelites. Christ is our 
 "God," who hath saved us according to his covenant and promise; he is 
 our " King," who hath set up the universal and everlasting kingdom, fore- 
 told by Daniel and the other prophets ; who hath " all power in heaven and 
 earth ;" and who " must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet, 
 and swallowed up death in victory." In the mean time it is the daily em- 
 ployment of us, his redeemed subjects and servants, to chant forth the 
 praises of his saving and glorious " name," with which the church, on earth, 
 and in heaven, will resound " for ever and ever." 
 
 " 3. Great is the Lord, and- greatly to be praised ; and his greatness is 
 unsearchable. 4. One generation shall praise thy works unto another, and 
 shall declare thy mighty acts." 
 
 The "greatness" of Jehovah, whether we consider it as relating to his 
 essence, or his works, is never to be fully comprehended by his saints, 
 whose delight it is to contemplate " the breadth, and length, and depth, and 
 height," Eph. iii. 18. the extent and duration of his being and his kingdom, 
 the profundity of his counsels, and the sublimity of his power and glory. 
 These are the inexhaustible subjects of divine meditation, transmitted from 
 age to age. And as the greatness of God our Saviour hath no bounds, so 
 his praises shall have no end, nor shall the voice of thanksgiving ever cease 
 in the church. "As one generation" drops it, "another" shall take it up, 
 and prolong the delightful strain, till the sun and the moon shall withdraw 
 their light, and the stars fall extinguished from their orbs. 
 
 35* 
 
414 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXLV. 
 
 " 5. I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy won- 
 drous works. 6. And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts : 
 and I will declare thy greatness. 7. They shall abundantly utter the me- 
 mory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness." 
 
 Those works of God, which demand to be celebrated by the tongues of 
 men, are here divided into three kinds. First, such as declare his glory, 
 and excite our admiration, whenever we behold them. Of this sort are the 
 shining frame of the heavens, and all the bodies which move therein; the 
 earth, with its furniture without, and its contents within; the magnificent 
 and stupendous ocean, which flows around it ; the diflerent tribes of animals 
 inhabiting both the one and the other; and, above all, the construction of , 
 man, the lord of this lower world. Under the second class of God's works, 
 are ranged all those which the Psalmist Ktyleth his "terrible acts," or the 
 exertions of his power against his enemies ; such as, the destruction of the 
 old world by water; of Sodom and Gomorrah by fire ; of Pharaoh and his 
 host in the Red Sea; of the Canaanitish nations by the sword; and the 
 victory gained over sin and death by the resurrection of Christ. In the 
 third rank stand those works which have proceeded from the goodness of 
 God, and his " righteousness" in the performance of his promises. And 
 among these we may reckon all the different species of provision, which 
 have been made by Providence for the bodies of men in the world, and by 
 grace for their souls in the church. On any of these subjects meditation 
 cannot be long employed, without breaking forth into wonder, gratitude, and 
 praise. 
 
 " 8. The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion ; slow to anger and 
 of great mercy. 9. The Lord is good to all ; and his tender mercies are 
 over all his works." 
 
 Mercy hath misery for its object, and is that attribute, towards which the 
 eye of a fallen world must naturally be turned. The Psalmist hath, ac- 
 cordingly, introduced her last, with great pomp and splendour, seated in 
 her triumphal chariot, and invested with a supremacy over all the works of 
 God. She is above the heavens, and over all the earth, so that the whole 
 creation findeth that refuge under the shadow of her wings, of which, by 
 reason of man's transgression, it standeth in need. The original word for 
 <' his tender mercies," is T'nm, the singular of which, am, signifies the 
 womb. The " mercies" of God towards man, are, therefore, represented 
 by this word, to be like those of a mother towards the child of her womb. 
 And this is the very similitude which he himself hath made use of in that 
 most affecting and comforting passage of the prophecy of Isaiah; chap, 
 xlix. 15. " Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not 
 have compassion on the son of her womb ? Yea, they may forget, yet will 
 I not forget Ihee." — And now what follows ] Are such " tender mercies" 
 in God 1 and are they " over all his works'?" Why then, 
 
 " 10. All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless 
 thee. 11. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy 
 power; 12. To make known to the sons of men his mighty acls, and the 
 glorious majesty of his kingdom. 13. Thy kingdom is an everlasting king- 
 dom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations." 
 
 As " all the works" of God, in their several ways, make a due return for 
 the mercy vouchsafed unto them, and set forth his glory ; so more especially 
 ought this to be done by man, who is the principal party concerned in the 
 fall and redemption. The saints are the subjects of Messiah's kingdom; 
 and of that kingdom it is their duty to publish to the world the blessings 
 and the glories, to the end that, when these are made known, the nations 
 may be thereby induced to submit their hearts to so gracious a sceptre, and 
 the dominion of Christ may become as universal in its extent, as it is ever- 
 lasting in its duration. 
 
 " 14. The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be 
 bowed down." 
 
Day XXX. M. P. ON THE PSALMS. 415 
 
 After having proclaimed the glory and eternity of the kingdom, the pro- 
 phet draws a character of the King, who, in the execution of his regal and 
 pastoral office, is ever mindful of the necessities of his subjects. To those 
 who, like Peter on the water, are sinking under temptation, he stretcheth 
 out his saving arm, supporting and upholding them by his grace; and to 
 those who, like the woman in the Gospel, have long been "bowed down" 
 with sin or sorrow, he holdeth forth a pardon, " raising and setting them 
 upright again by his mercy." The case is the same with regard to outward 
 distresses, from which God either preserves or delivers his people, as he 
 sees best for them. 
 
 " 15. The eyes of all wait upon thee: and thou givest them their meat 
 in due season. 16. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of 
 every living thing." 
 
 What a just and beautiful picture is here presented to view ! We see 
 tlie whole animal world assembled before us, with their eyes fixed on the 
 great King and Father of all things, like those of a flock on their shepherd, 
 when he enters the field, in time of dearth, with provender for them. From 
 the same divine person, as the Saviour of men, as the King, Father, and 
 Pastor of the church, do believers, with earnest expectation, wait for the 
 food of eternal life. And neither one nor the other look and wait in vain. 
 To both he giveth their meat in due season ; " he openeth his hand, and sa- 
 tisfieth the desire of every living thing." 
 
 " 17. The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy, or, good, merciful, 
 in all his works." 
 
 Thus in all his ways, or dispensations towards his creatures, whether in 
 nature, or in grace, "Jehovah is righteous," faithful and just, in extending 
 his promised care, by making due provision for their wants; and " all his 
 works," which, from the beginning of the world he hath wrought in behalf 
 of tlie sons of men, are full of " mercy and loving-kindness." 
 
 " 18. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call 
 upon him in truth. 19. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he 
 also will hear their cry, and will save them." 
 
 It is our happiness to have a King, who is not, like earthly princes, 
 difficult of access, but one of whom the meanest subject may at any 
 time obtain an audience, and be certain of having his request granted if it 
 be made in truth, without wavering, and without hypocrisy, with humble 
 confidence, and with unwearied constancy, expecting salvation from God, 
 from none but him, and from him only in the way of duty and obedience ; 
 " he will fulfil the desire of them that fear him." 
 
 " 20. The Lord preserveth all them that love him : but all the wicked 
 will he destroy." 
 
 To protect his subjects, and destroy their enemies, is the finishing part 
 of the regal character, as here drawn from its great original in the King of 
 saints. By his grace he now preserveth us from innumerable dangers and 
 temptations, and gradually destroyeth sin in us: and by his power he will 
 hereafter execute, in the fullest and most extensive sense, this part of his 
 office, " when the wicked shall be consumed with the spirit of his mouth, 
 and destroyed with the brightness of his coming." Then the bodies of the 
 righteous, preserved to a joyful resurrection, shall be reunited to their souls, 
 and both together, perfected and glorified, shall reign and shine with him 
 forever. Thus the Lord Jesus Christ "preserveth all that love him," and 
 maketh good his promise. " There shall not a hair of your head perish," 
 Luke xxi. 18. 
 
 "21. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh 
 bless his holy name for ever and ever." 
 
 The Psalmist having now given the reasons why he had resolved " to 
 extol his God and King, and to bless his name for ever and ever," concludes 
 with repeating his resolution, and exhorts all the world to follow his exam- 
 ple, in time and eternity. 
 
416 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXLVI. 
 
 PSALM CXLVI. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 In this Psalm the church is taught, 1, 2. to prolong the praises of Jehovah, as 
 her God and King ; 3 — 6. to beware of trusting in the powers of the world, 
 and to rely on the world's Creator and Redeemer, whose miracles of love 
 and mercy, wrought for the children of men, 7 — 9. are enumerated, and the 
 eternity of whose kingdom, 10. is proclaimed. 
 
 " 1. Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. 2. While I live 
 will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God, while I have any 
 being." 
 
 No sooner is one hallelujah ended, hut another hegins ; and the prophet, 
 in imitation of those who " rest not day or night," stirs himself up afresh 
 to praise the King of glory, the Creator and Redeemer of men, declaring 
 himself resolved to employ the powers and faculties of his soul in the ser- 
 vice of that God who gave and preserved them. 
 
 " 3. Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there 
 is no help. 4. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth ; in that 
 very day his thoughts perish. 5. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob 
 for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God : 6. Which made heaven 
 and earth, the sea, and all that therein is : which keepeth truth for ever." 
 
 From Him, who is " the Prince of the kings of the earth," Sion looks 
 for deliverance, and by Him, her true sons expect to be exalted. He " keep- 
 eth truth for ever;" he is able and willing to perform his promises, and 
 never disappoints those who rely on him. There are no changes in the po- 
 litics of heaven. The faithful servant of his master is by that Master in- 
 fallibly approved and rewarded. Earthly princes, if they have the will, 
 often want the power, even to protect their friends. And should they want 
 neither will nor power to advance them, yet still all depends upon the 
 breath in their nostrils, which, perhaps, at the very critical moment, " goeth 
 forth ; they return to their earth ; their thoughts," and all the thoughts of 
 those who had hoped to rise by their means, " fall into the same grave," 
 and are buried with them for ever. " Cease ye from man, whose breath is 
 in his nostrils ; for wherein is he to be accounted of] But trust ye in the 
 Lord for ever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength," Isa. ii. 22. 
 xxvi. 4. 
 
 " 7. Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to 
 the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners : 8. The Lord openeth the eyes 
 of the blind : The Lord raiseth them that are bowed down ; The Lord loveth 
 tiie righteous : 9. The Lord preserveth the strangers ; he relieveth the fa- 
 therless and widow : but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down." 
 That the Lord, of whom all things are spoken, is the Messiah, or Jeho- 
 vah incarnate, appears, as Dr. Hammond hath justly observed, from what 
 is said of him in verse 8. "The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind;" the 
 miracle of restoring sight to men born blind being one reserved for the Son 
 of God to work, at his coming in the flesh. " Since the world began," 
 saith the man to whom sight had been thus restored, "was it not heard, that 
 any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind," John ix. 32. This 
 therefore was the first of those tokens given by Jesus to the disciples of 
 John whereby it might be known that he was the expected Christ; " Go 
 and tell John the things which ye have heard and seen ; The blind receive 
 their sight," &c. But how did this evince him to be the Messiah? Plainly, 
 because it had been foretold by the prophets, (as in Isa. xxxv. 5. xxix. 18. 
 xlii. 18. so in this passage of our Psalm, which is exactly similar to those 
 texts,) that Messiah, when he came, should give sight to the blind. Now, 
 if one part of the Psalmist's description belong to Christ, the other mem- 
 
Day XXX. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 
 
 417 
 
 bers of it must do so likewise, it being evident that the whole is spoken of 
 the same person. He, therefore, is " the God of Jacob, who made heaven 
 and earth, the sea and all that therein is;" and, upon his appearing amono' 
 men in the body of our tlesh, he showed himself possessed of power to re*^ 
 lieve all the wants, corporeal and spiritual, of poor lost mankind. When 
 he rescued men from the bondage of Satan, " he executed judgment for the 
 oppressed ;" when he fed thousands by a miracle, or when he preached the 
 word to such as desired to hear and receive it, he gave food to the hungry: 
 when, by pardon and grace, he released those who were bound with'^the 
 chains of "their sins, he "loosed the prisoners;" when he poured light into 
 the sightless eyeball, or illuminated with saving knowledge the understand- 
 ing of the ignorant, he " opened the eyes of the blind :" when he made the 
 crooked woman straight, or rectified the obliquity of a depraved will, he 
 " raised those that were bowed down :" while he protecteth, and guideth 
 to the city of their eternal habitation, the sons of Adam, who are exiles, 
 pilgrims, and sojourners upon earth, he "preserveth the strangers ;" when 
 he became a husband to the church, and a parent to her destitute children, 
 he " relieved the fatherless and widow :" and when he shall come in his 
 glorious majesty, to reward his servants, and to confound their enemies, it 
 will be seen how " he loveth the righteous, and turneth the way of the 
 wicked upside down." Happy the people of such a God ; happy the sub- 
 jects of such a King! Rejoice, and sing, and shout aloud; for lo, 
 
 " 10. The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Ziou, unto all ge- 
 nerations. Praise ye the Lord." 
 
 THIRTIETH DAY— EVENING PRAYER. 
 PSALM CXLVIL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 It has been conjectured, from ver. 2. that this Psalm was written to celebrate 
 tlie return of Israel from Eabylon, when Jerusalem and the temple were 
 rebuilt. 1 — 3. The people of God are exhorted to praise him for the mer- 
 cies vouchsafed to them; 4 — 6. for his wisdom, power, andg-oodness; 7 — 9. 
 for his providential care, and, 10, 11. the wonderful salvation wrought by 
 liis arm; 12 — 14. for tlie security, increase, and prosperity of the church; 
 15 — 18. for the happy change of her condition, like that produced in nature, 
 when spring succeeds to winter; 19, 20. and for the glorious privilege of the 
 Divine word, revealed and committed to her. 
 
 " 1. Praise ye the Lord : for it is good to sing praises unto our God : for 
 if is pleasant ; and praise is comely." 
 
 Praise is " good" and acceptable to God our Saviour, whose glory is the 
 great end of man's creation and redemption : and it is "pleasant and come- 
 ly" for man, being the only return he can make for those, and all other 
 mercies; the offspring of gratitude, and the expression of love; the eleva- 
 tion of the soul, and the antepast of heaven; its own reward in this life, 
 and an introduction to the felicities of the next. 
 
 "2. The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the out- 
 casts of Israel." 
 
 If this Psalm were written on occasion of the return from Babylon, and 
 the rebuilding of the earthly city, the ideas are to be transferred, as in other 
 Psalms of the same kind, to a more important restoration from a much 
 worse captivity, and to the building up of the church under the Gospel, 
 when Christ " gathered together in one the children of God that were scat- 
 tered abroad;" John xi, 52. that is, in the words of our Psalm, he "ga- 
 thered together the outcasts of Israel. So shall he " again, at the resur- 
 
418 A COMMENTARY Psaim CXLVII. 
 
 rection, ^ther tog^ether his elect from the four winds," Matt. xxiv. 31. and 
 *' build up a Jerusalem," in which they shall serve and praise him for 
 ever. 
 
 " 3. He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." 
 
 The "broken hearts and wounded spirits" of the Israelites were "healed 
 and made whole," when they returned to their own land, when they beheld 
 Jerusalem rising again in beauteous majesty, and sung the songs of Zion 
 in the courts of the temple. Thus Christ came " to preach deliverance to 
 the captives, and to bind up the broken-hearted;" Isa. Ixi. 1. Luke iv. IS. 
 to speak pardon and peace to the wounded and contrite spirit, and to put a 
 new song of thanksgiving in the mouth of the penitent, which he might 
 sing, when restored to the holy city, and the house of his heavenly Father. 
 The hour is coming when God shall heal the breaches which death has made 
 in the bodies of his people, and translate them likewise from Babylon to 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 "4. He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their 
 names." 
 
 And he who does this, cannot be ignorant of the situation and circum- 
 stances of his elect. He knoweth each individual, and numbereth all the 
 atoms which go to the composition of his frame. He can call his saints 
 from the depths of earth and sea, " by their names," as when once " he 
 cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth ;" and he can fix them in ra- 
 dient circles round his throne in the kingdom of glory, vying, for multitude, 
 as well as splendour, with those bright orbs which glitter by night in the 
 spangled firmament of heaven; so that what Baruch saith of the stars, may 
 well be applied to the seed of Abraham, of whom it was foretold, that they 
 should equal the stars in number, Gen. xv. "The stars shine in their 
 watches, and rejoice; when he calleth them, they say, Here we be; and 
 so with cheerfulness they show light unto him that made them." Baruch 
 iii. 34. 
 
 " 5. Great is our Lord, and of great power : his understanding is infi- 
 nite : Heb. of his understanding there is no number, or, computation ; 
 
 This is a proper conclusion drawn from the former part of the Psalm, and 
 especially from the preceding verse. The greatness of God's power, which 
 overcometh all difficulties to effect the salvation of his people, is not to be 
 grasped by the human mind; and that wisdom which numbers the stars of 
 heaven, and the sand of the sea, and the generations, of the sons of Abra- 
 ham, can itself be subject to the rules of no arithmetic. 
 
 " 6. The Lord lifteth up the meek : he casteth the wicked down to the 
 ground." 
 
 To exalt and reward the humble, penitent, believing, and obedient ; to 
 depress and punish the proud, impenitent, unbelieving, and disobedient; 
 these are the measures and ends of all the Divine dispensations. And as 
 a man ranks himself in one or other of these two divisions, he may expect 
 from heaven, storm or sunshine, mercy or judgment. 
 
 " 7. Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving ; sing praise upon the harp 
 unto our God : 8. Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth 
 rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. 9. He 
 giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry." 
 
 The faithful praise God for his goodness to the animal world, both on ac- 
 count of that goodness in itself, aud also because they behold therein an 
 emblem and assurance of his mercy to themselves. The watchful care of 
 Providence over all creatures, speaks the same language to us, which Jeho- 
 vah made use of to Joshua, and which the Apostle hath applied to Chris- 
 tians; " I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee," Josh. i. 5. Heb. xiii. 
 5. He who, by sending rain on the mountains, which could not otherwise 
 be watered, provideth food for the wild beasts inhabiting those mountains, 
 will never leave the lambs of his flock destitute. And he who feedeth the 
 
Day XXX. E. P. ON THE PSAI.MS. 
 
 419 
 
 young of the unclean raven, when they cry, and, as it were, in their way, 
 call upon him for a supply of their wants, will he in the day of dearth and 
 calamity forsake the meek and harmless dove, that mourneth continually in 
 prayer before him ■? The desponding servant of God need only therefore 
 put to himself the question which we find asked by the Creator, in the book 
 of Job, chap, xxxviii. 41. "Who provided for the raven his food? Whea 
 his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat;" they wander 
 and find it. Our Lord pressed this argument on his disciples, Luke xii. 24. 
 "Consider the ravens;" Matt. vi. 26. "Behold the fowls of the air; for 
 they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your hea- 
 venly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they V 
 
 Behold and look away your low despair ; 
 
 See the liglit tenants of the barren air ; 
 
 To tlieni, nor stores, nor sranaries belon?, 
 
 Nought but tlie woodland', and the pleasing song; 
 
 Yet, your kind heav'niy Father bends his eye 
 
 On the least wing that flits along the sky. 
 
 Tohiin they sing, when spring renews the plain, 
 
 To him they cry, in winter's pinching reign ; 
 
 Nor is their music nor their plaint in vain : 
 
 He hears the gay, and the distressful call, 
 
 And \\ ith unsparing bounty fills them all. 
 
 Will he not care for you, ye faithless, say? 
 
 Is he unwise? Or, are ye less than they? Thomson. 
 
 " 10. He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not plea- 
 sure in the legs of a man. 11. The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear 
 him, in those that hope in his mercy." 
 
 If, therefore, the inference deduced above be a just one, namely, that God, 
 who takes care of the wild beasts, and the birds of the air, will support 
 and defend his church ; then, however weak she may be, and however 
 strong her adversaries may be, yet she may rest secure, as having him on 
 her side, to whom it is equal, to save by many, or by few; who giveth not 
 the victory to the pomp and pride of carnal strength, to thousands, or ten 
 thousands, but to "those who fear him, and hope in his mercy." The his- 
 tory of Israel is one continual exemplification of this truth ; and, in our 
 spiritual warfare, " this is the victory which overcometh the world, even 
 our faith," 1 John v. 4. 
 
 " 12. Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion. 13. For 
 he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates ; he hath blessed thy children 
 within thee. 14. He maketh peace in thy borders, and fiUeth thee with the 
 finest of the wheat." 
 
 The church, like Jerusalem of old, erected and preserved by the wisdom, 
 and power, and goodness of God, is exhorted to praise him for all the be- 
 nefits and blessings vouchsafed unto her; for the increase of "her children 
 within her;" for the " peace" which she at any time enjoyeth " in her bor- 
 ders," while she is here below ; for the plentiful provision made by her 
 pastors, to satisfy the needs of those who "hunger and thirst after righ- 
 teousness;" and for the protection of the Almighty, "strengthening the 
 bars of her gates," and securing to her the possession of all these comforts; 
 which,in the heavenly Jerusalem, shall be rendered perfect and indefeasible 
 for evermore. 
 
 " 15. He sendeth forth his commandment tipon earth : his word runneth 
 very swiftly. 16. He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost 
 like ashes. 17. He casteth forth his ice like morsels; who can stand be- 
 fore his cold ] 18. He sendeth out his word, and melteth them : he causeth 
 his wind to blow, and the waters flow." 
 
 The wonders of nature represent to us the miracles of grace, and the 
 change of seasons produceth not greater alterations in the world, than those 
 which take place in the church, when her God hideth from her, or restoreth 
 to her, the light of his countenance, which, like its emblem, the bright 
 ruler in the heavens, at its departure leaves winter behind it ; and brings 
 
420 A COMMENTARY Psalm CXLVIIL 
 
 the spring -with it at its return. " The sun," says Bishop Sherlock, " is the 
 great spirit of the world, in the light of which all things are made to re- 
 joice; perpetual spring attends his course; all things revive at his approach, 
 and put on a new face of youth and beauty ; winter and frost lag behind 
 him ; nature grows deformed, and sickens at his departure," Disc. vol. v. 
 p. 88. What the sun is to the world, the same is Christ to the church. 
 When the heart of man turns away from him, and deprives itself of his 
 gracious illumination; when ignorance succeeds to knowledge, that is, 
 darkness to light; when faith fails, and all its fair productions wither away; 
 when "the love of many is waxen cold," and the fertilizing streams of 
 charity are frozen to the bottom: On the other hand, when God "sendeth 
 out his WORD, and melteth them ;" when he " bloweth with his Spirit, 
 and" by these genial influences from above, " the waters are made to flow;" 
 when faith revives, and shoots into vigour, and beauty, and fruitfulness ; 
 and when the hearts of men are warmed, as well as their understandings 
 illuminated ; what is all this, but a winter, and a spring, like those which, 
 in their turns, annually deform and renew the face of the earth, at the 
 " word and command of God," in either case, " running swiftly," and ope- 
 rating eflicaciously ] 
 
 " 19. He showeth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments 
 unto Israel. 20. He hath not dealt so with any nation: and os/orAis judg- 
 ments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord." 
 
 That "word," the effects of which upon the spiritual system are similar 
 to those experienced by nature in the vernal season; that "word was 
 showed unto Jacob," and became the property of " Israel," while Israel 
 continued to be the church of God. It hath since been made over, with all 
 its types realized, and its prophecies accomplished, in Jesus, to the church 
 Christian; it is that peculiar blessing, which distinguishes her from the 
 rest of the world, and for which her children are bound, at all times, to 
 praise the Lord. 
 
 PSALM CXLVIIL 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 All the creatures in the invisible and visible world are called upon by the 
 Psalmist to unite in a grand chorus of praise and thanksgiving-. The various 
 parts are to be performed by 1, 2. the angelic hosts; 3 — 6. the material hea- 
 vens, and the luminaries placed in them; 7. the ocean, with its inhabitants; 
 8. the meteors of the air; 9, 10. the earth, as divided into hills and valleys, 
 with the vegetables that gi-ow out of it, and the animals that move upon, or 
 about it; 11 — 13. the human race of every degree, of each sex, and of every 
 age; 14. more especially the Israel or church of God. 
 
 " 1. Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise 
 him in the heights. 2. Praise ye him, all ye angels; praise ye him, all 
 his hosts." 
 
 When St. John saw in vision the King of glory seated on his throne, he 
 tells us that he heard all the angels which stood around the throne, with 
 the elders, and every creature in heaven, earth, and sea, lifting up their 
 voices, and singing together a hymn of thanksgiving in honour of him. 
 Such a choir we find here summoned by the inspired Psalmist, and exhorted 
 to join and assist him in praising the same Divine Person, whom the elders 
 in the Revelation declare "worthy to receive glory, and honour, and 
 power," because he " created all things, and for his pleasure they are, and 
 were created," Rev. v. 12. iv. 11. From the heavens and those unutterci- 
 ble heights, where hosts of immortal spirits, admitted to a sight of their 
 King, enjoy unfading pleasures, the song is to begin. And when the strain 
 is thus set by the celestial part of the choir, it is to be taken up, and echoed 
 
Day XXX. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 421 
 
 back, by the creatures of this lower world, animate and inanimate, which 
 have all their several parts assigned them, in the great workfvof gloryfying 
 their Creator. 
 
 " 3. Praise ye him, sun and moou : praise him, all ye stars of light. 4. 
 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that he above the hea- 
 vens. 5. Let them praise the name of the Lord : for he commanded, and 
 they were created. G. He hath also established them for ever and ever: 
 he hath made a decree which shall not pass." 
 
 The material heavens, through all their various regions, with the lumina- 
 ries placed in them, and the waters sustained by them, though they have 
 neither speech nor language, and want the tongue of men, yet, by their 
 splendour and magnificence, their motions and their influences, all regulated 
 and exerted according to the ordinance of their Maker, do, in a very intel- 
 ligible and striking manner, declare the glory of God ; they call upon us 
 to translate their actions into our language, and copy their obedience in our 
 lives ; that so we may, both by word and deed, glorify, with them, the 
 Creator and Redeemer of the universe. 
 
 " 7. Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons, or, whales, and all 
 deeps." 
 
 From heaven above, the Psalmist descendeth to the deep beneath, which, 
 while it proclaims the power, observes the laws and decrees of him who 
 made it, and poured it abroad. And the same may bo said of its enormous 
 inhabitants, which are under the command of Jehovah, and of none but 
 him. 
 
 "8. Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his 
 word." 
 
 These are so many messengers, always ready to go forth at the command 
 of the Most High, for the purposes of mercy or judgment. They praise 
 and glorify God after their manner, while they " fulfil his word" upon the 
 earth. 
 
 "9. Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars: 10. Beasts, 
 and all cattle ; creeping things, and flying fowl." 
 
 Who shall understand and comprehend all the wisdom of God displayed 
 in the vegetable world, from the cedar to the hyssop ; in the animal, from 
 the elephant to the pismire, from the eagle to the sparrow ? The more we 
 study them, the more we shall find him glorified in them; and the more, on 
 that account, will he be glorified by us. 
 
 " 11. Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the 
 earth: 12. Both young men and maidens; old men and children: 13. Let 
 them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent; his 
 glory is above the earth and heaven."* 
 
 After the whole creation hath been called upon to praise Jehovah ; man, 
 for whom the whole was made ; man, the last and most perfect work of 
 God ; man, that hath been since redeemed by the blood of the Son of God 
 incarnate, is exhorted to join and fill up the universal chorus of heaven and 
 earth, as being connected with both worlds, that which now is, and that 
 which is to come. Persons of every degree, of each sex, and of every 
 age ; " kings," whose power God hath made an image of his own, and 
 who are the suns of their respective systems; "judges," and magistrates 
 of all kinds, who derive their power, as the moon and planets do their light, 
 from its original source; "young men and maidens," in the flower of 
 health, strength, and beauty; "old men," who have accomplished their 
 warfare, and are going out of life; "children," who are just come into it, 
 and see everything new before them ; all these have their several reasons 
 
 * Nuc ad sulos HebrsEos hcec pcrtinet ailliurl.itio, .<ud ad uinin's oiiiniiio hoiiimes ! estque adeo 
 veliiti proUicliuin vocationiaGenliliuiii. Ueiimeiiiinlaiidare, ut \par est.iion iwssiint, qui euiti 
 iioii beiK! nonint; iiec eum satis noriint, qui Evangelium miiiquam audivcrunl; e quo maxima; 
 Dei laudcs uffloruscunt. Clericus in loc. 
 
 36 
 
432 
 
 A COMMENTARY 
 
 Psalm CXLIX. 
 
 for "praising the Lord, whose name is excellent, and his glory above hea- 
 ven and earth)!' 
 
 " 14. He also cxalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints, 
 even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the Lord." 
 
 As men, above all other creatures, so, above other men, " the Israel" of 
 God, " the people" that are admitted to draw " near unto him" in his house, 
 by faith and charity, by prayer and participation of the sacraments, are 
 bound to praise him, who now " exalteth" them from sin to righteousness, 
 and will hereafter exalt them from dust to glory. 
 
 Since few of my readers may, perhaps, have met with a paraphrase on the 
 foregoing Psalm, that has hitherto, I believe, only made its appearance in a 
 periodical publication or two, I shall take the liberty to subjoin it, as a 
 piece which cannot but be acceptable to all true lovers of sacred poetry. It 
 was written, as I have been lately informed, by the learned and ingenious 
 Dr. Ogilvie, at sixteen years of age. 
 
 PSALM CXLVIII. 
 
 I. 
 
 Begin, my soul, th' exalted lay, 
 Let each enraptur'd thought obey. 
 
 And praise th' Almighty's name, 
 Lo! heaven and earth, and seas and skies. 
 In one melodious concert rise. 
 
 To swell th' inspiring theme. 
 II. 
 Ye fields of light, celestial plains. 
 Where gay transporting beauty reigns, 
 
 Ye scenes divinely fair ; 
 Your Maker's wond'rouspower proclaim. 
 Tell how he form'd your shining frame. 
 
 And breath'd the fluid air. 
 III. 
 Ye angels, catch the thrilling sound ; 
 While all th' adoring thrones around 
 
 His boundless mercy sing ; 
 Let every list'ning saint above 
 Wake ail the tuneful soul of love, 
 
 And touch the sweetest string. 
 IV. 
 Join, ye loud spheres, the loud vocal choir ; 
 Thou, dazzling orb of liquid fire, 
 
 The mighty chorus aid : 
 Soon as grey ev'ning gilds the plain. 
 Thou, moon, protract the melting strain, 
 
 And praise him in the shade. 
 V. 
 Thou heav'n of heav'ns, his vast abode; 
 Ye clouds, proclaim your forming God, 
 
 Who call'd yon worlds from night ; 
 " Ye shades, dispel !"— th' Eternal said ; 
 At once tlv involvingdarkness fled, 
 
 And nature sprung to light. 
 VI. 
 Whate'er a blooming world contains, 
 That wings the air, that skims the plains. 
 
 United praise bestow: 
 Ye dragons, sound his awful name 
 To heaven aloud ; and roar acclaim. 
 
 Ye swelling deeps below. 
 VII. 
 Let every element rejoice : 
 Ye thunders, burst with awful voice 
 
 To him who bids you roll : 
 
 His praise in softer notes declare. 
 Each whispering breeze of yielding air, 
 
 And breathe it to the soul. 
 VIII. 
 To him ye graceful cedars, bow ; 
 Ye tow'ring mountains bending low. 
 
 Your Great Creator own : 
 Tell, when affrighted nature shook, 
 How Sinai kindfedathis look. 
 
 And trembled at his frown. 
 IX. 
 Ye flocks that haunt the humble vale. 
 Ye insects, flutt'ring on the gale, 
 
 In mutual concourse rise ; 
 Crop the gay rose's vermeil bloom, 
 And waflits spoils, a sweet perfume, 
 
 In incense to the skies. 
 X. 
 Wake, all ye mountain tribes, and sing 
 Ye plumy warblers of the spring. 
 
 Harmonious anthems raise 
 To him who shap'd your finer mould. 
 Who tipp'dyour glitteriug wings with gold, 
 
 And tuned your voice to praise. 
 XI. 
 Let man, by nobler passions sway'd, 
 The feeling heart, the judging head 
 
 In heavenly praise employ ; 
 Spread his tremendous name around, 
 Till heaven's broad arch rings back Ihu sound. 
 
 The geu'ral burst of joy. 
 
 xn. 
 
 Ye, whom the charms of grandeur please, 
 Nurs'd on the downy lap of ease, 
 
 Fall prostrate at his throne ; 
 Ye princes, rulers, all adore; 
 Praise him, ye kings, who makes your power 
 
 An image of his own. 
 
 XIII. 
 Ye fair, by nature form'd to move, 
 O praise th' eternal source of love, 
 
 With youth's enlivening fire : 
 Let age take up the tuneful lay. 
 Sigh liis bless'd name — then soar away. 
 
 And ask an angel's Ivre. 
 
 PSALM CXLIX. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The children of Zion are excited, 1 — 3. to rejoice, and sing the praises of their 
 King, on account, 4. of the salvation which he has always wrought for them, 
 and which will hereafter be completed in them, when, 5. they shall enter 
 
Day XXX. K. P. ON THE PSALMS. 
 
 42J 
 
 into his rest, and, 6 — 9. triumph witlj him over the pcrscnitint^ powers of 
 the world, and all the ojiposcrs of (jhrist, on whom will then he executed 
 the judgment written. _ The .lews, mistaking-, .is usual, the time, ])lace, and 
 nature of Messiah's glorious kingdom, imagin.e this I's.alm will receive its ac- 
 complishment, hy their being made rulers of the nations, and lords of all 
 things here below. 
 
 " 1 . Praise ye the Lord. Sing- unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in 
 the congregation of saints. 3. Let Israel rejoice in him that made him : let 
 the children of Zion be joyful in their King. 3. Let them praise his name 
 in the dance : let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and the 
 harp." 
 
 Christians are now the people, to whom belong the names and characters 
 of " saints, Israel, and children of Zion." — They " sing" this holy " song," 
 as the Psalmist hath enjoined them to do. They sino- it " now" in its 
 evangelical sense, as new men, celebrating new victories, new and greater 
 mercies, a spiritual salvation, an eternal redemption. They " rejoice" with 
 hearts, voices, instruments, and every other token of joy " in him who hath 
 made," or created them again, in righteousness and true holiness ; they are 
 "joyful in their King," who hath himself overcome, and is now leading 
 them on to final conquest and triumph, to honour and immortality. 
 
 " 4. For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people : he will beautify the 
 the meek with salvation. 5. The saints* shall be joyful with glory; they 
 shall sing aloud upon their beds, or, places of rest." 
 
 Such " pleasure" the King of Zion taketh in his people, that he hath not 
 disdained to become like one of them ; to partake of their flesh and blood, 
 and to give them his Spirit; he was made man, to purchase them by his 
 death ; and, as a man, he is gone into heaven, to prepare a place for them. 
 From thence he will return, to " beautify the meek with salvation," and 
 place on the heads of his true disciples, the lowly, patient, and peaceable 
 ones, a bright and incorruptible crown. Therefore are " the saints joyful 
 in glory, they sing aloud ;" in a state of perfect ease and security, resting 
 from their labours, but not from their hallelujahs. 
 
 " 6. The high praises of God in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in 
 their hand : 7. To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments 
 upon the people; 8. To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with 
 fetters of iron; 9. jTo execute upon them the judgment written: this 
 honour have all his saints. Praise ye the Lord." 
 
 To those, who are saints indeed, and who are acquainted with the ge- 
 nuine spirit of the Gospel, how obvious is it, that the scene, of which we 
 have here a prophetical exhibition, is one that cannot take place till after the 
 resurrection, because the followers of the Lamb have certainly nothing to 
 do with vengeance in this world, though they are to judge, not only men, 
 but angels in the next, 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3. ; when they shall be called up to sit 
 on thrones, as assessors at the condemnation of their once insulting perse- 
 cutors, who will be cut asunder with the " two edged-sword," and bound 
 with indissoluble "chains." Thus will be executed upon them the " eter- 
 nal judgment written" and announced against the enem.ies of Messiah, in 
 the Scriptures of truth. This honour will all his saints then have. 
 
 PSALM CL. 
 
 ARGUMENT. 
 
 The Psalmist exhorteth men to praise Jehovah, 1. for his holiness and the fir- 
 mament of his power, 2. for the wonders of his might, and for his excellent 
 greatness, 3 — 5. with all kinds of music. 6. He concludeth his divine book 
 
 * In ttiis verse the Hebrew verbs arc in tlie future time. In the verse followiiic, the original 
 hath no verb at all The liberty isjhcrcfore taken to render thoin arcordinely. 
 
424 A COMMENTARY Psalm CL. 
 
 of praises, by calling upon everything that hath breath, to employ that breath 
 in declaring the glory of him who gave it. 
 
 " 1. Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary, or, for his holi- 
 ness ; praise him in, or, for, the firmament, or, expansion, of his power." 
 
 If our translation be retained, the meaning is, that God should be praised 
 in the " sanctuary," or temple, below, and likewise, in " heaven" above ; 
 the former being planned and constructed, as a resemblance of the latter. 
 But the context rather perhaps requires us to suppose the Psalmist giving 
 the reasons why God should be praised ; namely, on account of his " holi- 
 ness," and of his " power," which power is more especially displayed in 
 the formation of the " firmament," or " expansion," of the material heavens, 
 and their incessant operations, by means of the light and the air, of which 
 they are composed, upon the earth, and all things thereio. These are the 
 ■appointed instruments of life and motion in the natural world, and they af- 
 ford us some idea of that power of God unto salvation, which is manifested 
 in the church, by the effects produced on the souls of men, through the 
 gracious influences of the light divine, and the spirit of holiness, consti- 
 tuting the " firmament of God's power" in the new creation. 
 
 "2. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excel- 
 lent greatness." 
 
 " Mighty" were the "acts" which God wrought for Israel, and "great" 
 was the Holy One in the midst of his ancient people ; but far mightier acts 
 did he perform in Christ Jesus, for the redemption of the world ; and more 
 "excellent greatness" hath he manifested in the conversion of the nations, 
 the overthrow of Paganism, and the erection and preservation of the Chris- 
 tian church. O that her gratitude bore some proportion to his goodness ! 
 
 "3. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the 
 psaltery and harp. 4. Praise him with the timbrel and dance : praise him 
 with stringed instruments and organs. 5. Praise him upon the loud cym- 
 bals : praise him upon the high sounding cymbals." 
 
 It is impossible for us to distinguish and describe the several sorts of 
 musical instruments here mentioned, as the Hebrews themselves acknow- 
 ledge their ignorance in this particular. Thus much is clear, that the people 
 of God are enjoined to use all the various kinds of them, in the perform- 
 ance of their divine services. And why should they not be so used under 
 the Gospel ■? We read of sacred music before the law, in the instance of 
 *' Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, who," to celebrate the deli- 
 verance from Pharaoh and the Egyptians, " took a timbrel, in her hand, and 
 the women went out after her, with timbrels and dances," Exod. xv. 20. 
 The custom, therefore, was not introduced by the law, nor abolished with 
 it. Well regulated music, if ever it had the power of calming the passions, 
 if ever it enlivened and exalted the affections of men in the worship of 
 God (purposes for which it was formerly employed,) doubtless hath still 
 the same power, and can still afford the same aids to devotion. When the 
 "beloved disciple was, in spirit, admitted into the celestial choir, he not only 
 heard them " singing" hymns of praise, but he heard likewise " the voice 
 of harpers harping upon their harps," Rev. xiv. 2. And why that, which 
 saints are represented as doing in heaven, should not be done, according to 
 their skill and ability, by saints upon earth ; or why instrumental music 
 should be abolished as a legal ceremony, and vocal music, which was as 
 much so, should be retained, no good reason can be assigned. Sacred mu- 
 sic, under proper regulations, removes the hinderances of our devotion, cures 
 the distractions of our thoughts, and banishes weariness from our minds. 
 It adds solemnity to the public service,, raises all the devout passions in the 
 Boul, and causes our duty to become our delight. "Of the pleasures of 
 heaven," says the eloquent and elegant bishop Atterbury, "nothing further 
 is levealed to us, than that they consist in the practice of holy music and 
 holy love; the joint enjoyment of which, we are told, is to be the happy 
 
Day XXX. E. P. ON THE PSALMS. 425 
 
 lot of all pious souls to endless ajres." It may be added, that there Is no 
 better method of combating the mischievous effects flowing from the abuse 
 of music, than by applying it to its true and proper use. If the worship- 
 pers of Baal join in a chorus to celebrate the praises of their idol, the ser- 
 vants of Jehovah should drown it, by one that is stronger and more power- 
 ful, in praise of him who made heaven and earth. If the men of the world 
 rejoice in the object of their adoration, let the children of Sion be joyful in 
 their King. 
 
 " 6. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the 
 Lord." 
 
 The breath of natural life, which God hath breathed into our nostrils, and 
 the breath of that new and eternal life, which he hath given us through 
 Christ Jesus our Lord, should be returned in hallelujahs. And then the 
 church, composed of many and different members, all actuated, like the 
 pipes of a well-tuned organ, by the same Spirit, and conspiring together in 
 perfect harmony, would become one great instrument, sounding forth the 
 praises of God most high. 
 
 Let evtery thing that hath breath praise the Lord! — With this 
 wish the sweet Psalmist of Israel closes the songs of Sion. With the same 
 wish the author desires to close these meditations upon them ; giving thanks 
 to the Father of mercies, and the God of all comforts, by whose most gra- 
 cious favour and aid they have been begun, continued, and ended ; and hum- 
 bly praying, that no errors, or improprieties, from which, through human 
 infirmity, during the course of a long work, the most diligent and care- 
 ful are not exempt, may prevent his labours from contributing in some small 
 degree to promote the improvement and consolation of the redeemed, the 
 honour and glory of the Redeemer, who is the root and the offspring of 
 David, and the bright and morning star. Amen.* 
 
 ♦ Rev. xxii. 16. 
 
 the end. 
 
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BS1430.H815 1833 
 
 A commentary on the book of Psalms 
 
 Princeton Theological Semmary-Speer Library 
 
 1 1012 00047 7119